Lady Cornwall quietly finished organizing the Duke’s documents herself and stepped out. As she passed through the marble corridor bathed in sunlight, a trusted maid came running from afar.
“My lady!”
The maid quickly drew near and reported what had occurred outside the castle. Though she clenched and unclenched her fists in anger as she spoke, Lady Cornwall did not so much as alter her breathing.
“I will handle the attendant. Moreover, with so much wheat burned this time and such large quantities being exported, many families will starve. Relief supplies will arrive tonight; instruct them to prepare to receive them.”
“Yes. Also, a hawk has arrived from Saxen.”
Lady Cornwall went to a secluded spot and carefully opened the letter the maid had secretly obtained. After heating a finely honed knife in the fire, she gently slid it beneath the wax seal at the bottom of the letter. The seal popped free.
A cold sneer touched Lady Cornwall’s lips as she swiftly scanned the contents. After resealing the letter perfectly, she went straight to Duchess Taylor.
In the Duchess’s chambers, Rosette was present, as had recently become usual. Rosette clung to her mother, paying no mind to Lady Cornwall’s arrival.
“Mother, I haven’t enough dresses.”
“We bought you some.”
“But they are silk and pale green. Winter is almost here—what use is a pale green dress? And how could I wear something I’ve already worn?”
Exasperated by Rosette’s whining, the Duchess snapped in annoyance.
“How can you be so thoughtless?! Don’t you know Mother had her entire jewelry box seized by the Countess of Saxen? Just a few diamond necklaces. What of the dresses? This dress I am wearing—I am already wearing it for the third time!”
An uncomfortable, heavy silence fell between mother and daughter. Like Duke Taylor, both were simply at a loss as to why this current crisis had come about. In the end, they directed the blame for this crisis at Grace.
The Duchess dug her nails into the innocent sofa and muttered viciously.
“Grace, you ungrateful wretch. If only the debts to Saxen had been settled, none of this would have happened!”
“Exactly. It is all because of her. She doesn’t appreciate the kindness Mother and Father showed in raising her. But who in the world did she fall for to run away like that?”
As if suddenly curious, Rosette turned to Lady Cornwall and asked,
“You are searching for her, aren’t you?”
Lady Cornwall smiled, her expression oddly ruthless. She alternated her gaze between mother and daughter and nodded slightly.
“I had not yet informed you as the intelligence was not definitive, but it seems she is at the Duke of Richmond’s estate.”
Startled by the unexpected news, Rosette turned fully toward her, and the Duchess stopped clawing the sofa.
“The Duke of Richmond’s estate?”
“Yes. Her appearance is quite distinctive, after all. I have obtained information that a woman matching her description was sighted at the Duke of Richmond’s estate.”
“Why would Grace be at the Duke of Richmond’s estate?”
“I am still verifying it, but it will take some time. I intend to report to His Grace as well, but Richmond has been rather chaotic of late. It is said that the Duke of Richmond has returned.”
“The Duke of Richmond? You mean the one who went to the Wall of Death?”
“Yes.”
As mother and daughter blinked in blank astonishment, Lady Cornwall placed the letter she had brought between them. Both pairs of eyes turned to the letter at once.
“It is a letter from Count Saxen.”
The Duchess snatched the letter and tore off the seal. Rosette held her breath as she watched her mother.
The Duchess’s eyes darted busily from side to side as she read downward. Then, stopping as if nailed in place at a certain point, she stared at her daughter over the paper.
“…….”
“……?”
The mother looked at her daughter with bewildered eyes; the daughter looked at her mother with questioning eyes.
“What is it? Could it be… that Her Majesty the Empress is furious? Is she going to punish our house?”
“…….”
“Mother?”
The Duchess read the letter again. Read twice, the contents remained the same.
*‘You must endure it even if your husband brings home a bastard, and even if he raises his hand to you sometimes. You will live a life that makes you wonder if this is rock bottom, but what can you do?’*
Her own words to Grace echoed in her mind. The savage, cruel face of the Countess of Saxen and the image of Jack Saxen, covered in livid bruises, rose before her in turn.
