Edited by: Hiro02
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Grace, who is still a smol child, was startled by the sound and sat down. Perhaps because she was so surprised, she didn’t even have time to scream.
She crouched without even thinking of running away, and stared at someone walking out of the darkness with her blank eyes.
Soon after, a person wearing a robe from head to toe appeared in front of Grace.
The person, whose build was too small to be a man and whose hands were too large and rough to be a woman, sat in front of the door and giggled at Grace, who stared blankly at him.
“…Oh my. I was wondering who it is, but it is the ‘defective product’.”
“……!”
“Little one, are you lost?”
“……..”
“I hope you didn’t see anything or search around here, right?”
The man stood in front of Grace in a voice as if a snake were hissing, and said so.
Grace nodded recklessly with a face of fear. In light of his unexpectedly overbearing attitude, she thought she had to do so.
In response, the man chuckled and spoke.
“Hah, fortunately, you’re very quick to catch on. … Mhm, I don’t hate kids who are quick-witted.”
“……”
“Should I give a ‘gift’ to the quick-witted child in return?”
And he suddenly stretched out his big, rough hand over Grace’s head. Grace crawled back for fear of the appearance, but she couldn’t avoid the big hand.
He chased Grace, who had finally stuck to the wall, and grabbed her little head with thin, long, wart-like fingers.
[T/N: FBI opens up! (ㆆ_ㆆ)]
“……!”
She saw a green flash like a lightning strike, and she felt her head gradually emptying out.
She couldn’t remember why she came all the way here and what the person in front of her said a while ago.
Then, she began to fall into such a terrible sleep that it was hard to open her eyelids. Grace blinked slowly and soon snapped and fell to the floor. Her consciousness was gradually breaking. And the memory was disappearing.
“Okay, have a good night’s sleep. Forget everything you saw a while ago.”
The consciousness was cut off at the end of the bizarre voice.
Later, when she opened her eyes again, Grace couldn’t remember anything.
───※ ·❆· ※───
Rumble.
The carriage running along the rough stone road shook greatly.
“Huh!”
At that moment, Grace, who was sleeping uncomfortably in the carriage, woke up.
Grace took a deep breath as she pressed her hand on her flabby temple. She had that strange dream again.
This bizarre dream, or curse, in which she doesn’t know who the hell keeps showing up for what purpose. Grace was confused as if someone had dug through the memories of her head that were locked comfortably.
‘……the room full of books, and the man who slipped through them. It’s all new to me.’
But why is that everything she saw in that dream was as vivid as reality?
Everything from the dream to the feeling of the suspicious man holding her head, and the smell of old dust and strange medicinal herbs she felt as he approached.
Everything she saw in that dream was not unfamiliar, as if she had really ‘forgotten’ and remembered again.
‘Did the things I saw in my dream just a moment ago really happen to me?’
Then, why did he make her forget himself? Was there any important information she shouldn’t have known there? If so, who the hell is that person, and why did she remember all these things at this point?
….No, is this really the ‘forgotten memory’ in the first place? Perhaps she is overinterpreting a simple nightmare by mistaking it as if it were reality.
Grace had a headache from the tangled thoughts again. She seemed to be still immersed in the lingering dream.
“I’m sorry. The wagon is shaking a lot, right?”
At that time, the coachman spoke to Grace from outside. At that moment, Grace was finally able to completely escape the lingering dream.
Grace was deeply grateful to the coachman for talking to her just in time and put off the complicated thoughts that were all tangled to one side of her head. Yeah, it didn’t change much just thinking about it. …. Also.
‘I’ll check everything with my eyes soon anyway.’
Grace replied, wiping her forehead wet with cold sweat after strengthening her resolution inside.
“No, it’s okay.”
“We’re going to be arriving at the Alberton mansion soon, so I’m sorry, but please endure a little more even if it’s uncomfortable. Hah!”
[T/N: The ‘Hah!’ is for the horse.]
Then, with the coachman’s lively answer, the carriage ran faster.
Grace slightly opened the window leaning against the saddle of the rattling carriage. Then, as the coachman said, the scenery of the land of Alberton, which was so familiar to her, caught her eye. Grace looked at the scenery passing by quickly, soaked in nostalgia.
