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“‘If there’s something suitable for a gift at today’s festival, I might as well buy it. Even if it’s Benjamin’s money… with the festive atmosphere, it won’t bother me.’”
“Ma’am… what kind of outfit would you like?!”
Sally and the other maids giggled as they showed Grace some dresses.
Among the dresses Grace usually chose, tucked between the wardrobe’s compartments, were some extravagant, beautiful dresses—ones far too fancy to suit Grace.
“I’ll take the third one.”
Grace picked a deep purple dress with a calm expression.
Everyone briefly looked disappointed, then quickly regained their composure and put away the other dresses.
“Good thing we prepared a white mask. If its color were dark, Ma’am would feel stifled. Definitely.”
Sally chattered cheerfully as she lightly adorned Grace.
“Oh my.”
Sally, adjusting Grace’s outfit, blinked.
“What is it?!”
“Ma’am, the dress is a bit loose.”
Sally pinched some of the extra fabric at the arms and waist and showed it to Grace. There was some room, though not excessive.
“Shall we have it altered?!”
“Yes. Let’s wear it just for today, then alter it. There’s no time to do it right now.”
Grace straightened her back, which had been hunched slightly, and nodded while looking in the mirror.
The clock reflected in the mirror. It was almost time to leave.
When Grace stepped out of the annex, Benjamin was already waiting. Unlike Grace, draped in a cloak, Benjamin was dressed lightly.
Instead, he wore a wide-brimmed hat.
“Ma’am, you’re here.”
“Am I late?!”
“No. I came out first, so you’re not late at all.”
‘…Hmm.’
Grace felt no emotional stir.
The more memories about him came back, the easier it was to detach herself emotionally. Ironically enough.
‘Normally, I would have felt fluttered at that line.’
In the original timeline, Benjamin would have met Aria at the mask festival, and the cloak Grace wore would have been a gift from him to Aria. Knowing that made her even more detached.
And indeed, that was how it was.
The more she knew him, the more loving him was a disadvantage.
‘I refuse to let my emotions dictate my death.’
Grace walked alongside Benjamin.
“Your Excellency, if we take the carriage, we’ll be too noticeable. Shall we leave through the servants’ entrance?”
“Yes. Also, it’s better to use different titles outside.”
“For example?”
Grace blinked and looked at Benjamin.
He glanced at her teal eyes, paused, then gently adjusted her white mask.
“…Hmm, suitably fe…”
“Yes?”
“Nothing.”
Benjamin pressed the brim of his hat down firmly.
“You may call me Benny.”
“……”
Grace thought to herself…
‘Such a strange person.’
She looked at him with peculiar eyes.
He could’ve simply asked her to call him “honey,” and she would have done so. Naturally—they were husband and wife, even if they didn’t love each other.
Grace had never called him by that kind of endearment. She rummaged through her hazy memories; it was indeed absent.
‘Honey?’
She tried saying it in her mind without voice. Goosebumps rose. If feelings had a texture, fine hairs would have stood on end.
“Alright, Benny.”
So she decided to call him Benny.
“Then what will you call me? Just Ma’am?”
Benjamin, still pressing his hat, nodded. He gestured for Grace to lead the way toward the servants’ entrance.
Grace stepped forward, and only then did Benjamin follow.
Even with a mask, she could see his face flush red as he removed his hand from his hat.
The servants watching sighed again.
“This is your first time attending the festival at the capital, Ma’am?”
“Is that so? It’s been a year since we married.”
“…Indeed.”
Benjamin nodded at her reply.
“I’m more of an indoor type.”
Grace answered simply.
“Come to think of it, you’ve mostly stayed at the capital. Why…”
She opened her mouth to ask why he stayed in the capital while he should have been in the north, but stopped herself.
‘It must be because of Aria.’
The empire’s largest temple was in the capital. As a saint, Aria naturally stayed there.
And Benjamin secretly adored Aria, so it made sense for him to remain in the capital, no matter what excuse he gave.
Grace quickly came to that conclusion and nodded.
“Th-then…”
“Hmm, I think I understand. It’s fine. Traveling to the north is easy with the gate, and the duchy isn’t exactly a comfortable place to live.”
Grace nodded, understanding him without a word.
Benjamin exhaled with subtle relief.
“By the way, is the mask festival only celebrated here? I’ve never experienced it in my hometown or nearby estates.”
“Yes. Probably because your lands don’t have a temple large enough to host one.”
“……”
“……I didn’t mean to belittle your hometown.”
They walked through the town, talking.
“So the mask festival is hosted by temples.”
“Yes. Around this time of year. Days are warm, nights are comfortably cool. The reason for wearing masks is… according to legend, mischievous and evil spirits come out to play on such pleasant days, hiding among people and stealing the faces of those they fancy.”
“Ah, I know that story. I read it in a fairy tale book. The spirits were mischievous, ugly, and bad.”
Grace remembered it too.
“My father would read it to my sister and me by the fireplace, holding us in his arms. Hmm…”
By the story’s logic, she technically didn’t need a mask.
‘Aria, Benjamin, and the crown prince definitely need one.’
They were all beautiful enough to attract even spirits’ envy.
“…You seem close to the viscount.”
“Do I?”
“Yes. You rarely spoke of family, but when you did, it was only positive things.”
Grace tried to recall.
Then, Benjamin suddenly extended his hand.
“Ah.”
“Sorry.”
They reached a busier street.
“I think it’s better if I escort you here. Would you prefer holding hands rather than linking arms?”
“Hmm.”
Grace hesitated, then placed her hand in his.
“……”
He stared at their joined hands for a long time, his thick gloves visible.
He made a small, quiet sound.
“……?”
Grace narrowed her eyes, wondering what it meant. Benjamin seemed to have done it unconsciously.
‘Somehow, he looks relieved…’
She tried to pull her hand away, but Benjamin held it firmly.
“I heard you haven’t been eating properly recently.”
“That’s true, but I’m controlling my meals intentionally.”
“But couldn’t you have something delicious today?”
Grace felt conflicted. Festivals were indeed all about food. Profitable things at festivals were usually tasty foods and small, useless souvenirs.
The aroma of delicious food wafted through the street.
Out of sight, restraint is easy—but here, temptation was everywhere.
“Hmm… ugh…”
Grace struggled internally. She wanted to eat—it was natural; no one dislikes delicious food.
Benjamin gave her a pleading, puppy-like look. Though masked, his eyes spoke volumes.
“Ah, really not?”
“…No…”
She tried to steel herself and refuse, but then the smell of freshly baked bread and rich butter reached her.
“….”
There were also bitter-sweet chocolate scents, sizzling oil, freshly roasted meat, and slightly burnt sugar.
The street was full of tantalizing aromas.
Grace trembled helplessly.
“J-just a little…”
She gave in.
“…Delicious.”
Someone had said sugar is utterly useless.
Yet Grace scraped every bit of pudding into her mouth, overwhelmed by its flavor.
It was truly tear-inducingly delicious.
Something that brings happiness to people—can it really be worthless?
Having barely consumed sugar recently, Grace was moved.
Especially since she rarely touched desserts, the effect was profound. Her mind seemed to echo with hymns.
Inside her mouth, she cried out, ‘Sweet!’—and the sweetness hit her brain directly, a blissful shock.
“Is it to your liking, Ma’am?”
Compared to desserts delivered from the duke’s household, this was far inferior. Yet Grace nodded and scraped every last bit of pudding.
