# 18
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"Yes!"
"Thank you very much!"
As soon as they left, Flora got up and walked towards the mirror.
The pink hair and eyes, a rare color that only appears once every hundreds of years, were attractive even to her. When she closes her lower teeth to her upper teeth, her thin cheeks fill out a little. If she opened her eyes wide and looked up at those in front of her, their faces would turn red ten out of ten, and all they could find was a way out except an artificial cough.
Flora gently stroked her hair and murmured:
“Next to the Duke of Richmond must stand someone worthy of that reputation.”
Isn't that good for everyone?
Flora's face reflected in the mirror was full of confidence. She has never known defeat in such matters. Even the suitors of the noble girls who boasted of their love, she only needed to blink at them a few times and smile out of curiosity as to whether that love was real until they all became her followers. It was easy for her to change clothes. And honestly… it was fun.
Flora tilted her eyes lazily.
“That woman...should not become too attached to this palace. “I fear for her.”
Because, soon, she will be expelled without support.
On the day of her expulsion, she will say goodbye in tears. Like an angel.
＊ ＊ ＊
After Walter left, Grace slowly walked around the majestic luxurious room.
The wide, upholstered carpet was decidedly modern. Estostan rug is lavishly woven with gold threads; To furnish it with this space alone would have required thousands and thousands of gold. Not only that, there was fine porcelain in every corner, boxes inlaid with mother-of-pearl from the East, and gold watches...until the entire place seemed like an upscale store, not a bedroom.
“Even the Emperor's bedroom is no match for this.”
A salty sarcasm appeared on the elegant white face like a lily.
“There is no room like it except that of the Duchess of Tyler.”
I remembered Emma Tyler, who had taken everything her mother had used into storage, and then decorated the room as lavishly as she could.
“She must have been very happy, decorating and living in this room.”
“So she seemed that angry, apparently.”
Jessie murmured, recalling the face of Marquis Lenco's wife, and Grace laughed lightly. How funny the description “anger” sounded. To covet what you don't even have, then get angry because you lost it!
“I'd like to go and tell her.”
"What?"
“This is just the beginning.”
Yes. It's the beginning.
She will not stop until she regains what was stolen from her one by one, and until things return to their places.
Grace straightened her shoulders, then brushed away a strand of hair that had fallen onto her forehead. At the same moment, she put back on the elegant mask she had slightly removed, the mask with which she had completely deceived the Duke and Duchess of Taylor. As soon as she wore it, Grace seemed like a meek and naive noblewoman, like a hothouse flower that knew nothing but gentleness.
“Jesse, let's go to the Grand Duchess.”
＊ ＊ ＊
The annex where Grand Duchess Eliza resided was located behind the main palace. Between them is a vast garden, whose trees, dyed in autumn colors, boast a diverse beauty.
Grace walked quietly down the path between the trees and asked:
“Is someone following us?”
“...I don't know if it's called tracking, miss... I mean, ma'am.”
Jessie glanced behind her with a contemptuous smile.
“Either they follow clearly, or they hide carefully.”
“So they're not professionals?”
“If this were professional, they would quit the profession.”
Grace smiled.
“They don't seem to see the need to send a professional behind me.”
A woman brought suddenly by Walter after a ten-year break from aristocratic society.
From the lowest servant to the Marquis Lenco's husbands, they will agree that her status is no more than a fallen noblewoman or a commoner who assumes the role of noblewomen.
Don't they say that the meeting of three people based on one statement creates a country from nothing? Soon, no matter how well Grace mastered the etiquette, they would say: “A commoner tried to seduce the Duke.”
Therefore, even if the Grand Duchess visited frequently, they would not bother themves. They will consider her a woman who will soon be expelled, with an old woman forgotten in the back wing. And that was exactly what Grace needed right now: this little bit of ignoring.
“Old Back Wing...”
Grace stopped upon entering the annex garden.
The grass was cut short and smelled strongly of green, but if you looked cloy at the walls of the building, the lack of care was evident.
“It looks like they cleaned the place in a hurry.”
"Yes. "That's not how he usually is."
