Subliminal Wayfarer

“It’s already gotten so late… I’ve been holding on too long. I’m sorry if you’re tired.”

Lucas and Grace had carried on an endless conversation about trivial things.

About the books they had read, which authors they liked, and whether they knew the spotted cat they met in the garden yesterday…

Despite such trivial conversations, time had flown by like a ship riding the rapids.

Lucas, realizing the time, abruptly rose from his seat.

“Are you going to sleep?”

“Ah, I still have some backlog to work on… You go ahead and sleep early, comfortably, Grace.”

Lucas smiled nonchalantly and left the room.

Hesitating, Grace caught his wrist just as he was about to completely leave the room.

“Your Excellency.”

“Hm?”

Lucas, stopped in his tracks, was pulled back into the room.

He turned around, not flustered but smiling.

In fact, just the act of Grace pulling him back seemed to lift his spirits significantly, his face relaxing completely.

Lucas Blacke was quite tall, so from Grace’s perspective, his face was quite high up.

Usually, she felt intimidated when a tall man looked down at her from such close proximity.

But now, no matter how much she had to look up, she wasn’t afraid of him at all.

Rather… could it be because she had seen him so much when he was ‘Luki’? His eyes seemed endlessly clear up close.

Indeed, the giant black horse, Luki, had been overwhelmingly large compared to other horses, but he had never felt oppressive.

Grace took a deep breath and lightly tapped his shoulder.

“Could you please bow your head a little?”

He looked at her as if wondering why, then obediently lowered his head.

When his face came close to hers, Grace reached out and held both of his cheeks.

“A little lower.”

Then, pulling him down further, she pressed her lips gently to a closed eyelid.

“……!”

It was a light kiss that briefly made contact before she pulled away.

Nevertheless, Lucas froze in place, and Grace, feeling shy, stepped back slightly.

“Don’t overdo it. Sleep well. …Luki.”

She whispered his nickname softly and quickly pushed him out of the room.

Ka-chack—

The door closed with a soft sound.

It was nothing remarkable, just a simple kiss.

A kiss that could easily be exchanged among close ones, to show respect or gratitude.

Yet, despite that, her heart raced like a young fool’s.

‘…Right, what a fool.’

Grace shrugged it off as if it was nothing and quickly went to bed.

Her heart was racing, but she felt like she would sleep well.

In a corner of her dark room, the incense burner was softly glowing.

 

* * *

 

“…What.”

Meanwhile, Lucas, who had been pushed out.

“What… just… happened…?”

He had received a kiss on his eyelid and been swiftly pushed out of the room.

In that brief moment, all he could do was stand frozen.

“Ha… ha…”

A hollow laugh escaped him. He touched his eyelids where her lips had briefly made contact.

It was just a fleeting kiss.

It wasn’t a deep or intense touch, but part of his heart felt subtly heated.

“Ah, really…”

He leaned against the wall next to the closed door of the room.

He couldn’t stop the corners of his mouth from rising slightly.

Rubbing his forehead with a dry hand, and smoothing the back of his neck, he eventually slumped down to the floor.

“…This is driving me crazy, really.”

He couldn’t do anything about it.

Lucas, rubbing his face roughly, leaned his head against the wall and quietly laughed.

It was fortunate that horses were herbivores.

If they were carnivores, Grace would have already been devoured by him.

“…You should be glad, Grace O’Ellin.”

He chuckled to himself, and as the feeling faded, he rose from his spot.

Work, yes. He needed to work.

That way, he could shake Ludwig’s neck sooner and hasten the marriage.

 

* * *

 

The dream quickly enveloped Grace.

Like being submerged in shallow water, she floated in a languid mood.

Then, at some moment, warm arms tightly embraced and comforted her.

—Baby.

A gentle voice called her. Even without her name being mentioned, Grace knew it was calling her.

—My baby.

Her mother often embraced Grace and called her ‘baby’.

Right before her passing, when Grace was about seven, she was still her mother’s ‘baby’.

Grace lifted her head to look at her mother holding her.

Her mother, with black hair like hers, closed her eyes and caressed her.

—…I regret that I cannot watch my dear Grace grow up.

Before she passed away, her mother had lost her sight.

So, this must be how she appeared just before her passing.

—My poor daughter. Grace. If only I could… I would have protected you until the end.

…Mom.

Grace called out to her with trembling lips.

It had been so long that her voice barely came out.

Her mother, as if knowing everything, gently patted young Grace’s back.

—I’m sorry, my baby. I’m sorry. I’m sorry I left you alone here.

‘…Mom.’

Fortunately, this time her voice came out clearly.

Grace clung tightly to her mother’s frail back, burying herself in her embrace.

‘Why are you sorry, Mom? You have nothing to be sorry for…’

The one who really should be sorry doesn’t even know it, but you, my dear mother, who loved me fully, why should you be sorry?

Eleanora, holding her young daughter, quietly smiled.

—…I’m sorry, Grace. Mommy is sorry.

‘It’s not your fault you were ill, Mom… Don’t be sorry.’

Her words made the arms around Grace tighten.

The hand stroking the child’s round cheek was tender.

—Just live as you are now, strong and warm-hearted. Grace, I love you very much.

‘I love you too, Mom. I love you so much…’

—You will overcome it well. Very well…

Overcome what? What am I supposed to overcome?

She wanted to ask, but the energy of the dream gradually faded.

The warmth of the embrace, as real as it seemed, slowly receded.

Like sinking into a dream, Grace slowly awoke from her light sleep.

“Ah.”

She lifted herself up and blankly raised her head.

Even after waking from the dream, the image of her mother remained vividly in her mind.

Her embrace, her warmth, and even her scent.

Staring blankly, Grace looked at the incense burner placed on the bedside table with tearful eyes.

The stick of incense that had been there was gone, and crumbling white ashes were visible.

Slowly getting up, Grace walked over to where the incense burner was.

“It’s strange.”

It had been over ten years since she had dreamt of her mother.

Could this incense burner really show what one deeply longs to see?

Hesitantly, she embraced the incense burner as she had when she was young.

“…Mom.”

Although her heart felt heavy, she was glad to see her mother’s face after such a long time.

With eyes moist with longing, Grace gently closed them and murmured quietly with a smile.

“Thank you for letting me see Mom again.”

 

* * *

 

“Is this what needs to be sent to each domain?”

“Yes. Make sure to check the addresses carefully. It absolutely must not be late, you know that, right? Especially you, Hugo. Don’t forget the huge trouble you caused last time when you sent the documents to Olzen and O’Lear in reverse.”

Jaime lifted his glasses and spoke sternly.

The large, droopy-eyed man among the three standing in front of him flinched and scratched his head.

“That’s because the names looked similar at a glance…”

“That’s why. These are important documents, so why are you looking at them only at a glance? You need to look at them properly. Anyway, that’s in the past, so it’s not important why it happened, but make sure such mistakes don’t happen again. Got it? Gary and Chris, stop laughing. Do you think neither of you have never made any mistakes?”

With Jaime’s stern tone, the three men automatically straightened up into a formal stance.

Jaime narrowed his eyes and glared at each one of them.