Subliminal Wayfarer

Around that time, when Lucas had rushed over in a hurry and discovered Grace under the plane tree…

The green light inside the Blacke estate’s teleportation gate began to flicker.

Green light ten times, followed by red light ten times.

It was a sign that someone would appear soon.

And precisely as the red light burst into a bright white, two figures revealed themselves from inside the gate.

“Ugh, I’m dizzy. No matter how many times I do it, I can’t get used to it, really.”

Selena Blacke, with a pale complexion, touched her forehead and, supported by Laura, stepped out of the gate.

“Madam, are you feeling very nauseous? Maybe we should have just ridden a carriage.”

Selena laughed at Laura’s worried scolding and waved her hand.

“If I had ridden in a carriage, it would have taken a month, wouldn’t it? Then that poor girl would have been in trouble all along, and I can’t allow that.”

“It’s not that you wanted to see Lucas Blacke’s lovestruck face as soon as possible, right?”

“Laura, that’s a given. Ugh, but I should be better after resting a bit.”

Selena straightened her bent back, took a deep breath, and could faintly smell the dust.

The gatehouse, located deep in the estate’s garden, was almost unattended.

In fact, it was a restricted area, making it difficult to manage.

“Phew, let’s go, Laura. It’s hard to endure the dust smell for too long.”

At Selena’s words, Laura picked up a small trunk she had brought.

The rest of the luggage would be delivered through the carriage.

Since Selena also had belongings at the townhouse, the trunk wasn’t too large.

“But Laura, are you okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine. I’m quite sturdy, you know. Hoho. I always find it fascinating and enjoyable to come like this!”

Laura replied with a cheerful laugh.

There were only ten teleportation gates in the kingdom.

Five belonged to the royal family, two to the Blacke family, and the remaining three were shared by three other noble families.

The possession of teleportation gates directly indicated how much influence one had in the royal family.

The ten teleportation gates could be used independently or organically.

For example, the members of the Blacke Duchy could pass through the royal teleportation gate without any restriction.

Of course, it wasn’t something that anyone could use anytime, but anyway, thanks to her master, Laura had used teleportation gates several times, something ordinary people might never experience in their lifetime.

Just that fact made this middle-aged woman feel excited like a young girl.

Seeing Laura like that, Selena affectionately smiled and said,

“Well, it’s fortunate that you can go through the gates without any trouble, Laura. Oh, this isn’t the time for that. Let’s hurry. Let’s surprise those kids.”

“All right! It’s about time to see if Jaime has grown a bit more mature.”

“Jaime is cheerful and has cute aspects, but he still does his work well, you know.”

“Hoho, is that so? Despite looking a bit unkempt, he’s fast with his hands!”

As her son was given praise, Laura’s high cheekbones turned pink.

She always scolded Jaime verbally, but deep down, she was proud that her son was commendable no matter where he was put.

Even the smallest of compliments about Jaime or Katrina would bring a full smile to Laura’s face, torn between joy and not knowing what to do.

The hat reflected this visible innocence in their eyes.

Selena found these aspects of Laura very charming.

“Well, well. Jaime has a lot of cute charm that Lucas doesn’t have.”

“Ah, how can Jaime possibly compare to Lord Lucas? Lord Lucas is so noble, knowledgeable, and outstanding!”

“You just said ‘stoic’ in four different ways, Laura. That child is really no fun. When he was young, every time he was teased, he would cry, laugh, and show many different emotions. He was incredibly cute.”

How thrilling it was to hide Bunbun when he was young…

‘Goodness.’

Now, even if she hid Bunbun, his son wouldn’t cry anymore. It was disappointing.

Suddenly, she recalled her husband’s words.

 

“You also have a face that doesn’t smile much, yet you’re always trying to make our son cry and laugh every day.”

 

“…Hmm, what did I say at that time?”

Oh, she said something about wanting to raise him strongly.

Thanks to that, her eldest son grew up too strong.

He didn’t cry in front of his mother and hardly smiled.

“He seems like such a serious guy. We should hurry up and see him helplessly in love.”

Selena was very excited.

As he was of this family’s lineage, there was a very high chance that he would become an excellent lover.