Grace squeezed Jesse's hand.
At that moment, the door opened and a middle-aged woman came out, as if she had sensed their arrival.
Dark gray hair, same-colored eyes, and taller than average for women. The queen's maid who stayed the longest at the side of the "Queen of Richmond," whom everyone once terrified of.
There was not an ounce of warmth in her look at Grace. However, Grace said in a friendly tone:
“Nice to meet you, Mrs. Isaacs. “I have come to meet the Grand Duchess.”
Mrs. Isaacs looked at her with an unreadable face, then turned away.
"Help yourf."
Inside the annex, if you describe it well, it is like a monastery, and if you describe it poorly, it is like a grave.
Mrs. Isaac led them to a small salon. There seemed to be not a single maid on duty; She offered herf a cup of warm tea, asked to wait, and then disappeared.
When Grace finished her tea, she returned alone.
“The Grand Duchess refuses to meet. Go back where you came from.”
“You must have said to her: The woman whom the Duke has brought wishes to meet you.”
Grace put down her cup quietly, without a sound, and stared at Mrs. Isaacs.
“Go and return the report.”
Mrs. Isaacs' eyebrows rose involuntarily at the commanding tone. But what was said next froze her in place.
“Tell her: Grace from the Duke of Taylor’s house wants to meet.”
＊ ＊ ＊
The name that froze Mrs. Isaacs also woke up Grand Duchess Eliza, who had been asleep all day.
"…What did you say?"
“The woman whom the Duke brought introduces herf as Grace of the Duke of Taylor’s house.”
Eliza blinked as she lay down, and did not speak until after a while.
“Taylor?”
“Yes, ma'am.”
Very slowly, Eliza lifted her heavy body as heavy as the heaviest thing in the world. This simple move was enough to make Mrs. Ishaq's heart skip a beat; For Eliza had done nothing but lie down all day.
“…Her name is Grace?”
"Yes."
Eliza thought for a moment, then asked:
“Was she...blonde?”
“Yes, blonde with light green eyes.”
“Then it is of the late Duke’s blood.”
“…Would you like to meet her?”
Mrs. Isaacs hoped that Eliza would meet Grace. Any spark of interest from anyone would have been enough.
After a long silence, Eliza asked in a hoarse voice:
“You said it was the Duke who brought it?”
"Yes. Would you like to meet her?
But Eliza returned and lay down on the bed. Her body was too heavy to bear.
“Tell her...to come back.”
"…my lady."
“Arwen.”
"Yes."
“What you have done is enough. Your children are back. “Leave my service and return to your family.”
Mrs. Isaac's eyes reddened. She stubbornly swallowed her tears, pretended not to hear anything, then made the Duchess's bed and said in a bright voice:
“Relax. “I will inform her.”
I went straight to the nearby salon.
Grace got up and walked around slowly.
“I apologize, the Grand Duchess does not wish to meet. Come back.”
Despite the second rejection, Grace did not show any disturbance. She did not even leave, but deliberately continued to look around her and then said:
“Why does the Grand Duchess' residence look like this?”
«……»
I noticed a slight crack in Mrs. Isaacs' face. Grace continued in a soft tone that pressed further:
“Why are you the only maid? Where are the rest of the servants? The grass was just mowed today, and it smells great. How was it usually?
Veins appeared in Mrs. Ishaq's neck. Grace took another step closer, and before Isaac could retreat, a whisper preceded her:
“How could you stand by and watch when your friend was treated like this?”
“That's because...!”
Mrs. Ishaq's face was distorted. Grace looked at that frozen face and said in a soothing tone:
«I know. “I know how someone who has taken over the master’s place behaves.”
«……»
“I, too... endured thirteen years in Taylor as a living corpse. But I was always preparing, in secret. And the Duke too, isn't he?'
«……»
“Look at me. Do I look to you like a woman who came because love blinded her vision?
The light in her green eyes sparkled like the flash of a sword. While Mrs. Isaac was speechless in front of this overwhelming majesty, Grace whispered like a devil:
“Mrs. Isaacs... it is time to return Richmond to its rightful owner.”