The Ugly Wife of the Shady Duke - Chapter 103
As she stepped outside, the night breeze felt cool and soothing on her face, which was flushed a moment ago.
Grace suddenly remembered the request she had made to Benjamin and asked,
“By the way, Your Excellency, I asked you for two items, but you only brought one jewelry box. Did you only remember to bring one item?”
Grace had asked for a jeweled cup with a large gem and a necklace adorned with many small jewels.
“Ah, that’s another thing I must apologize to you for,” Benjamin said, rolling his eyes as if just remembering and then giving an awkward smile. Seeing his expression, Grace started to worry, thinking, ‘Did he lose it?’
“N-no way….”
“Yes, I went to the temple first.”
However, Benjamin’s response was completely different from what Grace had expected.
“What?!”
“Yes? Wasn’t that what you expected?”
“N-No, it wasn’t.”
“Hmm, then let me correct myself. You may not have expected it, but I visited the temple first.”
Benjamin, who unnecessarily corrected himself on something unimportant, continued speaking while looking at Grace with a loving expression on her somewhat dumbfounded face.
“They said they would set a date for our visit to the temple, but I thought about it and realized that the temple is always open to believers, right? So I went as a devout follower. It’s well known throughout the empire that I’m a faithful believer, isn’t it?”
“Y-yes, that’s true.”
Although Benjamin becomes a villain in the latter part of the novel and blows up the temple in the capital, he was a devout believer until then.
“So, I just went.”
“What about meeting the High Priest?”
“I know it’s not good to rely on power, but at times like this, being Duke Felton is really advantageous.”
“…”
Saying that with such a clear and innocent face, it couldn’t have been more mismatched. It felt like the audio and video were separately recorded and then spliced together.
“Everyone knows that the temple doesn’t get involved in politics, but to operate, they have to either run businesses in the temple’s name or rely on donations, right?”
“Y-yes, that’s true.”
“None of the temple’s businesses officially recorded in the empire make a decent profit. Of course, they get tax exemption due to their religious nature, but it still takes a lot of money to maintain a building as grand as the one in the capital.”
“…”
“That’s how it is.”
‘S-So petty.’
Isn’t he basically admitting he used money to solve it?
‘But honestly, I do feel a bit satisfied…’
Thinking about how they tried to frame her, a part of her felt they deserved such treatment… However, she quickly corrected himself, thinking, ‘No, that still isn’t right.’
“Can I ask how you got them to come out?”
“I put a bundle of 1 million zen and the family seal in the donation box.”
“…”
“And then I sent a knight to say the seal was accidentally included and asked them to take it out. That’s how they came out.”
How much is a million zen anyway? Grace tried to clear her mind, which was starting to feel dizzy again.
“So, while I was meeting with them, I handed over the necklace, saying I had something to give them. You probably wanted to present it to the temple in front of His Majesty, didn’t you?”
“…Yes, you know me well.”
In times like these, when it was unclear whose authority was higher, there was no need for the Felton family to side with anyone.
Therefore, Grace chose to give different gifts that couldn’t be compared directly, leaving room for interpretation while simultaneously presenting gifts to both sides.
The reason for offering the necklace to the temple was due to the “Blessing of the Sun.” No matter how precious and beautiful the necklace Grace offered was, it couldn’t surpass the symbolic significance of the “Blessing of the Sun.”
“But thanks to that, we had many good conversations about what happened with My Lady.”
“That’s why you went there?”
“Right now, I have no other reason to go there, do I?”
Benjamin shrugged his shoulders and led Grace toward the garden, where flowers were in full bloom.
“The temple knights and priests who were rude to you are all being transferred to the southernmost temple. It’s practically a demotion. Also, the High Priest said he would like to see My Lady at the temple if you’re okay with it…”
“…”
“I told him to come by themselves if he wanted to see you.”
“Pardon?”
“The one who desires must make the move. How dare he order My Lady to come and go as he please?”
Benjamin laughed heartily, speaking clearly. He seemed relieved somehow.
“He said he understood. Of course, he would. It’s not like a priest from the temple has never visited the mansion before. It’s not impossible for him to come, is it?”
