# 28
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"…my lord?"
For the first time, the calm expression of that young lady, who looked like a porcelain doll, was stoic and unmoving under any circumstances.
Is he fully conscious?
No doubt she was thinking that. When Walter saw this, he could not hold back his laughter, which exploded against his will.
“Khh.”
Grace's eyes widened little by little. Even Jessie, who was walking a step behind them, opened her eyes in surprise and tilted her head.
The man's golden shadow shook under the early morning rays, and his low laugh hit Grace's eardrums, as if scratching a place in her heart. But that only lasted a moment. Walter wiped his face with his hand and collected his laughter, then faced Grace who was looking down at him and said:
“She might get a little angry... but at least she'll get up.”
"…Are you well?"
Grace's question was met by Jesse with an enthusiastic nod.
Isn't it like he ate something very spoiled?
Her green eyes, the color of green grapes, asked. Then Walter let out another low laugh. It was a laugh like a section of cold blue ice, and yet one did not feel its coldness. When Grace was unable to speak for a moment, Walter wiped away his smile, looked up at the sky that had completely brightened, and then said slowly:
“I'm like this already.”
Yes. I'm like this already.
“Come in.” Go and do what I said. The Imperial Deccans are stubborn...and quick to anger.”
Then he turned around without waiting for her answer.
Grace kept staring at his back absently. After taking two or three steps, Walter suddenly turned around and asked her:
“By the way.”
"…Yes?"
“Do you know my name?”
The question was barely spoken, more like moving lips than speaking.
Grace found the question ridiculous, so she gave a barely perceptible nod. Then Walter smiled faintly, then walked away as if nothing had happened.
The man's back, with his back turned to the sun, looked like lines drawn with a sharp pen; Rough, yet with a strange precision.
It was both familiar and strange, because Grace imagined it every day. Every moment she wanted to sit exhausted, every moment she was about to collapse, she chanted his name like a mantra.
That name, which bore the name of the god of war in mythology, must have been like this. Whoever escaped the Wall of Death must be worthy of his name. When she finally saw him, she recognized him at first sight. So how could his question of her if she knew his name be anything but foolish?
Grace let out a long exhale and turned around. At that moment, Mrs. Isaacs opened the annex door and appeared.
“Go and do what I said. The Imperial Deccans are stubborn...and quick to anger.”
As she entered with Mrs. Isaacs, Grace asked cautiously:
“If I wait in the reception room... will the Grand Duchess agree to meet me?”
Mrs. Isaacs' eyebrows twitched slightly. She was silent as if thinking, then said cautiously:
“...It's hard for me to say, but right now...”
The Grand Duchess was a woman who had forgotten cold and hunger. Even after the Marchioness of Lenco reduced the number of servants and her residence turned into the ruins of a fallen state, the Duchess seemed to feel nothing or perhaps no longer cared.
They had reached the reception room door. Mrs. Isaacs opened the door, but Grace stopped deep in thought. When Mrs. Isaacs was about to call her, Grace issued an unexpected command:
“Lead me to where the Grand Duchess resides.”
“She's in the bedroom.”
"I know."
Grace pressed Mrs. Isaacs, who hesitated.
“Didn't you say you'd do anything?”
Her green eyes did not shake. She was saying without words that, in the end, this was in the interest of the Grand Duchess. After a short hesitation, Mrs. Isaacs turned around, determined.
“Go ahead and follow me.”
＊ ＊ ＊
Joseph wasn't the only one who noticed Walter's change; Rather, he was the first to feel it.
His master had been out with Miss Grace early in the morning. This in itf was a bit strange, but he quickly dismissed it.
“Well... he is, after all, a man. Will he treat us the way he treats her?
So he muttered, scratching his ear as he looked at Walter's empty room.
But when he faced the returning Walter, Joseph became certain that something had fundamentally changed.
The shirt buttons that closed to the throat were unbuttoned two buttons. The sleeves of the shirt, which he did not lift even in the summer heat, were carelessly rolled up. Walter Richmond never appeared in just a shirt. Whether it was armor or a tuxedo, it was always the epitome of perfection.
Walter, with an almost careless look, sat on the chair without a word. He took out a piece of paper and wrote quickly, then held it out to Joseph. When Joseph remained staring with bulging eyes, his bushy eyebrows moved.
“How long will you be absent, Joseph?”
It was as if a slap had been directed at him with words. Joseph quickly noticed, and Walter issued his orders:
“I bring five empty rooms in a row, in a corridor with little traffic and no sunlight.”
Joseph shuddered at the description alone, but Walter tapped the paper with his finger.
“And call out the names written here.”
“All of them...?”
“Need I repeat?”
Joseph's eyes rolled, and as soon as they met a black look full of contempt, he jumped into action.
“Your command!”
He rushed out of the room, then stopped in the corridor and muttered:
“So... he is no longer satisfied with cursing with his looks, but will now curse in public...?”
He never thought that Walter's temperament was good, but there was always a line that he did not cross. That line seems to have disappeared.
Is this...totally bad or moderately bad?
He shook his head, then looked at the names on the paper. In the foreground: The nobility of Richmond's finances. He hesitated for a moment, then poked his head out the door and asked:
“One in each room?”
«……»
“Yes!!”
He immediately closed the door before Walter could speak. The corner of Joseph's mouth twitched into a malicious smile.
“Well… we'll see how they get crushed, and then decide if it's really bad or just moderately bad.”
His evil murmur faded into the autumn sun.
＊ ＊ ＊
Eliza's bedroom was the sunniest room in the annex. As soon as Grace entered, she felt that Mrs. Isaacs had done everything in her power to take care of her mistress's place. Unlike the rest of the neglected place, the room seemed warm and clean.
However, the air was heavy and cold despite the bright sunshine. On the huge bed in the middle, a frail ledge rose and fell as if it was about to collapse.
“Mrs...”
Mrs. Isaacs came forward to call Eliza, but Grace stopped her with a wave of her hand, and silently surveyed the room. It appeared that breakfast was being prepared, as a covered plate was placed near the head of the bed.
“She might get a little angry... but she'll get up.”
So, you have to make her angry in order for her to stand up?
She didn't know if it was right, but what was certain was that if she had waited outside, she would not have met Eliza even years later.
Eliza didn't even feel Grace approaching. Whether she was actually asleep or thought it was pointless to open her eyes, she was lying there breathing lightly, like a dead person.
Then, when Grace sat in Mrs. Isaacs' chair
“…Raise breakfast.”
Mrs. Isaacs almost moved automatically, but Grace said:
“You have to eat.”
The silence of the room was broken by a soft but decisive sound. Mrs. Isaacs clasped her hands as she held her breath.
“You must eat, Grand Madam.”
With urgency, Eliza's eyelids slowly opened. Her black, wrinkled eyes appeared in the sunlight. Grace did not avoid that look, so Eliza stared at her for a long time before saying coldly:
“Arwen, how dare you do this without my permission?”
M.M.: Dear readers, where are the comments? The novel is very beautiful, and where are the stars?🥺