Terran watched Grace’s back as she left after saying harsh words.

Soon after, Luke chuckled and said to Terran.

“It seems Miss Grace has changed her strategy.”

No matter how much she tried to win the Duke’s heart, there was no response, so now she must have decided to go strong.

“That’s not it.”

“Pardon?”

Luke looked at Terran quizzically as he firmly denied it.

It was the first time he had denied Luke’s words so decisively.

In fact, Terran initially thought so too. But Grace just now seemed like a completely different person.

“Please be a little kinder to her, Your Grace.”

Luke now felt sorry for Grace.

Terran wasn’t always this cold and indifferent in the past.

He lost his parents at a young age and took over the family, and the 7-year war with Wales changed him as a person.

He became pessimistic about everything, strictly controlling his emotions and preventing others from intruding into his world.

‘Grace speaks Landes?’

Terran was surprised by Grace not just because she spoke a foreign language.

He felt that she wasn’t the person he knew before, from her tone, behavior, and the look in her eyes.

‘Could that bastard be me?’

Terran smiled, raising one corner of his mouth.

“Your Grace, don’t you think it’s strange no matter how you look at it? Miss Grace read the newspaper, ran out here crying, spoke a foreign language, and went back in by herself?”

Luke couldn’t understand any of Grace’s actions today, except for running out in the rain.

Moreover, her manner of speaking was different from usual.

[Luke, when will Terran return? Grace is so lonely.]

Her tone used to be cute and gentle, but just now it was chillingly stern and stiff.

On one hand, he felt sorry for Grace. But Luke was suddenly reminded of a woman even more pitiful than her.

“Your Grace, what should we do with Lea Hamilton’s body? Should we hand it over to her fiancé in Galdensia?”

Terran had recently witnessed Lea Hamilton’s accident while out hunting and personally went down the cliff to retrieve her body.

He couldn’t ignore it since it happened on his territory.

“Where is the body?”

“It’s at the church. We’ve already thoroughly embalmed it.”

“We should hold a funeral, that’s human decency.”

Even if they sent the body back to her country, the Hamilton family had committed high treason, so they would likely just cremate it and scatter the ashes anywhere.

‘Richard Hamilton smuggling poppy flowers. Something seems off.’

Terran didn’t believe the newspaper article. Hamilton Trading was one of the oldest and most famous trading companies on the continent.

Especially known for making money through fair trade and contributing much to society. Above all, he had met Richard Hamilton in person when he was young.

It was the day of an opera for nobles and the upper class.

At the time, there were children selling flowers, matches, and cigarettes all around the opera house.

Perhaps out of a sense of privilege, everyone ignored those children.

But just one person, Richard Hamilton, bought something from each of the children.

‘He didn’t seem like that kind of person, it feels somewhat forced.’

* * *

Lea finished bathing with Pauline’s help and lay back down on the bed. She thought about many things during that time.

‘Accept reality.’

It was the hardest thing to do, but perhaps this flow of her soul into someone else’s body was God’s arrangement.

Originally, the blood of a cold-hearted merchant flowed through her body.

Perhaps that’s why, even as Grace, she had no desire to go crying to Allen about how love changes.

Rather, her mind cleared and she began to see reality properly.

‘From now on, I must live as Grace Bizac.’

Thinking about it coldly, it would be difficult to survive in Galdensia with the name Hamilton.

Rather, she should become someone else and uncover Allen’s vile schemes.

‘The police commissioner must be in on it too.’

They say a hunter waits and puts in a lot of effort for a very long time to catch a beast.

Allen must have done the same. He would have gradually gathered information on Hamilton through her. He would have also recruited helpers.

‘I didn’t know such ambition was hidden behind that gentle face.’

He must not have been satisfied with just becoming the son-in-law of Hamilton Trading. What could his ultimate goal be?

‘He’s already gained enormous wealth, so what’s left is honor and power. He wants to rise to an even higher position than now.’

To confront Allen in the future, she absolutely needed the status of Lady Grace Bizac, daughter of a baron.

Lea got up from the bed and went to the dressing table. She stared at the dazzlingly beautiful woman looking back at her in the mirror.

‘I don’t know how I ended up in your body. But I’ll return it to you when my work is done.’

Though she didn’t know if it was possible, she wanted to keep that promise. Additionally, she vowed.

‘I won’t do anything to tarnish Grace’s honor.’

Though it was a life she’d transitioned into against her will, she wanted to live it properly while this state lasted.

Just then, Pauline returned with a dry towel.

“Miss, I’ve brought new news about the Duke’s schedule.”

Seeing Pauline making such a fuss, it seems she usually reported Terran’s every move to Grace.

‘I’m not really interested.’

When Lea made an indifferent expression, Pauline’s face became even more solemn.

“You know the woman’s body that fell off the cliff and died recently?”

Lea turned from the dressing table in surprise.

“A body?”

“I overheard that the dead woman was the only daughter of a very large trading company in Galdensia.”

“Where is that body?”

“It’s at the church. And they say the Duke will hold a funeral and bury her in the church cemetery.”

