Chapter 34
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Dear, I believe you may be misunderstanding.
Episode 34
—Wait, Grace. Grace!
Lucas's voice rang urgently in my ears as he called out to Grace.
It was a far cry from the casual tone he'd used when encouraging her to explore everywhere.
Grace smiled faintly and walked ahead.
That's right—he was the one who'd pushed her forward, telling her to go everywhere.
He'd told her to lie down, touch things, do whatever she wanted, so looking at a single photograph couldn't be such a grave transgression.
The master had given his permission, after all. What harm could it do?
The elderly Butler, watching Grace stride ahead, guided the way with a contented smile.
"You won't be disappointed, Miss. Please follow me."
—No, these people are acting as if I'm not here... Wait, wait. Hold on, Grace! I did tell you to explore everywhere, but not like this. Hmm? Grace? Are you... pretending not to hear me right now? Grace!
No matter how loudly Lucas called out, his voice existed only within her mind. Grace moved forward with elegant grace, feigning deafness, pretending she couldn't hear a thing.
It was always Lucas Black's role to catch me off guard. Now that our positions had reversed, I felt oddly exhilarated.
'This is why people should try switching perspectives, Your Excellency.'
She stood quietly smiling before the room Gabriel had indicated. The elderly Butler bowed respectfully and opened the long-sealed door of secrets.
"I shall do my utmost to ensure you have an enjoyable time."
—Gabriel!
Grace ignored Lucas's resonant voice once more and stepped slowly through the open doorway.
The pleasant scent of aged books welcomed her warmly.
* * *
"Oh my."
As Grace gazed at the photograph Gabriel had produced, she pressed her lips together urgently and bit her lower lip.
Moisture glistened beside her reddened eyes, and her trembling gaze swirled with countless emotions.
Gabriel, standing beside her, nodded slowly and gently, as if he understood everything. Grace's quivering eyes drifted across the photograph once more.
"...Good heavens."
How could such a darling child exist!
She desperately stifled an absurd gasp, her tightly clenched fists trembling as she released a silent exclamation of wonder.
Gabriel had retrieved a framed family portrait from a small hidden chamber in the corner of the Study.
In the lower right corner, a young boy clutching a white rabbit doll and crying profusely captured Grace's attention.
Hair as black and fluffy as ebony, a complexion of pure white, kind blue eyes brimming with tears.
Without needing to hear it from Gabriel's lips, she could discern whose childhood visage this impossibly adorable boy represented.
"The day this family portrait was taken remains vivid in my memory. It was the day we finally managed to invite the Royal Palace's photographer to take our first photograph. Even we servants gathered around in fascination to witness it."
Gabriel gazed toward distant mountains with nostalgic eyes.
Though this place was indoors.
"Before the photograph was taken, the young master, as always, searched for Toto. The problem, as it always was, lay in the fact that the mistress and the younger young master had hidden Toto away."
"The younger young master? You mean this person?"
Grace pointed to the young boy on the opposite side of Lucas in the photograph, laughing while clutching his belly.
Gabriel nodded.
—Cain, Cain Black, you damned bastard....
I could hear Lucas's voice in real-time, cursing his younger brother.
Cain Black inherited his father the Previous Duke Black's crimson hair.
His bright green eyes curved pleasantly whenever he smiled.
"Cain and the Duchess truly enjoyed tormenting Lucas. You were quite the perfect pair of troublemakers."
On the surface, the younger brother appeared far more delicate, yet here was the older one who had wept from his teasing.
Somehow, a feeble laugh escaped me.
"Since it's just us, you may laugh freely. Grace."
Gabriel offered the suggestion gracefully.
—...I'm listening to all of this.
"Oh, no! No. I-I'm not, hic, laughing at all."
—Don't you dare laugh.
I bit my lips firmly and forced myself to shake my head.
The Butler nodded as if he understood everything.
"The master's favorite possession during childhood was that rabbit doll the Duchess made for him."
Gabriel, speaking in a nostalgic tone, gazed at the 'young' Lucas in the photograph Grace held.
"When Cain and the Duchess would hide the doll, Lucas would search and search until he grew tired, then cry his heart out and run to the Duke. By then, the Duchess would quietly place the rabbit in the middle of the Garden."
The Butler's eyes grew lost in memories.
"She would jest that the rabbit had been taking a stroll, and the master would embrace it tightly, begging it never to leave again, insisting he would take it anywhere. I still remember the Previous Duke sitting Cain and the Duchess side by side, pleading with them to stop. It feels like only yesterday."
