***
Following Tom, Grace passed through the familiar hallway and soon stood at the door of the familiar drawing room. Tom stopped Grace and Sally for a while and said, tapping the silver doorknob twice.
Knock knock—
“Duke, Duchess Felix is here.”
“Let her come in.”
Soon, a blunt and overbearing voice of the Duke Alberton was heard from the door.
Tom quickly opened the door and made the way for Grace and Sally standing behind him.
“You can enter inside.”
“Thank you.”
Grace nodded her head proudly to express her gratitude and entered the drawing room.
She could see the appearance of the Duke and Duchess Alberton and Marianne sitting on a cream silk sofa, covered with white leather skin, luxuriously decorated with light green emerald stones and ivory markings in the drawing room upon entering.
They got up side by side from the sofa and greeted Grace as Grace entered the drawing room.
Grace gave a brief greeting to those who looked at her with a contemptuous gaze — not a gaze one would direct to their family member. That was hard to see because she was looking at her family.
“It’s been a while, father. Is it the first time since my wedding party that day?”
“It’s been a while.”
“Yes. Oh, it’s been a while, mother. How have you been? You look good.”
“You look really good, too.”
“Yes, everyone in Felix Castle has been nice to me. It’s too much for me.”
Grace exchanged a few ceremonial greetings with her parents, the Duke and Duchess of Alberton.
Then Grace, sitting on a small sofa set apart from them as they were seated on the settee, looked back at Marianne, who looked around her neck with a tenacious gaze while standing next to the Duke and Duchess Alberton.
“Oh, and you, my sister. Congratulations on your marriage to the Crown Prince. You finally fulfilled your childhood dream.”
“…… Where did you get that necklace?”
“Oh, this?”
Instead of replying to Grace’s congratulations, Marianne mentioned Grace’s necklace, which she had been persistent looking at for a while.
Grace smiled softly and raised her head slightly at the sight. Then, Grace said after touching the diamond necklace slightly with her finger, showing off as if she were looking.
“My husband, Duke Arthur Felix, gave it to me. It’s a necklace that’s been passed down to Duchess Felix for generations.”
“That cold-hearted monster duke, to you? It would be more convincing to say that you secretly stole Duke Felix’s property.”
Grace, displeased by Marianne’s sarcastic tone of rude words, crumpled her forehead.
Just then, when the sharp gazes passed between the two sisters, Grace burst into laughter.
To the present Grace, she could clearly see why Marianne scratched her nerves like that. Perhaps Marianne expected her to come in a terrified and shabby way. However, it was obvious that she felt in a bad mood because her outfit wasn’t just fine but it was gorgeous. For Grace, her narrow-minded attitude was really funny.
‘You have all the love of the family, the title of the heiress of the Alberton family, and the Crown Prince.’
Nevertheless, coveting and jealous of what she had was just like how she felt when she ate all her big strawberry cake when she was young and even took away her share of tasteless oatmeal cookies.
‘Perhaps no one has ever grown up like this.’
Grace laughed inside and said to Marianne, who looked at her with envious eyes, in the same sarcastic tone as Marianne had a while ago.
“Oh my. You don’t have to be so jealous, sister. You may say to the Crown Prince, ‘Would you like to give a gift that’s a better present than this to your beloved fiancée?’ I’m sure he’ll give you something more splendid and precious than a necklace studded with hundreds of diamonds and pearls.”
“…… Isn’t that obvious? You’re just a Duchess, but I’ll have the Crown Prince. Of course, I have to get something better.”
“That’s right. I’m really envious.”
Grace admired Marianne for her courtesy, who seemed to show off what she would receive in the future.
However, Marianne’s face became even rougher when she heard the admiration. Grace smiled more brazenly at her older sister Marianne, who showed raw hostility as if she had no intention of hiding her expression anymore.
“Both of you, leave it at that.”
It was Duke Alberton that blocked the war of nerves between the two who stood on that day. Duke Alberton continued, looking at Marianne, who glared sharply at Grace.
