Subliminal Wayfarer

“E-Elder Madam!”

Grace yelped as she heard what Selena said just now. Selena, on the other hand, just watched as Grace fell over Lucas’s bare skin again, thinking that she was being so cute.

“I-I’m sorry, Elder Madam, but His Excellency doesn’t have anything covering him at the moment, so I…”

As Grace continued to stumble over not only Lucas but also her words, the corners of Selena’s lips kept twitching upwards. Certainly, despite it being a difficult situation for these kids, the smile did not easily fade from her lips.

‘How is it possible to be so cute?’

Even while being angry, Grace worried about Lucas’s nakedness. She was truly a kind-hearted girl.

Though Selena had only known her for a scant few hours, she could see just how considerate and gentle Grace was. Her manner of drinking tea was appropriately elegant, and Selena liked that she didn’t speak carelessly.

Above all, Selena enjoyed most just what a mess Lucas becomes whenever he was with this lady.

‘Ah, so fun.’

Selena chuckled, looking down at Grace, then at Lucas—who was beneath Grace, looking up at his mother with such displeasure.

Seeing his eyebrows twitch as if telling her to go away, she was reminded of the past.

‘If you look at me like that, son, it just makes me want to tease you more.’

Selena felt a sweet fondness, reminiscent of the happy days she had spent with her loving husband, now gone from her side.

“What’s wrong with it, Grace? He’s my own child. I’m more concerned about you lying in such an uncomfortable position.”

With a smile, Selena extended her hand.

“Here, will you take my hand and get up?”

Ah, Mother.

Did she really want to see both Grace and him blushing side by side?

Lucas briefly pressed his forehead.

His mother used to tease his father even with that angelic smile on her face on a daily basis. It was just like this moment.

Since his father passed away, she rarely showed such a genuinely (?) joyful face.

‘Should I be happy about this, or not?’

Lucas let out a small, troubled sigh, inaudible to Grace.

Then, he gently wrapped his arms around Grace’s waist, who was stiff as a stone, desperately trying to figure out what to do.

“Just stay as you are, Grace.”Just

“Your Excellency.”

Through the parts of their bodies that had skin-on-skin contact, Lucas felt her flinch.

That small tremor alone was tantalizing enough. But on the other hand, Lucas desperately tried not to feel her warmth.

His body was so hypersensitive that it was difficult to bear even just this little tremor, shockingly seductive as it was.

“You aren’t actually waiting to see the nakedness of your robust son, are you, Former Duchess? God, please stop smiling like that. Just go and tell the butler or Jaime to fetch me some clothes, please.”

“What a shame, Lucas. I was hoping to see how well you’ve grown.”

“…Mother.”

“Yes, yes. I’ll be off then. Grace might suddenly say that she wants to break off the engagement between our families if I stay any longer.”

Not forgetting to give them a wink, Selena finally turned away gracefully.

And it was undoubtedly on purpose that she was moving away at such a slow pace.

It was only after her retreating figure finally disappeared through the forest that Grace leaned her forehead against Lucas’s shoulder.

And without missing out, Lucas took in the sight of her like this.

‘…So cute.’

Can a person be this adorable?

Truly, it was genuinely a mystery.

Glancing down, he saw her round, pale forehead.

This sight made his lips tingle.

His hands, embracing her slender, tensely stretched waist, felt the same urge.

He faced various temptations, but with a deep breath, he suppressed the wild beast raging within.

There was a voice at the back of his head, urging him to cast aside all reason.

“Grace.”

He called her name again, wrapping around his tongue.

As he spoke it aloud, it’s as if it melted in his mouth like sugar.

Her startled ears were visible, but she didn’t move, steadfast in her position.

The breath she exhaled lightly brushed against Lucas’s pecs.

Despite the growing awkwardness, he had no thoughts of pushing her away.

“Grace, sorry to say this amidst all this, but.”

“Yes?”

“Now that you’ve seen all of me, it seems you’ll have to take responsibility.”

Startled by Lucas’s words, Grace quickly lifted her head to respond.

“No, Your Excellency. I haven’t seen everything. Nothing at all.”

“You’ve seen me as a horse, and you’ve seen me unclothed before you… Yet you insist that you haven’t seen everything?”

“No, um, that’s true, but— Really, I… I didn’t see everything. It was too dark, and I was startled, so I looked away quickly.”

“So, you’re saying now you haven’t seen it all, so you won’t take responsibility?”

