Subliminal Wayfarer

“Madam, a messenger bird has arrived from the capital.”

A middle-aged woman with neatly coiled brown hair approached the lady who was admiring the meandering river.

The noble lady, Selena Blacke, with her alluring golden hair swept to one side, turned around and smiled as if she were delighted.

“From the capital? Is it Lucas?”

Jaime’s mother, the previous duchess’s aide, handed a note to Selena and smiled brightly. She remained a beautiful woman with a radiant smile despite her age.

Her smiling face bore a striking resemblance to Jaime, who similarly served as Lucas’s aide.

“Yes, it seems to be from Lord Lucas. Despite his gruff exterior, he does have a gentle side. On the contrary, Lord Cain seems affable on the outside, but he has a sharp edge.”

“Indeed, Cain takes after me in that regard. Lucas resembles his father… It’s always interesting to see. They were born on the same stomach, yet they came out so different.”

Selena chuckled quietly as she opened the sealed letter.

Laura adjusted the shawl that hung from Selena’s shoulders and chimed in.

“It’s the same for my family. Jaime and Katrina are so different. They may be siblings, but… Jaime tends to be more talkative and sensitive, while Katrina, despite being a young lady, is remarkably crude.”

“Still, there’s no one quite like Katrina. She’s impressive. A knight, no less. I always found Katrina to be quite admirable.”

Katrina was Laura’s youngest daughter.

She was about eight years younger than Jaime and was currently attending the capital’s Oasis Knight Academy as a boarding student, receiving training to become a knight.

Selena smiled, thinking of Lucas, Cain, Jaime, and Katrina. She suddenly realized how much she missed her children.

With that thought, she slowly took out the letter from the envelope, adjusting her gaze as her blue eyes moved leisurely across the pages.

Her blue irises followed the text, slowly traversing from right to left and left to right until they reached the final period.

At that moment, a short exclamation escaped her lips.

“My goodness…”

“What’s wrong, Madam?”

Selena, tightly clutching the letter to her chest, turned to Laura.

Her eyes sparkled as if she had discovered something incredibly fascinating.

“…It looks like Lucas has finally found his match.”

“Pardon? Lord Lucas?”

“Yes. And it seems even our family’s curse has transferred to his partner already? How exciting.”

“…Pardon, Madam? W-What do you mean?”

Laura, who couldn’t follow the flow of this conversation, blinked her eyes rapidly. It was a cute habit she had when she was flustered.

Selena chuckled softly and turned away.

“Pack up, Laura. We need to leave for the capital.”

“R-Right now, Madam?”

“Yes. Right now. We need to hurry. It seems our dear lady is feeling flustered.”

With a warm smile, Selena hastened her steps toward the mansion.

It had been a long time since she felt this excited since her husband’s passing.

 

* * *

 

It was a long dawn.

Just as it took several hours to run out, it would take just as long to return.

Grace clung tightly to the massive horse’s back, feeling the firm muscles beneath her.

With each powerful stride the horse took, she could feel the muscles beneath her getting even more solid.

It was becoming the height of summer.

Even in the early morning, the sun felt scorching, and the day was already hot.

Despite the early hour, the weather was far from cool, causing the horse’s body to heat up quickly.

On top of that, after hours of riding, her body felt like it was resting on a bed of hot coals.

“Luki.”

Grace slowed down the horse’s pace as the mansion drew nearer.

Bhrr—!

The horse, heated up from their journey, stomped its hooves restlessly.

Grace dismounted, patting Luki’s back as her thighs wobbled from the exertion.

“Shall we take a break?”

As if finding her request strange, Luki looked up at the sky with an almost puzzled expression.

The deep purple sky resembled Grace’s eyes.

It was just before the sunrise, and therefore the darkest hour of the new dawn.

‘You must already be so tired now, so why rest here instead of inside?’

As Luki tilted his head to the side in slight puzzlement, Grace led him elsewhere with a smile.

Not far away, the sound of flowing water could be heard. It was the stream that’s connected to the river.

“I want to take a bath, but I didn’t want to wake anyone up by going in now. You seem to be feeling hot, too.”

For a moment, Lucas didn’t quite understand what she meant by that.

But before he could figure it out, Grace had already removed the cloak she was wearing over her dress.

Underneath, a thin and ethereal nightgown shimmered in the moonlight.

“……!”

Shocked, Lucas instinctively took a step back.

‘W-What’s this all of a sudden?’

Grace gently reassured the surprised Luki by stroking his head.

“It’s okay. Let’s cool off a bit and then go inside.”

She nonchalantly removed her shoes and clothes and placed them on a nearby rock. Lucas, on the other hand, stiffened up and quickly turned his head.

Luckily, Grace hadn’t removed all her clothes, probably realizing the danger of being entirely exposed while outside.

Even so, the nightgown was much too thin—getting soaked would nonetheless reveal her silhouette without leaving anything to the imagination.

