Chapter 73
Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
Dear, I believe you may be misunderstanding.
Episode 73
The distance from Holmes to the City District was over an hour by carriage alone.
Walking would take a full half day.
And now that Carol had a child, she could scarcely move at all.
She had become utterly dependent on Norman for survival.
And Norman exploited that mercilessly.
He would visit whenever it suited him, luring her with honeyed words, and the moment she let her guard down, he would embrace her with a cruelty that bordered on abuse.
"That... bastard."
Torres gritted his teeth, swallowing his rage.
The child, exhausted from crying, whimpered softly in his arms before drifting to sleep.
Torres cared for Carol in secret, away from Norman's eyes.
He brought her provisions, and whenever he could spare the time, he would take her to the physician in the City District.
Carol, who had once bloomed like a flower sprite when I first saw her, had withered like a dried rose.
Her eyes were perpetually red, and depression had stolen her smile.
When she smiled with that sorrowful expression, my chest ached unbearably.
"...Ahhh!"
A faint scream echoed from within the cottage.
Torres flinched, clenching his jaw as he fought the urge to rush inside.
'What would you accomplish by going in? Do you truly believe you could save her?'
The child, startled awake by her mother's cry, whimpered as Torres pulled her close and turned away.
The muffled sounds that followed squeezed his heart like a vice.
'If there is truly a God above... please watch over this wretched child and Carol.'
Praying for this hellish night to end, Torres paced the dark pre-dawn path endlessly.
* * *
"May God's blessing always be with you, Grace Oellin."
Selena offered a prayer for Grace Oellin as she departed for the Estate, her farewell brimming with reluctance.
Grace Oellin smiled faintly at the send-off, which carried the wistfulness of a long journey.
"Thank you, Godmother."
"It's such a shame to part again after not seeing you for days, Grace Oellin. Still, I plan to stay in the Capital for a while, so we'll see each other often. We'll certainly keep meeting because of the wedding preparations."
"Wait, Mother. You'll be staying here the whole time?"
Lucas Black suddenly interjected.
His eyes narrowed as if questioning how someone who rarely stayed in the Capital could say such a thing.
"Oh... I hadn't planned on it, but seeing your face suddenly makes me want to settle in here."
"Haha! You jest quite severely, Mother. Once the wedding is over, I'll ensure you're comfortably escorted back."
"Hohoho, your words just now have convinced me to stay here another half year, Lucas Black."
At Selena's remark, Lucas Black pondered for a moment, then struck his fist decisively.
"Then I shall procure a new Estate for you. Just forty minutes by carriage from here, there's quite a splendid mansion in white tones that would suit you perfectly."
"What's wrong with this place? I like it here."
"I suspect this Estate wouldn't share that sentiment."
"What an unfilial child you are. How dare you presume to know what this house thinks?"
"Surely the Estate's thoughts are one with its master's, are they not?"
Lucas Black replied with a shameless smile.
Selena placed her hands on her hips and grumbled in an indignant tone.
"Lucas Black, if you keep acting like that, it won't be amusing."
"Oh, that threat just now was rather frightening, Mother."
These two bickered whenever they crossed paths.
Grace Oellin found herself laughing despite herself.
She felt a pang of regret knowing she wouldn't witness this for some time.
Though they spoke of hastening the wedding, she still didn't know how long it would take.
"Goodness, I should excuse myself before being called an oblivious mother. Otherwise, his esteemed grace might cast out this aging woman."
"Surely not, Mother. How could I simply cast out the woman I love?"
Selena brought down her fan sharply upon Lucas Black's shoulder.
Grace Oellin caught Selena's arm as she glared at him with displeasure.
"Godmother."
"Yes?"
"There's something I'd like to ask of you... would you hear me out?"
A request from Grace Oellin?
Selena's eyes sparkled with intrigue—this was someone who seemed unlikely to ever make such a request.
Lucas Black beside her felt the same way.
"A request? What is it, Grace Oellin?"
At Grace Oellin's gesture, Julie, who had been waiting nearby, quickly handed her something.
Grace Oellin accepted it and extended it toward Selena.
"Would you mind keeping this for me for a while?"
"This is...."
The object Grace Oellin held out was the incense burner she had given to Selena.
It was something I had searched for desperately, but upon learning it had originally belonged to Grace Oellin, I gave it to her without hesitation—that very same piece.
"I..."
Grace Oellin took a short, deep breath.
She, who had been smiling shyly, whispered to Selena in a soft, gentle voice.
"When I return to this place.... Please give it to me then."
When I return.
It was a promise of return.
Not a departure, but a homecoming.
The meaning behind those words was abundantly clear.
A smile bloomed across Selena's face as well.
She held the incense burner Grace Oellin had given her in her palm and nodded as she spoke.
"Of course. I'll be waiting, so come back safely. Grace."
"Thank you, Madam. I'll...come back."
* * *
"If anything happens at all, tell Rüfel here. Grace."