“Well, not exactly that, but… It feels a bit unfair.”

“Unfair? You feel wronged about what? Are you upset because you didn’t see everything?”

How did it even come to this?

Grace looked at Lucas incredulously.

He calmly smiled and whispered in her ear in a low voice.

“If you feel so wronged, shall we correct it right now?”

As he finished speaking, he showed a movement to get up from underneath her.

Startled, Grace gasped and clung tightly to Lucas’s shoulders, shaking her head vigorously.

“No, no, no! It’s fine, I’ll just stay wronged. No, not wronged at all. On second thought, I don’t feel wronged. I think I’ve seen everything!”

“Hmm, then I guess you really do have to take responsibility?”

Grace became serious at his insinuating question.

“No, that’s a bit different…”

She’s unexpectedly stubborn.

Seems she doesn’t want to give in to even that trivial remark.

Lucas, wanting to tease her just a little bit, playfully shifted his body again.

“Your Excellency!”

Grace called out to him in alarm.

“What’s wrong?”

“Y-You tell me, Your Excellency. Why are you doing this?”

“Well, I am uncomfortable because a lady who won’t take responsibility is lying on top of my unclothed body.”

He raised his upper body.

‘Really, why is he doing this?’

Alarmed, Grace hurriedly clung to his shoulder and exclaimed urgently.

“Responsibility!”

“Hmm?”

“Fine, I lose! Let’s say that I’ve lost! Just, stay put, please!”

“Aha? That’s so great to hear. Then, since you’ll take responsibility, I can change my position in peace, right?”

“Ah, this wicked man!”

Unable to bear it anymore, Grace burst out angrily.

And then, as if unable to believe the words she had just blurted out, she quickly covered her mouth.

Her eyes, blinking like a startled rabbit, were adorable.

It was enough to make him want to burst out laughing, forgetting the situation.

‘Oh, I should stop teasing her.’

As much as he enjoyed exchanging banter with this cute woman, he didn’t want to become the bad guy.

Luckily, Jaime’s voice came at just the right moment.

“Your Excellency! Your Excellency! Where are you?”

As soon as Grace heard Jaime approaching, she hurriedly detached herself from him and ran away.

Her ears turned red as she ran into the distance without looking back.

“…My goodness, just how did it come to this?”

Lucas Blacke, of all people, being yelled at for being a bad man.

Grace sat down right where she was, clutching her wildly beating heart.

.

.

And later, as she was about to drift off to sleep in bed, she realized only then that she had never once trembled in fear, even when they were face to face while he was in the form of a man.

 

* * *

 

Screech!

A cliff overgrown with lush forest.

Above it, a golden-winged eagle soared into the sky.

The eagle, with its giant wings, soared at a frightening speed towards the sun.

Below it, a black horse, making a fearsome noise, stood on the edge of the cliff.

The horse, as massive as the eagle soaring into the sky, snorted angrily and pawed the ground.

Seemingly unsatisfied, it stamped its feet several times.

Such was the force that the horse’s hooves dug deep into the earth.

Hiss!

Suddenly, a white snake appeared, coiling around the horse’s ankle.

Startled, the horse lifted its front hooves in anger, and the snake stiffened its neck, taunting the black horse.

Then, with the sound of sneering laughter, a red monkey appeared, laughing at the horse and snake.

Below the tree the monkey had climbed, a beautiful silver-furred wolf and a turquoise bear emerged from the bushes.

Familiar yet strange beasts gathered together.

Soon, the eagle soaring high in the sky circled above the heads of the beasts.

This was a dream.

Grace was aware of it but couldn’t grasp her current state.

A dream with landscapes and creatures she had never seen or visited before.

The open sea was dazzlingly azure, the steep cliffs were majestic, and the dense forest behind them was full of various trees unknown even to Grace.

Was all this just a figment of her imagination?

Then why was it so vivid and detailed?

Grace watched the beasts from a hidden spot on the other side of the forest.

Just then,

Bam! BAAAM!

The cliff where the beasts were gathered shook, and the ground started to crumble.

The gathered beasts, unstartled, looked down below the cliff.

‘What’s down there?’

Following Grace’s consciousness, her gaze moved closer to the animals.

To identify what was shaking the cliff…

One step, two steps.

As she drew nearer…

The gaze of the animals, who had been looking down the cliff, suddenly turned towards Grace.