Subliminal Wayfarer

Afterwards, Jaime patted their backs with a hearty thump.

“Alright, let’s get moving!”

“Yes, Chief!”

“Yes, sir!”

The three men—tall, short, and lanky—saluted boisterously and moved in unison.

Jaime squinted one eye as if the loud response was more noise than he preferred.

Already sleep-deprived, the loud noise made his head throb even more.

“Ugh, I’m so tired. Ugh…”

He walked like a zombie to the back of the main building.

The preparations for His Excellency’s outing had been delayed, giving him about thirty minutes of free time.

Having finished preparations early, Jaime trudged to a nearby hay pile and flopped down.

Rather than stand guard with precision during his short break, Jaime preferred to collapse comfortably where no one was around.

“…I need to request a vacation. A vacation…”

During the nine days Lucas had been transformed into a horse, Jaime had to handle all his duties.

In those nine days, he painfully realized that his master worked far more than he had imagined.

The skill of flipping through a document every ten seconds was not something just anyone could mimic.

The total area of the estates he managed amounted to millions of hectares.

Including islands and small archipelagos, the territory was even larger.

On top of that, he had to manage and process everything from House Blacke’s military affairs to the elder council’s issues.

What about consultations tied to international agreements? Why were there so many ongoing projects?

“It’s not humanly possible. Not for a regular human being…”

Though Jaime was the duke’s closest aide, and there were deputies for each territory, the workload was still overwhelming.

‘Haa…’

This was not a workload one person should handle.

The first three days Jaime had to take over were nearly enough to cause a mental breakdown.

If Gabriel hadn’t helped, Jaime might have collapsed and died by the fourth day.

Being rich and high in status wasn’t all it was cracked up to be.

Jaime wanted to live as a human, not a monster!

“We must never let His Excellency transform again.”

Jaime murmured as he gazed at the sky with blurry eyes.

After returning from being a horse, His Excellency seemed to have more energy than before.

How can a person only sleep two hours a day and work?

Though the transformation was said to be a curse, perhaps it was actually a blessing?

Becoming a beast and then returning as a human seemed to grant beast-like stamina…

No, even a beast couldn’t go on without tiring like this.

“He’s just a monster.”

In the solitude, Jaime lightly insulted his master and cracked a slight smile, feeling a bit better.

The fluffy hay felt nice.

The wind was pleasantly cool, and he thought this just before he fell asleep.

“…me.”

Who is it now…

“Jaime, wake up. Jaime.”

His body swayed as he was shaken.

His eyelids were too heavy to lift, but he managed to open them as the sweet voice called his name.

“Are you awake?”

He looked up through blurry eyes.

Tousled strands of red hair came sharply into focus against his clouded vision.

The face with faint brown freckles on fair skin was lovely.

Her light green eyes seemed more radiant than foliage.

All of it was so harmonious and beautiful that Jaime unwittingly smiled and murmured.

“Wow, you’re so beautiful…”

“…What?”

Her blinking eyes crumpled as if she were looking at someone strange.

“You’re not still asleep, are you? Right now?”

As he tilted his head in puzzlement, he suddenly realized the situation.

“……!”

This isn’t a dream?!

Startled, he bolted upright and accidentally head-butted Julie, who had been looking down at him.

Thwack!

With a loud noise, both of them fell backwards simultaneously.

“Ow!”

“Ugh!”

Both held their foreheads and crouched down on the grass.

Jaime’s collision was so hard that tears welled up, but he was more worried about Julie than himself.

“A-Are you okay? Ohhhh, I’m so sorry. I was just so startled… Are you okay? Can I see it?”

“I’m okay… Ugh, I’m okay. My head’s harder than it looks.”

Julie answered with teary eyes, forcing a smile.

Both had identical red, swollen spots on their foreheads.

Glancing at Jaime, Julie suddenly burst out laughing.

“Oh my gosh!”

Her tear-moistened eyes curved like crescent moons as laughter spilled out.

‘Did we hit our heads too hard?’

Somehow, Jaime couldn’t quite come to his senses watching her.

These past few days, with the workload being too much, he had felt as if he was living in the clouds, but now he was even more dazed than before.

“Jaime, I’m sorry. Nosebleed… You have a nosebleed! Oh dear, why are your nostrils flaring so much?”

Her expression was apologetic, but her tone suggested she found it hilariously funny as she pounded the ground.

At her words, Jaime finally noticed something warmly trickling below his nose. Ah, it was a nosebleed. He really had a nosebleed.

