Chapter 28
Episode 27
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"...Your Excellency?"”
The young lady, who was as elegant as a porcelain doll and never wavered in any situation, had her expression crumble for the first time.
Is she sane?
She must be thinking that. Seeing her like that, Walter couldn't help but burst into laughter.
“Heh heh.”
Grace's eyes widened. Even Jessie, who was following them one step behind, widened her eyes and tilted her head.
The man's golden silhouette, bathed in the early morning sunlight, trembled slightly, and the low laughter that drummed against her eardrums scratched at something in Grace's heart. But only for a moment. Walter ran a hand over his face and collected his laughter. Then, he looked at Grace, who was looking up at him, and said.
“She’ll be angry, but she’ll get up because of it.”
“…Are you alright?”
At Grace's question, Jessie nodded enthusiastically.
Did he eat something wrong?
Walter chuckled again at the question in her grape-like eyes. It was a laugh like the face of a chillingly blue glacier, but somehow it didn't feel cold. While Grace was momentarily speechless, Walter erased his smile. Then, looking up at the sky, which had already brightened, he answered slowly.
“I was always like this.”
Yes. I was always like this.
“Go in. Go and do as I said. The Dekan Royals are stubborn and quick to anger.”
Then he turned away before hearing Grace's answer.
Grace stared blankly at Walter's back. But after walking a few steps, Walter suddenly turned to her and asked.
“By any chance.”
“…Yes?”
“Do you know my name?”
It was a question that was barely audible, almost a mouthing.
Grace thought the question was foolish and nodded almost imperceptibly. Then Walter chuckled and walked away as if nothing had happened.
The man's back, silhouetted against the sunlight, felt rough yet subtly delicate, as if drawn with quick strokes of a very sharp pen.
The reason he felt both unfamiliar and familiar was because Grace had imagined him every day. Every time she wanted to give up, every time she wanted to collapse, Grace repeated his name like a mantra.
He, who was named after a god of war in mythology, must be like this. He survived the Wall of Death, so he must be a man worthy of his name. Then, when she finally met him, Grace recognized him at a glance. So how foolish it was to ask her if she knew his name.
Grace took a long, slow breath and turned around. At that moment, Mrs. Isaac appeared, opening the door of the detached building.
‘Go and do as I said. The Dekan Royals are stubborn and quick to anger.’
As Grace entered the detached building with Mrs. Isaac, she asked hesitantly.
“If I wait in the drawing room, will the Grand Duchess see me?”
Mrs. Isaac's brow furrowed slightly. She hesitated for a moment, seemingly contemplating, then cautiously opened her mouth.
“…It's hard to say, but for now……”
The Grand Duchess was a person who had forgotten about the cold and hunger. The Marquise Lincot had reduced the number of maids one by one, and the place where she stayed had become like a fragment of a ruined country, but the Grand Duchess didn't seem to notice it. Or rather, she didn't seem to care about such things.
In the meantime, they had reached the front of the drawing room. Mrs. Isaac opened the door, but for some reason, Grace didn't enter and was lost in thought. Just as Mrs. Isaac was about to call her, Grace gave an unexpected order.
“Take me to where the Grand Duchess is.”
“She is in her bedroom.”
“I know.”
Grace pushed Mrs. Isaac, who hesitated.
“Didn't you say you would do anything?”
Her green eyes were unwavering, and she was asserting that this would ultimately help the Grand Duchess. Eventually, Mrs. Isaac turned around as if she had made up her mind.
“Follow me.”
＊ ＊ ＊
The person who sensed Walter's change along with Grace was Joseph.
His superior had followed Miss Grace since early morning. In fact, that was a little strange in itself. But he soon forgot about it.
“Well, whatever. The Captain is a person and a man, so how could he treat us the same as he treats the young lady?”
Joseph, muttering to himself, looked at Walter's empty room and picked at his ear.
But the moment he faced Walter who had returned, Joseph was convinced that something about him had completely changed.
