The Ugly Wife of the Shady Duke - Chapter 108
“W-What are you talking about?! I-I… We did order Blue Mellow tea, but nothing with lemon in it…!”
“…….”
Grace gazed at her with true pity in her eyes.
“Beverages with lemon are displayed over there. And I never mentioned that adding something to Blue Mellow tea would turn it red, yet you seem to know all about it.”
Young Lady from the Viscount Anglaise’s family realized her mistake and turned even paler. At that, people began to whisper among themselves. Only then did Aria slip away from the crowd and walk up to Grace.
“Duchess, are you all right?!”
“…I’m so stunned I don’t even know what to say.”
“I’m so glad everyone knows you’re innocent. I was afraid it might blow up because of me.”
Aria, whether she truly felt guilty or not, began to shed tears the size of raindrops. Grace looked at her for a moment and then pulled her into a comforting hug.
“I hear His Highness the Crown Prince is doing fine. You should go see him later.”
“…Yes.”
‘And what am I supposed to do about this?’
Grace peered down at Young Lady Anglaise, who was on the floor looking ghostly pale.
‘There’s no way she pulled off something like this alone.’
After checking the list of people who used the lounges, Grace finally turned to Benjamin behind her. That was when he strode right over.
“Is something the matter?”
“I’m not very good at making big decisions. Could I ask for your help? The Saintess is involved, so I can’t handle this on my own.”
“Hmm.”
Benjamin took the list and gave a broad smile.
“Of course. I’ll take care of it quickly and cleanly.”
His smile really was like that of an angel.
⋆★⋆
“My Lady, My Lady.”
“Mmm….”
“My Lady, we’ve arrived.”
“Just five… maybe ten more minutes….”
“…….”
“Gasp.”
When Grace opened her eyes, she was greeted by a face she was getting quite used to.
“Huh? When did I fall asleep?”
“The moment we got in the carriage.”
After a whirlwind of events, Grace was fed up and decided to leave as soon as possible. Benjamin didn’t mind and simply accompanied her.
“How long has it been since we arrived?”
“Not long. You woke up right as we pulled up.”
But a glance outside told Grace they had probably been waiting for quite a while.
“Really?”
“Yes, absolutely.”
Yet Benjamin only maintained a straight face, giving her an innocent smile.
In truth, Grace had slept for a solid thirty minutes after they arrived, but knowing she would apologize profusely if she found out, Benjamin chose a little white lie instead.
Once he saw Grace was fully awake, Benjamin hopped down from the carriage and offered his hand. Grace, now quite accustomed to his escort, took it as she stepped out.
“We haven’t done much, but it’s already the middle of the night.”
“Haha, though it feels like we actually did quite a bit.”
“…….”
“…I suppose it’s not really something to laugh about.”
“Oh no, Your Excellency—go ahead and laugh if you want.”
Grace let out a weary smile. After all, she figured it was still nice if at least one person was able to laugh.
“When did Priest Boris say he’d be arriving?”
“We can fix the schedule ourselves. Is there a particular day you have in mind?”
“The sooner the better. After that, I need to visit His Highness and the Mage Association as well.”
If Grace’s hunch was right about the hazy memory from the garden, that person in white was likely a priest.
‘I need to check something.’
And to do that, she couldn’t disturb even the tiniest bit of the black mist in the annex for a while. With a composed face, Grace looked toward the annex.
“…….”
‘I think I finally understand how to use my powers now.’
She’d figured out how to control them alongside Aria, but just thinking about having to hold off for so long made her feel like she was going to lose her mind.
Benjamin interpreted her expression to mean, ‘She wants to hurry back to the annex and rest.’ Not wanting to let her go, he unconsciously tightened his grip on her hand.
“Ugh.”
“Ack…! Oh, are you hurt?”
The moment Grace reacted to the pressure, he fumbled to loosen his hold, looking terribly sorry as he mumbled,
“…It’s just, I feel bad I couldn’t dance with you.”
“…….”
Never imagining Benjamin would say something like that, Grace blinked at him in surprise.
“You wanted to dance with me?”
So that displeased look he’d had when she mentioned not dancing was because he’d wanted to be her partner? Grace’s mind went blank for a second.
“Your Excellency, did you really want to dance with me?”
“…Yes, so please stop asking.”
He seemed embarrassed at having to answer the same question twice, and his expression crumpled slightly.
“I was looking forward to it, but it felt like people kept getting in the way.”
‘Oh, I know exactly how that feels.’
