The Ugly Wife of the Shady Duke - Chapter 36.2
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Grace agonized over who to ask but worked hard to keep up with the children’s playing house.
As Grace’s hands and cloak became covered in dirt, Benjamin, who had finished his investigation, returned to her side.
“My Lady, I’m here.”
“You came quickly.”
“Yes, there haven’t been any major thefts. I will contact the security forces to strengthen patrols in the area for now.”
As Benjamin arrived, Grace stood up. Seeing the dirt and dust on Grace’s cloak, Benjamin instinctively brushed off the dirt.
When Benjamin came and stood next to Grace, the children quickly shifted their attention from Grace to Benjamin.
Seemingly unaware that it was him they had interacted with before due to his magical disguise.
The children who had previously clung to Grace, asking her to play with them, now flocked to Benjamin.
“Uncle! What’s your relationship with Mrs. Linden? Are you two dating?”
“D-dating…”
Benjamin’s forehead began to bead with sweat as he nervously shook his head.
“No, we’re… we’re married.”
“Wow! Then do you have children too? If you’re married, you must have kids, right?”
“…We don’t have children.”
“Oh.”
The children chuckled, saying that it was possible since they don’t have a father. Grace forced a smile, witnessing the children’s innocence.
In an instant, the children clung to Benjamin, pleading to be lifted or hung on a tree branch. They mentioned how the previous Uncle who had come didn’t allow them to be lifted onto the tree, citing the danger involved.
Benjamin, who was the same person as the Uncle the children referred to, looked at Grace with a perplexed expression. However, Grace couldn’t resist the pleading faces of the excited children.
“Just a little while longer.”
Grace asked Benjamin for a favor, requesting him to handle the children for a bit. Eventually, Benjamin turned his head and led the children toward the tallest tree in the orphanage, granting their wishes.
“…Auntie.”
At that moment, one of the children tugged on Grace’s cloak. It was the same child who had complimented Grace’s freckles during the festival.
“Huh? Aren’t you going to play?”
The child looked around before firmly grabbing onto Grace’s cloak and pulling her towards the inside of the orphanage. Grace was led to a corner of the children’s bedroom.
Sitting down in a cramped space next to the bed, the child whispered to Grace.
“You know, this is something you can’t tell anyone. The other kids told me not to talk about it to the adults in the orphanage. Got it?”
As Grace listened to the child’s earnest plea, she asked a question.
“But is it okay for you to tell me?”
“…You’re not one of the adults in the orphanage. You won’t tell anyone that I told you, right?”
“No, I won’t.”
“If I tell you, will you think it’s just a lie?”
“Um, no?”
“Um, so I’ll tell you. Even though Auntie, you couldn’t find my mom, you’re a good person who brought my friends’ moms to us…”
The child fidgeted with her intertwined fingers as she spoke to Grace.
“A strange man came and asked about you, Auntie.”
“…Huh?”
Grace blinked, unable to hide her surprise at the child’s words.
‘About me?’
“So, we all pretended not to know anything. He would come from time to time, but we acted like we didn’t know about you, Auntie. But that man started asking other older kids about it. He said that if they told the adults in the orphanage about him, we would all be scattered and separated.”
‘There’s someone who knows who I am and is following me.’
Grace was aware that there was a reporter trying to dig into her background.
That’s precisely why Benjamin had given her a magical item that prevented others from recognizing her physical features.
“Ah…”
Grace realized the situation up to this point.
‘So, they found out.’
There was a way they could still identify Grace, even if they couldn’t recognize her physical features.
Grace first made eye contact with the child and expressed her gratitude.
“Thank you for telling me.”
“…Did I do a good job by speaking up?”
“You did. If you hadn’t said anything, it could have been a really big problem.”
Grace extended her pinky finger toward the child.
“I promise. I will never let anyone know that you spoke up. Since you showed courage, I will protect you too.”
“…Okay.”
Grace straightened her hunched body, causing a sharp pain to shoot through her.
‘Ah, it hurts.’
Her whole body was aching with muscle soreness, compounded by the recent sharp nerve pain. It felt like she was on the verge of collapsing.
‘Could the person still be lurking nearby?’
As Grace massaged her abdomen, she pondered how to apprehend the “culprit.”
For now, she went back outside and made her way to where Benjamin was supposed to be.
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