The Ugly Wife of the Shady Duke - Chapter 100
Sylvester handed the glass brought by the servant to Grace and pointed in another direction.
“People over there seem to be looking at you.”
“Hmm?”
Looking in the direction Sylvester was pointing, Grace recognized some familiar faces. They were people she had seen at the baby shower of Marquis Charles’s daughter-in-law.
“Oh, I know them. Is it okay if I go over?”
Grace asked, and Sylvester readily let her go, making Grace guess that Benjamin must have asked him not to leave her alone.
“Madam, you look so elegant today.”
“It’s nice to finally meet you again. Have you been well?”
As Grace approached them, everyone greeted her with a friendly voice.
The atmosphere in the hall began to stir as the duchess, always embroiled in scandal, joined a powerful faction in the social circle.
Grace quickly scanned the crowd.
There was someone who seemed particularly disturbed and moved away from their spot.
‘They’re probably not the ones who started the rumors about me.’
Though excited to gossip about the scandals involving the Duchess of Felton, this person was not likely the instigator. If they were to move somewhere now, it would probably be towards their faction to discuss this development.
‘The emperor hasn’t arrived yet, so they might be in a lounge or something similar.’
As Grace was watching in that direction, a lady standing next to her spoke.
“Oh, madam, are you thinking about visiting the Hall of Mirrors?”
“…?”
“Well, there’s still some time before the main event starts. Shall we go check it out together? It’s especially open today!”
Everyone laughed and seemed excited.
‘What is the Hall of Mirrors?’
Before Grace could even ask about it, someone else spoke up.
“I wonder how the portraits of His Excellency and the lady will be displayed.”
“…Ah.”
The place where the portraits of past imperial and ducal family were displayed—so that room was called the Hall of Mirrors. Grace realized this just now.
‘The novel mentioned such a room but never named it.’
“Madam, have you submitted your embroidery?”
“Ah, I’m not skilled enough to submit anything, so I decided not to participate.”
“You never know, you might have tried.”
“Ahaha…”
‘Winning could be a problem, and not winning could be a problem too.’
Believing it was better not to participate in the contest given her current situation where she was criticized no matter what, Grace simply laughed it off.
‘Still, I’m curious, so let’s go.’
Grace nodded to Sylvester and headed towards the Hall of Mirrors. He didn’t follow her, presumably thinking it was fine for Grace to be with her own people.
It would indeed seem odd if the Crown Prince accompanied her all the way to the Hall of Mirrors.
The Hall of Mirrors was magnificent and ornate, befitting its collection of portraits of past royals.
‘It’s empty?’
Grace had expected it to be crowded since it wasn’t always open, but only her group was there.
‘I thought I saw that person heading this direction too; strange.’
Grace looked around and then asked a lady standing next to her.
“Is there a lounge on the way here?”
“Yes, there are several rooms used before and during the banquet. For larger events, they are often reserved on a timetable.”
“Ah, I see.”
Grace nodded and continued to look closely at the portraits.
‘They are all so beautiful.’
“This must be the portrait of the Felton family.”
“Did you know the Felton family is the only noble family granted the privilege to hang their portraits alongside the Imperial family?”
“I believe it takes more than a year to complete a portrait.”
“Oh, I’d be exhausted if it took that long. Do you remember anything about it, Madam?”
“Ahaha, it’s been so long, it’s all a bit hazy now.”
Grace laughed off the story she was hearing for the first time.
“Oh, these are the former Duke and Duchess.”
“They are beautiful.”
“…”
It was then that Grace noticed the former Duke and Duchess, whom she had no memory of.
‘There’s no other way to describe them except as truly beautiful.’
A man with dark, almost impenetrably black hair and a woman with contrasting sun-like blonde hair.
Grace was certain that the portrait could not have perfectly captured their beauty.
“If it weren’t for what happened last year…”
“Hey…!”
Someone hushed the person murmuring in a sorrowful voice, right in front of Grace.
‘What happened last year?’
That would have been after Grace had taken the Felton surname instead of her maiden name, Linden.
As Grace looked at them, everyone tried to hide the awkward and poignant atmosphere they had just displayed, facing her instead.
