The Villainess Captured The Grand Duke - Chapter 6

Chapter 6

He looked down at Scheuer and replied with an even tone,

“A signature, and a handshake.”

“What about a hug?”

“…You have a lot of requests.”

Jess interjected as if he had been waiting,

“Your Highness, there’s no need to entertain this.”

However, Raygrain simply ignored him with a brief gesture. Soon, his gaze returned to Scheuer. In the chilly pupils of his eyes, her face was reflected in Raygrain’s pupils.

For some reason, Scheuer felt a chill run down her spine. It was a brief moment. Raygrain continued on past her.

“Come back by the end of today.”

He then continued down the corridor with determined steps. However, as he stopped and turned back while walking, Raygrain spoke to her as if to reiterate,

“Don’t go anywhere, stay in the mansion.”

There was no more holding him back. From his indifferent expression, she could sense a warning not to detain him further.

***

Beside Raygrain, Jess couldn’t help but fidget nervously. In contrast, Raygrain displayed an unusually determined expression.

“Your Highness, Naveed is an uncharted territory. Are you sure you want to go there personally, especially in this situation when you can’t even use your abilities?”

“Who said that I can’t use my abilities?”

“What?”

Jess was startled as he stared at Raygrain as if to check, and lightly swung his sword. Did he mishear something? Jess thought that maybe, in his eagerness, he had misinterpreted Raygrain’s words. However, Raygrain casually overturned his hypothesis.

“At least for today, you don’t have to worry about the expedition.”

“Do you sense something? What, what’s the reason? I, Jess, will do my best to follow the plan and… “

“It’s not necessary.”

Jess lost his words again in response. Was it because he disliked his nagging? But even with that rejection, Jess felt a surge of emotions. It seemed like there was annoyance in his voice. It might have been an unwarranted leap, but Jess knew better than anyone that he never lied.

Soon, after finishing preparations for departure, Raygrain moved silently with a furrowed brow for a while. In no time, the assembled expeditionary force moved under his command with great fervor. Amidst all of this, Raygrain seemed to be silently contemplating something.

As he left the castle, he subtly uttered a command

“While I’m away, ensure that Nethriega’s envoy doesn’t leave Blenga. I have something to confirm when I return.”

The additional comment attached to his command had a somewhat different tone than Raygrain’s usual demeanor.

“It seems that Nethriega’s envoy might not be in her right mind.”

“Miss Scheuere, you say?”

Jess chimed in as if he had been waiting for this moment.

“Well, considering how harsh the North can be for those from the South, it’s quite audacious of her.”

Perhaps that was the reason. Raygrain contemplated Schuere Nethri’s actions of the day. She had been argumentative all day, and when he thought of her, something in his gut twisted.

This emotion, something he hadn’t felt in a long time, wasn’t pleasant. It was like someone was about to prick him with a sharp thorn.

Jess, who was watching Raygrain’s reaction, seemed to have noticed that something was bothering him, and he continued

“Your Highness, her audacious nature might even be considered annoying to some.”

“That’s true.”

With a simple shrug of his robe, he looked up at the cloudy sky, where the North’s winter wind sounded like a threatening ale, cutting through the snow-covered mountains.

The number of monsters had increased dramatically recently, making them difficult to handle with just periodic expeditions. Moreover, their ferocity seemed to intensify with each passing season.

Raygrain had lived in the North all his life, and he hurried along, watching this abnormal trend. Something was not right; the North was changing rapidly.

And on that day, during the expedition, Raygrain had used his skills with the sword faster than anyone else, finishing off the monsters.

It was clear that Raygrain’s orders and his concerns about Nethriega’s envoy were tied to this ominous change in the North.

***

“Celi, are these all the frames we have here?”

It had been three days since Raygrain had left for his expedition. Scheuere laid out frames of various sizes on the floor and asked.

Celly, trying to find a space to step without knocking anything over, quickly moved her eyes and replied,

“These are all the empty frames we have in this mansion.”

“This one seems to have too many scratches.”

When Schuere picked up one of the frames, Celly took it and put it away as if she had been waiting. Even in the dimly lit room that required additional lighting to see properly, Schuere was meticulous.

She pointed to a frame with a golden border, roughly the same height as hers, and asked,

“Since imperfections are important, let’s hang it here. It looks the most prominent.”

“If we use your thumb size, it might look like a dot in this room.”

“Original artwork is more than just a painting. It signifies the preservation of the North’s center, concentrating at the exact center… No, I didn’t ask you to make more than one, did I?”

Shouldn’t all ten fingers, even the palm, be imprinted? Filling a blank sheet of paper with his thumbprint could also become a meaningful task.

Schuere wanted to put Raygrain’s handprint on frames that looked expensive to anyone who saw them. Storing his precious handprint carelessly on anything was out of the question.

Schuere’s next goal after carefully selecting the frames was clear.

Celly, who had just finished organizing the album, asked with a tired expression,

“Are you really going to do this?”

“Well, life is about seizing opportunities when they come,” Schuere replied.

While signatures and fingerprints were nice since it had come to this, something a bit more commemorative was needed. In response to her determined look, Celi sighed as if giving up and handed her a crisp, new shirt.

“This is clothing similar to what His Highness wears.”

Schere cautiously accepted it, as if afraid it might wrinkle.

“Do you think His Grace might be interested in bartering? For example, exchanging old clothes for these new ones?”

“Interested in bartering… I’m not sure,”

Celly’s voice grew quieter.

She appeared tired, probably from running around Blenga’s corners all morning. Schuere had been actively asking Blenga’s kitchen staff about Raygrain’s specific measurements for the past three days, with Celly following her diligently, doing everything she could.

Schuere sighed as she held the shirt. The reason Celly had been working so hard was likely due to her anxiety.

“It’s not the right time yet, but with the expedition team not having returned, who could just relax?”

No matter how you looked at it, it was her personal matter. However, amidst it all, the servants of Blenga treated her like an honored guest. Despite not knowing the reason for her inquiries, no one stopped her from wandering around the mansion as if she were a guest of honor.

She had simply stuck to her like glue no matter where she went. Schuere kindly spoke up, looking inwardly sorry for Celi,

“You’ve worked hard today. From now until His Grace arrives, you should enjoy some freedom, Celly.”

Before her words could finish, a distant horn sounded, its echo reverberating through the space for a while before suddenly falling silent. It signaled Raygrain’s return and the successful completion of the expedition. Not long after, footsteps of servants moving in one direction could be heard in the corridor.

Not long after, the sound of footsteps moving in a single direction could be heard echoing from the corridor. Catching Celly’s expression, Schuere gently opened the door.

“I can manage on my own.”

“But now, I really want to go.”

She said with a wry smile.

“Smile Love”