The Duchess raised her eyes to face her daughter.
But…….
Without realizing it, the Duchess ran her tongue over her lips and slowly opened her mouth.
“From Count Saxen…….”
“Pardon?”
“They wish for you to marry Jack Saxen.”
\* \* \*
Rosette was beside herself.
She knew better than anyone what kind of man Jack Saxen was. From the moment he had been mentioned as a match for Grace, she had obsessively investigated his background.
His record was like a buffet of meticulously arranged villainies.
Gambling, violence, womanizing, bastards…….
Even his flashy title as the Empress’s nephew became an empty name in the face of his countless misdeeds.
The moment Grace’s marriage to him was confirmed, Rosette had never felt such exhilaration. Grace’s misfortune had seemed almost palpable.
But now this.
“Oh, what a relief! A relief! They were so angry that day that they left, but upon reflection, they preferred you, Rosette, to the likes of Grace.”
Duke Taylor reread the letter from Count Saxen several times, his face bright with delight. He seemed not to notice his daughter’s wretched expression in the slightest.
“Steward! Look here. They say that if the marriage goes through, they will return all the money and goods taken as debt this time, correct?”
“Hmm… yes, it does seem so.”
“They wish to discuss the matter! Steward! Prepare for our departure to the capital!”
“You have several engagements until the end of this week, so immediate departure is impossible. It seems you could depart around mid-next week; shall I prepare for that?”
“Yes, well then…….”
“No!!!”
Duke Taylor whirled to face his daughter, and Rosette shrieked.
“Absolutely not!!!”
“What?!”
“I would rather die than marry Jack Saxen, I cannot!!”
“Rosette!!”
“Father, don’t you know what a wretched scoundrel he is? They say he has six bastards! Not one or two, but six!! He gambles every day, beats people, and paws at maids. You expect me to become that man’s wife?!”
Duke Taylor looked at his hysterical daughter and let out a deep sigh.
“Such things are temporary.”
“What?”
“I said it’s temporary, Rosy. What do you think a noble marriage is? Bastards? In the land of Decan, bastards cannot inherit a thing. Gambling? Leave him be. Forget such matters and look at the status, the status!”
“…….”
“When you think of it that way, isn’t he a fine match? No, rather excellent! You will marry Her Majesty the Empress’s nephew.”
Rosette felt the ground crumble beneath her feet. An icy chill, as though all the blood were draining from her body, made her shudder involuntarily.
*‘What an excellent match. You’ll be the Empress’s nephew’s wife starting tomorrow, won’t you? Good for you, Grace.’*
The words she had spitefully poured over Grace were now being returned to her by her father. That day, Grace had smiled and thanked her, but Rosette could not possibly do the same.
“Excellent? What is excellent, I ask you?! How could you do this to me, Father!!”
Already in poor spirits, Duke Taylor’s face began to flush as his daughter threw a fit. But resolving to endure it just this once, he gripped his daughter’s shoulders tightly and spoke.
“Take the long view. I may be Duke Taylor, but these days House Saxen holds the upper hand. In about twenty years, that house will become yours, Rosy.”
Rosette shoved her father’s hands away forcefully.
“Don’t dress it up with pretty words!! You just want to sell me for money—urk!!”
In the end, Duke Taylor’s rage exploded and he seized his daughter’s shoulder brutally.
Rosette looked at her father with tear-filled eyes, but Duke Taylor’s expression was utterly cold.
“I have fed and raised you all this time. So now it is your turn to do your part, is it not?”
*‘Then you marry him. Surely it is you, not I, who should pay the price for having borne and raised me.’*
Grace’s—that damned woman’s—soft voice echoed like a hallucination, and in the end Rosette burst into a wretched sob.
Duke Taylor released his daughter’s shoulder with a dismissive pat and commanded the steward.
“Steward! Send a hawk to Saxen informing them we depart for the capital next week!”
Rosette’s heartbreaking sobs echoed hollowly.