CH 64.2

The more nights she struggled through, the worse Anne’s heartbroken face became.

Then one day, the Grand Duke sent word through Ashton to have dinner together. Anne refused immediately on the pretext that she was not feeling well. However, the reply told her that the Grand Duke would continue to wait even if it was late, so she had to attend.

“All right. I’ll go in the evening.”

Reluctantly, Anne crawled out of her bed, pulling herself together. In time for dinner, she groomed herself for the first time in a long time. She didn’t want to care how she dressed, but Emily insisted repeatedly, because her face was so pale it looked sickly.

The handmaids, attending to Anne for the first time in a while, helped her wear a fresh light green dress suitable for spring. Anne’s complexion was still pale after she had washed and wore the new dress and hair ornament, but it was tolerable.

But Anne, who was staring blankly into the mirror, saw the handmaids glancing at her. When the young handmaid straightened out the folds of her ruffled skirt, her eyes met Anne’s through the mirror just in time, and she lowered her head in surprise.

“Why is everyone like this? Do you have something to say to me?”

When Anne spoke about the gazes that were looking at her like a strange person, the young handmaid knelt down on her knees, unable to lift her whitened face.

“No… Madam… with all due respect…, Madam will be fine.”

As she looked down at the handmaid, Anne’s brow furrowed slightly.

“What do you mean? Tell me in detail.”

“His Grace will not send Madam away. So… you don’t have to worry too much….”

Although the maid was terrified, she added words to comfort Anne. As Anne looked at the presumptuous maid, who dared to fathom her master’s intentions, Anne struggled to suppress her wry smile.

While she was away in her room, rumors spread throughout the North that County Libelois had been purged by the Grand Duchy. Now, among the servants and knights working in the castle, there was no one who did not know the news.

Since the Grand Duke kept his mouth shut about the abduction, only Anne and the Grand Duke knew the full story, and people assumed that Libelois had done something big that brought the Grand Duke’s anger. So, when her family was dealt with, even the young handmaid, who thought that the Grand Duchess’ position had become unclear, was worried about the Grand Duchess’ welfare.

They think I’m like this because of the County. They think I might be kicked out.

She was worried that they might think it was strange that she was wasting her time hiding in her room, but people seemed to speculate that the reason for her dazedness was her extinct family. Actually, Anne hadn’t even thought about her family.

It didn’t hurt to let them think that way anyway. She didn’t know when people had started worrying about her here, but she decided to pass it on regardless.

When Anne was silent, the handmaid, who had been bowing her head, lifted her eyes. Anne held out her hand to the handmaid with a graceful smile.

“Yes. Thank you for your feelings. Please help me more in the future.”

Only then did the handmaid’s face color return to normal.

* * *

As she entered the dining room, Anne noticed that the air inside was distinctly different from before. The interior is darker than usual due to the low level of lighting, but the moonlight pouring through the front window gently wraps the entire dining room.

In the middle of the wide table, a sparkling silver candlestick was softly lit, and around it was elegantly decorated with delicate blue hydrangeas in vases.

Anne’s dry eyes turned to the Grand Duke who was sitting in the head chair. Seeing him after a week, he was dressed in a clean, dark gray spring suit, not the black he usually wore.

“Angroanne, I’ve been waiting for you.”

When she saw his face, her heart suddenly started beating anxiously. In the meantime, it seemed like she knew why her rational self was so swayed by him.

In addition, the last face she saw in her dream overlapped with the Grand Duke who was now sitting in a lofty posture. She even had the illusion that the man holding a sword drenched in blood and glowing bloody eyes was in front of her.

Don’t think of it.

Anne chewed on the inside of her lips, repeating it over and over again in her mind. She lowered her head as she felt her breath stop to the tip of her chin, and at the end of her gaze, she looked down and saw a neatly arranged silver knife.

At that moment, she felt the urge to grab the knife and slash the Grand Duke’s palm.

He’s the one who killed me and my child.

Her very candid state of mind pierced the blade of the knife without a slight movement. While her blue eyes were filled with hatred, the Grand Duke also saw her eyes linger on the white knife for a long time. He noticed that she was deliberately avoiding his eyes as she entered the dining room.

Looking down, he could see the icy blue eyes, but he pretended not to know that.

“Are you feeling better now?”

“Yes.”

Suddenly regaining her senses, Anne took a deep breath and suppressed her uneasy, anxious heart.