The Ugly Wife of the Shady Duke - Chapter 117.2

“Some people do delegate such things, so I can see why it surprised you.”

Benjamin deliberately took Grace’s side. After all, she currently delegated all household affairs to others.

Grace had no intention of reclaiming full authority over the household yet. Even if she did, she wasn’t confident she could manage it properly.

Divorce aside, she would only take it back after her memories returned fully, after she had stabilized, and after she grew accustomed to running a household. She couldn’t disrupt a system that was functioning well through inexperience.

That wasn’t why she brought it up.

“Yes, I do receive help. And I’m always grateful for it.”

“Everyone relies on help, don’t they?”

“…Yes. Which brings me to this, Your Excellency.”

Grace carefully set down her fork.

“I heard that you’ve personally overseen all the furniture in the annexes so far. I’m embarrassed to admit that I didn’t even know the furniture came from the Magic Tools Association. But could we perhaps ask about that during our visit to the Association?”

“The furniture?”

“Yes. I am the lady of this household, after all, yet I didn’t even know the source of the furnishings. And I’ve never heard of the Association making furniture before, so I grew curious.”

Benjamin looked momentarily puzzled, clearly not expecting the request, then nodded.

“It’s not a difficult request. Have you been dissatisfied with what I’ve provided so far?”

“Oh—no! I’m always grateful for your consideration.”

Seeing Benjamin’s shoulders droop as if he were about to turn into a scolded puppy, Grace hurriedly waved her hands.

“The Magic Tools Association usually makes magical tools. I trust more than anyone that you wouldn’t bring anything strange into the estate.”

‘Though it really is strange—and dangerous. The problem is that no one in the Felton household seems to know.’

She kept that thought to herself.

“I just found it curious that you’d specifically source furniture from the Association instead of a regular workshop. From what I’ve seen, it looks like they’ve been supplying the estate for quite some time… but I wouldn’t know, since I wasn’t managing the household.”

“……”

“So I thought I’d start by learning about this, step by step.”

Given that they were still in a divorce consideration period, Grace’s interest in the estate’s internal affairs pleased Benjamin greatly.

The more she involved herself, the higher the chance she might reconsider the divorce.

“The Magic Tools Association doesn’t officially sell furniture. It’s more accurate to say it’s still in the prototype stage. The ducal house often tests new magical tools first, so it’s not particularly unusual…”

Grace nodded, recalling the luminous dye she had used before.

“The safety risk has been confirmed as zero, which is why it’s been installed in the annexes. It’s not commercialized simply because the Association can only produce it in very small quantities.”

“Then it’s not ordinary furniture.”

“No. If it were, there’d be no need to authorize production through the Magic Tools Association. There are plenty of excellent furniture workshops, after all.”

Benjamin laughed lightly.

“The reason is the recycling of mana stones. They were debating how to reuse depleted mana stones and ended up combining them into a finishing material. When applied to furniture, it makes it sturdier and longer-lasting.”

“That’s fascinating.”

She’d never heard of it in the original story, but it was genuinely interesting. It even made her want to see it firsthand.

“Then why apply it to furniture? Wouldn’t it make more sense to use it on magical tools, so they last longer?”

“For some reason, when applied to magical tools, they stop functioning properly. They actually break down faster. It can only be used on non-magical items.”

Grace thought for a moment, then asked,

“Is the furniture in the annex library also from the Association?”

“…No. The furniture there isn’t.”

‘Then maybe the ominous fog really is coming from the finishing material.’

She didn’t know why recycled mana stones would affect her negatively—but aside from that, there was no other distinguishing factor.

‘If not… then the Magic Tools Association is hiding something from Benjamin.’

“If we could hear the explanation directly from the Association in the capital, I think I’d enjoy that.”

“Of course. If you wish, I can inform them in advance.”

“No—if we do that, they’ll prepare too much. I don’t want to make extra work for them just because of me. They’re probably busy already.”

Grace smiled gently, her expression warm.

Of course, it wasn’t genuine consideration for their sake.

If the finishing material truly was the culprit, who knew what explanation they’d prepare in advance? Grace’s visit was already scheduled. So they would prepare in their own way regardless.

She had no intention of giving them additional time to do so.