Chapter 118.1
After her conversation with Benjamin, Grace naturally ended up receiving the ledgers.
It seemed that their discussion had stayed on his mind, and Benjamin had sent her the already-organized records himself.
‘They’re neatly arranged.’
She had glanced at them briefly in the past, but the ledger she was holding now was far more comprehensive. It clearly outlined how furniture, food supplies, and other household assets were managed throughout the estate.
Thanks to that, Grace was able to quickly identify the location of each piece of furniture.
“…I could track it by following the fog anyway, but this is faster.”
Furniture treated with the special finishing material had been placed only in the annex—and mostly concentrated around areas where Grace stayed.
There was an especially high concentration near her bedroom, while none appeared in the study, which was almost strange.
‘Did they track everywhere I went?’
At this point, it was enough to make her creeped out. She wasn’t sure whether to admire their persistence or recoil from it.
“…Pale sky-blue.”
Grace pulled a pendulum emitting a soft sky-blue glow from her pocket. Despite the passage of time, its light hadn’t dimmed.
‘It does make daily life easier, at least.’
She had been told it was made of sacred stone. Holding it tightly in her palm, Grace fell into thought.
‘Do all sacred stones emit this kind of light?’
And conversely—did depleted mana stones give off that ominous fog?
Were the two connected?
‘Then why is the color of the light different?’
Grace recalled something Aria had once told her.
“Not all divine power manifests as light.”
“…”
“And when it does, it usually reflects the color of the soul.”
“The color of the soul…”
Was this the soul color of past saints? Perhaps this pendulum was something only a saint could create.
That was the conclusion Grace reached.
‘But if that were the case, Aria would’ve said she made it herself.’
When Aria gave her the pendulum, she hadn’t mentioned imbuing it with her own divine power or anything like that.
Which meant she didn’t know, either.
“…Hmm.”
Now that Grace had learned about mana stones and finishing materials, she couldn’t stop thinking about the pendulum’s light.
‘I thought all I needed was to figure out why I die, how I’m killed, and how to survive—but to solve that, there’s so much more I need to understand.’
Maybe she was just the type to stick her nose into too many things. With a quiet sigh, Grace looked around the study.
It was strangely calm—utterly free of any ominous presence. It was also a space she used often, since she enjoyed reading.
‘I doubt the people in charge of the furniture didn’t notice this.’
They had managed to infer where Grace spent most of her time and placed the special furniture accordingly. Even if the Duchess of Felton had grown increasingly depressed and stopped visiting the study as often, it seemed unlikely they would’ve left this room untouched by accident.
‘Why, then?’
Tilting her head, Grace headed toward her room.
If there was a reason the study hadn’t been filled with furniture from the Magic Tools Association, it would surely be because of Benjamin’s influence.
After all, everything in the annex—the food supplies, the furniture—fell under his jurisdiction.
She had once heard through Sally that Benjamin had specifically ordered them not to touch the furniture in the study.
Grace knew that as well.
‘There must be a reason I don’t remember for why Benjamin left this study alone.’
For some reason, he seemed uncomfortable whenever Grace recalled her old memories.
Perhaps if she remembered everything, she might no longer look at Benjamin the way she once did.
‘He even subtly asked whether anything else had come back to me. That means there’s probably something decisive he doesn’t want me to remember.’
The problem was—Grace had no idea what that was.
If it were something truly serious, someone around her would’ve shown signs of it.
Even at the last banquet, there hadn’t been much reaction. At most, people had thought, So the Duchess really has appeared.
‘If it were something big enough for everyone to know, it would’ve been in the story. But it wasn’t.’
She was certain of that.
Benjamin was her favorite character. She knew every detail related to him.
He was known as a young duke who had married out of necessity, and his wife was simply considered incompetent.
That meant Grace—the Duchess—might have caused small incidents, but never anything major.
‘It must’ve been something between the two of them…’
In the end, there was only one conclusion.
No matter what, Grace had to recover every part of the past she couldn’t remember. She looked down at her hands.
She wasn’t certain, but every time she regained a memory, this power felt more natural—stronger.
‘Let’s try just one more.’
She briefly thought of the fireplace in the tea room, then shook her head. Just looking at it made her uneasy—it felt too dangerous for now.
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