Lily didn’t ask Grace any special questions. It was considerate of her. Grace also never asked them how they became a single mother.
Everyone had their own circumstances. There was no relationship that required knowing everything.
Grace was grateful for her consideration. In the orphanage, Lily didn’t even show any signs of what happened when Grace met Benjamin and called him “His Highness”.
From the beginning, everyone knew that Grace was a strange presence in this orphanage.
Still, she just gathered everyone out of kindness to help them start anew. That alone was enough to feel grateful.
Just giving them the opportunity to live with the children, whether successful or not, was enough to make them happy.
Grace started making patterns based on the tea bag she first made. She heard the sound of children playing outside.
After making samples, those with good drawing skills made tea bag tags. They inserted something stiff and thin between the tags to add weight so that they would not fall into the cup.
While participating in conversations with them, Grace’s mind was in chaos.
Even if she was in a good mood, things didn’t go her way when it came to Benjamin.
He really had the power to control Grace’s feelings. He could give her unwanted feelings and push her away in an instant.
Was he being friendly? It seemed that way, but then he would create distance.
‘Why?’
She wanted to know. But she was afraid to ask. Of course, Grace was going to divorce Benjamin anyway, so she was afraid to hear the truth before discussing the divorce.
‘I have to hurry.’
At first, she planned to start stepping away from the business once the deal with the restaurant became successful and tea bags began to sell not only in the restaurant but also in households.
It was natural. Before that, Grace could never repay the capital she invested in the business. It was a substantial amount of money.
It was amusing. She had been told from the beginning that she could use the money as she pleased, but Grace still wanted to repay that capital. She kept thinking that the money wasn’t truly hers.
Nothing seemed to belong to her, and she didn’t seem to belong anywhere.
‘It wouldn’t hurt to let go by the time the restaurants start ordering in bulk.’
Then, she could simply ask for a small percentage of the profits every month. That should be fine.
Of course, she would have to come up with a framework to receive the profits, but she could handle that much effort.
Grace was already thinking about divorcing and going down to the distant countryside.
“Can I ask all of you to help promote the restaurants?”
Everyone nodded readily at Grace’s question.
“Mrs. Lindon has already done so much.”
“Mrs. Lindon, thank you. Please go back and rest.”
Everyone saw Grace off.
Grace walked for a while and then headed towards the back door of the Duke’s residence with weak steps. As she approached the back door, she felt the knights’ presence behind her.
Normally, she would have said thank you for their hard work, but she didn’t feel like it.
Grace hesitated whether to say something or not, but turned her head to avoid venting her frustration on others.
“You’ve been working hard.”
“…No, it’s my duty.”
It was the same response they exchanged every day, but the knight’s reply lacked conviction.
Grace simply smiled. She knew why he responded differently today, even if she had sensed it vaguely before.
‘Even if I had vaguely sensed it, but witnessing it directly would be different.’
And no matter how inconspicuous it was, it was obvious that it would have been painful for the knight to witness the situation where the lady of the house was aware of her husband’s infidelity.
Grace headed towards the annex without saying anything.
As Grace, who had been bright until just before departure, became dark, the eyebrows of the servants also furrowed.
As Grace had become more cheerful recently, the contrast was severe when she became depressed.
Her emotional fluctuations were familiar, but that didn’t mean Grace was less worried every time.
However, it wasn’t a situation where anyone could approach her and ask what was wrong. Even Sally, the closest servant, couldn’t ask right away, and when Grace’s mood didn’t improve over time, she finally asked.
“I want to be alone in my room. I don’t need to eat today. I ate outside.”
In fact, she didn’t have much of an appetite. She felt like she wanted to throw up even if she ate something.
But they didn’t know anything, and even if they did, there was nothing they could do. Grace reached her room and buried her head in the pillow.
Yes, Grace admitted it.
She couldn’t completely separate her emotions.
In the end, in exchange for gaining memories by finding her diary, she became “Grace Felton.”
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