The Ugly Wife of the Shady Duke - Chapter 45.1
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Grace pulled back the curtains of the carriage and watched beyond. She saw Benjamin heading towards Aria on his own.
As people dispersed, Aria and Benjamin met each other.
‘…They really suit each other.’
Maybe because both of them looked gentle, standing side by side, and even from a distance, it was evident. Benjamin and Aria made a truly compatible pair.
Grace closed the curtains again and leaned back against the backrest of the seat.
‘This is strange.’
Usually, at this point, strange thoughts would enter her mind, but now she heard nothing.
Her heart felt uneasy, but it wasn’t as severe as before. She didn’t feel suffocated, nor did she have the desire to run away somewhere.
Finding it truly strange, Grace closed her eyes for a moment.
“Madam, please wake up.”
A soft whisper reached her ears. At first, she only heard the voice, but she could feel a cautious touch from somewhere.
That touch gently and delicately tidied up Grace’s disheveled hair.
* * *
“My Lady, wake up.”
A voice whispered softly, at first she heard only a voice, but then felt a careful touch somewhere.
The touch gently and delicately arranged Grace’s disheveled hair.
“My Lady”
She didn’t know when she fell asleep, but her eyelids felt heavy. Her mind was awake, but her eyes simply wouldn’t open.
‘Is it because of my restless sleep last night?’
She couldn’t remember the contents of her dream, but waking up had been difficult. Grace guessed that her body felt heavy today because of the troubled sleep last night.
“It took too long…”
Benjamin murmured. His soft voice reached her from nearby.
Grace managed to lift her heavy eyelids. When she slowly opened her eyes, she saw his face right in front of her.
“Oh.”
Benjamin quickly leaned back, terribly embarrassed as if he hadn’t expected Grace to wake up like this.
“…?”
“That, um… It’s nothing. It’s just… dust! It was sticking to you, that’s why. I was trying to remove it, yes.”
Grace didn’t say a word, but he came up with all sorts of excuses.
That sight was truly amusing. Although they were a married couple, Benjamin started a never-ending list of excuses as if he wouldn’t make any contact without various reasons.
“I didn’t feel bad.”
“Are you sure?”
Benjamin visibly relaxed upon hearing that she didn’t feel bad. Grace couldn’t understand why he was so vigilant about her reactions.
‘But I don’t particularly feel the need to ask.’
If she were to ask, he seemed like he would provide any reason. In fact, Benjamin tended to respect Grace’s opinions.
‘Maybe he doesn’t provide the answers I want because there’s no way to verify whether his reasons are true or not? He even lied about the medicine.’
Now Sally would keep an eye on whether she took the medicine or not. Grace would hide the pill inside her mouth and spit it out when Sally was away.
If it were just a nutritional supplement, there would be no need for such surveillance.
‘At first, I thought my depression worsened because I didn’t take the medicine, but it doesn’t seem to be the case.’
Ultimately, there were too many things that remained hidden. Although conversations could resolve many things, Benjamin didn’t seem inclined to provide the answers Grace desired.
‘As expected, I need Tom Birkin needs to come out quickly. Then I can entrust him with the investigation about the medicine.’
To dispel the rising suspicions that couldn’t be suppressed by Benjamin’s kindness and to gain certainty, it was necessary to uncover the truth.
With a complex sentiment, Grace looked at Benjamin, whose face had turned slightly red in front of her.
“…Did you finish your work properly?”
“Ah, yes! That’s why I tried to wake you up. I wanted to share the good news with you as soon as possible.”
‘Was the method I suggested really possible?’
Benjamin beamed and immediately opened his mouth as if he had read Grace’s curiosity.
“It was actually possible to track the contamination. Although it would take a bit longer, it’s possible to create a form that extracted and channeled the essence of the Saintess’s power as if it were tracing the contaminants.”
Of course, there were people who were astonished when this proposal was made, questioning how the Saintess’s power could be used for simply tracking contaminants.
However, this proposal was the most rational one. The Saintess’s power was fundamentally different from that of other priests. If she set her mind to it, she could use it like an everlasting spring, and with enough skill, she would never tire.
Saving such power merely because of Saintess’s position was unreasonable.
“When I asked if the Saintess’s power was given to protect all people equally, everyone understood and agreed.”
“But are they just letting it go with such an explanation…?”
“It seems that the temple is more inclined to uphold their own words and teachings. Thanks to that, the investigation will be completed much faster. It’s thanks to you, My Lady. The Saintess also expressed curiosity about you.”
Benjamin didn’t miss an opportunity to mention that it was thanks to Grace. Hearing those compliments repeatedly made Grace’s stomach flutter.
‘But I don’t feel bad about it.’
It was a different feeling from her usual pain. If she had to describe it, it was a sensation close to being ticklish.
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