—I never knew Gabriel had such a proper tongue. I thought he was just an old man, but he's quite the chatterbox.
The voice muttering roughly was deeply disgruntled.
Until now, Lucas's voice had felt weighty and imposing, but now it seemed strangely familiar.
Perhaps it was because I had seen his childhood self?
I gazed slowly at the photograph again with a smile.
The elegant beauty with golden hair and blue eyes was undoubtedly his mother.
Beside her stood the Previous Duke with crimson hair and green eyes. His smile seemed warm and affectionate—a loving father.
'So that man was once this adorable.'
Against the deep green grass, a boy with his face contorted in distress wailed—his cheeks round and endearing.
His younger brother embraced his crying older brother's back with innocent laughter.
The mother watching over her sons radiated brilliance, and the Previous Duke holding his wife was equally tender.
Everything filling the frame spoke of happiness.
Just looking at the photograph made my chest swell with warmth.
My lips softened into a gentle smile without my realizing it.
I felt sorry for the crying child, but I could absolutely understand why the Previous Duchess had teased him—such irresistible cuteness.
—In the end, I've seen what I shouldn't have.
...The subject of the photograph seemed defeated.
—...My vulnerable past.
At Lucas's darkly muttered words, I stifled my laughter.
—Laughing, even? Fine then, laugh all you want, Grace. Just wait and see what kind of revenge I'll exact later.
Though Lucas spoke of revenge with such ominous words, somehow it didn't frighten me at all.
Grace wanted to comfort him somehow, but she held her tongue, aware of the Butler standing before her.
'Ah, but last time he said he could hear the Duke's voice too. Wouldn't it be better to just say I can hear his voice?'
Grace glanced sideways at Gabriel.
He was examining the framed portrait with eyes lost in reminiscence.
Yet she hesitated, uncertain whether she should decide and speak of it on her own.
As she looked at Gabriel while thinking such thoughts, he suddenly stepped back as if he had realized something.
"Oh my, how thoughtless of me. Lady Grace, I shall return to the Main Residence and attend to my duties."
"Ah, that's not what I meant...."
"I'll send your maid Julie, so if you have any tasks for her, please send her along."
While Grace hesitated for a moment, Gabriel bowed respectfully in apology.
"No, Gabriel. That's not it. Actually, I was about to tell you about the Duke...."
-Grace.
The moment she began to speak of Lucas Black, he called her name.
-I don't think now is the right time to tell Gabriel about me.
Ah.
At Lucas's words, Grace pressed her lips shut.
"Lady Grace? Your Grace?"
Grace, her eyes rolling uncertainly, spoke in a vague, roundabout manner.
"Yes, Your Grace, Your Grace... I wish to see you. When might you arrive?"
"Oh my! You wish to see His Grace?"
Gabriel asked with a brightened face, as if deeply moved.
Grace realized only then that she had misspoken.
"...Ah, yes. That is. I'm also curious where you are."
-In your heart.
...Stop that. These words weren't meant for you.
"Lady Grace, I, Butler Gabriel, shall take full responsibility and bring His Grace before you in short order! Yes, that is my duty!"
Gabriel, seeming delighted for some reason, disappeared swiftly toward the Main Residence with hurried steps.
It seemed she had made some sort of mistake in her excuse, but it was already too late to take it back.
Grace scratched her forehead and collapsed onto the Study's sofa.
'But why did he tell me not to tell Gabriel?'
Grace pondered for a moment, left alone in the empty Study.
'He said it wasn't the right timing.'
What timing was he waiting for?
Grace, after deliberating alone, finally opened her mouth.
"Your Grace, are you there?"
-Tell me.
"May I ask why you wouldn't let me tell Gabriel just now? And when you said not to tell Gabriel, does that also mean I shouldn't tell Haem?"
-Ah, I see. Yes, that's right. Don't tell Haem either.
"Then why, may I ask, is that the case?"
-That is.
Lucas Black paused mid-sentence.
In that brief silence, an odd tension seemed to hang in the air.
Grace Oellin, without thinking, straightened her back against the sofa where she had been leaning.
-The reason is simply.
Gulp.
Just as she swallowed hard, her throat dry with anxiety, Lucas spoke with a smile.
-To tease him later.
"...I'm sorry?"
'Did I mishear that?'
Grace Oellin barely restrained herself from bringing her hand to her ear and asked again.
"What did you just say...."
-To tease him. Later, who knows what amusing situation might arise?
Grace Oellin, who had sprung to her feet without realizing it, bit her lip firmly and screamed inwardly.
Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org