Chapter 41
39
===
At that moment, with a cautious knock, the door opened, and Mrs. Isaac entered.
Mrs. Isaac saw Eliza standing there and realized this was reality, not a dream. She held back the tears that threatened to spill as she approached Eliza.
"The knights have retreated, and I've arranged a place for Princess Taylor's maid to stay."
Eliza started to say something but stopped, silently watching her maid.
"What is it?"
At Mrs. Isaac's question, Eliza asked in a hoarse voice.
"Didn't you always wear the pearl earrings and pearl necklace I gave you? How can you be so bare without any jewelry?"
Mrs. Isaac's eyes turned red. As tears she couldn't hold back streamed down her chin, she knelt before her mistress.
"Grand Duchess... If the Grand Duchess wears nothing, how could I wear pearl earrings and a necklace?"
Dry wrinkles formed on Eliza's neck. She forcibly swallowed the rising heat. Then, she suddenly felt sleepy again.
What good were jewels, honor, or family? What was the point of ruling the world when the world had disappeared?
'Grandmother!'
Wasn't the reason her time had stopped around then because that was the only way she could remember that voice?
The barely flowing time began to slow down again, but suddenly, piercing green eyes flashed in her mind.
'If I become the daughter-in-law of the Saxons who killed my parents and live obediently, will Taylor's honor be preserved?'
Eliza read the intense resistance in Grace's eyes. She saw the fire hidden deep within and felt the resentment of someone who had lost the world.
Grace's resentment revived Eliza's time, which had been faltering.
'Didn't I tell you? I will definitely come back alive and return it, so don't die and wait.'
Walter's anger pulled Eliza's time forcefully.
Eliza looked out the window. The knights were still searching everywhere for Jessie.
"I was just tired and closed my eyes for a moment."
Eliza, who had been silent for a long time, finally opened her mouth.
"Arwen."
"Yes, Grand Duchess."
"Bring Grace Taylor's maid to me, and find out how Duke Richmond's castle is doing."
Mrs. Isaac's heart pounded as if it would burst. It was the moment she had desperately hoped for.
Eliza Richmond. The owner of this castle is finally waking up.
Mrs. Isaac wiped away her tears and replied in a firm voice.
"Understood!"
＊ ＊ ＊
Noon the next day.
Marquis Rinko was furious with Count Lewen, who had returned empty-handed.
"You searched even Eliza Richmond's detached residence and couldn't find her?!! Not even a rat could escape from the castle. She's inside!!"
"I'm sorry..."
Count Lewen bowed and apologized repeatedly, but Marquis Rinko vented all his anger caused by his anxiety. The Count said that the Grand Duchess had risen and interfered with his search, and that he still suspected the detached residence, but this only fueled the Marquis's anger.
"Are you trying to blame a senile old woman?!!"
"...I'm sorry."
"Find her!!"
As Count Lewen hurriedly left the room, the Marchioness, who had been watching, clicked her tongue softly.
"The only advantages of that family are their decent appearance and insignificant ambition, that's all."
The Marquis gulped down wine like water, then wiped his beard and lips with a towel. After catching his ragged breath, the Marquis changed the subject.
"The Duke's lover, has she opened her mouth?"
"......"
When the Marchioness didn't answer, the Marquis frowned and turned to her.
"You haven't either?"
"Wait. It's different from finding a rat! That room slowly drives people crazy."
"Don't make her slowly crazy, just make her crazy. This is war. We need to win in a few days."
The Marquis was uneasy about Walter's silence. The Marchioness shook her head at his impatience. However, there was some truth in the Marquis's words. A protracted war eventually harms both sides. It was time for a quick and accurate attack.
The Marchioness approached the Marquis and whispered.
"I understand. I'll make her crazy by today. But that alone isn't enough. The person I told you to prepare, have you prepared them?"
"I found someone who met the conditions at dawn. I'm negotiating now."
"Good work. And, don't bother with the detached residence. I mean, don't disturb the sleep of the senile old woman."
The Marchioness was about to pass him after saying that, but she paused and asked.
