Grace in Wonderland - Chapter 58

58. A Shift in Inclination

“I couldn’t care less whether a lowborn, stuttering, insignificant woman likes me or not. And I’m certainly not idle enough to entertain such sentiments.”

Whoever claimed the world of ideals was perfectly beautiful? A philosopher is nothing more than an idealist.

Grace, concerned about Lady Mary Montague’s cough, visited her room and happened to overhear those words herself. For the first time, she felt the sting of loss caused by Richard Spencer.

Until now, even when Richard Spencer was rude, sharp, or selfish, Grace never concerned herself with right or wrong, beauty or ugliness, black or white. But this time was different. Questions of right and wrong, truth and lies, beauty and ugliness, all swirled in her mind, leaving her disoriented.

Perhaps it was because Grace had mistakenly believed Richard was always right, good, beautiful, and pure. Even though she had rejected his kind offer out of fear, she trusted that he wouldn’t take her confession lightly.

Words are truly frightening. When thoughts transform into sounds carrying waves, they exert influence and become phenomena. They have power.

No matter how intelligent Grace Gurton might be, her peculiar, faltering speech obscured her sharp wit and trapped her in an awkward image. Her speech waves lacked completeness.

Similarly, no matter Richard Spencer’s true intentions, his stiff, arrogant tone was enough to create the misunderstanding that he had trampled on her feelings. His sound waves were too forceful.

“Lowborn” and “stuttering” were objective truths about Grace’s circumstances. Everyone knew them, and Grace herself could endure hearing such remarks without letting her emotions collapse.

However, when those words came from Richard Spencer’s lips, they became subjective truths for Grace. Just as Richard had given her worth by calling her name, the moment he dismissed her as “insignificant,” she became worthless.

Having stepped off the swing and onto the static seesaw, Grace Gurton still harbored an unrequited love for Richard Spencer. However, the loss she felt caused a shift in the constant that determined the incline of the seesaw.

It’s similar to the principle of the graph of a linear equation, y = ax. When the constant “a” increases, the slope becomes steeper; when it decreases, the slope flattens.

Grace’s unwavering feelings for Richard, which had served as a constant, began to diminish. As a result, the steep incline of the seesaw naturally adjusted, and the side where Grace sat lowered.

On the other hand, Richard Spencer, who had always stood firmly on the ground as the object of her unrequited love, lost the initiative he once held over Grace. By rejecting the grace he had bestowed upon her, she caught him off guard.

The weight of the initiative Richard had lost, along with his startled spirit, caused his side of the seesaw to rise. Thus, an unexpected balance formed between Grace Gurton and Richard Spencer.

***

A few days after Lancelot and Eleanor left Bath, Richard Spencer returned alone to Lydon. He came back to handle the mess they had left behind and to take on the responsibilities he had been avoiding and evading.

James Spencer, the Earl of Wormleighton, had delegated his authority as head of the family to Richard. This arrangement had been agreed upon before Richard departed for Grentabridge.

Though “delegation” sounded formal, it was merely a convenient excuse for shirking responsibility. Similarly, the Countess of Spencer, resentful toward the second son who had abandoned her, locked herself away in the Bath villa.

The reckless pair briefly stopped by the Earl’s residence in Lydon before heading straight to Gallia. They intended to seek permission from Eleanor’s father, the Duke of Charlotte, for their marriage.

When the duke learned that his cherished eldest daughter had abandoned her betrothed—the future Earl of Spencer—to marry his twin brother, he was enraged. He immediately dispatched a representative to Lydon to protest and confined the couple to the Charlotte estate.

Such treatment was unfair to Lancelot, who remained a legitimate son of the Spencer family. As such, Richard sent a formal letter clarifying that he was not the party responsible for breaking the engagement with Eleanor d’Estrée.

He also made it clear that unless Lancelot Spencer was promptly returned to Ingrint, he would take action by any means necessary.

But to be honest, Richard’s threats were not born out of concern for Lancelot’s well-being. Lancelot was merely an excuse; the real motive was minimizing the future resource loss caused by the annulled engagement.

