It's already been three hours since the party started.
Because of the Crown Prince who did not arrive until then, the party continued in an ambiguous state, neither beginning nor ending.
As a result, the aristocratic wives, who became bored, settled down one by one. They played cards, and enjoyed drinks and food while listening to the songs performed by the minstrels.
There was no longer the prospective Crown Prince, who sat among the piles of gifts in their minds, as they kept staring at the entrance with sharp eyes.
Some young ladies approached Marianne, tried talking to her, and offered food, but only a sharp rejection came back.
It was a time when a party that looked so friendly on the outside, but had an atmosphere of thin ice on the inside, continued. Grace, who was drinking only the water that Sally brought from the corner of the party, slowly looked around.
Now that the women drunk on wine went one by one to the salon in the corner of the party venue, and the rest of the people were absorbed into playing cards and music, it was the perfect time to sneak out.
Grace looked around once more and whispered to Sally, who sat next to her and blinked as if she were bored.
"...Sally."
"Yes, is there anything you want me to do?"
Sally then asked with her eyes shining as if she had been waiting. Grace shook her head and said.
"Sally, let's get out of here. Help me out."
"......What? Helping you? Are you dizzy?"
"No. It's not like that. .......Let's go out first."
Grace looked around and came out of the party with Sally's support.
And Grace, who arrived in front of a corner of the hallway where darkness descended and people couldn't reach, spoke, removing her leaning body from Sally.
"Sally, if anyone asks about my whereabouts tonight, tell them that I was drunk on wine alone and went to the bedroom first."
"...Huh? Oh, okay. I'll do that."
"Then let's change the coat you're wearing with me. Then take some of these and go up to the bedroom first and turn off all the lights in my bedroom. Pretending to be in a deep sleep, drunk on wine."
"What? Where are you going at this late hour?"
"I'm sorry. I have some work to do. I'll explain all the details later. Okay? ....If someone comes looking for me, Sally, please lie on my bed and pretend to be me. Please!"
"Ma-, ma'am!"
"Shh! Sorry! Then please!"
Grace took off all the jewelry and ornaments she was wearing and put on Sally's coat.
And she handed over a request to Sally, who still looked puzzled, bowed her head and quickly passed through the long hallway where darkness fell with a wary face.
It was difficult to rule out the possibility of encountering the people of his father, Duke Alberton, or Duke Alberton himself, in the hallway.
'...It would have been better if the Crown Prince was inside the party and caught their attention.'
But now that it's hard to expect such a situation, there was no other way than to be careful.
Grace bit her lower lip tightly to calm her pounding heart with tension. Then, she quickly ran through the hallway, silencing the sound of her footsteps. And after climbing the stairs of the main building, Grace arrived in front of Duke Alberton's study.
[T/N: Agent Grace set out for the mission on her tippy toes! §(*￣▽￣*)§]
Fortunately, it was so quiet that it was difficult to find a single ant cub around the study, probably because everyone had gone to meet the Crown Prince.
It was at that time when Grace was relieved and slowly reached out to the doorknob.
Tuuk~
There was a sound of something falling.
Grace was startled and hid behind a pillar near the door to the study and looked around the darkness.
'.....what.'
However, there have been no suspicious sounds or signs of someone's presence since then.
'Did I hear it wrong?'
But, she couldn't be relieved. Grace raised her vigilance even more and carefully opened the door to the study, even holding her breath.
"......Ugh!"
In a room full of books and papers, the smell of acrid dust was felt. Grace quickly came into the study and closed the door, forcing herself to sneeze at that moment.
"Cough, cough, cough, cough— Ugh!"
And Grace, who coughed violently in the study left alone, looked at the study with slightly teary eyes as she coughed close to vomiting.
The place, full of books and parchment documents everywhere she thought could be a place to put something on, such as a desk, chair, and fireplace. She was disappointed because it was so different from her childhood memories that always had been neatly organized.
Grace muttered, looking around at the books and documents piled up with an awkward look.
"......Where should I start and how to find it?"
With the number of books and papers piled up, and her situation where she had to rely solely on the moonlight that was dimly descending in the dark. She could never look and dig through all of them in just a few hours.
Grace, who was thinking about what to do for a while, soon began to examine the items on the desk one by one. Looking back, her father, Duke Alberton, used to put the most important documents on his desk, so what she was looking for must be there.
