The Ugly Wife of the Shady Duke - Chapter 120.1

“We can’t stop the carriage directly in front of the Magic Tools Association building, so we’ll have to walk a little from here. Is that all right?”

“Of course. Getting out and walking like this isn’t bad at all.”

As Grace stepped down from the carriage with Benjamin escorting her, a newspaper boy hurried over. The knights immediately moved to surround her, but Grace waved them off.

“My lady, my lady! Interested in newspapers or magazines? I’ve got the latest issues!”

In the boy’s arms were all kinds of gossip magazines, including Chatters, along with the capital’s daily papers.

Grace hesitated, about to reach out to buy a few, when Benjamin stopped her.

“Wife, we have somewhere to go. Wouldn’t it be inconvenient to carry extra things already? I’ll buy them separately and have them sent to you later. Please don’t worry.”

“Mm, still…”

Part of her worried about the boy’s livelihood. But to be honest, she was also curious about what the gossip magazines had been saying lately.

The last newspaper she’d read in Linden County hadn’t mentioned her at all.

“All right.”

Since she could read them later if Benjamin bought them anyway, Grace nodded. Reading them now wouldn’t do much good, and that wasn’t her main purpose today.

‘I’ll look through them properly when I have time.’

Turning toward the Magic Tools Association building, Grace unconsciously glanced back along the road the carriage had come from.

Between the massive buildings, an unusual tower stood out.

“…?”

“Let’s go.”

Before Grace could ask about it, Benjamin gently guided her forward.

The tower wasn’t particularly tall, nor was it thick. But unlike the surrounding buildings, it didn’t appear designed for habitation. Its strange shape felt out of place, yet no one around seemed to find it odd.

‘You really do see everything here…’

At first, she wondered if only she could see it, or if people were simply used to it, but when she noticed a few passersby glance at it briefly, she realized it was the latter.

‘Why is something like that standing in the middle of the capital?’

Grace had inherited much of the body’s knowledge. Which meant that if she didn’t remember the tower, it was likely connected to the missing year of Grace’s memories.

‘Come to think of it, losing exactly one year of memories is strange in itself. My knowledge of plants goes back far more than a year.’

So what, exactly, had been erased? What was definitely missing was only the first year of her marriage.

Because Grace was a possessor, even the criteria for what she couldn’t remember felt vague.

“Wife?”

“……”

“Wife, can you hear me?”

Benjamin’s face suddenly appeared right in front of her. Startled, Grace reflexively leaned back.

“Y-Your Grace?! What is it?”

“I said we’ve arrived, but you didn’t respond.”

“Oh—al, already?”

Looking dazed, Grace glanced around. Sure enough, standing before them was a massive building bearing the sign Magic Tools Association, with several people wearing politely arranged, overly attentive expressions.

They look exhausted.

Considering that the Association’s greatest patron—and the ducal couple holding immense decision-making power—had arrived side by side only days after making contact, it was no wonder.

Normally, Grace would have felt unbearably apologetic. But today, there was too much information she needed from them to feel guilty.

‘How do I bring up the finishing material?’

At first, she’d only meant to ask about the Association’s rumored discussion with the Everlasting Flower, but somewhere along the way, the focus had shifted entirely to the finishing material.

As she was worrying about how to steer the conversation naturally, Benjamin spoke first, confidently.

“There was an issue with the furniture you supplied this time, so we were unable to place it in my wife’s room.”

“…!”

While Grace always had to brace herself internally before saying things like this, Benjamin spoke smoothly, without hesitation.

“I understand that you specialize in magical tools, not furniture, so I don’t hold it against you. I’m aware that some of the pieces were purchased from other workshops and only processed with your finishing material.”

“…Yes. Thank you for your understanding.”

‘So that’s how it was.’

If the process only involved applying the finishing material, there’d be no need to manufacture each piece in a magic workshop. Realizing this belatedly, Grace murmured in agreement beside him.

“And so, I asked my wife whether we shouldn’t begin wrapping up the testing phase for this finishing material and stop receiving furniture altogether. However, my kind-hearted wife said she wished to have one final discussion with you regarding this matter.”

‘I never said that.’

She had asked questions about the finishing material, yes—but she’d never said anything like this.

Watching Benjamin speak with such a shameless gentle face, Grace felt a strong sense of déjà vu.