The Villainess Captured The Grand Duke - Chapter 143

Chapter 143

Raygrain stood in place until the two people visible through the window disappeared. After taking a moment to catch his breath, he tried to grasp this difficult-to-understand feeling he was experiencing for the first time. 

“Is it because I’ve been busy preparing for the wedding ceremony? ”

Perhaps it was because he hadn’t seen her face in a long time, but his emotions became unexpectedly intense. It was true that recently, the time they spent together had diminished significantly. Since she had to greet the guests, it was difficult for her to find time. Yet, that didn’t mean Raygrain had any extra time. He had promised to go out to welcome the guests for their safety, which also meant he had to manage the knights.

In the empty garden, Raygrain murmured to himself in a small voice, 

“Once the wedding ceremony is over.” 

Once it’s done, that’s it. He slowly wiped his face with his large hand. Although he was busy, the main reason he found it hard to see Scheuer was the quarrel between High Priest Sevi and Leilda. Few could mediate between them.

Scheuer handled most things on her own, as if it were some unspoken rule, and she didn’t ask him for much unless her peculiar habit of collecting things was involved. Come to think of it, she had asked for bouquets less frequently. She even managed to grow flowers on her own in this garden, so it was only natural that she would ask him for flowers less often than before.

‘Maybe it’s because I’ve had fewer chances to wield my sword lately.’

Yet she had no problem expressing her desires to Leilda, whether it was for magical stones or something else. Reygraine absentmindedly gazed at the flowers in the garden, illuminated by the moonlight. The flowers she had painstakingly cultivated weren’t for him. He didn’t particularly like flowers, but since she did, he found himself curious.

Aside from the fact that this was where Scheuer spent most of her time, the garden itself didn’t hold much interest for him. His eyes fell on his statue in the center of the garden. Arranged before it were various items, as if some kind of ritual had been performed.

‘So this is what they meant by decorating for the guests.’

A single flower was tucked behind the statue’s ear, and a few frames were placed at its feet. Inside the frames were papers that he had used and discarded after signing documents, meticulously restored and preserved.

[Dismissed] 

[To be reviewed] 

[Same as the third item.]

Reygraine couldn’t understand why those papers had been framed. He had even offered to provide anything she needed. If she wanted writing to put in frames, he could have written new ones as much as she wanted.

However, Scheuer never made such requests; she only gathered the traces he left behind. This led Reygraine to an unsettling, primal doubt: 

“Is that truly all she needs?”

If she were to ask for something for her own sake, he might understand. But for the first time, Reygraine felt a sense of helplessness.

“I don’t even know what Scheuer likes… how pathetic.”

He wanted to give her something she genuinely desired, not just something she appreciated because it was related to him. He wondered if what she truly liked was something that had nothing to do with him. Yet, when he tried to think of what Scheuer liked apart from him, he realized he knew almost nothing.

Whenever she expressed her wishes to him, it left a tight, frustrating ache in his chest. If his only goal was to make her happy, the solution was simple: he could just give her something he had used. Scheuer was delighted with anything Reygraine gave her. He was certain that even if he handed her a strand of his hair, she would cherish it.

But was that really all she wanted from him? What he wanted to give her was more than that. Even if others might say, “If she likes it, what’s the problem?” Reygraine couldn’t be satisfied with that.

“If someone would be happy with anything, then what’s the significance of what I give?”

He turned his gaze away from the statue he found increasingly irritating. For the first time, Reygraine realized just how greedy he was. He wanted many things: Scheuer’s attention, the direction of her steps, every moment she smiled. Even when she became engrossed in something as simple as an object, it bothered him.

Without knowing what she truly desired, he couldn’t give her what she really wanted.

“This is torture.”

Raygrain roughly loosened the cravat he always tied neatly at his neck. As his hands gripped the high-quality fabric, they hesitated for a moment before stopping altogether. He soon lifted his head in the direction Scheuer had been heading. If he was lucky, perhaps he could use the excuse of a ghost to pull her away from Leilda.

He was about to retie the loosely undone cravat for a potential encounter when he heard a familiar voice in his ear. 

“Your Grace! ” 

Turning toward the sound, he saw a tiny figure that looked like an ant from a distance. If it were anyone else, they would have appeared too small and dark to distinguish in the dim light.

Seeing her waving her hand and gesturing in the air made his hand move in urgency. He didn’t know much, but he knew that Scheuer liked things neat and well-defined, whether it was a statue or a doll.

She would say she liked everything, but when analyzing the things she cherished on average, it seemed otherwise. Quickly returning the car to its original state, Scheuer approached with quick steps.

“Your Grace, Your Grace! I found out who the ghost is! ”

“What is it? ”

Although he had heard about it from the knights beforehand, he didn’t mind her chattering and let her continue. Scheuer responded as if revealing a great secret.

“It was Priest Sevi! ”

“I see.”

“Given the name, one of them must be Koa.”

“That makes sense. Have you located the two?”

“Yes! I asked the knights, and they said they were at the place with the dowry.”

Behind her, Leilda stood with a crooked posture, glaring at him. She looked utterly annoyed, possibly from being called out at night, and that only added to Reygraine’s dissatisfaction. The fact that she had come out so obediently didn’t sit well with him.

As if she could read his thoughts, Leilda clicked her tongue.

“Tch. What a fool. This is why you don’t take in hairy beasts.”

“Were you just insulting my Grace?” 

Scheuer’s eyes turned sharp the moment Reygraine’s words left his mouth.

Leilda boldly retorted, 

“Yes, I did. What of it?”

“Even placing my Grace on a pedestal wouldn’t be enough. Why would you say that?”

“Why would anyone carry a grown man on their head?”

“Because I like it!”

Scheuer’s angry glare at Leilda wasn’t frightening so much as it was pitiful. Even a child wouldn’t be scared of that. Leilda looked down at Scheuer with one eye squinting before striding over to Reygraine. When Scheuer tried to follow, Leilda flicked her forehead lightly with a finger.

A crisp snap was followed by a small sigh.

“Don’t follow. If you do, I won’t let you record the wedding on the magic stone.”

It was an effective threat. Scheuer froze in place immediately, though her face was full of indignation.

Leilda approached, closing the distance between them. He had always been so small, practically crawling on the ground, but today their eye level was nearly the same. Leilda’s eyebrows furrowed in discontent as he looked Reygraine up and down.

“At my age, life sure is dynamic. I have to watch over a playground for kids.”

“What do you mean?”

“What do you think? I came here to make you realize reality.”

He gestured with his chin toward Reygraine’s cravat and said, 

“That won’t help.”

Taking another step closer, he whispered in Reygraine’s ear, 

“Scheuer is different from you, Grand Duke.”

Scheuer’s voice could be heard faintly from afar, standing too far away to approach.

“Leilda, what are you saying to the Grand Duke? What is it?”

In a stern tone, Reygraine asked, 

“What do you mean by ‘different’?”

“You know, Your Grace does too.”

“Ruminate”