Realizing they’d both felt the same way, Grace found it oddly endearing and let out a soft laugh.
“Why are you laughing?”
“Because I was thinking something similar. Hearing the same thought from you is kind of amusing.”
“Fine. At least you go ahead and laugh.”
Benjamin repeated Grace’s words right back at her. In response, Grace’s eyes went wide.
He glanced at her with a feigned pout, then burst into a little chuckle again.
“I was going to ask Your Excellency something, but now you’re being so cheeky that I don’t feel like it anymore.”
“What were you going to ask?”
“I was going to ask if you had a phonograph.”
Benjamin instantly realized her intention. His eyes went round, and he immediately wiped the grin off his face as he started getting flustered.
“We do, of course. We also have all sorts of music.”
In truth, Benjamin hadn’t even done anything worthy of teasing, so Grace had no reason to sulk. She narrowed her eyes at him for a moment before letting out a faint laugh and nodding.
“Great.”
“…!”
Seeing how his face lit up, Grace could almost imagine little ears and a tail wagging behind him.
⋆★⋆
As expected, the phonograph in the duke’s mansion was no ordinary device; it had been equipped with magic technology, enabling them to enjoy a variety of music in excellent sound quality.
“Come to think of it, back when I was just the Viscount’s daughter, we had a phonograph there, too.”
“…Is that so?”
They naturally held hands and swayed to the music as they chatted.
“It wasn’t nearly as nice as this one, but it was old, well-kept, and valuable enough that if we’d sold it, we could’ve easily gotten at least a million zen.”
“Even so, I bet you liked it enough to keep anyone from selling it.”
“Yes, so it probably wasn’t sold off until right before I came to the duke’s estate.”
She hadn’t seen it during her last visit, though, so it must have been sold at some point. Grace knew it couldn’t be helped, but she still felt a twinge of sadness.
‘I guess that must have settled the last bit of their debt.’
“It didn’t have sound this clear, but it had a certain depth to it. I think you would’ve liked it quite a bit, Your Excellency.”
“Yes, I’m sure I would have.”
Grace couldn’t help laughing at how readily Benjamin agreed, even though he’d never heard it.
“Oh, right, there’s something I wanted to ask you.”
“Anything at all. Just say the word.”
Now that Grace was back in the main building, she noticed there wasn’t a trace of that black mist inside. Looking at the pristine corridors, she spoke up.
“Could I stay here in the main residence until Priest Boris arrives?”
“You could stay here forever if you’d like.”
“…Pardon?”
“Ahem.”
It wasn’t exactly strange for them to live together—after all, they were husband and wife—but Benjamin flushed slightly, as if embarrassed by his own words, and tried to justify himself.
“I just mean, you know, since the main mansion is better equipped to handle emergencies right away…”
“Well, yes, that’s true.”
“And, uh, the view of the garden is much nicer from here.”
He kept listing off trivial reasons to convince her, and it was oddly charming.
‘I feel like my forgotten memories resurface whenever I get rid of some of that black mist.’
She could have just sealed off the annex completely and stayed here in the main residence, but then she’d lose the chance to eliminate the black mist at its source.
“Would it be alright if I stayed in the main building until Priest Boris arrives, and then spent a little time in the annex afterward? Since I’ve stayed there for quite a while, I have some things to sort out.”
“…! Yes, that’s perfectly fine! I can wait.”
Benjamin beamed, perfectly content with that idea, and guided Grace inside.
“My Lady’s room is always kept ready for you.”
‘I didn’t even realize I had a room in the main mansion.’
Grace nodded quietly, letting Benjamin lead the way.
“I’ll let the annex’s steward know, so don’t worry. I’ll make sure you have no trouble at all.”
“Thank you.”
“There’s no need to thank me; it’s only natural.”
The room Benjamin showed her didn’t exist in any of Grace’s memories, yet it felt oddly familiar.
‘I guess I’ll see it again in one of my returning memories.’
Warm and comfortably furnished, it smelled of neither dust nor neglect—evidently cleaned on a daily basis.
‘Even though I’ve never even set foot in here before…’
After taking in her surroundings for a while, Grace changed into the nightgown brought by the maids and flopped on the bed. Sleep gently overtook her almost immediately.
The sensation was entirely different from sleeping in the annex—it was as if she were basking in the sunlight.
‘Oh, right, I brought those papers… I need to check them…’
…I’ll do it tomorrow when I wake up. Weighed down by drowsiness, she drifted into a deep sleep.
