As a silence sharp as an awl hung in the air, maids revealed themselves from beyond the open door. When the Marchioness straightened her posture and gestured, a maid stepped aside.
“……!”
However, the moment the maid stepped aside, the Marchioness’s eyebrows shot up like mountains.
The instant the woman with luxuriously flowing golden hair stepped into the room, an illusion struck as if an invisible wave had surged forward and crashed into them. Among the noblewomen laden with the treasures of Richmond, Grace’s attire was exceedingly humble. Yet despite her modest dress, every sense in the room tilted toward her.
Having soundlessly overwhelmed them all, Grace stared at the solitary chair set in the center, then lifted her steps gracefully. Swish, swish—across a space so silent that the rustle of skirts could be heard, she arrived at the chair and opened her mouth to the Marchioness, who glared at her from the front.
“Is this my seat?”
Neither excitement nor fear lay buried in her monotonous voice. Coming to her senses, the Marchioness’s eyes immediately turned fierce.
In the meantime, Grace sat in the chair and smoothed her skirt hem. Then she straightened her back and faced the Marchioness.
At that, several maids standing behind the Marchioness blinked unconsciously and trembled. It was because it felt as though the seats of honor had been reversed. Not only the maids, but the noblewomen as well felt it, and Countess Reuwen whispered softly to the person seated beside her to break the strange atmosphere.
“Only half-learned in etiquette and utterly tactless. Shameless and impudent.”
Then one noblewoman, who had briefly been entranced, quickly chimed in.
“That is what etiquette is, after all. One must learn to conduct oneself appropriately while going here and there with a chaperone. Those who merely mimic are always missing something.”
“Those who possess nothing but their own flesh have no insight into how quickly that flesh loses its light, how swiftly youth fades.”
Whispered curses and gazes brimming with mockery poured toward Grace.
The Marchioness watched the scene of her minions hurling scathing rebukes at Grace with a gaze of satisfaction.
“Hmph.”
From behind, Flora’s stifled laughter was heard. The corners of the Marchioness’s mouth also turned upward.
‘Just as expected.’
The Duke’s woman, who had dared to meet her gaze with eyes wide open, lowered her eyes. The Marchioness, who had been silent until now, finally opened her mouth.
“Are you indeed a person of the Dekan Empire?”
As the Marchioness spoke, the noblewomen who had been pitching in their insults fell silent in an instant.
Grace, who had briefly glanced at the maids, answered with a dry voice.
“Yes, I am.”
“Then how is it that you carry on so as an unmarried woman? If you are from the Dekan Empire, no matter how humble your house, parents would not leave their child in such a state… Ah, could it be… do you have no parents?”
“…….”
Grace was silent, and the Marchioness rejoiced inwardly. Her suspicion regarding Grace’s origins was solidifying into certainty. Of course, she would take more time to verify, but still.
“Oh, dear. I have asked something unnecessary.”
“Not at all. For what reason did you summon me?”
How brazen.
The Marchioness muttered inwardly and took a sip of the tea a maid was holding to collect herself.
“In the world of nobility, marriage is a kind of contract. That wealth, authority, honor, and all else must suit one another is a given, and the personal capacity to endure the weight of the position acquired through marriage is likewise important.”
“…….”
“Therefore, in a noble’s marriage, love cannot even be considered.”
The Marchioness smiled benevolently and whispered in a kind voice.
“You must love His Excellency very much. He may need such a woman, too.”
Flora stared at the Marchioness with a face that said she did not understand the meaning, but the Marchioness pretended not to notice and continued.
“But be content with your place as a beloved woman. If you come out of the Chandelier Room, I shall prepare a fine room with plenty of sun for you. I do not say this because I hate you. I say it for His Excellency’s sake.”
Indeed, Marchioness Rinko was not someone who had taken hold of her house by mere fortune. Had she been one to fly into indiscriminate rages, losing all reason, she would never have seized control of Richmond’s inner household. But there was one thing the Marchioness did not know.
“Yes, I shall do so.”
“…….”
What Grace was interested in was not the position of Duchess of Richmond, and the Chandelier Room was even less so.
At Grace’s immediate, dispassionate answer, the Marchioness’s eyebrows shot up crookedly. Even the noblewomen seated around her like wings stirred in agitation, and Flora clutched her skirt hem tightly and raised her voice.