After pushing away the papers and books piled up with such careful touches and searching for the "small book" that Sally had seen. She noticed a small book similar to it was placed in the bottom drawer.
Grace quickly picked it up and opened the first page. Then she saw something written in the familiar handwriting of Duke Alberton.
[ January 28th. On the body of Duchess Felix, an ancient magic pattern that could not be deciphered was discovered. Perhaps this is the curse.]
'........Huh?'
At that phrase, Grace's expression darkened.
An ancient magic pattern, what the hell is that? And when it comes to Duchess Felix, was he referring to Arthur's mother, the predecessor? Or, does he mean Princess Electra?
With a face full of doubt, Grace quickly turned the next page of the written book.
[March 24th. I've been trying to figure out what that ancient magic is like for the past two months, but I haven't found it yet.]
[May 1st. The remaining time continues to decrease. I don't have enough time left.]
Grace tilted her head at the mysterious phrases of the book, which were torn in several places and erased with black ink.
What does it mean that time is suddenly running out, and why is there not enough time left? It was a time when questions were accelerating even for Grace, who was reading those records.
[July 28th. I finally figured it out. The true nature of the magic, and the conditions for casting it, I immediately conveyed the fact to His Majesty the Emperor, who was delighted as if he were jumping. Ah, I finally did it.]
[July 29th. All I have to do is wait for the right time. The future of this empire is mine. The survival of the imperial family, the future of the crown prince, and the rise and fall of this empire are in my hands.]
"........What?"
Finally, she found the record stating that Duke Alberton had uncovered the secret.
She turned the next page with a face full of excitement, expectation, and fear. Praying and hoping that there will be a 'secret and solution to the curse' she wants to find.
Contrary to Grace's expectations, however, there was no record left on the back page of it. Only the traces that seemed to have been roughly torn off in the middle remained.
Grace bit her lower lip out of regret and put the notebook in her dress for now. And she started searching through piles of books and documents again. She just couldn't stop her search like this. Something, something even a little more likely to be a clue, must have still remained in here.
It was when she was looking for it so desperately.
Squeak!
"......!"
There was a sound of opening the door of the study. Then, a larger head than Grace, a figure that was clearly a man, walked straight towards her.
Grace hurriedly crouched down and tried to burrow under a desk full of books and documents. However, because of the pile of books, Grace couldn't hide herself there.
'Oh no!'
Little by little, Grace leaned aside, avoiding the figure approaching the window where the faint moonlight was coming from.
Then the man wrapped his strong arms around Grace's waist as if he was not going to let it go, and covered her mouth with his strong hands!
"Uh! Uh!"
"Shh, be quiet!"
Grace rebelled fiercely against the man, but could not beat the power of the man who had already restrained her body with strong arms.
While struggling like that, suddenly the man pushed Grace's body roughly under the desk.
".......!"
At the same time, a light came on in the study, which was submerged in darkness, except by the window where the faint moonlight was shining.
"Who is it? The one who makes a fuss in my study!"
At the same time, Grace heard a voice so familiar to her, the voice of her father, the Duke of Alberton.
'.....I got caught. Now it's gone all wrong.'
And it was a time when Grace crouched down at that voice and closed her eyes with despair.
"I'm sorry, Duke Alberton. I just got lost somehow."
The man, who pushed her under the desk a while ago, responded to the sharp interrogation of Duke Alberton. As if he was trying to hide Grace under the desk where he was standing next to her.
Grace trembled and opened her eyes carefully, looking up at the man who was hiding her.
Surprisingly, the other protagonist of the Bridal Shower Party today, Crown Prince Owen was standing there. He seemed to be looking at Duke Alberton standing in front of him with a look of being really lost and perplexed.
T/N:
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! ヾ(≧ ▽ ≦)ゝ
I hope that each page of your new chapter of 365 pages gets filled with loads of love and joyful moments. And only happiness and prosperity shall fall upon you all! (｡･ω･｡)ﾉ♡
°.✩┈┈∘*┈˃̶୨❁୧˂̶┈*∘┈┈✩.°°.✩┈┈∘*┈˃̶୨❁୧˂̶┈*∘┈┈✩.°°.✩┈┈∘*┈˃̶୨❁୧˂̶┈*∘┈┈✩.°
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