Chapter 104
“That’s all.”
Angela was already leaning against Kalian’s shoulder. Kalian’s hand was gently stroking Angela’s cheek. The atmosphere was completely different from when he wielded a sword. It was an infinitely soft touch.
But in contrast to his actions, Kalian’s face was rigid, as if he were facing an enemy he could never defeat.
Angela had spoken of their conversation as if it were no big deal, but she must have noticed that Ian was an absurdly good man. There was no way she couldn’t have. The consideration and respect seeped through every word he said.
Moreover, as Kalian listened to Angela’s words, he realized the true nature of the defeat he felt toward Ian. It was a more fundamental issue.
Even in the moments when the entire Phaelon, including Kalian, insulted Angela by calling her a devilish woman, Ian alone had smiled at her with genuine sincerity.
While Kalian was flailing about under the pretext of correcting Angela when she deviated from his ideals, Ian alone had been steadfastly gazing at her.
Those things brought Kalian to his knees. They made it impossible for him to say in front of Ian that he loved Angela more. He shrank back, fearing that if he tried to compete in size, he’d end up losing.
“That’s strange.”
At that moment, Angela lifted her head from where it rested against Kalian and looked straight at him. Her clear eyes, like a lake where every ripple was visible, made Kalian’s breath catch for an instant.
“…What do you mean?”
The question barely came out. Angela let out a scoff, as if it were something embarrassing to say aloud, and replied.
“Why do I like only you this much? Maybe you did something to me the day we first met.”
With her eyes crinkling brightly at the corners, Angela leaned back against Kalian’s shoulder and murmured.
“Kalian, you were so radiant and shining that I thought the sun had risen.”
“……”
“From that day on, my world has been in perpetual daylight.”
Who was calling whom the sun? The one shining so brightly it hurt the eyes was Angela. Even now, wasn’t she illuminating Kalian’s world?
Kalian pulled Angela’s shoulder close, drawing her into his embrace. The sun was setting, but Angela and Kalian were welcoming their own private daylight. Their sun was right there, beneath the sky, in front of each other’s eyes.
* * *
“Get apart. Get apart. I said get apart.”
After putting on all sorts of impressive airs in front of Angela, Ian had missed the timing to leave Kalian’s tent. Now, leaning against a nearby tree, he spotted Angela and Kalian engaged in affectionate conversation and began hurling curses that weren’t quite curses.
When Angela had left earlier, he should have followed her out, bid a proper farewell, and returned to his own tent without lingering. But he’d completely blown it.
What if those two came back like this? Oh man, that would be utterly embarrassing. If Kalian asked with that relaxed face what he was still doing there, Ian felt like he’d understand what it meant to want to dunk his face in a basin of water.
“Cecil……”
Ian called out into the void the name of the one who could be his savior. It was a desperate plea.
* * *
Rasill opened the door to Grace’s room, bracing herself for the onslaught of sweltering heat. But preparation alone couldn’t handle the scorching waves that surged out.
“Gasp!”
The moment she stepped inside, her breath caught in her throat. It was getting worse by the day. But compared to the state of the room, the heart-squeezing heat was nothing. She’d just come to check on her after a while……
“What in the world is all this?”
Rasill wanted to turn right around and leave the room.
A total mess.
Grace’s room could be summed up in one word. She couldn’t find a more fitting description.
The room was filled with feathers and fluff swirling like snow from pillows, cushions, and blankets that had been torn to shreds. Empty liquor bottles rolled everywhere, and around the fireplace that showed no sign of dying out, there was a thick layer of black ash and soot.
In the midst of that chaos, Grace sat with a composed expression. Sprawled languidly on a sofa that had lost its cushions, she glanced at Rasill.
“You’re insane.”
Rasill shot back bluntly. With a faint laugh, Grace idly waved the hand she’d been dangling off the sofa, as if conjuring magic.
“I thought you’d discarded me once I was no longer useful, but here comes His Majesty the King at last.”
Rasill strode over and grabbed that hand, pulling Grace up to a sitting position. Forced to lean against the backrest, Grace stared at Rasill with a mocking gaze.
“No longer useful? There’s still so much usefulness left.”
Hiding her twisted expression, Rasill responded, and Grace smiled radiantly.
“What else shall I do for you, Your Highness?”
It was a smile that truly made one appreciate what an extraordinary beauty she was. However, after having seen the monster lurking beneath that shell multiple times, it was too late to fall for her charms. It only repulsed her.
“How about trying to clean the room yourself? This is a space where even maids aren’t allowed.”
As she spoke, Rasill expected Grace to harden her face and explode in anger. But surprisingly, Grace shocked her with an unexpected reply.
“Shall I?”
“Ha, is our Grace nearing death? Why are you doing things you never do?”
Rasill placed a hand on Grace’s cheek, as if trying to peel off the skin. It felt like a fake was wearing her mask and imitating her.
Then Grace fiercely slapped Rasill’s hand away.
“Don’t get ahead of yourself.”
“Haha. Yes, that’s more like Grace.”
Grinning crookedly, Rasill turned to leave after the brief visit, closing the door with a final remark: ‘I was serious about cleaning the room. It’s too filthy.’ Grace, who had been staring blankly in that direction, now wore a murderous smile on her expressionless face.
The room had ended up like this because of Dominic. Last night, for the first time, he’d refused her entry into his mind. She couldn’t open the bolted door of his consciousness.
Why?