“The reason the Marchioness called you is not merely for that!”
“Flora.”
The Marchioness stopped Flora, who seemed about to lose her reason.
“It is because I pity my maids.”
“Not because they are Flora’s maids, but for the sake of Richmond’s peace as well, you must address this and put it to rest.”
As Countess Reuwen chimed in after Flora, the Marchioness sighed as if she had no choice.
“I had intended to settle this as quietly as possible out of respect for His Excellency’s honor, but… since it is for the peace of Richmond, it cannot be helped.”
Then she gestured with her eyes to two of Flora’s maids waiting on one side. When the maids came forward, the Marchioness asked Grace.
“Do you remember who these people are?”
Grace braced herself and answered placidly as ever. She had to come to her senses properly from now on.
“They are the ones who served me my meal.”
“Yes. These are official maids employed at Richmond Ducal Castle, and currently they attend to Flora, the young lady of Count Reuwen. Flora, in consideration of His Excellency’s affection for you, personally sent the maids who attend to her own needs to you.”
“That is something to be grateful for.”
When Grace expressed her thanks with an innocent face, Countess Reuwen reacted as if in a fit.
“How have you repaid the kindness Flora showed you?! How dare you lay hands on my daughter’s maids?!! You! Speak here. What happened to you!”
The maids’ pupils trembled.
Last night had been a nightmare itself. A disaster they had never even imagined struck suddenly.
‘Kyah!’
The place they were dragged into with a short scream was a space where not a sliver of light entered. They had no chance to see who had dragged them in.
‘If you open your mouths, you might just die.’
A lively voice laced with girlish innocence rang out in the darkness. At the same time, something hard as pebbles flew at them from all directions. They could not even sense where or how they were being beaten. The only thing the maids could do was cover their heads and curl their bodies.
‘P-please stop… I beg you.’
They begged and begged, but an annoyed voice was heard.
‘So who told you to serve dinner in that manner?’
At that moment, the maids recalled Grace’s figure. In the room where nothing could be seen, she had gripped their chins tightly.
‘Please forgive us.’
‘Forgive? How dare you speak of forgiveness after serving me so, when I have come as His Excellency’s lover?’
The beating went on, and just when they thought they might die, it ended with a threat.
‘Speak of this, and you die.’
But in the end, they had spilled everything.
As far as they knew, no one who fell out of the Marchioness’s favor remained unscathed. From the maids’ point of view, Marchioness Rinko, who could make even noblewomen as lofty as the heavens dance to her tune with a single word, was the queen of Richmond.
Grace of unclear origins and the queen of Richmond. The variable was the Duke, but he could not interfere deeply in the affairs of the inner household. When the fear that had filled their chests transformed into anger, the maids burst into tears and raised their grievances.
“We were confined in a room without even light!”
“On our way back after serving her meal, that woman dragged us into a room. There… *sob* she tried to kill us!”
At the maids’ cries, the noblewomen around the Marchioness covered their mouths with their hands and gasped.
“Oh my!”
“Heavens! For such a barbaric act to occur in Richmond Ducal Castle…!”
Grace turned to the Marchioness and objected.
“There was no such thing. After finishing the meal they prepared, I was with His Excellency.”
Then she asked the maids.
“Is it true that you saw me clearly?”
The maids cried out, sobbing.
“You beat us after dragging us somewhere we couldn’t see anything at all!! *Sob*, but we know your voice!! You spoke of meal service and such—things that only a noble lady would know!!”
“That’s right, *sob sob*.”
Flora came forward, shedding tears.
“I… should have protected you. No, I shouldn’t have sent you. I’m sorry.”
“*Sob*, my lady…”
Even the noblewomen seated along the walls stirred, and Countess Reuwen, seizing the opportunity, sprang up from her seat.
“Confess in detail what on earth you have done!!”
Grace took care that her breathing did not quicken and calmly organized the situation.
The confinement and assault had occurred in a dark room, and the maids had pointed to her as the culprit before the eyes of numerous noblewomen. And though the Marchioness was maintaining an expressionless face, the confidence in her eyes looked as solid as ancient strata. She was certain of her victory.
For now, she had to escape well from the case of the maids’ confinement and assault. Because it was not her status that would snare her, but being caught by her actions—that would be the danger.
Grace carefully chose her words and opened her mouth.
“Usually, there is a motive behind any action.”