Chapter 14
The boy opened his eyes. A woman he had never seen before was staring at him and the head gardener.
‘Who is she?’
The woman had flaming red hair and eyes of the same color. From her dress, she seemed to be someone of high status, but he had never seen her before.
“……?”
The man was still holding his raised hand, looking at the woman with puzzled eyes.
“Who… are you?”
“D-Don’t hit him…”
“…….”
“Don’t. You can’t hit him.”
Grace, flustered, accidentally used formal speech but quickly changed to informal. She remembered that Annie had told her to speak casually with the workers in the estate.
“That child… don’t hit… him. Stop.”
Though she was scared of the man’s fierce eyes, Grace met his gaze and spoke her mind.
She didn’t know where the courage came from. But the moment the man raised his hand, she remembered how her half-brothers used to hit her. She didn’t want the boy to suffer the same.
“…….”
The man furrowed his brows at Grace but slowly lowered his hand. He thought he knew who this unfamiliar woman was. He remembered hearing the gardeners gossiping two days ago.
They had said the duke’s fiancée had arrived at the estate. That she was a daughter of the ducal family from the capital.
“But this brat deserves to be hit, my lady.”
The man’s voice became polite all of a sudden. Still, he didn’t forget to glare at the boy once more.
“E-Even so…”
Grace shook her head. The boy was so small and young. Maybe fourteen or fifteen? If he were struck by the man’s huge hand, he would surely collapse.
“No. You mustn’t hit him.”
“…Hmph. You’re lucky today. Do your remaining work properly. Got it?”
Grace stepped in front of the boy to shield him. The man sighed, shook off his hands with a displeased face, and left.
‘…What just happened?’
The boy was bewildered. A strange woman had suddenly appeared, stammered as she told the gardener not to hit him, and the head gardener had simply walked away.
“H-Here.”
Grace turned her eyes toward the boy. She pointed to a spot between the branches he had trimmed. The boy, still confused, followed her finger.
“It’s… it’s fine. This is… p-pretty.”
“…….”
“You did a good… job.”
Grace smiled at him. To her, the tree looked fine. The branches were neatly trimmed. She couldn’t understand why the man had scolded and tried to hit him.
The boy, meanwhile, felt strange hearing her words. Ever since he had started learning gardening, he had never been praised.
The head gardener only yelled and criticized, and the other gardeners never helped or encouraged him. They only tried not to fall out of favor with the head gardener.
But now, he was being praised. His work was called pretty and well done.
“E-Everything… looks nice… what you did.”
The boy’s cheeks turned pink. He had longed to hear such words but had never heard them before.
“Um… may I ask who you are?”
He wanted to know the identity of the kind woman who had protected him and praised his work.
“G-Grace.”
“Gr…ace?”
The boy tilted his head at the unfamiliar name. He didn’t recognize it. But considering the terrifying head gardener had backed down immediately, he could only guess she was someone important.
“Want some?”
Grace took a piece of candy from her pocket and held it out to the boy.
She had been feeling down after hearing bad things about herself from the maids, but now she felt better. She thought maybe the boy would feel better too if he had some candy. She remembered how happy Annie and Rena had been when she shared sweets with them.
“Why… are you giving this to me?”
“Eat it…”
The gardener’s reaction was even more dramatic than the maids. He jumped in surprise and looked back and forth between Grace and the candy.
‘Maybe he doesn’t want it?’
Grace wondered if his reaction meant rejection and studied his face.
“Ah!”
“…….”
“Th-Thank you. Thank you!”
The boy took the candy with trembling hands. It looked so precious that he hesitated to accept it, but since someone of high status was offering, he couldn’t refuse.
“I’ll eat it well!”
“Mm. Okay.”
Grace could tell from his cheerful voice that it wasn’t a rejection, and it made her happy too.
“You’ll… do well.”
“Yes, ma’am! I’ll work hard!”
The boy bowed repeatedly. It was the same vow he always made to the head gardener, but this time, his voice was full of joy.
“…….”
Grace watched him fondly. She felt glad she had spoken up and stopped the man.
“My lady, please raise your arms.”
Grace stood in the center of the room, led by Annie’s hand. Her mind was a little hazy after almost two hours of bathing.
Annie had insisted she soak in water infused with dried flowers and scented oils until her skin absorbed the fragrance. She then massaged Grace from head to toe and applied scented oil to her hair before twisting it up.
“Rena, bring the dress.”
At Annie’s command, Rena brought the wedding dress she had been holding.
“…Ah.”
Grace let out a small gasp. The pure white dress was the most beautiful she had ever seen. The rich lace and sparkling beads instantly drew her attention. It looked even more stunning than the fancy clothes Diana and Sarah wore to those so-called “parties.”
While Grace admired the dress, Annie removed the clothes she had been wearing. After a week of being assisted, Grace had grown used to it and didn’t flinch when touched. Rena approached her.
“Please slip your arms through here, and your legs through there.”
Grace carefully slid her limbs through the fluffy, flower-like skirt. Rena and Sally fastened the dress from the back.
“Now, please have a seat.”
Annie guided her to the vanity.
“Could you close your eyes?”
Grace obediently closed her eyes. She felt soft pats on her face, then something being applied to her eyelids and lips. Something was even attached to her lashes.
“You can open your eyes now.”
At Annie’s words, Grace opened her eyes.
“…….”
She stared blankly at the mirror. A familiar yet unfamiliar girl looked back at her.
Large, clear almond-shaped eyes, a sharp nose, and rosy cheeks and lips filled with youthful innocence and freshness.
“You look so low-born and filthy. Even your face is unpleasant to look at.”
“You can tell how cheap she is just by her face.”
The words of Diana and Sarah flashed through her mind. They always said she had a face that looked common and disgraceful. But the girl in the mirror looked like someone who had lived a noble, sheltered life.
“You were always pretty, but today you look truly stunning. When the Duke sees you, he’ll be totally smitten!”
Annie exclaimed excitedly.
Grace hadn’t seen the Duke in the past week. One of the traditions in the North was that the bride and groom would not meet or eat together for a week before the wedding. It came from an old myth and was meant to avoid bad luck.
The Duke had been working in a separate office and training. Since it was far from Grace’s living quarters, they hadn’t run into each other.
Knock knock. Just then, someone knocked on the door.
“Oh, they must be here!”
Annie’s face brightened.
“Come in!”
The door opened right after she called out. A young man came in, holding a small box.
“Over here.”
Rena took the box and brought it to the vanity. When she opened it, colorful jeweled accessories sparkled inside. There were necklaces, earrings, rings, bracelets—everything.
“These are your accessories for today. Would you like to choose one?”
“They’re all so beautiful. I think everything would suit you, my lady. Oh, we should start calling you madam today. We totally forgot!”
Annie stuck out her tongue playfully.
“Please choose, madam.”
“…….”
Grace stared blankly at the smiling Annie. Just the change in how they addressed her made everything feel different.
It suddenly hit her—she was about to become the Duchess of Winstaine.
Even though she had been preparing for the wedding, it hadn’t felt real until now.
