CH 95

“Your Grace, are you awake?”

“Ung…”

Having dinner together, sleeping in the same bed, and acting like a normal married couple. Although she hadn’t gotten used to falling asleep holding hands every night. Still, the amount of time spent sleeping decreased.

“Sorry for waking you up early in the morning. I wanted to make you sleep more, but….”

Come to think of it, it was the first time Julia had woken her up. Usually, she would be waiting for Elysia to wake up first, but she came into the room…

“What’s going on?”

“Didn’t you decide to go to the dressing room with His Grace today?”

“Should I go from this morning?”

Could it be that she has to go from this early in the morning? Of course, she had thought that she should only go in the afternoon. Was the dressing room originally open in the morning?

“No, no. Construction of the main building will begin soon…”

“Oh, right. Construction.”

She forgot that there was construction on the main building from today.

“So, I think you should move to the outer castle from now on. After eating.”

To begin construction, the room would need to be tidied up as well. She couldn’t lie down all the time. Elysia hurriedly got up.

“You don’t have to be in too much of a hurry.”

“No, it’s okay. It’s better to go to the outer castle quickly.”

Anyway, she wondered what the meal would be like if she went to the outer castle. She wouldn’t be able to dine in the main castle like now…

“Are they working on the kitchen too?”

“No, no. The kitchen was already renovated the other day.”

That was fortunate. If the food wasn’t good enough, she didn’t have the confidence to survive in the outer castle. She had to be locked up in the outer castle for a week.

“I’ll get ready right away.”

“You can take it slow. It’s okay.”

While that was what Julia said, Elysia knew she was in a lot of hurry. Julia wouldn’t come to visit her in advance unless there was a particular reason.

“If construction is done in the main castle, where do the servants live? Are you all living in the outer castle?”

“No. Even in the main castle, there is a separate place for servants to stay.”

“Oh, I see.”

In fact, the Grand Duke’s castle was so big that they couldn’t work on the entire castle at once.

“Then, I’m going to go out in the afternoon?”

“I think so.”

“I also moved all the books to the outer castle.”

Ah, books. She did tell Julia to move the book, but she completely forgot about it. It must have been because the impact of the fairy tale was so great.

“I decorated the room in the outer castle as similarly as possible to the current one.”

It wasn’t particularly important to her. She had lived without discomfort even in a narrower place than this in the County. So if there were only a place to lie down, there would be no problem.

“His Grace asked me to tell you that you will have to eat breakfast alone.”

“That’s okay.”

Elysia nodded her head when Julia’s face looked so serious, as if it was important. The next moment, she turned her attention to the clothes Rachel and Chloe had brought for her, worried about what to wear.

“Ah, did you move the clothes to the outer castle as well?”

“Yes, only part of it has been moved.”

“That must be hard.”

Of course, it was necessary to do the construction, but it seemed like it would be difficult to move and prepare things.

“What to wear… I’m going out in the afternoon anyway—”

“How about a red dress?”

That seemed good.

Elysia soon nodded her head at Chloe’s recommendation.

“I have received word that Marchioness Blaire will visit every day starting tomorrow.”

“Estelle?”

“Yes, she said she would help prepare for the founding party.”

She was grateful to Estelle for helping out with the founding party. After all, it wasn’t easy coming here every day. She wanted to give Estelle a present.

“Would it be rude for me to give Estelle a present?”

“What?”

If she went to the dressing room and jewelry store today, she should be able to buy a present for Estelle. There was also a budget allocated for her.

“Can I use the budget assigned to me as I please?”

“Yes, of course. That’s money Madam can use personally.”

“Is it okay if I give Estelle a present?”

She was worried that it might be a violation of etiquette. Was there anything she could do to express her sincerity to Estelle, who always tried to help Elysia with both her mind and heart?

“It will be fine. It’s not disrespectful at all.”

“Thank you, but how do I use my budget?”

She had never had a personal budget before, so she didn’t know how to spend it. There was also a reason why she had nothing to spend money on in the Grand Duchy. Everything was plentiful, so she didn’t need money.

Of course, other noble ladies often called madames and jewelers to their castle.

“Don’t worry, Chloe and Rachel will come with you.”

Even when she spent her wedding budget, Estelle seemed to have taken care of everything. Estelle didn’t hand over the money herself, and Elysia watched her write the bill. It was unreasonable for her to carry all that much gold herself.