Finally, she’d be able to see him in that state!

Selena left the gatehouse with lively steps.

Although she had said she came in a hurry, the sky was already orange.

“Oh, we might not even be able to catch dinner if we’re not careful.”

They walked hastily down the small path.

At that moment.

Bhrr!

At the rough neighing sound, Selena and Laura’s steps abruptly stopped.

‘What’s that sound?!’

The two women’s eyes met, and they immediately turned their bodies towards the source of the noise.

Not far away, beneath a large tree, a huge and beautiful black horse came into view.

“My heavens….”

No, who is that!

Selena called out his name with a face that couldn’t hide her joy.

“Lucas!”

 

* * *

 

“Hmm?”

A voice was heard.

Before Grace could turn her head towards the source of the sound, the black horse reacted first.

He couldn’t help but panic as he saw the two middle-aged women who were coming straight towards him.

‘No, why are they here now?’

Brightly smiling, his mother and Laura approached.

Unconsciously, he took a step back with a slightly strained expression.

Glancing at Grace, who blinked innocently with her wide eyes, he realized he was in trouble.

He hadn’t even brought up the topic about him to Grace yet, and they had already arrived.

“…Who are they?”

Grace looked at the middle-aged women coming straight towards her with a puzzled expression.

An elegant blonde middle-aged woman and a friendly, warm brown-haired middle-aged woman.

They were clearly faces she hadn’t seen before, but strangely, they felt familiar.

Bhrr…!

As they got closer, Luki’s huffs became more pronounced.

Although his legs twitched as if he wanted to run away, he held his ground as if he couldn’t leave Grace.

“Why are you acting like this, Luki? Are they strangers to you, too?”

Their appearances were very aristocratic to be considered servants.

Moreover, the overly joyful smiles they sent towards her—what was that all about?

‘…Do I know them?’

Grace rarely forgot a face once she had seen it.

However, even after looking closely, she didn’t think she’d met them before.

The beautiful blonde woman seemed like someone she might have seen somewhere, but…

As they approached, Grace felt a strange sense of familiarity.

“Oh my gooooosh!”

The woman who had almost reached her shouted loudly, bursting into laughter.

‘What should I do, what should I do, what should I do? I can’t remember at all!’

The approaching woman spread her arms wide.

‘What is this? Is she trying to hug me? Should I hug her back?’

When the middle-aged woman almost reached Grace, she bravely outstretched her arms.

But at that moment.

“Luuuucaaaaas!”

She leaped towards the black horse standing next to Grace.

Of course, her outstretched arms wrapped around the neck of the horse, not Grace.

‘…Ah, it’s not me but the horse.’

Grace was puzzled but gracefully lowered her hand.

Her earlobes blushed slightly, though.

“Oh my! How long has it been! My pretty, pretty boy. How can there be such a beautiful horse in the world?”

The blonde woman looked thrilled as she embraced the horse’s neck while constantly admiring its face.

She seemed genuinely delighted to see the black horse.

Although Luki stepped back as if annoyed, she didn’t care and tightly hugged the horse.

“Gracious— So pretty. Sooo pretty! It’s been so long since I’ve seen you in the form of a black horse.”

“Elder Madam, calm down. Please calm down. The Young Lady here seems quite surprised.”

“Oh my, my, my! Get a hold of yourself. I’m sorry, I have a bad habit of not being able to see anything else when I’m so focused on one thing.”

Ignoring the brown-haired woman’s protest, the blonde woman, with a beautiful and kind expression, turned to Grace.

“Hello. I’m Grace O’Ellin. But by the way, may I ask who you are, Madam?”

“Oh!”

As Grace introduced herself, the two middle-aged women exchanged glances, exclaiming in admiration.

“I see! You’re the lady!”

Unable to contain her excitement, Selena clenched her fists.

The blue eyes staring at Grace with excitement seemed strangely familiar.

Has she seen such beautiful blue eyes before?

Lucas Blacke, the man’s eyes were as beautiful as jewels.

And the eyes of the horse standing next to him were exactly the same shade of blue.

Like a vast sea, a clear sky, and a jewel-like beautiful blue.

“You’re Grace—the one who stole our dear Lucas Blacke’s heart!”