Richard wanted to retain some of the enormous benefits gained from the agreement to lease Gallia’s fertile soil free of charge. After all, it takes two hands to clap. Eleanor, as one party to the contract, had to take responsibility for clapping Lancelot’s palm.

Thus, in the end, Eleanor’s father would have to compensate for his daughter’s mistake.

Lancelot Spencer was to remain at Charlotte Castle until the negotiations concluded. Since there was no risk to his safety, Richard planned to stall as long as possible, coaxing the duke into taking a seat at the negotiating table.

And so, Lancelot became a useless hostage for Duke Charlotte, while for Richard Spencer, he functioned as a knight on the chessboard.

A knight is the only piece capable of leaping over others. It moves unpredictably, erratically, and causes trouble in ways no one can foresee. Moreover, pawns, bishops, rooks, and even the queen cannot directly oppose a knight.

Because of this peculiar trait, Eleanor, the Queen of Charlotte, crumbled before Lancelot, the Knight of Camelot. And the Lion King stood alone on the chessboard, bereft of his queen.

As a result, noble families with daughters eagerly sent invitations to the Earl’s residence in Westminster, eyeing the future Countess of Spencer’s position. After all, the rest of Lydon’s socialites, who buzzed with rumors about the Spencers, wouldn’t leave a lone king in peace.

However, Richard Spencer, now unexpectedly crowned the most eligible bachelor and darling of the social world, reacted blandly. Unlike Graham Harold, who had endured similar situations for years, Richard had no immunity to such attention.

This was because, even before he was born, Richard had been destined to marry a Gallian woman. As a child, he had practically been in the position of a married man.

“Young Master, the Whittingham family sent an invitation to a tea party.”

“Decline it.”

“And what about the music recital at Burke?”

“That too.”

“We also need to reply regarding the youngest daughter’s birthday banquet at the Adler estate…”

“Sebastian.”

“Yes?”

“How old is that youngest daughter?”

“Six years old.”

“…Are you joking?”

Sebastian wrestled daily with the flood of invitations pouring into the Spencer household. If Richard Spencer had simply instructed him to decline all invitations, he wouldn’t have had to deal with this nonsense. Yet Richard’s eccentric habit of having each invitation reported and then rejecting them individually was driving Sebastian to the brink of madness.

“Well, at least there’s not a twenty-year age gap. By the time she comes of age, you’ll barely be in your early thirties, Young Master.”

“Ah, so even then, I’d still be younger than you are now.”

“Hahaha…”

Sebastian smiled broadly, clenching and unclenching his fist behind his back. So that’s how you want to play it.

The evil spirit that had possessed Richard Spencer in Bath disappeared as soon as he left the villa. Whether it was due to the villa’s unfavorable energy or something else, upon returning to Lydon, he tackled the mountain of tasks with chilling efficiency.

The belief of parents—or rather, attendants—that “my child could excel if only they tried” proved accurate. Richard performed his duties as Young Earl with such dedication that his three-year absence from Grentabridge seemed inconsequential.

Yet one issue remained. While the evil spirit that had possessed him might have left, it felt as though Richard Spencer himself had reincarnated as a devil. A complete return to his angelic days would be ideal.

Developing an unpleasant hobby of meticulously reviewing invitations and love letters despite having no interest in them could be overlooked. However, the habit of burning himself out in frustration was another matter entirely.

He never spoke of anything unfavorable to himself, but one could guess. Likely, he had bungled a well-thrown pass and completely missed his chance.

What meaning was there in being crowned Ingrint’s top bachelor and darling of the social scene? In his heart, he remained emotionally wed, as he always had been.

In the name of the Son of God, I command you, evil spirit, begone!

Muttering an exorcism under his breath, Sebastian resolved to confront the devil. He dipped a palm branch in holy water and sprinkled it near Richard Spencer’s ear. The one who consecrated this holy water was none other than—

“Miss Grace Gurton has returned home with Lady Montague.”

“……”

And how did the devil respond to the holy water? He became as silent as a mute who had eaten honey. Feeling relieved after successfully conducting his exorcism, Sebastian left the study with a weight lifted from his shoulders.