Chapter 67 - Blood Red Piercings (2)

And so the night before the storm, which had felt like it was about to immediately crash down upon them, ended. Wiping his forehead with his sleeve, he held out the lid of the jewelry box to her as if to say the ordeal was over.

While her ears burned, Gris accepted the box. Several questions floated in her head and were yet to be resolved. She wanted to know the reason why he gave her such precious ruby earrings instead of a single gold coin, why he took it upon himself to pierce her ears, and why he looked so passionately at her while he did.

Eventually, she just received the jewelry box without voicing any of her concerns. It seemed that Duke Vianut had no idea about the turmoil in her head and just turned away. She heard him call out behind her back.

“Goodbye.”

“…”

“Maria.”

She thought his tone sounded like that of a person bidding another farewell. As she looked back, he was already sitting at his desk as if nothing had happened.

Only then did Gris realize that he had resolved the mistake he had impulsively committed a few days ago. She couldn’t brag about receiving precious earrings with a value ten times more than the one gold coin that she had asked for. Probably, this would become another incident that never happened between them.

Was it good? Perhaps, it was for the best. Gris could now dismiss the incident that kept racking her brain.

Gris told herself that this was something she had hoped for all along. A gulf of sadness enveloped her, but she just shoved it off, returned to her room, and lay on the bed.

But she could not fall asleep. The flesh of her skin was sore and burning because of the earrings he had given her, and the cold hands that touched her earlobes kept flashing through her mind. It was impossible for her to dismiss everything that happened that today.

♛

As soon as dawn arrived, Bellin’s eyes were wide open. She was surprised to see a red ruby

earring between her mistress’s gray hair.

“Oh, my lady. Your ears, earri…”

Gris lifted herself and sat on the bed as she touched her earrings. She couldn’t sleep all night because of the stinging pain. Fortunately, the hot flashes had already subsided but the soreness still remained.

“It hurts…”

She was afraid that they would scar so she decided to take her bath tomorrow and only washed her hair instead. Gris carefully looked at the earrings through a black mirror on her vanity table and turned her gaze to Bellin who was drying her hair.

Perhaps Bellin already had an inkling that these were the ruby

earrings that the Grand Duke had purchased from the trader. The bloody red gem shimmered mysteriously under the sunlight..

“Did the Duke pierce your ears?” Bellin finally asked after a while.

Gris nodded.

“…Yes.”

Bellin beamed happily as she carefully brushed Gris’ gray hair.

“He is indeed very kind. Look at how he has blessed your marriage!”

Gris stared at the floor absentmindedly. Bless her marriage? She couldn’t figure out what Bellin saw and why she thought of that.

“What are you talking about?”

Gris touched her earlobes that were burning red. Bellin was steaming with excitement.

“It is a tradition that has been handed down from Nordvaltz for such a long time. The father teaches her daughter not to be lacking at anything, and the mother pierces her daughter’s ear before marriage and earnestly prays for her daughter to be loved as a woman. If you don’t have a mother, your father or sibling will do it for you.”

“Really…?”

“The Duke must have thought of giving them to you as a present when he bought them. They’re really beautiful.”

Bellin firmly believed so, but Gris could not admit it. Wasn’t their relationship purely a transaction of flesh and blood? Even with his farewell greeting to her yesterday, it seemed that he just wanted to clear up what was happening between them.

“Goodbye.”

“…”

“Maria.”

Anyway, that would be the best outcome. She had already settled in her mind that whatever feelings he had for his fake sister, she would ignore them. Now, she could focus on Dirk, whom she would be meeting very soon, and Stephan. Gris looked at the glimmering earrings with hollow feelings.

“Yes, it’s beautiful. Indeed.”

Bellin smiled and looked out the window.

“Finally, your fiancé will be arriving soon. I will dress you in the most beautiful gown.”

For some reason, Gris cannot take her eyes off the red rubies that

Vianut had gifted her.

♛

Two hours passed. Gris was surrounded by five maids. To make the skirt balloon out, they had her wear three layers of petticoats beneath her gown and placed a parting gale skirt on top of it, which had been made from the best whale fin.

By now, she was beginning to feel like she was under a tremendous amount of pressure. She could not tell if this arrangement would really be a gift for Dirk, who was supposed to bring wealth and prosperity to Stephan and the Byrenhag family.

After she had finished dressing, she stood in front of the mansion to wait for Dirk’s carriage to arrive. Bellin was behind her, continuously fixing Gris’ hair, which was being swayed to and fro by the wind.

“You’re beautiful. I’m sure that your fiancé will certainly fall in love with you at first sight.”