“You are the one who will become the Crown Prince of this empire and, furthermore, the Empress. You have to be generous to the people below you.”
“…Yes, father.”
At those words, Marianne pouted her lips cheekily as if she was still dubious, and turned her head around. Then the Duchess of Alberton affectionately patted Marianne’s hand and said.
“Okay. Be broad-minded. No matter how gorgeous Grace is, Marianne is the main character of today’s party.”
“…….Ha.”
Grace smiled bitterly at the sight of them blatantly siding with her older sister Marianne, as if she was indifferent. In fact, when other people saw it, they were almost to the point of believing that she was someone else and not their child.
It was not that she was hurt by their attitude anew. But still, there was nothing wrong with feeling bad.
‘If you’re going to show blatant favoritism by calling me like this, I’d rather not do this kind of greeting.’
Seriously, she didn’t want to stay in this uncomfortable place anymore. She should have just said hello roughly now.
She wanted to get out of here and rest. Grace sighed and got up from her seat. After that, she spoke bluntly to her family who were looking back at her.
“It seems that everyone has asked about my well-being, can I just get up now?”
“What? It’s been a while since I’ve seen you, so why don’t you sit down a little longer and have a cup of tea?”
“I’m tired because I’ve been riding a carriage for a long time. I’m sorry, Mother. Let me take a break. Is my living room the old room I used to have?”
“Huh? That, yes. That’s right.”
“Okay. I’ll get going and take a rest. When will the party be held?”
“It’s dinner tonight. I’ll let you when the time comes.”
“Okay.”
Grace, who flatly rejected the Duchess of Alberton’s proposal that seemed to hold her, grabbed the hem of her dress and bowed to them to show courtesy.
Then Grace turned her back straight and walked in front of the door. It was then that Sally, who followed her, grabbed the doorknob and opened it for her master.
“Duke Felix seemed to care about you very much.”
“…… So, what do you want to say?”
Duke Alberton said to Grace as if he were throwing it.
If that word sounds very meaningful somehow, is it her illusion? Somehow, those words didn’t sound very good, so Grace asked him back in a tone sharp enough that it seemed a little disrespectful.
At that, Duke Alberton, who frowned for a while as if he were displeased, soon returned to a blank face and told her.
“Do your best as a wife and a woman so that you don’t change his heart.”
And Grace snorted very explicitly at the following words.
‘In other words, you want me to tremble well in order to protect the happiness overflowing from those who do not fit your theme.’
She wondered what the hell he was saying, but until the very end, the father turned her stomach inside out.
Grace smiled lightly on purpose, swallowing her anger boiling quietly inside. Then, with a sharp gaze, she shot Duke Alberton straight and said.
“Don’t worry. Father. He loves me the way I am, even if I don’t try. Unlike anyone in any family.”
[T/N: Great job Grace! That’s a complete checkmate o(*￣▽￣*)o ]
“…….!”
“So you don’t have to make such a request. Then, I’ll really go rest now. I’m tired.”
At the end of those words, Grace snapped out of the nerve, turned her head and went out of the open door.
Cold gazes flew from behind and pierced her, but it didn’t bother the present Grace at all. Grace deliberately raised the corner of her lips once at Tom, who was staring at her with a surprised look outside the door, and walked out of the hallway with quick steps.
After a while, Sally, who followed her, carefully looked at her stiff face and asked.
“……..Are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine.”
“…Really?”
“It’s okay. I’m really fine. Rather, if those people had been kind to me, I would have been more reluctant.”
Grace deliberately smiled broadly at Sally, who looked at her with worried eyes. It was literally. She doesn’t know if it was her former self, but the current self was only offended by their attitude now, and she was not truly hurt.
She who was thrilled and delighted with the cheap birthday cake, starved for the affection of her family, had already disappeared with her first death.
With that thought, Grace took a quick step. She couldn’t wait to go back to her place and kill time.
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