Chapter 59
Chapter 59 – A Chilling Gaze
“Actually, I’m over the age to stay at the orphanage… but the director is letting me stay a bit longer out of kindness.”
Jerome gave an awkward smile, probably because I had stared at him too long.
He must’ve thought I was questioning why someone his age was still at an orphanage.
“I see.”
Well, I guess here, sixteen is considered old enough to debut into society.
The orphanage probably couldn’t keep adults around forever.
Still… to be preparing to leave at such a young age.
He still has baby fuzz on his face.
He seemed smart and well-mannered.
If he had nowhere to go, I thought he could maybe work at the Grand Duke’s estate…
But I couldn’t just invite someone there on my own, so I stayed quiet.
“Your Grace?”
When I didn’t return for a while, the orphanage director came looking for me in the backyard.
“It’s time to go.”
Despite the children’s disappointed protests, Cecilia gave the order for the knights to prepare for departure.
Just as I was about to board the carriage, the children came to see us off one last time.
“Don’t go!”
Artis, who had looked upset for a while now, suddenly grabbed my skirt.
“Please don’t go!”
“I want to go with you!”
Oh dear.
The children who had been laughing earlier were now clinging to me with tearful faces.
Of course, I had come with good intentions.
But maybe having someone come and go so suddenly was more painful for them.
As more and more kids clung to my skirt, the orphanage director looked like he was about to faint.
“S-stop that! Do you know how expensive that dress is?!”
“Shh.”
I gently put my finger to my lips to hush him, then bent down to hug the children surrounding me.
This wasn’t part of the original plan, but…
“You got a lot of toys, dolls, and books today, right? If you play nicely with those, I’ll come visit again.”
“You will?”
“I still don’t want you to go!”
“If you promise not to fight, to listen to the teachers, and to Jerome too…”
I had to repeat that I’d return several times before the children’s grip started to loosen.
The director and teachers hurried to gently pull the kids away from me.
“They just like you so much, Your Grace,” said Jerome with an apologetic look as he lifted Artis, who had been the last to let go of my skirt.
“It’s probably just because I’m someone new.”
Leaving behind the flustered director, I finally boarded the carriage.
Tiern held out his hand to help me up, but his expression was… odd.
What now?
His handsome brows were tightly furrowed—clearly, he didn’t like the mood.
Is he jealous that the kids like me so much?
Well, too bad.
Kids have a way of knowing who the kind people are.
Hmph. I smirked inwardly as the carriage rolled out.
“Your Grace, would you like to stop by the inn since we’re out?”
“Should we?”
Thanks to Cecile’s recipes gaining popularity, the inn had been getting a lot of attention.
With the title of being the original place that started the “menu of the day,” the inn had gotten so busy that they had to set up extra tables outside.
After seeing the children, my heart felt heavy for some reason.
Maybe I just needed a spicy bowl of tomato stew to clear my head.
That’s when I absentmindedly pulled the curtain aside to look outside.
We weren’t on the usual main road—but going through a quieter back alley.
Then suddenly, I felt it—a chilling gaze.
Looking around, I saw townspeople staring right at the carriage.
We were moving, so I couldn’t clearly see their faces.
But it was obvious their gazes weren’t friendly.
They were cold, filled with hostility and scorn.
Is this the first time I’ve gone out properly with an escort of knights?
The hatred toward “the Grand Duchess’s carriage” was suffocating.
I quickly dropped the curtain.
It might’ve just been in my head, but I thought I could hear them whispering too.
“The Grand Duchess… that woman… a marquis’s daughter… how dare she…”
Mixed in with the sound of hooves, I could hear sneering voices echoing in my head.
My chest tightened. I tried to calm myself down.
“Your Grace, are you alright?”
Cecilia had noticed the strange mood and looked at me with concern.
“I’m fine. I think it’s better if we skip the inn today. Let’s go back to the estate.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
There would be far more people around the inn.
Just imagining all those people pointing and whispering…
Marina Jacques would probably be flustered too.
And most of all—I didn’t want Tiern and the knights to see me like that.
Cecilia quickly tapped the carriage wall and gave the new destination to the coachman, who turned the carriage around.
“Are you really alright, Your Grace? Should I call the physician when we arrive?”
“I’m okay. It’s just a bit of nausea.”
Sensing the heaviness in the air, Cecilia tried to change the subject.
“Will you visit the orphanage again?”
“I promised I would.”
I thought of the cold backyard of the orphanage as I answered.
