Subliminal Wayfarer

Grace leaned close to the horse’s back.

She had just seen something like a club between the horse’s legs and wanted to confirm, but she couldn’t bring herself to move her body.

Her eyelids grew heavy with weariness, and the burden of exhaustion pressing on her shoulders left her feeling powerless.

Takadak, takadak.

The horse moved slowly, and Grace, having carefully draped her robe over the horse’s back like a cradle, nestled against the gently swaying horse.

The warmth of the horse’s skin against her body felt wonderfully soothing.

‘It’s warm.’

Grace, hanging onto Luki’s neck as he walked slowly, gently stroked the warm horse’s skin.

The sensation of the soft mane and the flexing muscles beneath her cold fingertips felt pleasant.

She returned to the mansion in such comfort.

Of course.

“Milady! Hiiiek! What in the world happened to you? You almost gave me a heart-attack! What do we do if you get sick!”

She had heard plenty of scolding from Julie, who had been searching for the missing lady since dawn.

 

* * *

 

Thump… Thump. Thump! THUMP!

The solid forehead of the black horse was pounding against the wall, as if trying to break through it.

Watching from a step back, Jaime felt his heart drop with each thud.

So scary, so scary…

‘…I shouldn’t laugh. I shouldn’t laugh.’

But it was so gosh darn funny.

From the moment he found out why the horse, no, his master was banging his head like that, Jaime’s lips just kept twitching involuntarily.

‘I am Jaime Demigras, the chief aide of the prestigious House Blacke’s Duke. I shall not… yield to such trivial trials…’

“Pfft.”

At the sound that burst out before he knew it, the horse’s movements of pounding its head suddenly stopped.

Surprised, Jaime quickly covered his mouth and placed the large towel he had been holding on the horse’s back.

“Y-You might catch a cold like that. Quickly, warm your body up.”

Bhrrr.

When a massive black horse, surpassing the size of any man, snorted and rolled back on its hind legs right in front, anyone couldn’t help but be startled.

“Calm down, w-wait, please calm down, Your Excellency.”

Meanwhile, Jaime’s uncooperating lips twitched.

 

“Umm, Jaime. It seems like Luki’s stabilizing knot has come undone. Could you check what’s bothering him? Please?”

“Pardon?”

 

This was the conversation that Grace and Jaime had when Lucas had quickly sped off after dropping off Grace.

Grace anxiously whispered while holding Jaime who had rushed out in a hurry.

Bothering him?

Jaime was puzzled by what that could possibly mean and quickly went to find his master. But…

After Grace disappeared, only then did Jaime scrutinize his state and could identify the nature of this ‘bother’.

And the massive black horse was extremely, tremendously upset.

With shining blue eyes, as if to say, ‘How dare you look there,’ the horse thrashed threateningly.

Bhrrr!

As the horse made aggressive movements, Jaime panicked and waved his hands.

“Hieek! Oh, no! No, I haven’t seen anything! I really haven’t! And, actually, what I see doesn’t matter at all! It’s a big problem if Lady Grace saw it!”

At Jaime’s words, Lucas felt the depths of despair once again.

Has he ever been so embarrassed in his entire life?

He was caught in such a state by Grace!

‘I deserve to die.’

Lucas was so anxious that he began to bang his head against the wall again.

Thump, thump, thump.

“Calm down, you can’t undo anything by acting like that. And it’s all good if everything is big and sturdy! Maybe Lady Grace would like that side of Your Excellency too…”

‘…Is this guy just hellbent on annoying me every time he opens his mouth?’

Jaime seemed to read Lucas’s expression and stepped back as the horst approached.

“Is there something wrong, Your Excellency? Oh, right, I heard Her Ladyship likes lemon tea! Let me quickly go and prepare fresh lemon tea for her!”

How could you turn tail and run.

Jaime made a hasty retreat, as if fleeing the scene, leaving Lucas to stare at him incredulously.

Jaime laughed maniacally from behind the closed door.

Pfft, bwahahaha!

Lucas turned to the heavens and offered a solemn prayer.

‘Oh, dear Lord in heaven. I hereby declare in advance, please grant me this.’

The righteous opportunity to deliver a well-deserved kick to Jaime upon his return.

 

* * *

 

“Haaahm…”

Grace could only get out of bed late.

Her body, exhausted from staying up all night and playing in the water, felt like a limp noodle.

Getting up in the late afternoon was a struggle for Grace.

She got up because she didn’t want to risk falling asleep again and waking up at night instead.

‘Ugh… This can’t go on. I should go for a walk.’

She managed to snap out of her dazed state.

Still, her walk was a bit delayed because Jaime brought in some lemon tea for her.

Grace walked through the garden at a leisurely pace.

Finally, she reached a bench in a sunny spot and sat down.

She was so drowsy that she started to doze off again.

But then.

“AAAACK…!”

It felt as though she had heard Jaime’s scream in her half-asleep state.

