Edited by: Taochaidee
Arthur eventually burst into laughter at their appearance. Then, as if he suddenly remembered something, he said to Grace.
“Oh, right.”
“Yes?”
“Just a second….”
Then he took something out of his arms and suddenly stepped towards Grace.
Grace was surprised. Her heart almost fell on the floor, when she turned her head slightly and Arthur’s lips came closer to her.
‘Ah, I’m not ready yet! My fir-, first kiss, like this!’
Grace quickly closed her eyes with a bright red face.
[T/N: (≧∀≦)ゞ]
However, Arthur’s warmth passed through Grace’s face and moved to her neck. Then she heard a click and felt something being tied on her neck.
After a while, Grace quietly opened her eyes and looked down at her chest, glancing at her new addition.
“…Oh.”
Then, what caught Grace’s eye was a colorful necklace with pearls and diamonds embedded in it.
The necklace, in which hundreds of small diamonds and pearls appear to be descending in the shape of a splendid net. It looked expensive even to Grace, who was not familiar with the value of jewelry.
Grace touched the necklace as if possessed, and immediately raised her head and asked Arthur, who stood in front of her.
“What is this exactly?”
“It’s a necklace that’s been handed down to the Duchess of Felix from generation to generation.”
“…why…this…”
“Because you’re the Duchess of Felix. And…….”
“What?”
“I want you to brag to the other young girls and wives who gather there that you’re my only ‘duchess’……..I’m just saying that it would be nice to do it.”
“……Ah.”
“Do you not like it?”
Grace quickly shook her head and replied to Arthur, who smiled shyly carefully examining her face.
“No? That can’t be true. I’m just afraid that I might lose it, but I don’t hate it at all.”
In answering that, Grace smiled bashfully.
She was more pleased that he wanted her to brag about herself, being his wife, than that she had received such an expensive gift.
‘….Ah. I don’t want to go.’
Grace approached Arthur, who was looking at her affectionately, and hugged him as if she were buried in his body.
Arthur too, hugged her tenderly and said, as if he was waiting for it.
“Don’t forget. Two days. I’ll be waiting for two days.”
“Yes. I’ll be back as soon as possible.”
Grace smiled and replied to Arthur’s request.
“Me too! Me too! I will hug you too!”
Then Leon, who had been standing by her side all the time, clasped Grace’s leg tightly and shouted, perhaps because he was jealous of the two hugging so tightly.
Grace smiled and reached out to mess up Leon’s long bangs. Arthur looked at the two of them with warm eyes without a saying word.
“Duchess, you must depart soon.”
“Yes, I got it.”
When it was delayed more than expected, the coachman eventually said, as if urging toward Grace.
Come to think of it, it was already the time to start slowly. Grace nodded her head in reply, and said her goodbyes to Arthur and Leon, standing in front of her with a friendly smile.
“Then I’ll be back.. …Arthur, Leon.”
“See you later, sister-in-law”.
“Have a safe trip. Lady.”
At the end of that greeting, Grace hurriedly turned around and walked to the carriage.
‘I wanted to talk a few more words, but if I did, I would not be able to get on the carriage forever because I would regret it even more.’
Grace tried to ignore Arthur and Leon’s gaze behind her back and got into the carriage under the escort of a horseman.
After confirming that Grace was seated, the horseman quickly climbed to the cockpit and whipped the horse.
“Hah!”
The carriage quickly left Felix Castle and moved away.
Grace waved until Arthur and Leon were not seen standing behind, and only closed the window after the carriage had completely left Felix Castle.
Grace completely lowered the curtains, and leaned her head against the saddle of the carriage that was swaying stably.
The only way to kill the boring time alone without Arthur and Leon was to sleep in the carriage that would run for the next half of the day.
So Grace forced herself to sleep. Fortunately, sleep came very quickly.
───※ ·❆· ※───
A ray of warm sunlight poured through an open window.
A small girl was sitting in a spacious bedroom with only a small bed, an old dressing table, and an old closet.
Wearing a ragged turquoise dress and white ribbon without any decorations, the child pouted her lips as if she was in a bad mood.
Mrs. Esmeralda, the child’s nanny and tutor, stood by and comforted the small child, but the child showed no signs of improvement.
