“……Then, on that day, what I did must have made you regret it.”
“No. That’s not true. As I said that day, I believed you would come to catch me. I also felt guilty about leaving Leon, who followed me unconditionally.”
At that, Grace immediately shook her head and said.
“But more than anything else, I didn’t leave because I love you, Arthur. Now that I love you, I can’t leave no matter what anyone says.”
“… … Grace!”
“So now I don’t want to run away. And I will fight against the terrible curse’s ghost that haunts you and Leon, and I’m ready to point a knife at the people behind it. I’m now more afraid of leaving this place and breaking up with you than to be cursed to death or go crazy being by your side.”
“…….”
“What do you think? It’s not enough to die once and come back to life, and even a selfish heart that ignores Leon’s pure kindness and uses your curse to live. Don’t you think I’m just as much a monster like you? Therefore… … .”
So it was when Grace was about to tell him that he had nothing to be sorry for and he shouldn’t call himself a monster because he is only a “beloved Arthur” to her, rather than a “monster.”
Arthur, who was still looking at Grace with wet eyes, stretched out his arms and hugged Grace’s body tightly. Then he spoke to her in an emotional voice.
“No, madam. You are so beautiful and courageous that a person like me can’t dare to wish for someone like you.”
“What do you mean a person like you? It’s already too much for me to have someone like you.”
“Please forgive me for thinking, even for a moment, that my heart for you is bigger than yours for me.”
“Yes, I’ll gladly forgive you.”
Grace replied, digging into Arthur’s arms as if she had waited for it.
The two of them hugged each other for a while and enjoyed each other’s body warmth. After a while, Arthur, who gently dropped Grace in his tender arms, looked at her with affection and said.
“… … Can I dare to ask you a favour?”
“What is it?”
“Please take off this mask with your own hands so that I can reveal everything in front of my wife.”
Arthur’s mouth, pointing to his mask and asking her to take it off, was awkwardly stiff, perhaps shy.
Grace smiled a little, as his words seemed similar to the confession he made on the day when they first felt and confirmed each other’s feelings.
When Grace just smiled like that, Arthur grabbed Grace’s hand holding her back and placed it on top of his mask. At that urging, Grace stopped smiling and slowly reached out towards Arthur’s masked face.
Thump, thump.
It was simply taking off the mask, but strangely, her heart was beating loudly as if it had stuck to her ear.
Grace swallowed dry saliva involuntarily, barely holding the mask with her trembling hands, and then removed it from Arthur’s face.
Soon after, the mask covering Arthur’s face fell under her hands, revealing the “face” of Duke Arthur Felix under the bright moonlight shining inside the greenhouse.
“……Ah.”
And at that moment, Grace truly admired it.
The man in front of her now was a handsome man that could not be compared with any other man Grace had ever seen.
The beauty of his dark hair shining softly in the moonlight was something Grace knew well, but the clean white skin contrasted with that hair was a beauty she had never known. The scarred face she had expected to see underneath the mask as it was hidden all the time, was in fact, clean without a single blemish.
Along with that. The manly, thick-lined eyebrows set under the pearl-like smooth forehead and the odd eye set below shone as if a sapphire and a ruby of the same size were carved and studded.
The wrinkle-free forehead that filled the gap between the two eyes, and the sleek nose which angled sharply towards his soft lips, made him seem like a work of art. As if god had put in a lot of effort just into creating him.
The moment she saw Arthur’s enchanting face, the ecstatic Grace could understand the feeling of the girls who were crazy about wanting to own him rather than love him.
Unlike them, however, the first thing Grace was attracted by was Arthur’s warm gaze towards her rather than his dazzling handsome face.
When the mask which was mostly covering his face disappeared, and Arthur’s two eyes of different colours shone only for her, she once again felt a deep love for him.
Grace said, reaching out slowly and lovingly stroking Arthur’s eyes, the ones that filled themselves with her.
“… … I’m so happy that I’m the only one reflected in these pretty eyes.”
Arthur’s eyes widened slightly at those words, and he immediately smiled sweetly enough to make anyone fall who looked at him.