“When is that?”

“In three days. And they’ll also contact her fiancé in Galdensia.”

Lea’s heart started beating fast.

Then the man she saw when her physical body was dying must have been Terran. So he must have retrieved the body.

Suddenly, something flashed in Lea’s mind.

‘That’s right, my necklace.’

She remembered the precious necklace her father had put around her neck on her wedding day.

[Take it, Lea.] [Father! This is…]

It was a necklace with an old brass key attached, which held deep meaning for him.

The key was engraved with the phrase symbolizing Hamilton Trading and a golden carriage. Terran must have known the body’s identity from seeing that necklace.

[It’s a gift from your father. I wanted to give you a meaningful gift.] [I can’t accept it. I know better than anyone what that necklace means, how could I…] [Please take it. I have no one else to give it to but you. This father is old. If anything happens to the company, you’ll have to resolve it. You’ll need the necklace for that.]

‘Did Father foresee this tragedy?’

If so, she had to retrieve that necklace no matter what.

‘Ah, if I’d known this would happen, I shouldn’t have been so rude to Duke Courtois.’

Lea fell into deep thought.

To attend her own funeral, she needed to find a reason that Terran would accept. Above all, it was important to win his favor.

* * *

Lea shook off her illness, got up, put on proper makeup and clothes.

At first, Pauline had done her makeup so extravagantly that it took some effort to fix it.

“Grace, I mean I, look better with lighter makeup, Pauline.”

Pauline was puzzled at first, but after changing the makeup and hair as Lea said, she clapped her hands and nodded.

“Oh my, heavy makeup was ruining your face, Miss!”

She combed her hair neatly and tied it back, and chose a dress in as modest a style as possible. For earrings and necklaces, she went with ones that weren’t too large or decorative.

“Hurry and go, you’ll be late for mealtime.”

“Okay.”

It was fortunate that she had breakfast with Terran every morning.

She needed to meet him to bring up the funeral. She just wished she knew a bit more about Grace before meeting Terran, which was a little regrettable.

‘Didn’t Miss Grace keep a diary?’

Lost in these thoughts, she soon arrived in front of the dining room.

Lea put on the brightest expression she could and entered the dining room.

“Good morning, Duke Courtois.”

Lea curtsied slightly to Terran, who was seated at the head of the table.

“You seem to be in a good mood.”

“It’s thanks to your concern.”

Lea could now see Terran properly.

His sculpted features, hidden by his gloomy expression, came into view. With his sturdy build and tall stature, he was a typical cold beauty.

In contrast, Allen was a handsome man who melted people’s hearts with a cream-like smile.

‘Why am I even thinking about that bastard…!’

Lea shook her head roughly, disgusted with herself for even momentarily thinking of Allen. Anyway, she needed to apologize to Terran first.

“I was very rude last time. I won’t act so rashly again.”

Lea apologized very politely.

But Terran just stared at Lea with narrowed eyes, withholding a response. It was a sharp gaze as if trying to dig into a person’s inner thoughts.

“Grace.”

Terran called her after a while.

“Yes, what is it?”

“That ‘bastard’ you said in Landes back then, was that referring to me by any chance?”

“How… could it be? There’s another bastard. It’s not you, Duke Courtois.”

At Lea’s answer, Terran put his hand to his forehead and laughed out loud.

The servants attending the meal all momentarily froze. They seemed quite surprised, as if seeing the Duke laugh for the first time.

{When did you learn Landes?}

Terran asked Lea in fluent Landes.

‘When? I learned it as a child.’

Lea was in a difficult position. In fact, she had learned many foreign languages from a young age and read all related books.

Thanks to that, she could speak many foreign languages. But she didn’t know when Grace had learned Landes.

{I taught myself because Landes clothes are pretty. I wanted to order them directly by mail.}

{Self-taught, for direct mail orders, hmm.}

Only then did Terran nod as if convinced.

Lea thought it was about time to bring up her main point to Terran.

“Duke Courtois, I heard you retrieved the body of Miss Lea Hamilton from Galdensia. And that you’ll hold a funeral for her.”

“That’s right.”

“May I attend as well?”

‘Now he’ll ask why I want to attend, right?’

Lea waited, having prepared an answer. But no matter how long she waited, he didn’t ask.

“Go ahead. It’s good to have even one more mourner in a situation where there will be almost no attendees.”

“Th-thank you.”

Terran, who had casually agreed, tilted his head at Grace’s words of thanks.

Come to think of it, was Grace the type of person to attend a stranger’s funeral? What connection did she have with Lea Hamilton?

In fact, when he saw Grace enter the dining room, he felt it again. She wasn’t the Grace of before.

It wasn’t just because her appearance had changed that he judged so. How to put it, it was the same feeling as that rainy day.

‘She doesn’t seem like the Grace Bizac I know.’

There was a big reason for making such a judgment.

The Grace of before spent all day focusing on him. Even during meals, her eyes used to follow him busily, but the current Grace was indifferent.

‘She’s making me more and more curious.’