Flora hurriedly finished dressing and went to the room where the Countess was staying. Because Grace had taken the Chandelier Room from her, the Countess was lodged in a different room.
Wearing a light violet dress, Flora entered. She was as splendid and lovely as a rose blossom in the early dawn.
“My, Flora.”
“Mother!”
It so happened that Flora’s mother, Countess Reuwen, was there with the Countess.
The Countess spoke in a suggestive tone.
“He couldn’t take his eyes off that beautiful figure. Truly, you have raised your daughter well.”
“It is only thanks to you, Countess, for regarding her as your own daughter.”
“My, how modest. Flora, come in.”
The Countess closed her eyes and leisurely enjoyed the attendant’s ministrations. While the maid doing her hair lightly massaged her scalp, a servant girl set an extraordinary jewelry box before the Countess.
“I shall open it, Countess.”
“Do so.”
As soon as the Countess gave permission, the servant turned the key, undid the lock, and opened the box.
Flora’s and Countess Reuwen’s gazes were drawn to it like iron filings to a magnet.
Even at a glance, magnificent jewels rested upon red velvet. Though she could not inspect them closely, Flora was certain that a single thick diamond necklace was worth an ordinary mansion.
No, from the very start, it was laughable to put a price on such things. The jewels in that box were called the “Treasures of Richmond,” the collection of the Duchesses of successive generations.
Of course, this was not the only jewelry box, and the owner was naturally Grand Duchess Eliza. However, Eliza had gone into seclusion, and the Countess, in seizing control of the inner castle, had taken for herself the key to the Blue Room, filled with the Treasures of Richmond, as her very first act.
From some point onward, she had opened the Blue Room and worn the jewels as she pleased. Then, depending on intimacy, depending on the degree of loyalty, she began lending the treasures to noblewomen. The Countess assigned even individual seats according to the degree of one’s loyalty, let alone coordinating the order in which one walked through the inner castle. It was only natural that the necks, ears, and fingers of those who stood closest to the Countess were adorned with the Treasures of Richmond.
To the Countess, the Treasures of Richmond were her status and authority itself.
“Countess, how would it be to wear this diamond necklace today? Whenever you wear this necklace, somehow……”
Flora’s mother, Countess Reuwen, trailed off and added in a whisper.
“You look like a queen.”
As the corner of the lips of the Countess—who had her hair in the attendant’s hands and her eyes still closed—curved ever so slightly, Countess Reuwen flattered her further.
“The previous Duchess also wore this necklace from time to time…… but I believe only now has it truly found its master.”
“Do not say such things. Someone might hear.”
“That is simply how I feel.”
The Countess laughed aloud, seemingly in good spirits, then dismissed the attendant who had begun to massage her shoulders. She raised her body from where it had been buried deep in the sofa and beckoned Flora to come near.
As Flora sat on the sofa beside her, the Countess personally pushed the jewelry box toward her. Priceless, historically significant jewels were laid out before Flora like a formal feast.
Flora gazed blankly at the jewels with dazed eyes.
“Which one do you like best?”
Flora lifted her eyes to the Countess.
“Choose the one you like most.”
“Countess, to give something so precious to our Flora……”
“I have always wanted to give one to Flora as well.”
“Truly…… thank you, Countess. But instead, please choose something that would suit Flora. Who could match the Countess’s discerning eye? Isn’t that right, Flora?”
At her mother’s prompting, Flora quickly nodded.
“Please choose for me, Countess.”
The Countess alternated her glance between mother and daughter, chuckled, and selected a diamond set with a pinkish hue. It was something Grand Duchess Eliza had received as a gift from her father, Emperor Argon III, while she was still an imperial princess, and had personally brought with her when she married into House Richmond.
“Try this on. Every time I looked at these jewels, I thought of you. No, I shall clasp them on you myself.”
The Countess rose personally and fastened the necklace around Flora’s neck. A quick-witted servant girl promptly brought a mirror before Flora, and Countess Reuwen praised the Countess’s eye several times more.
The Countess gazed steadily at Flora and whispered.
“Do not worry yourself over whether the Duke might find it displeasing.”
How would the Duke, who had been wandering outside for over ten years, know of the jewelry collection?
