6. His Chair
‘John Walter’
When Marie checked the mail records, all three deliveries had been signed on behalf of someone else—by the butler.
“This isn’t my signature. Can a butler, who isn’t family, act as a proxy?”
“Pardon?”
“Did he present any proof of authorization as a proxy?”
“Uh, well… that….”
Finally, the composure on the clerk’s face began to crack.
There was no record of any power of attorney being submitted.
He had assumed she was just another clueless noble lady, but she had pointed out that a proxy needs legal documentation.
“The Royal Supreme Court is supposed to uphold the law with the honor of the royal family, isn’t it? I can’t believe such sloppy work was done here.”
“N-no, that can’t be…”
“For the record, I never received any official notification documents.”
It wasn’t a lie.
After all, she, who had possessed this body, had never seen those documents before.
“This won’t do. Bring me all related documents—from Henry’s obituary to the execution of the auction. I will personally verify if everything was done according to procedure.”
“T-that’s… a bit difficult…”
The clerk looked visibly troubled.
He had assumed she was just a simple petitioner, but it turned out she understood laws and procedures well.
“Bring them immediately! I will file an official objection regarding all procedural errors, including the forged signatures.”
Marie’s voice carried a commanding tone.
“T-that…”
The clerk’s face began to pale with unease.
Several hours passed.
Marie walked out of the Royal Supreme Court with a weary body.
“Phew…”
It was already evening.
As the tension left her, she felt like collapsing.
“I just need somewhere to sit down and rest… Is there a bench anywhere?”
Yet despite her exhaustion, her face was lit with satisfaction and brightness.
“D-did it go well…?”
Dwayne, who had been waiting for her, approached cautiously.
As always, he wore a guilty, apologetic expression despite having done nothing wrong.
He hadn’t been allowed into the court, so he had worried all alone outside.
“How… did it go…?”
“You were worried, huh? It’s alright. It went well. Let’s go home first.”
Marie comforted Dwayne’s anxiety and walked toward the carriage.
“What happened was… huh?”
Just then, something across the street caught Marie’s eye.
“What’s that…?”
It was a shabby secondhand furniture store that clearly catered to commoners.
What caught her attention was a chair that had been left carelessly outside.
“A rocking chair?”
Its brown paint was peeling, revealing the wear of time.
Its design was crude, as if someone had made it purely for function using raw solid wood.
But through the worn paint, the wood’s grain and hue peeked through—and it was strikingly unfamiliar.
The grain was vivid and beautiful, even under the dark coloring.
‘I’ve never seen this type of wood before!’
In her past life, she had always been excited by unique interior materials and accessories.
‘I can’t let something like this slip away!’
It was her first time seeing this type of wood—there was no way she could just walk past it.
“You’ve got a good eye, miss. Look at the thickness of the wood—really solid, right? It’s a sturdy piece. Just came in today.”
The shop owner came out from inside.
“The design is a bit rough. The paint’s coming off too…”
The design looked amateurish, like someone’s first attempt at woodworking.
Yet strangely, it tugged at her heart.
It seemed to embody sincerity and simplicity, like something made with care over a long time.
‘Spending time in a rocking chair was something Marianne used to love…’
As she slowly rocked with the chair, it felt like her worries and troubles drifted away with the wind.
“That paint may be flaking, but it’s made of rare walnut wood. You know how expensive walnut furniture is, right?”
“This is walnut? The grain doesn’t look like typical walnut wood…”
Walnut wood is known for its deep, reddish-brown hue.
It’s also dense and resistant to moisture or warping.
Naturally, it’s one of the finest and most preferred woods for high-end furniture.
But the piece in front of her felt… different.
“Is that so? I’m not entirely sure about that. I just know it’s walnut.”
“Hmm… maybe it changed due to expansion and contraction in humidity? Or maybe it was treated with a special kind of oil…?”
Marie stepped closer and ran her fingers along the surface.
She could feel the firm, dense texture of the wood.
Creaaak.
The chair responded as the wheels shifted.
As if to say: “Everything will be okay.”
‘Oh wow, I have to buy this! I just have to!’
Marie instinctively clasped her hands tightly.
She felt she’d regret it if she didn’t buy it now.
‘If I don’t buy it, I won’t be able to sleep tonight!’
