# 45
---
“Why did you suddenly start treating me with respect...?”
“Then address me, too, with respect. From now on, don’t call me by my name like that inside the palace.”
“…Flora?”
“Don't you understand the first time? Since ancient times, you have not understood unless things are put on the dots.”
Flora furrowed her eyebrows and held her hand tightly.
“It has become difficult for me now to deal with you without barriers. You know what I mean, don't you?
I'm the one who's going to be a duchess, and you're just a baron's daughter... We're not on the same level, are we?
The face of the young lady who had rushed to her had turned white, while Flora's expression remained unbearably gentle.
“Anyway, miss, I'll invite you to tea one day. Come to the palace then.”
Flora felt the eyes of the nobles' sons directed at her, so she straightened her shoulders more. Instead of the gentle smile she was accustomed to wearing, she wore a cold, authoritative expression, like a marquise.
Her steps were lighter than ever. This vast palace seemed to her warmer than ever, as if she were walking above the clouds, numbed by the ecstasy of altitude.
Even when she entered the damp and cold lower prison, she did not feel afraid. Rather, she had a burning feeling of pleasure. Her desire to know how this woman, who had courted the Duke with everything she had, had gone mad, and what she now looked like, was unbearable.
I wish she had truly gone mad, in the most horrific way. To the point where the Duke loses any sympathy for her as soon as she sees her.
But when she stepped onto the stairs of the solitary cell, Flora hung her head in astonishment. The silence was strangely strange. Maniacs usually scream strange howls and mumble nonstop. Did that woman go crazy silently?
“Miss Lewin, watch your step.”
Flora came down the stairs in such a hurry that the lady-in-waiting had to alert her.
“She's still alive, isn't she?”
"Yes."
The soldier who peered inside through the hatch opened the lock of the cell in which Grace was confined. Flora's eyes sparkled in the darkness.
Her heart was pounding.
Please...please...you have gone completely crazy.
While she was repeating her unspoken wish in her secret, the cell door opened. However, the darkness did not lift immediately, and Grace's face did not appear immediately.
“Hurry up, light up!”
Flora shouted sharply, feeling unjustified impatience, and the soldier extended the torch inside. The flame swayed in the wind, melting the black curtain that was the enclosure.
As the darkness receded, the dungeon that made everyone locked inside it insane was revealed. The face of the Richmond society princess, who had never seen anything but beauty in her life, suddenly distorted. This was not because of the strange atmosphere exuded by the cell.
The euphoria that had filled her until that moment vanished like a mirage, and she felt as if an icy hand was touching her heart, and her chest fell with a suffocating coldness.
Flora unconsciously clenched her molars.
Grace was sitting leaning against the wall, slouching as if exhausted. But there was not the slightest trace of madness in her eyes.
“Stubborn to a disgusting degree...!”
The woman who wished her madness endured to the end in hell.
＊ ＊ ＊
Since early morning the Marquise had been in a good mood, but the Marquise's mood was not good. There was no clear reason.
Is it because Flora Lewin appeared in a dress that did not suit her, and announced that she would bring Grace herf? Or was it because her hair was raised as if she were imitating her, and the ring with a large stone that she wore as a show, were annoying to look at?
Anyway, there was no reason to refuse, and she didn't want to go to the cold, damp cell herf, so she allowed Flora to do what she asked.
She did not need to see the madness of the woman who had bewitched the Duke with her eyes. The person who handed it to her was not ordinary.
“Whoever inhales the smoke emitted from burning agarwood will appear as if he is asleep all the time, so do not ever try to wake him up. On the surface, he appears to be asleep, but in reality he is moving through hell, if madness is easier than it. When the remnants of consciousness return to him, rationality has been lost and only madness remains.”
“What a precious thing... Thank you, Your Majesty the Empress.”
“But I am the one thanking you both. You both rule Richmond well. In governance, we sometimes need such things. Oh, right… This quantity is enough for one person, so use it only when needed.”
She didn't know exactly what was in that oud, but since it was a direct gift from Empress Hitvi, it must be reliable.
Everything was proceeding according to its normal course.
The Marquise deliberately dressed in luxurious black. She wore a dress adorned with feathers as soft as the outer feathers of a raven, and around her neck was the black pearl necklace that Eliza Richmond cherished so much. As for her elegantly raised hair, she secured it with a hairpin of dyed black feathers.