Lucas Black, who was opening the carriage door, gestured toward the coachman following Grace Oellin as he spoke.
Rüfel was someone he had specially chosen. Trustworthy and skilled in many ways.
"He will accompany you to the Oellin House. I've already informed Julie."
"Thank you for your consideration."
Lucas Black smiled lightly as if it were nothing.
"Ah, and your father may behave somewhat strangely toward you. Don't mind it. If anyone should attempt to harm you, be sure to give Rüfel a hint about it."
At Lucas Black's earnest words of caution, Grace Oellin couldn't help but laugh.
"Don't laugh like that. Give me your word before you go. Grace."
"Understood. If anyone tries to harm me, I'll subtly mention it to Rüfel. Then you'll come rushing over, Your Grace?"
"Anytime."
Though I knew it was said in jest, I was grateful that Lucas Black would say such things.
The mere fact that there was now someone who would rush to my aid at a moment's notice stirred something profound within me.
"Then please inform me immediately if anything happens to you, Your Grace. I too will come running anytime."
"That's quite reassuring."
Lucas Black nodded with a delighted laugh.
Grace Oellin stepped lightly into the carriage he had opened for her. Suddenly, Lucas Black seized her wrist.
"Ah, Grace."
"...?"
He pulled her close and whispered near her ear.
"So once we're married, we can do all sorts of things, yes?"
"I...?"
"You said so last night. That we shouldn't do such things without being married. So...once we hold the wedding ceremony, we can do everything, correct?"
"What? What do you mean?"
Lucas chuckled mischievously as he watched Grace's flustered response.
"I'll show you as we go."
'What on earth does he mean by showing me as we... what?'
Lucas's lips brushed against Grace's cheeks, which had turned crimson as if about to burst, before pulling away.
"Oh, that's right, Grace. I forgot to mention yesterday—our marriage has been approved."
"Yes...? Approved? When...?"
"Yesterday. And our wedding is in one month. Let's see each other in the same bed in one month."
He waved his hand cheerfully and closed the carriage door.
"One month... wait, did you say one month?"
Grace, who had been momentarily dazed, suddenly jumped to her feet and struck her head against the ceiling.
"Ow!"
She quickly cradled her head and sat back down, then opened the carriage window and leaned out.
Lucas stood with his hands clasped behind his back, waving gracefully.
"This is absurd."
One month, one month...!
Unlike the dazed Grace, the carriage was rapidly speeding toward Oellin House.
* * *
"Welcome home, Grace! Tell me, are you well?"
Before Grace could even step down from the carriage, Capren Oellin burst from the Lobby to greet her.
"Let me see. Yes, you do look a bit thin. You've been through much, Grace."
Startled by Capren's attempt to embrace her, Grace quickly stepped back.
Reflexes she didn't know she possessed instinctively pulled her backward.
Though she was unaware, Rüfel's hand also twitched toward the dagger at his side, nearly drawing it by instinct.
Fortunately, because Grace had dodged appropriately, nothing happened.
Capren's hand awkwardly froze in midair, but Grace pretended not to notice and offered a greeting.
"I'm fine, Father. I'm back."
"Ah, hahahaha! Hahahaha! I see. Welcome back. Yes, ahem, come inside."
The Duke led Grace into the Reception Room.
He personally ordered tea brought and made constant efforts to converse with Grace.
Grace found the entire situation deeply strange and peculiar.
'Ah yes, and your father may behave somewhat oddly toward you. Please don't mind it.'
She recalled Lucas's words from when she left the Black Family Estate.
So this was the situation he had meant.
'But what on earth did he do to make Father act as though he'd give me his liver?'
Did he gift him a diamond mine or something?
Grace watched her father with a somewhat bewildered expression as he went on about how magnificent Grace would be as a Duchess.
But his lengthy speech showed no signs of ending, and she eventually had to excuse herself by claiming fatigue and head upstairs.
"Why is the Master acting like that?"
The moment we returned to the room, Julie whispered as though utterly bewildered.
"I understand, Julie."
Grace was equally taken aback.
Capren Oellin was not a man whose emotions shifted simply because his daughter was to be married.
And Grace herself had never desired such sentiment from him.
She harbored no illusions of winning her father's affection, nor was she naive enough to expect it.
'If only he would simply leave me be.'
One month.
In merely thirty days, I could escape the influence of my father and Norman.
So long as I bore the name 'Oellin', they would continue to manipulate me as they pleased.
But once I became 'Grace Black', they could no longer treat me as they once had.
"..."
Yet suddenly, something felt amiss.
I should have felt liberated at the prospect of leaving this mansion, yet the sensation was far from what I expected.
"Miss? Why do you look so troubled? Are you unwell? Did something upset your stomach again? Shall I fetch you some plum tea?"
"Hmm? No, it's nothing. Just... an odd thought crossed my mind."
"An odd thought? What sort of thought?"
Grace stared at Julie for a long moment before finally voicing the question that had lodged itself in her mind like a thorn.
"Is this truly the independence I've always wanted?"
Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org