After the hidden group hug Grace spent time sharing tea with Leon and Sally, who brought the tea. Sally had become brighter after hugging each other.
At noon, Leon left with a knight; who had come to find him.
Leon looked back and waved at Grace with a look of regret, and Grace responded by waving until the child was out of sight.
Grace returned to her residence and proceeded to remain silent in her bedroom until sunset.
Sally brought books and snacks to Grace, who seemed bored with an expressionless face, but Grace didn't even touch them. Time seemed to pass and the bright moon rose in the dark sky.
After taking a bath, Sally helped Grace with her wet hair and greeted her a good night after work.
"Good night, lady."
Grace sat on the bed, greeted, looked at Sally's back as she turned off the light, and closed her eyes.
"You too, Sally."
She closed her eyes to force herself to sleep, alas sleep avoided her. The complicated and uncomfortable feeling about Leon never went away.
'How did the women, who had a relationship with the Duke Arthur Felix, go mad?.....How do I get away with it naturally; pretending to be crazy? And it's a little selfish..... but how can I avoid hurting Leon and Sally?'
Eventually Grace, in an unorganized thought, sat up and leaned against the bed.
Grace, staring blankly at the thick curtains, spoke to herself quietly.
"...I can't sleep, I should take a walk alone."
That's right. Taking a walk might feel like finding some "future escape plans" or some sort of secret route that might help. When she suddenly thought of it, her body moved first like a lie.
Grace slowly got out of bed and pulled out a thick coat and boots from the closet. Now without Sally's help, she couldn't even change her dress perfectly, so she was going to cover herself with a thick, long coat and comfortable boots.
Grace, clad in a thick coat, crept open the bedroom door and came out into the hallway. She strutted her collar and started walking.
There was no sound but the squeaking of Grace's boots in the quiet hallway.
Grace walked through the hallway and down the stairs while also turning her head to look around, just in case. Fortunately, there was no sign of anyone around.
Grace pushed the closed door with ease.
"Where are you going, ma'am?"
".....Oh my gosh!"
Grace screamed and turned her head to the direction from which the voice was heard. She saw Arthur leaning against a pillar, a few steps away from her.
The black mask, cape, and uniform that he always wears. No matter how many times she looked at it, it was him. Grace's brows frowned at his appearance, which still seemed to be a mystery.
".....Have you been watching me?"
"You are mistaken. I just came out because I heard footsteps while I was working."
When Grace doubtfully asked about his appearance, as if he had been waiting for her question Arthur denied it.
'Heavens, I meant to be quiet.'
Grace said to him, embarrassed as a child caught playing practical jokes,
"......I'm sorry if I bothered you."
When she handed him the apology, Arthur returned a blunt answer.
"No, absolutely not."
"I'll keep quiet from now on. Take a rest, then."
Grace greeted with an awkward smile and turned to open the door. Perhaps because it was suffocating, she wanted to escape from this situation.
But Arthur was glad to see Grace like that and spoke to her again.
"You didn't answer my question earlier?"
"Pardon?"
"I'm sure I just asked you where you were going at this hour."
".....Ah, I couldn't sleep, so I was just gonna take a walk."
Grace answered, gripping the doorknob. Arthur, who was leaning against the pillar, approached Grace.
Grace exclaimed in surprise at the sight.
"Wh, why? What's the matter?"
"I'll accompany you."
"Huh? No, I can go alone."
Grace waved her hands at Arthur's suggestion, immediately. Arthur snorted, looked at Grace and said.
"Unlike the capital, Felix Castle is home to all kinds of predators and animals at night."
"What?"
"Especially in this snowy winter, when they run out of food, they wait for night. They often attack private properties. Of course, my mansion is no exception. You may have seen broken headstones and broken bushes in my garden."
"....Are those all the beasts and demons' doing, then?"
While Grace asked out of fear, Arthur shrugged lightly. It was a silent affirmation. Grace suddenly felt goosebumps all over her body.
'No, he's magical enough to wield great power in a castle. Are the Guards and the knights meaninglessly strong?'
Somehow she couldn't see knights and soldiers guarding the mansion at night. She thought, maybe that's why; Grace frowned as if it were a fiasco.