How long did they run like that? Before she knew it, the carriage arrived in front of the mansion of the lord, the Duke of Alberton.
When the carriage stopped, the door opened and Sally, dressed more than usual, came inside. Sally, who followed Grace as a chaperone again this time, was the first to look at Grace’s messy hair, as at the last wedding party.
Sally then fixed the ribbon of the slightly loosened dress, and said, looking worried at Grace, who still has a pale face.
“Did you get motion sickness? You don’t look so good. May I bring you some medicine?”
“No. It’s fine. … I guess it’s because I had a nightmare after dozing off for a while.”
“If you feel unwell at any time, please tell me?”
“Yes, thank you.”
“Then I’ll let you know that you’re ready.”
Sally stepped down without a word when Grace replied that it was okay.
Grace looked at Sally as she was going out of the carriage for a moment, and then sighed slowly.
It was to prepare a kind of mind before meeting the family members whom she did not want to face again. And having a war of nerves with them who consistently ignored and ridiculed her.
It was when Grace was lightly catching her breath.
Knock knock—
Outside, someone knocked lightly on the door of Grace’s carriage. Grace answered after clearing her small choking throat.
“……Yes. Come in.”
Then the door to the carriage opened, and Tom, the butler of the Alberton mansion, bowed politely to Grace in the carriage.
“It’s been a while, Lady Grace. Have you been well?”
“Long time no see, Tom.”
Despite his greeting, which seemed pleased to see him, Grace responded indifferently and reached out her hand.
Tom politely escorted her, familiarity. Grace was unfamiliar with his courteous escort she received for the first time in her life, but she did not express it.
After getting off the carriage, Grace made sure that Sally was standing next to her, and said, letting go of the hand holding Tom.
“Where are father and mother?”
“The Duke and Duchess of Alberton are waiting for you in the drawing room. Lady Marianne is also there.”
To her question, Tom, the butler, answered in a polite voice. Sally’s expression contorted in an instant.
No matter how much they were family members, she was a guest who had been invited, and they were the hosts who invited her. But, their attitude of not coming out to meet her was unpleasant.
If it were another nobleman, it would be a situation where the sound of standing up right away could be heard everywhere. Nevertheless, Grace only nodded slightly with an indifferent look as if she were familiar with their treatment.
“Okay. Then, please guide me to the drawing room.”
“…. Ah, yes. Got it.”
Then Grace calmly asked for guidance to the drawing room, “as if it were her first time.”
Tom shivered at her appearance, but soon replied in a blunt voice as if he had always done so.
After that, Grace spoke to Tom as he stood in front of her for guidance.
“Oh, Tom.”
“……..Yes?”
“I am no longer Lady Grace, but Duchess Felix.”
“……..!”
“You are not from a small provincial noble family, but a butler of the Duke of Alberton family, which has produced archmages from generation to generation, so you shouldn’t call my first name or title as you please.”
“……I’m sorry, Duchess Felix. My thoughts were short.”
“I’ll especially accept your apology this time.”
Looking down at Tom’s bewildered look, Grace smiled proudly.
Now she could read Tom’s mind clearly. Perhaps if she hadn’t told him to guide her to the drawing room, he would have already fallen back on the excuse that she knew the structure of the mansion well. And it was obvious that the family would have spit out another sharp sound when they would see herself walking with the maid without an escort while being a noble woman.
Perhaps it was the intention to break her spirit again in that way.
‘Who knows what’s inside.’
Grace laughed as if it was ridiculous. Now she was about to let go of that shallow deception.
Grace glanced at Tom’s back, who was guiding her with a slightly stiff face, and then exchanged glances with Sally, who was standing next to her and smiling happily.
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T/N: Hi readers, I hope that you are having an amazing day! （。＾▽＾）
It’s December and 2021 is finally nearing its end. With so many things going on everywhere, it’s normal to feel overwhelmed.
But, even in the midst of all that, don’t forget to take care of yourself. And eat your meals properly, don’t skip on them. I can see if you do, just kidding. Haha!
~(￣▽￣)~*
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