“The reason I give you this necklace is to make your presence known to the noblewomen of Richmond’s inner castle.”
More than that, it was to announce that even the Duchess had been chosen by her.
The reason she had chosen Flora as a prospective Duchess was that Flora and her family were the easiest to handle. A face that plainly revealed her thoughts and emotions. Even if the Duke died later and she became a widow, she possessed petty, trivial ambitions—small enough to smile at a few tossed jewels.
The Countess smirked, then glanced at the attendants as if her gaze had wandered there by chance.
“Hm?”
The Countess, who had been staring at them intently, tilted her head.
“Are you ill somewhere?”
As Flora and Countess Reuwen turned their heads following the Countess’s gaze, the maids flinched and shook their heads.
“N-no.”
“Of course not.”
“Do not lie. I saw you yesterday as well, and your complexion is different.”
Countess Reuwen chimed in slyly.
“Now that I look, your faces are pale and your lips have lost color…… It seems something is wrong, just as the Countess says.”
The Countess hardened her expression and beckoned to them.
“Come here.”
The two maids looked at each other with trembling eyes, then cautiously approached the Countess. As they drew near, Countess Rinko—whom they dared not even look at—tenderly took their hands. As the startled maids held their breath, the Countess looked at them with pitying eyes.
“What is it? Is something the matter?”
In an instant, tears welled up in the maids’ eyes. As the two pairs of eyelids turned red, the Countess tightened her grip on their hands.
“Speak without reserve. I cherish you dearly.”
Moved by that warm voice, sorrowful sobs finally burst from the maids’ lips.
“C-Countess!”
* * *
At that same moment.
Grace was crossing the rear garden with Walter.
“I have been thinking. If it is true that the maids suffered secret confinement and assault on the Countess’s orders, there is a possibility they may say it was me.”
Walter unwittingly looked Grace up and down, then quickly averted his eyes.
“Confinement and assault charges, on you? Perhaps if it were me, but you?”
“There is always a desired result behind any action. There is nothing to gain by framing Your Excellency for such charges. It would only be burdensome.”
“So?”
“We will not know the details until the outline is revealed, but one thing is certain. They will soon take the bait—that is, me—hastily. To do so, they must necessarily disregard Your Excellency’s guarantee of my identity.”
In other words, it meant they would have no choice but to commit an act that infringed upon the Duke’s authority. That had been Grace’s ultimate purpose in entering while hiding her identity.
“They cannot be unaware of that. They must also know that such an act could turn into a blade that comes back at them.”
“While they take the bait and bite, I will not be sitting idle.”
Grace glanced at him, and Walter added with a sharp smile.
“The finances are a mess. Half the gold bullion seems to have vanished as well. If I am to reclaim Richmond, I must reclaim the finances, too.”
“You will be busy.”
At that moment, the annex came into view.
“Do you intend to wait until the Grand Duchess permits an audience?”
To Walter’s question, Grace answered with a small nod.
“For today, that is my intention.”
“So that is why you are taking that thick book. You plan to be cooped up in that tomb-like place all day.”
At the biting tone, Grace unwittingly tilted her head.
*What is this?*
In truth, from the moment she had encountered Walter that morning, she had felt something about him was different. But it was hard to pinpoint. There was no way his physique or features could change overnight; it was not an external change.
Then, Walter spoke again.
“Do not wait for permission. Go into the bedroom.”
At the absurd words, Grace was at a loss.
“If you wait outside, I suspect you will not be able to meet her even after years pass.”
“Are you telling me to go into the bedroom today, of all days?”
She was someone who had lost all will to live and confined herself in a tomb, but Eliza Richmond was a member of the Decan imperial family and the de facto master of House Richmond. To enter such a person’s bedroom without permission?
But Walter seemed to think differently.
“Whether it is today or tomorrow, the fact remains that you must go straight into the bedroom. If that is the case, today is better.”
Grace unwittingly narrowed her eyes.
“How can you be so sure?”
At that, Walter gazed at the annex where Eliza stayed and shrugged.
“Because I know her personality.”
It had been about three years since he had lived with Eliza against his will.
“She looks like the type who would not come out even if you set a fire outside.”
“……”
“So set the fire inside.”