“Shall we prepare a simple breakfast?”

“Yes, please.”

Now that they know she’s not that big of a glutton, her breakfast is simple. Elysia couldn’t eat much in the morning, especially.

However, today was different.

She felt strange about the dining table, which looked unusually large. It was not the first time she had eaten alone. Strangely, the food couldn’t pass through her mouth easily. She wondered how long it’d been since he and she ate together that she felt lonely now.

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Elysia was dumbfounded by her own reaction.

“….”

“Are you uncomfortable with anything?”

“No, no.”

So far, she’d only thought that it was uncomfortable eating with him… Elysia laughed at herself when she felt lonely that he wasn’t there.

“His Grace… is he very busy?”

“It seems that since he has to go out in the afternoon, he is taking care of the backlog.”

“I see.”

Indeed, he was supposed to be busy all afternoon going out. She couldn’t understand why she felt disappointed that he wasn’t here.

“Would you like to go to the outer castle first?”

Apparently, to begin the construction, it would be convenient for her to leave the main castle. Damon’s office is outside anyway.

“Yes, I will.”

* * *

Even though the road to the outer castle was still scary, it was much better than then. In the meantime, several lights were placed to illuminate the road. It still felt like going to a dreadful dungeon.

At least it felt like they had paid attention.

“It is still very dark. We were preparing in a hurry…”

“No, it’s okay.”

In any case, this was fortunate enough.

The shock of that day was really great. How eerie… and since the outer castle was so far away, it was difficult to properly manage it except for Damon’s office. It was amazing that they changed this much.

“I will do my best to make sure you can spend a week without any shortage. If there is anything I need to fix, please let me know right away.”

Frankly, it was great, although she didn’t have high expectations. There was not enough time to transform everything in an instant.

“His Grace’s office is right here. The bedroom for the two of you is on the top floor.”

The office was tightly closed. No sound could be heard from inside.

“The room is decorated as close to the main castle as possible.”

“Wow…”

It was as if the room in the main castle had been moved. If they could make a room so quickly, why didn’t they make one for her? Of course, Damon didn’t want to.

“I also put the book on the table.”

“Thank you, Julia should take a break too. Do you need to supervise the construction?”

“Since Sebastian is there, it doesn’t matter…”

It seemed to her that Julia wanted to go. It may be because she usually didn’t trust Sebastian. Even now, she was barely sticking to Elysia’s side. While her face was showing that she wanted to go check it out.

“I am so tired that I need to take a nap. Will you wake me up before His Grace arrives? Are we leaving after lunch?”

“Yes, I think so.”

“Then, please ask Chloe and Rachel to wake me up before that.”

She was actually drowsy, too. It was because everything happened so early. She even had a meal, so she was sleepy.

Elysia immediately felt her eyelids close.

“Understood. Please rest well.”

The interior was completely the same as the original room, so it didn’t feel any different. As she laid her body on the bed, it was a golden opportunity without Damon.

“….”

She slept for a while. For some reason, she felt that she wanted to open her eyes. It felt as if the sun on her face had disappeared. The sunshine, which had plagued her all her sleep, was gone. This meant that the time was late.

“Ah…!”

She hurriedly raised herself up, but something hit her face. Before she came to her senses, she saw a familiar face.

“Your Grace…?”

“You’re awake.”

She didn’t know when he came to watch her. Elysia looked around her, but she didn’t see anything that might collide with her.

“Just now… didn’t I bump into something?”

“It is my hand.”

“What? Your hand?”

How could she bump into his hand with her lying there? Oh, it could have been the case if his hand was on her face. Could it be that it was his hand that had shielded her from the sun all this time?

…Damon did all that trouble?

“Why don’t you wake me…”

“You’re sleeping too soundly.”

It was hard to believe that he had deliberately given a shade to shield her sleeping face to block out the sunlight. No, why? It didn’t matter if she slept with a frown.

“I’m sorry. I think I overslept….”

“It is not too late.”

“How do you eat….”

Was there a separate dining room in the outer castle? Come to think of it, she had never asked.

“There’s one in the outer castle, but I think we can eat it in the room today. Since we will be leaving soon.”

It was her first outing with him. It was also her first formal outing as Elysia.