His face flushed, he involuntarily bowed his head deeply.

“Are you okay? I do have a rather hard head. I used to implement justice with headbutts when I was younger. What should we do about the nosebleed?”

Having kneeled down, Julie quickly lifted her apron to wipe his nosebleed.

Whether it was freshly changed or not, a pleasant scent wafted from Julie’s apron that was now plugging Jaime’s nostrils.

“Don’t tilt your head back. The nosebleed will flow back. Lean forward. That’s right.”

Although he often acted childishly in front of Lucas, he was, after all, the duke’s aide.

Most people were either intimidated by Jaime or treated him as an efficient adjutant who’s quick at his tasks.

Wherever he went, he was not an easy person to deal with.

“Let me see, oh… the bleeding has stopped. That’s good.”

But for some reason, Julie always treated him like a younger sibling. It was affectionate and warm, and her tone and behavior conveyed that.

“Ah, right! His Excellency is looking for you. I remembered you might be around here and came looking… You should hurry. He’s dressed really impressively, seems like he’s going somewhere.”

“Ah! That’s right! I need to go!”

“Wait, wait. Jaime, there’s blood on you too.”

Julie quickly grabbed Jaime’s wrist, which was flailing like a fattened salmon, and pulled him.

Jaime was almost pulled into her embrace as she tugged him down.

Julie meticulously cleaned under Jaime’s chin with her fragrant apron.

Thanks to that, her face felt incredibly close, but Julie’s expression was utterly relaxed.

It was strangely not too bad, yet not so good either.

‘What is this feeling?’

It was a strange mix of like and dislike.

“Okay, all done. You better hurry. And put a towel on your forehead later.”

She quickly pushed him on his back. As Jaime was pushed away, he inadvertently glanced back.

Like a concerned older sister, Julie watched his retreating figure and waved until the very end.

“Ah, I’m a competent person…”

Yet why did he feel so uncomfortable and uneasy?

Jaime ran to find Lucas with a confused expression on his face.

 

* * *

 

When Jaime came running to find Lucas, the duke was already fully dressed.

He even had on an expensive cane and hat, looking every bit the perfect, stylish duke.

He raised an eyebrow elegantly at the sight of Jaime hurrying in.

“Finally, you’ve arrived. Emperor Jaime, Your Royal Majesty.”

Lucas slightly lifted the black hat he was wearing and gave an exaggerated greeting. Jaime chuckled awkwardly, slightly startled.

“No, my dear master has given this inadequate servant too much work, causing me to faint on a pile of hay. But more importantly, Your Excellency! Aren’t you looking exceptionally dashing today? Are you perhaps meeting a delegation from another kingdom?”

While it was a bit over the top, his statement wasn’t wrong.

However, someone was taking note of Jaime’s comment.

“Hmm, maybe the cane’s a bit much?”

Selena Blacke muttered thoughtfully as she stroked her chin.

As if waiting for this, Lucas tossed the cane to Jaime.

“There’s no need for a cane when my legs are fine.”

The cane itself was ornately decorated, with a black horse carved into the handle and jewels for the eyes, all highlighted with gold accents.

The purpose of the flashy cane was purely for show.

“Of course, Madam! Even without it, he’s already perfectly splendid as he is.”

“Really, Laura? Do you see it that way? Truly?”

“Yes, of course. Look, Your Excellency looks like a sculpture crafted by the gods!”

Lucas glanced at the mirror following Laura’s excessively flattering words.

Indeed, from head to toe, he looked like he deserved all the praise.

He lifted his chin slightly, giving off a somewhat arrogant vibe.

‘Hmm, from this angle, Grace will surely be looking at me, right?’

With that thought, he turned his head to check, indeed feeling like she could fall for him at first sight.

Although he had often heard from those around him that he was charismatic, manly, and sculpturally perfect, such words never quite affected him until now.

‘Yes, that’s the face Grace likes, isn’t it?’

Even the scars on his chin now felt like they added to his charm. He suddenly remembered the soft lips that had heated up his eyelids the night before.

Despite having almost no sleep, a surge of energy welled up within him. The kiss they shared was like magic, reigniting his zest for life.

The feeling when he kissed her cheek, and when she pressed her lips to his skin, was entirely different.

Of course, him kissing her cheek was very nice, but her reaching up with her small hands to grasp his cheeks and gently pressing her feather-like lips was a kind of bliss from an entirely different dimension.

‘That’s right, that’s it. Marking her territory. Yes.’

She was a woman with quite the streak of possessiveness.