However, Grace could briefly see the emotion they were trying to conceal. It was a pity.
‘They must have passed away in a tragic accident last year.’
Since Grace lacked any memory of her first year of marriage, there was no way for her to know what kind of family the former Duke and Duchess had been to her.
But as she looked at their portraits, her whole heart felt sore and pained—a similar yet distinct ache to the one she felt when she thought of Benjamin.
Feeling her mouth go dry from continuing to look, Grace turned her gaze away and moved towards where the next portraits were located.
‘Ah.’
That spot was reserved for the current Duke and Duchess of Felton, namely Benjamin and Grace themselves.
“Oh, how beautiful.”
While Grace could hardly bring herself to directly face the framed portrait containing her own image, a clear voice of admiration rang out.
The crowd accompanying her started to express their awe.
“…”
Grace looked at the woman in the portrait. It resembled her, but it couldn’t really be said to be Grace.
The woman in the portrait had no freckles and wasn’t plump. The only similarities were the curly carrot-colored hair and teal eyes.
‘Do we even look alike?’
Upon close inspection, there were similarities, but it took a hard look to recognize them—a critical flaw.
‘Benjamin’s eyes look a bit sad.’
It’s just a portrait, still, why could I read the emotions in it? Grace regretted entering this gallery.
⋆★⋆
The table displaying the embroidery entries was anonymous to ensure fairness.
‘Realistically, it’s impossible not to know.’
Soon, the Emperor would arrive to choose the winner, so Grace returned to the hall alone.
“It seems the saintess hasn’t arrived yet.”
“She’ll be here soon.”
“I wonder how beautiful she will be, I’m so excited.”
‘Aria would arrive just before choosing the winner.’
This was the same as in the original story. But what would happen next was uncertain because Grace had a plan in place.
‘I hope it reached Aria properly.’
While Grace was praying inwardly, the sound announcing the Emperor’s arrival echoed throughout. Everyone turned and bowed respectfully to him.
‘He looks frail.’
While Grace bowed, she stole glances at the Emperor, assessing him.
He seemed too gentle for an emperor. Standing before the throne, he addressed the gathering and announced that he would select the most exquisite embroidery before starting the main ceremony.
Under normal circumstances, it would have been the Empress leading this event, but tragically, this empire had no Empress.
Since there was neither an Empress Dowager nor a Princess to take over, the Emperor had to lead, according to the setting of the novel.
‘The crown prince was also part of the expedition, so he was supposed to be honored, hence why the emperor took charge.’
However, it was a case where good intentions did not lead to good results.
If only Aria had managed to do at least an average job with her embroidery, it wouldn’t have been so bad, but she ended up showcasing poor skills and still overshadowing others.
The ladies and young misses participating exchanged hopeful glances, wondering if their entries would be chosen when suddenly, the sound of hurried footsteps approached.
‘Here she comes!’
Before a servant could announce her arrival, Aria burst into the hall, panting. Up to this point, everything matched the original story.
“…Hmm?”
However, when Grace saw the dress Aria was wearing, she couldn’t help but be startled.
‘Why that dress?’
Grace had assumed that Aria would wear the dress she received from Sylvester after altering it, as she did in the original story.
But her dress was not only out of fashion, it was similar in style to the one Grace was wearing.
Soon, Grace realized why.
‘The necklace…!’
Around Aria’s neck shone the ‘Blessing of the Sun.’
‘She found the necklace earlier than in the original!’
Grace had informed the temple about the ‘Blessing of the Sun’ through Tom Birkin. It was a symbol of the saintess, extending to the temple itself.
Given the significant chatter about the existence of the necklace, it made sense that she would wear it to an event celebrating the complete purification of the Western contamination.
‘And someone must have decided that a more elegant dress would better emphasize tradition.’
In trying to avoid attention, Grace ended up wearing a design that exactly matched Aria’s in this hall.
She could already feel everyone comparing their dresses.
‘It wasn’t like this when I first entered; they weren’t scrutinizing the dresses so much.’
Grace felt suffocated by the piercing stares around her, while Aria seemed unaffected.
Appearing indifferent, Aria gave Grace a somewhat pleased look and then hurried over to the table where the embroidery was displayed.