She jolted awake, fearing it might have been a dream.

Just then.

Zzzzt—!

“Ugh…!”

Grace was suddenly breathless, her actions interrupted by a sudden sharp pain in her temple.

What was that?

‘Is it because I’m too tired?’

Why did her head hurt so suddenly?

She paused, her hand gently touching the throbbing side of her head. As her fingers brushed against it, a stinging sensation greeted her touch.

She looked down at her hand, which had touched the source of discomfort—the two distinct marks left by a snake not too long ago.

‘There were marks left…?’

On two fingers, there was a dot each. They were bite marks from the snake’s fangs.

There was hardly any blood, and she had managed to treat it well, yet these marks remained.

‘What will His Excellency say if I tell him I was bitten by a snake?’

At this point, she was even somewhat looking forward to the words that would come out of his mouth.

Thinking of a man who could sweet-talk with a terrifying face, she couldn’t help but burst into a half-suppressed laughter.

“But by the way, I haven’t been hearing Your Excellency’s voice for a while. Your Excellency?”

—……

She called Lucas several times, but there was no response from him.

Just like yesterday.

It was as if his presence was subtly felt, but there was that feeling of him concealing his voice.

“Hmm, strange.”

She shook her head, thinking there must be a reason for it and got up from her seat.

She remembered Luki, who had gone on a night walk with her the previous evening, and she suddenly became concerned about the horse’s condition.

“Is Luki okay? I don’t even know if his saddle got properly taken off.”

She began searching for the places where Luki usually appeared.

But the horse, which had been appearing here and there so easily, was nowhere to be seen now.

She combed through the garden, searching every nook and cranny.

Perhaps an hour had passed in this manner.

“Oh, where am I?”

Grace belatedly realized that she was in an unfamiliar place.

“What kind of garden is big enough to get lost in?”

She mumbled absentmindedly and retraced her steps.

After walking for about ten minutes, she noticed something.

“Oh dear, was I this bad with directions?”

She looked around and realized that no matter where she looked, everything seemed the same, and no path she took was any different from the one she had taken earlier.

After a moment of confusion, she regained her composure.

“Ah well, it’s still the garden. Someone will come to find me.”

She thought calmly and decided to sit down on the largest rock she could find.

“If I stay here, I can rest and think.”

And later, once she’s reconnected with His Excellency, she could ask him about where she was.

She leaned against the rock, gazing up at the sky.

The day was pleasantly warm, and the shade of the trees was refreshing.

With the earthy scent in her nose and the gentle breeze rustling the leaves, she found herself drifting into sleep.

—…ace!

However, His Excellency’s voice woke her from her short nap.

“Huh?”

However, what she thought was a short nap turned out to be longer than that. The sky was already tinged with orange.

—Grace, can you hear me? Grace!

“Oh… Your Excellency?”

—Ahh…

Upon hearing her voice, Lucas sighed with relief.

Grace, her eyes still heavy with drowsiness, rose from her spot.

If she had stayed asleep a little longer, it might have been dark already.

“I just closed my eyes for a moment, but I must have dozed off. But, Your Excellency, I seem to have lost my way…”

—Where are you? Can you tell me where you are?

“Mm, I entered through a small path behind the eastern statue in the garden. It seemed like a straight path, but I got lost. Right now, I’m beneath a huge plane tree.”

—Plane tree?

“Yes, and there are several rocks underneath it.”

—Ah, just wait for a moment.

“Pardon?”

It sounded as if he was going to come personally.

She was puzzled, but she obediently sat down on the rock and waited for him.

However, the one who came to fetch her was not Lucas Blacke but…

Hiiing!

It was his horse, Luki.

The horse had come to find her, as if checking to see if she was safe.

“Luki!”

The horse seemed to be checking her surroundings as if to make sure she was unharmed, and then it nuzzled her with its nose, poking her here and there.

“Stop it! Oh, you came to find me? Oh dear, you’re such a clever one.”

She laughed and embraced Luki’s neck, stroking its cheek as the horse’s snorting, which had sounded almost angry, mellowed like a gentle breeze.

“The garden is so vast. How did you find your way here? You came here much too swiftly to say that His Excellency sent you, right?”

It’s as if it had been wandering around the area and came running right away.

But, hmm. Wasn’t it strange?

“Can you hear His Excellency’s voice too? Your Excellency, can Luki hear your voice as well?”

—Well, that’s, no, that’s not it… It’s a bit complicated.

Lucas avoided giving any more false explanations to Grace.

—I’ll explain everything later, Grace.

Grace, unaware of the guilt-filled tone, cheerfully responded.

“Alright, that’s fine. If it’s difficult to talk about, you don’t have to tell me.”

Grace smiled as she gently stroked Luki’s neck.

Her bright and transparent smile sent Lucas’s heart into a frenzy.

As the sun set, Lucas rested his forehead against Grace’s neck, overwhelmed by her fragrant scent, which was wrapping around his troubled heart.