“It would be nice if there was a field or forest nearby to go on a picnic with the kids. But I guess that would be pretty far away?”
“…Ah!”
After thinking for a moment, Cecilia clapped her hands together.
“There’s a lake not too far from Goldrain!”
“A lake?”
That reminded me of the view I saw from the carriage on my first day here.
At the end of the road leading down from the Grand Duke’s castle, there was a large lake.
“It’s closed off right now, though,” Cecilia said, frowning.
“The lake and the land around it all belong to the Blenheim family. There’s probably a fence around it too.”
Even from a distance, the lake looked huge.
I was impressed that it was all private land.
Suddenly, Cecilia’s eyes lit up.
“If you ask His Grace, maybe he’ll let us in?”
“Ask the Grand Duke?”
Cecilia leaned forward eagerly.
“If you ask, I’m sure he’ll say yes!”
A lake would be a great place for kids to play…
I was thinking to myself when Cecilia suddenly exclaimed, “Exactly! Let’s go on a spring picnic to the lake!”
Her eyes sparkled with excitement.
“I’ll ask Bernie to make a bunch of sandwiches. Just a small outing with the two of us — get some fresh air, what do you think?”
“Just us? What about the kids?”
“It’s already spring, and you haven’t even had a proper outing yet, Your Grace,” Cecilia said, pouting.
“We can always bring the children next time if it’s nice.”
Well, that made sense — we didn’t know the lake’s condition yet.
And there might be a reason the Grand Duke kept it closed, like the greenhouse.
‘I should get his permission first anyway.’
“There must be boats by the lake too, right? Should we go boating?”
She was getting way too excited about this.
I tilted my head, a bit surprised.
“I didn’t know you liked outings that much.”
“Should I bring a parasol? Or maybe a wide-brimmed hat would be better?”
Clearly, she wasn’t even listening to me anymore.
Watching her get so thrilled, even licking her lips in excitement, I gave her a suspicious look.
Cecilia looked away like she felt caught.
“Cecilia.”
When I gently called her name, she finally confessed the truth.
“Actually, Lady Meisel really wanted to visit the lake and talked about it a lot.”
“Lady Meisel did?”
“She even said she’d ask Count Avoir to take her, but she couldn’t get in.”
Cecilia’s mouth curled in a wicked grin.
‘Wow… my maid has quite a grudge against Meisel too.’
“If she finds out I went to the lake with you, she’ll be so jealous!”
She even looked a bit crazy with excitement just thinking about it.
I clicked my tongue slightly.
No wonder she suddenly got so excited about the lake.
“Cecilia. I’m the Grand Duchess.”
I calmly adjusted my clothes and spoke kindly.
“I can’t act just for personal reasons like that.”
“…”
“I’ll ask the Grand Duke.”
And when our eyes met, we both burst out laughing.
Later that evening, I visited the Grand Duke’s office.
“Your Grace, are you busy?”
I peeked my head in through the door and saw the Grand Duke looking surprised.
“No, come in.”
He looked a little flustered but soon asked someone to bring tea.
“Did your visit to the orphanage go well?”
I gave a full report of the visit.
When I mentioned how dull the orphanage environment was, he looked a little embarrassed and touched his teacup.
“That’s my fault. I haven’t visited since it was finished.”
“How is that your fault? You’ve got a million other things to worry about.”
In truth, he probably couldn’t go because of the curse.
“From now on, I’ll take care of the orphanage, so let me worry about it.”
I even patted my chest confidently. He smiled softly at that.
“Then please let me know anytime if you need help.”
“Actually, I do have something to ask you.”
I carefully brought up the lake.
“You mean Lake Valpide?”
“Yes. I heard it’s closed off.”
I hesitated a little.
“…Would it be possible for me to see it?”
“You want to see the lake?”
“Yes. It looked beautiful from up on the hill.”
“It is… a beautiful place,” he said, rubbing his forehead. Then his expression turned a bit troubled.
“I have a full schedule tomorrow.”
“…?”
‘Wait, I didn’t mean I wanted to go with him!’
I was about to wave my hands and explain, but then I stopped myself.
There’s no need to embarrass him.
“That’s okay. If you’re busy, I’ll just go with Cecilia—”
Suddenly, the Grand Duke placed his hand firmly on the desk.
“Tonight works!”
“…Sorry?”
“I… I’m not very busy right now, so… would you like to go tonight?”
‘Tonight?’
I blinked, wondering if I heard him right.
The sky outside was already getting dark.
Yosunn
Thank you freya 💖