Even though it was barely daybreak and there’s no other people here, it was still too risky.

“Aren’t you coming in, Luki? I’ll wash you myself. Hm? Hurry up.”

‘H-Have you gone mad, Grace?!’

Lucas retreated silently, utterly astonished.

“I’m not going in, are you? You look incredibly heated right now though.”

‘Heat? Who? Me?’

Huffing heavily out of his nose, Lucas turned around and quickly moved away.

His heart was pounding like a child’s, and he couldn’t calm down.

Of course, her smooth skin and flushed cheeks were lovely.

And her slender silhouette kept capturing his attention.

But, but… this was not right!

‘If Grace were to find out that I was standing here at this moment, not the black horse Luki… she won’t ever forgive me.’

He hadn’t done it on purpose, but his head was spinning.

Lucas quickly took a step back, shaking his head forcefully. He needed to control this temptation that was overtaking him.

“Really not going in? Am I the only one?”

‘I should stop her from going in…’

But Grace’s current appearance was too overwhelming for him.

At this rate…

‘No. Stop it. Get a grip, Lucas Blacke. Are you trying to become even more despicable than a true beast?!’

Lucas shook his head vigorously and stepped back.

Bhrr! Bhrr!

Angry breaths escaped him.

“…Do you really hate it that much?”

Grace stopped calling for Luki.

She didn’t know what to do against such vehement defiance.

Nevertheless, she gave up and dipped her ankles into the stream. The cool, clean water wrapped around her slender ankles.

“…Ahh.”

The sensation of round pebbles brushing against the soles of her feet felt unfamiliar.

The surroundings were dark, and there was no one nearby.

In this place, she had no need to be conscious of anyone.

She felt free.

“Now that it’s like this, should I just take it all off?”

She muttered to herself, but Luki was a mess now.

He paced back and forth restlessly but couldn’t bring himself to approach her.

How on earth did that extraordinary horse understand human speech?

Grace chuckled and ventured a bit deeper.

The water felt refreshing as it passed her calves and knees.

Just one more step, just up to her thighs.

After all, it wasn’t very deep here, and nor was it a fast-moving part of the stream.

Plus, she was already wet.

Hiiing!

But every time she moved, Luki would just go berserk.

“Luki, come here. It’s incredibly refreshing.”

Hiiing! Bhrr!

Luki continued to pace back and forth, unable to make a decision.

When Grace took another step forward, shrugging her shoulders, it happened.

She accidentally stepped on a round, slippery stone.

“Kyahh!”

Splash!

Her weakened legs gave way, and she fell into the water.

—……!

The startled black horse wasted no time and immediately rushed toward Grace’s location.

Splash! Splash-splash!

His long legs moved effortlessly through the water, creating shimmering water droplets all around.

—Grace!

Lucas wanted to shout her name loudly, but his desperate voice couldn’t reach Grace.

Lucas grew anxious, fearing that Grace might now be drowning in the water.

He hurriedly approached the spot where Grace was.

“…I got you!”

It was at that moment.

Grace, struggling in the water, managed to reach Lucas’s neck as he approached.

—……!

Was it due to a lack of caution, or perhaps the radiant smile she wore while leaning on him with her soaked body?

Lucas stared at Grace in a daze, momentarily losing his composure.

Without warning, Grace burst into laughter, her laughter as clear as a blooming flower, and she held Lucas’s warm neck tightly.

“I’m sorry, did I startle you? I stumbled a bit but I’m not hurt. Well, I did get completely soaked, though.”

Lucas, for a moment, stared at Grace in bewilderment, his anger dissipating instantly.

Grace, her wet forehead pressed gently against Lucas’s, continued to murmur affectionately.

“I thought you rushed over thinking I had fallen into the water. You’re such an extraordinary horse. You truly are amazing.”

Her words and the way she held onto him warmed Luki’s— no, Lucas’s heart, causing it to beat abnormally.

“How is it? Refreshing, right? It feels nice and cool once you’re inside.”

Grace asked, her blue eyes meeting Luki’s gaze. She cupped her hand, scooping up some water, and gently poured it onto the back of the horse.

Twitch, flinch.

The once tense muscles of the horse began to tremble lightly.

“Shh, it’s alright. I’ll clean up the dusty spots for you.”

Grace said affectionately as she gently caressed the horse’s stiff body.

Good boy.

Considering how big he was, if he had decided to run away or resist, there would have been nothing she could do.

However, he didn’t do that at all.

Remarkably, whenever Grace made even the slightest sound to soothe his discomfort, the horse would stop all movement, as if he were concerned she might get hurt.

This animal’s caring nature was adorable and endearing, and Grace lovingly stroked his body, showering him with her attention.

It was when Grace’s hand moved over the horse’s tense back and towards his hindquarters…

The black horse, who had been standing still, suddenly jumped up like a coiled spring, raising his head strongly as if it wanted to say something.