"....Then I won't go out."
"Didn't you just say you wanted to take a walk?"
"I did, but I changed my mind..."
"Do I look so fragile that I can't even protect my wife? Or are you afraid to go for a walk alone with the cursed 'monster' duke?"
Grace was stunned by Arthur's sarcasm and bitter laugh. She didn't know why the words suddenly stood out like that. Grace sighed briefly and replied.
"......Oh, come on. Why does this come out of nowhere? Now that I see it, Duke, you have a taste for satire."
"Why don't you answer honestly, madam, that you don't want to come with me? If you say so, I'll get you another knight to go with you right away."
Arthur was about to call the knights, when Grace seized him by the top of his Cape.
He seemed to call not only the knight who accompanied him, but also all the knights, servants, and maids.
Rather than organizing her thoughts and revising her plans alone. It was only then that Grace remembered that she had a reputation for being an arrogant duchess who woke up her subordinates who wanted to sleep soundly, drawing attention unnecessarily.
Grace clasped the tip of Arthur's cape, and said to Arthur, looking at him.
".....No, thank you. I don't want to wake everyone else up, so please come with me."
"All right."
[T/N: ( ꈍᴗꈍ)]
Finally Arthur nodded silently. As if he has been waiting for the answer. He walked eloquently towards Grace, and she let go of the tip of his cape in hand.
Standing side by side, he looked at Grace for a moment with his strange red and blue eyes, and soon went out the door and held the doorknob. It seemed to mean to follow him, so Grace approached him with a short sigh. 'I think the plan of a secret night stroll has been ruined.'
***
In the garden where the darkness of the night had fallen, there was only a strange silence between Arthur and Grace, who walked side by side with a little distance.
Grace glanced at Arthur, who was silently walking beside her, walking in the snowy garden.
For a while, Arthur looked around the surrounding area and down at the floor for sometime, as if ignoring her.
'Why did you say you'd come with me if you were going to just ignore my presence?'
On the contrary, of course, it would have been difficult if he kept talking about trivial things.
Grace walked quickly, looking around awkwardly. She wanted to go around the garden swiftly and finish this awkward walk.
"I heard you gave Leon a birthday present this afternoon."
Arthur suddenly spoke to Grace. Grace stopped at the words, turned her head and asked him.
".....How did you know?"
"Do you think there are only a few eyes and ears in this castle?"
Grace stiffened when Arthur answered her question with a quick smile.
'I mean I've put myself on guard. If so, who's the one who reports to him every move I make?'
Arthur, who was looking at Grace's stiffened expression, soon turned awkwardly and said.
"Just kidding."
"What?"
"There, the third floor of this tower is my office. So whenever I open the window, I can hear everything outside the garden."
Grace uttered a short exclamation at Arthur's response, pointing to a tall tower on one side of the garden.
'No wonder. That's why he came as soon as Leon cried.'
Grace, being convinced, breathed a sigh of relief. If he had been actively monitoring him he might have noticed the awkwardness at some point when she will start "pretending to be crazy".
Fortunately, she was less worried about that. Nevertheless, however, one should not let one's guard down. She shouldn't consider any important escape plans in this garden.
Grace was thinking about herself alone again.
"Thank you so much for giving Leon a birthday present and being so kind."
"......What?"
"I've never seen a face so pleased when he received a necklace from my wife, and ran to my office and laughed proudly....I've never seen him with such a happy face. Thank you so much for allowing him to smile like that."
Arthur thanked her in a shy voice.
Grace forgot what to say for a moment to his cool odd eyes, containing herself. The blue and red eyes were leading her with the same strong magical power as she had seen at the wedding.
It was strange.
Maybe it's because she got used to Leon's Odd Eyes, which looked just like his, in a few days. His eyes, which had always been frightening and seemed like a monster's, were not frightening for the first time.
T/N: Sorry for the slow updates, I am kinda busy with my studies these days, cause I am gonna have my exams soon, haven't studied before so have to now(θ‿θ) Please bear with me, I guess I can give you all a mini mass release as a compensation after my exams hehe(. ❛ ᴗ ❛.)
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