"By the way, where is our son? Isn't it almost time for him to come? I'd like to throw a welcome party, but it's difficult. I should at least prepare some food."
"He said he'll arrive in two days. It seems something happened at Princess Taylor's wedding."
"There's never a peaceful day. Well, Taylor was ruined when the late Duke and Duchess died. Her Majesty the Empress and the nobles of the capital call that family a 'vault.' The current Duke and Duchess don't even know that and walk around with their shoulders puffed up."
The Marchioness muttered that those with vulgar desires get what they deserve when they're too greedy and left the room.
She headed to the Blue Room, filled with Richmond's Treasure. The Marchioness took out a black box about two spans long from among the many boxes, then took some fur and headed straight to the basement.
The moment she entered the basement, where the boundary between day and night disappeared, the season turned to winter. As a bone-chilling cold swept in, the Marchioness wrapped herself in the fur she had brought.
However, this level of cold was nothing compared to the solitary confinement cell where Grace was imprisoned. That room was in the deepest part of Richmond. It was not only cold, but no one had ever walked out of that room sane.
"Is she going to talk?"
The soldier guarding the entrance to the stairs shook his head.
"She doesn't even cry."
"She's tough."
The Marchioness refused the soldier's offer to guide her and went down the stairs alone. With each step she took, the season became harsher. A damp chill pierced through the fur and seemed to cut into her flesh.
Finally, the Marchioness arrived at the black door and opened the small window at the top of the door. When she held a torch to the window, the dark interior became dimly visible. A woman in a cream-colored dress was leaning against the wall with her eyes closed.
The Marchioness's eyes narrowed. Usually, people would cry and beg to be let out within a day, but this stubborn woman seemed perfectly fine. She wanted to conduct a brutal interrogation, but she couldn't do anything that would leave scars since she was the woman the Duke had brought.
"The maid you brought has been captured and is being interrogated. Confessing that they are Unseen Ones... well, I think an hour will be enough."
Grace didn't even move, as if she were sleeping. Angered by this, the Marchioness shouted.
"You wench!! It will soon be revealed that your plans have been exposed!! Do you know what will happen when that plan is exposed? You will receive a very cruel punishment. Even the Duke won't be able to protect you. This solitary confinement is nothing."
The Marchioness stuck close to the door and whispered about how cruel the punishment would be.
"Confess. Put all the blame on that maid. Say you were threatened and couldn't help it. Then I'll spare your life."
Then, Grace, who hadn't moved until then, slowly opened her eyes. The corners of the Marchioness's lips rose upward.
Grace slowly opened her mouth, thinking that the Marchioness's eyes, which were curved long with joy, resembled the eyes of the devil described in the scriptures.
"I told you. Jessie and I can't be 'Unseen Ones'."
"......"
The Marchioness's curved eyes gradually flattened, and anger filled them. She elegantly exhaled a suppressed breath, then smiled again as if it were a lie.
"Oh dear. I guess you didn't have enough time to think."
She opened the black box she had brought. Inside the box was a thick stick. The Marchioness lit the stick and inserted it into a crack in the stone near the door. Immediately, a hazy smoke began to rise.
The Marchioness quickly covered her mouth and nose with her sleeve and took the box. Then, just before closing the window, she whispered in a cold voice.
"Now hell will unfold. I hope you reconsider in hell."
The door slammed shut, and the footsteps, which felt much more hurried than when she came down, faded away. The light that had dimly illuminated the inside of the room also disappeared.
Cold air and smoke leaked through the feeding hole in the bottom of the door. Grace hurriedly got up and covered her mouth and nose with the hem of her skirt. However, the smoke penetrated the narrow gaps in the fabric and eventually seeped into her lungs.
She quickly reached out through the feeding hole to try to extinguish the reddish-burning stick, but she couldn't reach it. It wouldn't be long before the inside of the solitary confinement cell, which had no ventilation, was filled with smoke.
She knew nothing about this smoke. Her breathing was about to become rough. Only her own breathing could be heard in the terribly quiet basement. As dizziness set in, Grace leaned against the wall and repeated cool words.
'Then endure, Grace Taylor.'