Seeing the growing child who did not seem to be relieved even if she was comforted no matter what, Mrs. Esmeralda sighed and said.
“Ugh. I don’t know anymore. Miss Grace, when you feel better, then let’s start class again.”
“…….”
Mrs. Esmeralda, who turned coldly over such sulky young Grace, felt a subtle annoyance from the back.
Grace, who was glancing through the closed bedroom door, distorted her small lips and covered her wet eyes with a small hand.
It would have been nice if Mrs. Esmeralda had understood her upset feelings and accepted her childhood a little bit more. But she was always business-like, and so, she did not understand this time either.
Grace sniffled and mumbled in a gloomy voice.
“…I want to do the magic class too.”
She wanted to learn magic herself, draw magic circles, and summon natural elements.
However, her father, Duke Alberton, always took only her older sister, Marianne with him. At that time, Marianne looked at Grace with a disdainful glance, and soon followed her father, the Duke of Alberton, with a triumphant gesture.
And Grace, who was left behind all by her lone self, was upset about her situation. She grew to be coldly shunned by the Duke of Alberton, while complaining like a child to Mrs. Esmeralda.
[T/N: AAAAHH.. Just how could he do that to his smol daughter?! That evil creature!! (╬▔皿▔)╯]
As always, Mrs. Esmeralda comforted her formally several times and soon left her behind.
Grace, who was sobbing quietly in the empty room alone, raised her head, wiping her face with her small hands when her emotions calmed down to some extent.
‘I can do it too!’
It was because of crying alone, and suddenly a feeling of injustice in her young heart soared.
A small child, who doesn’t even know exactly what magical abilities are, or what that cannot be done with willpower alone. And was having a hard time to come by to her father, Duke of Alberton, who was arrogant and discriminatory.
‘If you teach me, I can do it like my sister!’
She just didn’t want to cry in her room today.
She was only five years old. Even though she was intimidated every time by her sister’s harsh discrimination. Young Grace, who was born with a strong heart and full of determination, decided to do her job today.
[T/N: Awww… Cute-little Grace, I want to pat her so bad (=￣ω￣=)]
She was about to storm into the study of the main building, where her sister Marianne and her father, the Duke of Alberton, were taking magic classes.
No matter how much she cried and begged and chased them to the front of the study where magic classes were held, she was often kicked out coldly. But, today she will just not step down. Just for today, she was determined to hold on and beg him until he teached her magic like her sister.
‘Let’s go!’
Grace crept down and walked to the door. Then Grace, who held the doorknob with her tiny little hand and twisted it. She looked around.
Fortunately, no one was passing by the hallway in front of the bedroom. Grace traced her memory and followed the path that her sister and father had always left behind.
“Oh, my. Miss Grace! Where are you going?”
“Huh? Wait, I’m in the garden!”
Grace, who roughly lied to the maids who recognized her whenever they passed by, walked all the way in front of the Alberton mansion.
Grace walked in and hid in the hallway on the first floor.
‘…….Huh?’
But it was good to get there, but the young Grace was bewildered by the numerous doors that looked so similar to the hallway on the first floor.
Which of these numerous doors lead to the Duke of Alberton’s study? Grace tilted her small head and pondered.
Should I open all the doors? Or shall I open the door that is most similar to the library in my memory?’
Grace, who had been thinking for such a while, soon came to a conclusion.
‘Okay, let’s open that one!’
She decided to try opening the most familiar door first, and then open all of them one by one.
Grace walked in front of the innermost door of the hallway on the first floor and twisted the doorknob with her tiptoes raised.
“……father?”
The room was clearly like a study in memory, blocked with bookshelves full of books on all sides. And it even had a small window opened for ventilation covered with black curtains to protect books that were weak against light. But, neither her father nor her sister were there.
‘I must have found the wrong room.’
Grace turned around to come out of the room with a sullen look on her face.
Tuk—
But then, beyond the bookshelf full of books, there was a sound as if someone was knocking on the wall.
Then, a space with distant darkness was revealed over the bookshelf that opened up to the side similar to a beast opening its mouth toward its prey.
Hi readers, I’m the new translator of this lovely novel. Nice to meet you all.
I hope that you have a wonderful day! （。＾▽＾）
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