First of all, the shirt button that he always kept fastened to the neck was undone by a couple, and the cuffs of the shirt, which he never rolled up even in the middle of summer, were roughly rolled up. In the first place, Walter Richmond had never walked around wearing only a shirt. Whether it was armor or a suit, he was a person who adhered to a perfect attire like a textbook.
Walter, who appeared in a dissolute attire, sat down in a chair without saying a word. Then, he took out a piece of paper and quickly scribbled something on it before handing it to Joseph. But even then, when Joseph was still frozen with his eyes wide open, his thick black eyebrows twitched.
“How long are you going to stand there blankly, Joseph?”
Would this be what it feels like to be slapped in the face with words? Joseph, who quickly came to his senses, rushed over, and Walter ordered.
“Find five empty rooms that are sparsely populated, don't get any sunlight, and are lined up along one hallway.”
Joseph shuddered at the chilling conditions, and Walter tapped the paper on the desk with his index finger.
“And bring the guys written here.”
“The guys written… all of them?”
“Can't you understand at once without me having to say it twice?”
Joseph's eyes rolled around. Then, when he met the black eyes full of exasperation, he moved as if jumping up.
“Yes, sir!”
Joseph quickly put the paper in his arms and burst out of the room. As he walked quickly down the hallway, he suddenly stopped and turned around, muttering.
“So now… instead of just cursing with his eyes, he's going to curse out loud……?”
Even before, he never thought Walter's personality was good. But what should I say, it felt like he had a certain line and never crossed it, but for some reason, that line seemed to have disappeared.
Is this completely bad, or moderately bad……?
Joseph tilted his head and checked the names written on the paper. The first ones to be called were the nobles in charge of Richmond's finances. After hesitating for a moment, Joseph peeked his head back through the doorway and asked.
“Should I put one guy in each room?”
“……”
“Yes, sir!!”
Joseph quickly closed the door before Walter could say anything. The corners of Joseph Rexton's lips, who was second to none in terms of bad personality, twitched.
“Hmm……. I guess I can judge whether it's completely bad or moderately bad by seeing how you guys get screwed over.”
Joseph's vicious muttering permeated the autumn sunlight and disappeared.
＊ ＊ ＊
Eliza's bedroom was the sunniest place in the detached building. The moment Grace entered the bedroom, she felt that Mrs. Isaac was doing her best to manage the place where the owner stayed. Unlike other places that were not properly managed, Eliza's bedroom was cozy and clean.
But the air in the bedroom was heavy and chilly, as if the bright sunlight was useless. In the middle of the room, on the huge bed, a low mound that seemed about to collapse was rising and falling faintly.
“Grand……”
As Mrs. Isaac tried to approach Eliza, calling her name, Grace reached out and stopped her. And she silently looked around the bed. As if she was about to bring in breakfast, a plate covered with a dome was placed on the round table at the head of the bed.
‘She’ll be angry, but she’ll get up because of it.’
So, in the end, does that mean I have to make her angry to make her get up?
She didn't know if that was a good method, but one thing was certain: as Walter said, if she waited outside, she wouldn't be able to meet Eliza even after several years.
Eliza didn't even realize that Grace was approaching the head of the bed. Whether she was really asleep, or whether she felt it was meaningless to even open her eyes and was keeping them closed, Eliza was lying as if dead, breathing faintly.
Then, it was when Grace sat down in Mrs. Isaac's chair.
“…Take away the breakfast.”
The waiting Mrs. Isaac was about to move reflexively, but Grace said.
“She must eat it.”
The soft but firm voice broke the heavy air in the bedroom. Mrs. Isaac held her breath and clasped her hands tightly.
“You must eat it, Grand Duchess.”
When Grace urged again, Eliza's tightly closed eyelids slowly opened. The black pupils, which had been submerged in the wrinkled eyelids, were revealed under the sunlight. Grace did not avoid the black eyes that were directed at her and met them. Eliza stared intently at Grace, to the point of being persistent, and spoke in a cold voice.
“Arwen, how dare you do this without my permission.”
