Chapter : 147
At Grace’s unwavering composure, Eliza gradually regained her senses as well. She looked down at the hand Grace was gripping tightly, then slowly nodded.
“I understand what you mean.”
Only after confirming the resolve in Eliza’s eyes did Grace step back.
“Go and gather what you need.”
“I will.”
Grace quickly turned and went to her room.
When she opened the door to the room she had used after passing through the living room she had shared with Ares, the first thing she saw was the white rabbit. Could she take it with her? No. That would be difficult.
The dresses and jewelry Eliza had given her were enough to fill an entire room. But she couldn’t take any of those either.
The only thing Grace could take with her from Richmond was her memories.
“Memories, huh.”
For some reason, a laugh escaped her.
Was there anything more precious than the wildflowers she had encountered on desolate roads, more valuable than splendor itself?
My child.
A gentle voice, gentle eyes, a gentle touch.
I love you, Grace.
Even the thirst that could never quite be quenched belonged wholly to her. Something no one could steal, something she could never lose or leave behind somewhere—something that was hers alone.
In the end, instead of packing belongings, Grace sat down and wrote a short letter. Then, before regret could take deeper root, she left the room.
The butler and servants who had rushed over upon hearing the news wept, stamping their feet in distress.
“Madam, Madam…!”
“Duchess, please don’t go….”
Passing through corridors and staircases soaked in the servants’ tears, Grace stepped out of the mansion. There, lined up in formation, stood the black knights—and Eliza.
With the assembled knights behind her, Eliza stood straight and looked at Grace.
Grace walked toward her step by step, then carefully embraced the elderly woman. And she spoke her final words as Grace Richmond.
“Thank you.”
“……”
“Thank you for wrapping me in such warmth, Madam.”
Tears began to flow from Eliza’s eyes.
“You once said I was like a winter bud… but to me, you were the same.”
With those words, Grace placed something into Eliza’s hand. When Eliza looked down at what she had been given, she gazed back at Grace with tear-filled eyes.
What Grace returned was the Richmond insignia engraved with a soaring eagle.
“I used it well. Thank you.”
Eliza asked in a tightly held voice,
“Will you be all right?”
Grace nodded.
“Of course.”
Eliza then took a handkerchief from her bosom and gently wiped Grace’s face. Only then did Grace realize she was crying. Without a word, Eliza wiped away her tears and personally straightened her clothes.
“Will you… be all right leaving without saying goodbye?”
At the question of whether she could leave without greeting Ares, Grace gave a small nod. It felt better to leave while he wasn’t there.
“If things become too hard, contact me. Wherever you are, if you call me, I will come for you.”
“…Yes.”
Before the tears could fall again, Grace stepped forward.
Andrew hurried toward her, as if intending to follow. He had even removed his black armor and red cloak, as though he truly meant to go with her.
“Andrew, don’t follow me.”
“Duchess….”
The boy’s face twisted as if he were about to cry, but Grace firmly stopped him.
“Don’t follow me.”
The place where he belonged was Richmond.
“Thank you.”
Grace smiled gently at the boy, then faced forward with a look of firm resolve. And vowing never to look back again, she stepped onward.
“Let’s go, Jesse.”
The assembled knights of Richmond saluted her in unison, and Grace walked the road paved with their respect.
And when she finally reached the main gate of Richmond, Grace widened her eyes and tightened her abdomen.
Beyond the backs of Duke and Duchess Taylor, who were glaring at her, fluttered the banner of Taylor.
“Let’s go to Taylor, Grace.”
Hearing the malice-laced voice, Grace nodded.
Yes. It was time to return.
To my land.
To my home.
To fertile Taylor, where golden wheat fields spread beautifully.
＊ ＊ ＊
When a Richmond knight came charging in like a madman from the direction of the First District rather than the outskirts of the capital, all the knights stationed at the Capital Defense Headquarters sensed that something grave had occurred.
“What is it?! Did something happen at the ducal estate?!”
When Crimson Isaac asked with a grim expression, the knight who had rushed there on Sirius’s orders replied with a deathly pale face,
“Where is His Grace?!”
“What happened?!”
As Ares appeared, pushing through the crowd, the knight from the ducal estate hurried to him and delivered the news.
“The Duke of Taylor came to the Richmond ducal estate, accompanied by knights bearing red banners.”
“Red banners?!”
“Is he declaring war?!”
The knights nearby bristled as though ready to rush to the estate immediately, but Ares did not even blink.
“So.”
“They took the Duchess with them.”
“!!”
At the unbelievable words, the knights around Ares froze. Unable to hold back, Joseph asked,
“You’re saying the Duchess went to visit the Taylor ducal estate?”
The knight shook his head.
“That’s not it…”
“If Grace didn’t leave Richmond, did he say he would use force?”
A flat, emotionless voice slipped through Ares’s teeth. He showed not a trace of agitation or anger—utterly calm and composed.
But the knight who met his gaze trembled in fear greater than if he had faced a beast beyond the wall of death.
“…Yes, Your Grace.”
The knights who had paused began to murmur all at once.
In other words, in broad daylight, from a ducal estate in the First District of the capital, the Duchess of Richmond had been taken to Taylor?!
The knights’ eyes hardened instantly as they grasped the situation.
“Your Grace!!”
“Give the order, Your Grace!! We will go to Taylor at once and bring back the Duchess!!”
“Enough.”
“Your Grace!!”
At Ares’s restraint, the knights who had been shouting angrily went silent the moment he turned toward them, as though their throats had been seized.
A fury stronger than anyone’s was trapped beneath a dangerously thin layer of ice.
“Crimson, handle what remains and report to me.”
“Yes, sir.”
“No one is to act rashly.”
After leaving that warning to the lava-like fury of the Richmond knights, Ares mounted his horse. Then, alone, he kicked off from the headquarters and rode out.
＊ ＊ ＊
The soldiers guarding the Wall of Coin and the Wall of Nobles hurriedly opened the gates before the terrifying momentum of the Richmond Duke charging toward them. In an instant, Ares entered the First District and arrived at the Richmond ducal estate in the blink of an eye.
The Richmond ducal estate was steeped in solemn silence and grief, like a funeral hall.
“Your Grace….”
“Your Grace.”
The knights and servants who tried to approach their late-arriving master stopped short after seeing Ares’s expression, not daring to come any closer. Alone, Ares walked the path Grace had once run toward him.
As if possessed, he climbed the stairs, passed through the corridor, and opened the door without hesitation—
Everything was in its place. It seemed as though nothing had changed.
Ares walked toward Grace’s room.
The room was still filled with her scent. The things she had used were still there. The white rabbit he had given her sat on the bed, and the countless jewels and dresses Eliza had gifted her remained untouched.
Inside the room, Eliza stared at the treasures of Richmond that Grace had neatly left behind and murmured,
“They were all given to you… yet you didn’t take a single one….”
Truly, not even one.
As if she had never existed in the first place, only Grace herself was gone.
Lady Isaac approached the Ares standing alone and held something out to him.
“This is the letter the Duchess left for you, Your Grace.”
Ares opened and unfolded the letter.
In graceful handwriting that resembled her very self, she had left calm words that were unmistakably hers.
[The sharpest blade that once guarded your secret will return as the bedrock that supports you. I dedicate this song to you.
‘O Emperor, stand whole and unbroken. Richmond and Taylor shall guard your side, and Eris and Grafton shall guard your back.’