He was a human riddled with holes. A shabby one where poking anywhere would open a door. There was no way he could suddenly defend himself like this.
Angela…… What had she done? But how? She was still just a naive, bland fool.
Lost in such thoughts, she’d gone into a rage and ended up like this. But now, looking back.
“The problem wasn’t over there; it was more on this side.”
Grace murmured while still staring at the door Rasill had left through. More precisely, she was sniffing the scent he had left behind.
The bloody stench of beasts vibrated through the air. What had he been up to? It was reminiscent of the times when Grace had indiscriminately slaughtered animals in her mad pursuit of demonic power.
She had thought it would be fine as long as they remained useful to each other, but that seemed to have been a naive delusion. He appeared to be plotting something absurd, but if it threatened her life, Grace couldn’t just stand by and watch.
“Stupid bastard.”
Grace’s destination for tonight was Rasill’s dreams. She intended to visit with a delightfully pleasant nightmare—one so beautiful that he’d never want to dream again.
* * *
It hadn’t been long since the mistress had left, yet the Florence estate was no longer as lively as before. Everyone tried to muster their spirits inwardly, but for the servants who lived for the joy of serving their master, sweeping and polishing rooms that wouldn’t be used for a while felt utterly depressing.
And among them, the one showing the greatest gloom was undoubtedly Mary. She was a child who adored Angela beyond measure, so it was somewhat expected, but even while giggling away, she’d turn her gaze to the window and pout her lips.
She was clearly waiting, just in case Angela might return. If she heard even the sound of a horse’s neigh, she’d dash out to check what it was before coming back inside. No matter how many times they told her there was no way Angela would return so soon, Mary couldn’t seem to let go of her expectations.
Her bedtime had become excessively early too. Hilda, encountering Mary who had already washed up and prepared for bed not long after dinner, widened her eyes and asked.
“Going to sleep already?”
“Yes, I’m trying to sleep early.”
Mary nodded and answered at the same time. With Angela gone, there wasn’t anything special to do, and what a maid did after finishing her work was her own business, but Hilda tilted her head, thinking it was still too early.
Sensing that it was concern, Mary smiled brightly and explained the reason.
“The young lady promised to visit me in my dreams. So I’m going to sleep a lot, a lot.”
Hilda couldn’t help but chuckle at Mary’s innocence. Dreams didn’t come just because you resolved to have them, and it was probably just something said to soothe the crying, fussing Mary, but seeing her believe it so firmly made her utterly adorable. Hilda could understand why Angela doted on Mary so much.
“Mary.”
Hilda took Mary’s hand and pulled her along as she spoke.
“Right now, it’s a time when Miss Angela is wide awake with her eyes open, so even if she wants to come to your dream, she can’t.”
Mary, who had been resisting being pulled, relaxed at those words and began walking obediently after Hilda. The place Hilda took her to was the servants’ lounge. Just then, Jo and a few other maids had come in with heaps of snacks.
It wasn’t prepared specifically for Mary, but Jo naturally placed the entire basket of snacks in front of the youngest one.
“Eat this and cheer up quickly. A little one like you is already trying to furrow her brows!”
Jo playfully scolded Mary and pulled out the sweetest cookie from the snack basket, forcing it into her hand. She gestured insistently for her to put it in her mouth and chew.
Pushed along, Mary took a small bite of the cookie. After the crunchy sensation, a pleasant sweetness spread throughout her mouth. As she savored it by chewing thoroughly, Mary’s lips pouted out again.
“Our young lady probably can’t have anything this tasty, right? What could there be on the battlefield?”
At those words, Hilda felt awkward about how to relay the news of Angela that Emmett had passed on.
Word had come via carrier pigeon that Miss Angela had taken down a boar as big as a house, and the entire army had feasted on it, but if she told it straight, Mary might end up disappointed that Angela was doing fine without her.
Don’t worry, Mary. It seems Miss Angela is adapting much better than expected.
* * *
Mary’s face brightened considerably the next day. At first, they thought she was in a good mood because Angela had personally caught and eaten a boar as big as a house, but she was all excited, saying that Angela had promised to visit in her dreams and had indeed come last night.
Her scampering around offering to help with cleaning actually stirred up more dust, but no one nagged her about it. It had been a while since Mary was so energetic, so everyone just smiled and let it slide.
With even Mary moving about so lively, the wilted Florence estate seemed to come alive again.
Carrying brooms, mops, buckets, flowerpots, and all sorts of things, Mary was working enthusiastically when she spotted Jo and Hilda and quickly ran over to them.
“Sisters!”
Even before Mary called out, the two had already stopped at the sight of her trotting over, wondering if she was coming to brag about the dream she’d had, and looked at her with interest.
Soon, the words that came from Mary’s mouth were indeed about the dream.
“The young lady said she left some tasks for you sisters, and if you’re bored, we should do them together. What is it?”
Tasks that Angela had specifically assigned? There were. She’d said that since they might need it someday, they should teach the illiterate servants how to read and write. But still……
In that instant, a chill ran down the backs of Jo and Hilda’s necks. Angela had said that in a dream? Really……? Then, was that the real Miss Angela……
They both shook their heads simultaneously to dispel the absurd thought. Then, as if deciding not to pursue it further, Jo spoke first.
“Mary, do you know how to write?”
It was a question asked casually, given how young she was, with no real expectations. But Mary nodded vigorously.
“Yes! I can write enough to exchange letters with His Excellency!”
Her face was filled densely with a smile that was utterly confident.