She was trying to save money, but… surely this was worth it?
‘It’s secondhand—it probably won’t be too expensive. Maybe I can haggle a bit.’
As someone with experience in interior design, she was well aware of how much markup got added to retail products.
“Hm… judging by the craftsmanship, it doesn’t look like a professional’s work. And here—see these scorch marks?”
She gently touched an especially damaged part of the chair and smiled.
The shop owner chuckled in defeat.
“Haha, you know your stuff. Seems like it was made by someone as a hobby. But still, the wood itself is high quality.”
“With all the peeling paint, I think its market value is quite a bit lower…”
“Alright then! I’ll give it to a pretty lady like you for half price!”
“Thank you!”
The moment Marie smiled, Dwayne picked up the chair and loaded it onto the carriage.
That night.
Cliff Castle was wrapped in an eerie stillness like a black void.
The servants held their breath, and the maids had all retreated to their rooms early.
It was because the Duke of Bloodstone was exuding a freezing cold aura.
Calix Bloodstone was not a man of many words to begin with—but days like this were rare.
He had skipped dinner and now stood silently in the study, gazing out the window.
“My lord, please forgive me!”
The elderly butler of the Bloodstone household bowed deeply.
The man he was begging forgiveness from—Calix Bloodstone—stood with his back turned.
“It was my negligence not to realize the chair had been mixed in with the discarded furniture.”
“…”
There was no response from the duke.
Yet the old butler, having served him for years, could tell from that silent back that Calix was doing everything in his power to suppress his rage.
“This happened while I briefly stepped away. The moment I realized it was missing, I rushed to find it—but it had already been sold…”
The butler couldn’t finish, overcome with anguish.
Aide Josh stepped in to help.
“Apparently, a furniture dealer picked it up and sold it to a secondhand store—but someone bought it right away.”
“……”
“My lord, it seems a newly hired servant made the mistake. Since we were in the process of replacing furniture, he likely didn’t realize it was something you cherished.”
It was well known that the Duke of Bloodstone valued servant lives no more than insects.
And yet someone had thrown out his treasured chair without permission?
If the rumors were true, the servant responsible wouldn’t survive.
(Though he’d already fled in fear.)
“We were only trying to redecorate Cliff Castle before the imperial princess of Arsen arrived…”
As the butler explained, Josh shook his head.
“No, butler. I don’t think we need to rush to decorate Cliff Castle anymore.”
“Pardon? What do you mean?”
“Think about it. Would our lord have bought Whitehouse for no reason?”
“Wait… is he not going to demolish Whitehouse?”
The nearby servants exchanged glances and gulped.
They were still not used to talks of demolishing luxury mansions.
“……”
Calix simply furrowed his brows without replying.
Josh shrugged.
“I believe he bought Whitehouse so he wouldn’t have to touch Cliff Castle. As long as he stays at Whitehouse, His Majesty won’t complain about the state of the ducal residence.”
“Ah… I hadn’t realized our master had such a thoughtful strategy. Then… should we begin preparing to move to Whitehouse?”
“…Who bought the chair?”
Calix, who had been silently listening, finally turned to look down at the butler.
“Pardon?”
“That chair. Who bought it?”
“T-they didn’t say…”
Even after a lifetime of serving him, the butler was still overwhelmed by his master’s charismatic stare.
Standing before him, anyone would feel their knees go weak.
“They said they didn’t know…”
But curiously—Calix had never once used that chair.
He never mentioned it, never ordered it to be kept, and certainly never said it must not be thrown away.
In fact, he had always seemed to hate even looking at it.
Yet the old butler, having been part of the family’s long history, knew well how much Calix actually treasured it.
“…There’s a chance the buyer wasn’t a commoner. They said she looked like a noble young lady. And apparently, she had a giant as her bodyguard.”
“A giant…?”
Calix’s eyes gleamed sharply.
“Josh, are there any families that employ giants?”
Giants were incredibly strong but often dull to pain and very obedient, so they were often sold into slavery.
Though rare, there were noble houses that employed them.
“If it’s a giant… the only one I know is the Count family of Whitehouse.”
Josh, ever the information expert, answered immediately.
“Whitehouse…?”
At that moment, Calix’s brows tightened.