“…?”
Grace looked at Benjamin in bewilderment at his words. Something was stirring in her foggy mind, something that felt like it was about to surface but couldn’t quite make it.
“…Ugh, ugh.”
Her head throbbed, the ground seemed to sway, and her vision blurred as if tears were welling up. It felt as though memories that had been forcibly suppressed were starting to emerge.
“My lady?”
Despite her hazy vision, Grace felt she knew exactly where she was. She seemed to be lying in her bedroom in the annex and the black mist was trying to swallow her whole. There was a figure in white sitting nearby, whom the black mist sporadically reached for but could not touch.
She also seemed to hear a murmuring sound, and the black mist around her grew stronger…
‘Why?’
Yet Grace’s face grew increasingly calm and serene.
It was incomprehensible.
“My lady, are you alright?”
Benjamin was supporting her, as she recalled the memories she couldn’t remember and couldn’t comprehend. She was sweating slightly, and although she wanted to say she was fine, her lips trembled and no words came out.
“I… I…”
At that moment, a scream came from afar.
It was a familiar voice… yet filled with sorrow and despair that didn’t match the person it belonged to.
“It sounds like the Saintess…”
“My lady.”
“Let’s go, let’s go over there and look.”
“My lady!”
In an instant, a torrent of thoughts burst through Grace’s mind. She couldn’t stop the unfolding events once again. No matter what she did, she couldn’t seem to change the major flow of events. But Why?
‘Does this mean… I am ultimately going to die?’
I don’t want to die.
Despairing thoughts overwhelmed Grace. She had just started to learn more about Benjamin, and she was just beginning to like this body more and more.
Despite that, am I still going to die?
The thought of being dragged towards an inevitable future, no matter how much she struggled, was terrifying.
This realization was even more horrifying than the strange memories that had just surfaced.
<Die.>
<Just die.>
<That’s what’s best for everyone.>
<Only if you die can everyone be happy.>
You’re just a burden, a troublemaker, a useless thing that only annoys everyone around you!
The voices that she hadn’t been hearing lately echoed in her mind.
There isn’t even a trace of the black mist anywhere, so where is this voice coming from? The sheer terror of that thought felt overwhelming to Grace.
“…My lady!! Calm down!”
It was Benjamin’s agitated voice that disrupted the noise in Grace’s head.
“Y-Your Excellency?”
“In my opinion, you are not alright!”
“B-But the Saintess… the Saintess is the Empire’s…”
“Yes, the Saintess is the Empire’s only treasure. I understand the importance. But what about you?”
Benjamin grabbed Grace by the shoulders, lowering himself to meet her eyes, and speaking softly. His face was filled with profound sadness, ensuring he didn’t appear threatening at all.
“You are my only family…”
“…”
“I have a duty to protect you.”
A duty. Was that all? Benjamin didn’t mention anything beyond that.
Meeting his gaze, Grace finally calmed down and began to steady her breathing.
“Th-There are no…. knights over there. she won’t be able to ask for help. If something happened…”
At Grace’s words, Benjamin stood up and looked around. The garden was eerily quiet.
“…It seems there’s no one around here either.”
Benjamin and Grace had walked deeper into the garden than they realized. Given Grace’s condition, it didn’t seem right for either of them to check the situation inside alone.
“Let’s go together and see what’s happening.”
After that single scream, there were no further calls for help. Benjamin hesitated for a moment, then picked Grace up and hurried in the direction of the scream.
“I-I can walk…”
“You’re not heavy. Don’t worry.”
“…”
Grace said nothing and clung tightly to Benjamin’s neck. Having him close, she felt herself calming down more quickly.
“Hnh, heuk… Hng, Wh-what should…”
As they drew closer, the sound of sobbing became audible, and Benjamin’s pace slowed.
“…This”
Then his voice turned uneasy.
When Grace tried to look up, Benjamin gently pressed her head down, preventing her from seeing.
“I-I’m fine.”
“…”
After a moment of silence, Benjamin set Grace down and walked toward where Aria was.