In the mirror stood no less a stately and elegant ruler than Eliza Richmond.
"good."
Her mood seemed to improve a little. But that changed upside down the moment she entered the hall before her husband.
A single black tiger dominated the vast hall. He was supposed to appear anxious or agitated, but the young duke radiated calm, even an air of indolence.
Moreover, the families of knights who had gathered since dawn were exuding a raw, fierce aura, supporting the duke unwaveringly. Under that savage aura, the nobles loyal to the Marquis family only dared to carefully monitor the situation.
The Marquise did not like this scene. She hoped that her husband would arrive and turn the tables, but his late appearance did not break the Duke's prestige, but rather it seemed as if he was the one who broke under it.
It was no longer possible to stand by and watch. She suddenly got up and walked over to her husband, who was standing there dumbfounded.
“Your Highness, please pardon my impudence. But, for more than ten years, I have guarded Richmond's internal affairs to the best of my ability, on behalf of the Grand Lady who has retired due to a heart condition. Therefore, I dare to raise a word, hoping that you will listen to it.”
The Duke nodded, as if to say: Here you go.
The Marquise wetted her dry lips with her tongue, then recalled her feelings. Today, she had to be the caring lady who loved Richmond from the bottom of her heart.
“I take care of all the servants working at Richmond Palace. In particular, I took great care of the two bridesmaids who died. They were not dear to me alone; They were precious daughters and caring sisters. And now, their families are standing outside the palace.”
Tears fell before they had finished, and her voice choked.
“I told their families that I would pay compensation for their death. But they cried and said they did not want the money. What good is money when their dear daughter is dead? Instead, they ed me to arrest their killers to extinguish the fire of hatred.”
The Marquise wiped her tears with the handkerchief the maid had given her.
“I understand that feeling. “It is the same feeling I felt in front of the tomb of the late Duchess.”
She was very satisfied with her perfect acting.
But Crimson Isaac, who had witnessed the Marquise's tears up close, turned his eyes lightly towards the higher seat. The Duke was watching the Marquise with half-closed eyes, his hand covering his chin and mouth.
He suddenly remembered his brothers' conversation.
“Brother, that expression of His Highness... means: I am tired of hearing.”
“No, Andy.”
“So what does it mean?”
“It means: Enough nonsense. When he takes that expression, beware.”
Andrew and Sirius' voices alternated in his mind, and at that moment the Marquis raised his voice as if he had seized the opportunity.
“Your Highness!! In front of all the Richmond followers gathered here, I will say it frankly!! Inside Richmond Palace there are the enemies of Richmond and the enemies of the empire: (the ones who cannot be seen)!!”
With the Marquis's confident announcement, the nobles of the knights' families turned to the Duke, while the nobles loyal to the Marquis began exchanging whispers as if by prior agreement. As the hall, which was silent, became turbulent, the Marquis's voice became louder, as if he was trying to regain his prestige.
“Those evil people who made a deal with the demons behind the Wall of Death killed the two innocent ladies-in-waiting who served Richmond, and even threatened Your Highness’s safety!!”
“Marquis of Lenco! Who is that bastard?!
asked one of the nobles loyal to the Marquis, as if paving the way.
The Marquis sighed, wiped his face with feigned sorrow, and then said:
“Unfortunately... the most likely possibility is that she is your Highness’s lover and her lady-in-waiting.”
Count Isaac rose and asked:
“Do you have proof?”
The Marquis ignored the question, and turned to the Duke in a sad tone:
“I know this weighs heavily on you, but for the sake of Richmond, the truth about this case must be exposed. Please be patient. There is no doubt that you are torn between the desire to believe those you love, and the doubt that afflicts you...”
“Marquis.”
The Duke finally interrupted. His voice was low, chest-deep.
He said in a very calm tone:
“One party was crying and wailing, and another was talking about faith and doubt... I went on for a long time until I got bored. Let's be brief. Get straight to the point.”
The Marquise, who had prepared a long speech, and the Marquise, who was sobbing, leaning on her lady-in-waiting, froze and blinked in amazement.
The words were, in essence, a verbal slap, but the Duke's expression and tone were so calm that it confused the judge. The couple exchanged confused looks, before the Duke added, which increased their confusion:
“Oh, and before that, let's redefine the focus of this session.”