After that, Arthur grabbed her hand that touched his eyes and lowered it, leaving a soft kiss on the tip of her finger and replied.
“It’s an eye that will never contain anyone other than my wife.”
Grace looked at Arthur’s face as if possessed by the confession that came out calmly with the smile on his face.
Her heart raced so fast that it was suffocating at the unrealistic scene, the more unrealistic face of the person she loved, and his love that seemed to be beyond measure. And as if it was the same, her eyes looking at him also had the same heat.
The faces of the two, who were looking at each other passionately, naturally got closer.
Arthur carefully lowered his head over Grace’s beautiful face, and Grace slowly closed her eyes as she looked at Arthur’s face, which was getting closer.
Eventually, when their warm lips slowly touched each other, the two could quickly notice how fast their hearts were beating towards each other.
Unlike outside, where winter is all over, the inside of the greenhouse is the only one that has the appearance of spring. Arthur and Grace confirmed their spring-coloured love, as beautiful as the flowers blooming there.
───※ ·❆· ※───
A short and long night has passed, when they confirmed the truth they were hiding from each other.
At dawn, when the darkened greenhouse was dimly lit, Arthur and Grace came out of the greenhouse holding hands tightly. Grace waved Arthur’s hand lightly, looking at Arthur’s mask held in the other hand, and said.
“It’s quite heavy. Wasn’t it uncomfortable to wear it every day?”
“It wasn’t that uncomfortable. It was many times more comfortable to wear it than to endure uncomfortable words or uncomfortable situations.”
“… … Ah, indeed. I guess so.”
In response to Arthur’s answer, Grace shook her head and looked up at his face exposed under the dawn sunlight.
In fact, he had a face so handsome that one would never get tired of looking at it. She didn’t know until Arthur took off the mask, but now Grace thought she had a little idea why they were greedy even if they didn’t love him.
And at the same time, faint jealousy arose in Grace’s heart, along with some irritation. It’s an enchanting face even to her, who’s not particularly affected by looks, but if ladies from social circles see him, it will cause another uproar in the whole area.
Grace slowly hardened her expression and said to Arthur.
“… … A-, Arthur. I have something to ask you.”
“Yes, go ahead.”
“… … Before that, promise me you won’t tease me for being narrow-minded.”
“It will never happen, so feel free to tell me.”
Arthur tenderly reassured Grace when she asked to promise not to tease her.
Grace, who was encouraged by those words, hesitated for a moment before answering.
“… … From now on, can’t you just show your unmasked face only in front of me?”
“… … Yes?”
“Oh, no. I’m not really forcing you to do that. But that… Your face without a mask is more handsome than I thought, or even very good-looking, so I think the ladies who have never seen your face under your mask will fall in love at first sight. ……Ah, really.”
“… … Madam?”
“I won’t beat around the bush. To be honest, I’m a little jealous when I think of other young girls who will be ecstatic when they see your face.”
“……Ah.”
While speaking for herself, Grace blushed with embarrassment as she claimed that she was very narrow-minded.
However, she hates just imagining the fact that someone else is greedy for such a person even though she died and came back to life, and she is happy to have him as her husband. So, it was difficult for her to say something that was neither a request nor complaining, and Arthur’s reaction to it was truly astonishing for her.
Grace said bluntly to Arthur, who was looking down at her with a friendly gaze and smiling softly.
“… … Why are you laughing? You definitely promised me a while ago. That you will not make fun of me.”
“I’m not teasing you, madam. How can I tease a precious person like my wife? ……it’s just that I like it. That you are jealous because of me.”
“… … Well, I’m your wife, of course.”
“That’s right. You’re my wife, so of course, you can be jealous and ask me for something. And as a husband, I will gladly do everything my wife asks for.”
“…….”
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“As my wife said, I will wear the mask in front of others. For me too, I feel more comfortable with that now.”
Arthur answered that way and stretched out a hand that wasn’t holding her hand towards Grace. He meant to ask for the mask she was holding in her hand.