Subliminal Wayfarer

05. He is much too wild

 

Selena spoke as if she were being dragged off to a battlefield as a prisoner, but the reality was quite different.

Everyone liked Selena.

They would hold their breath and hang onto her every word.

However, that didn’t mean the atmosphere was entirely harmonious.

“I’m really worried. All my children are so unruly and unladylike that I don’t know where to send them. How can girls like hunting so much?”

Countess Roxanne Rosenheim, with a captivating beauty mark below her right eye and red hair, sighed deeply, clasping her cheek as if troubled.

Seated beside her were her two daughters, who looked just like her.

Roxanne shook her head and scolded them.

“Even though they stick to me like this and never leave my side, they’re still such mischievous children. What am I to do? Really…”

“You say that, but we know you would be bored without us, Mother.”

“Exactly as Sister says! Whenever we’re away from the estate for even a few days, you greet us saying how much you missed us and never let us go!”

Her two daughters clung playfully to their mother.

They appeared to be a very close-knit family.

Although the countess waved her hand as if bothered, her expression was filled with love as she looked at her daughters.

“That’s one thing, but my worries about you two are another matter.”

“Oh, Roxanne, didn’t Alendia come first in the royal hunting competition this time? That’s such an honor.”

“Well, one or two wins are something to boast about, but this has been going on for years now. If a girl keeps going out hunting like that, who will consider her a good match? That’s why I’m worried she won’t leave her mother’s side yet.”

The countess’s words were a mix of pride and worry.

Occasionally, Roxanne glanced at Selena as she spoke.

Selena, pretending not to notice, calmly enjoyed her tea and cookies.

‘Hmm…’

Grace carefully observed Selena.

She sensed some tension between Roxanne and Selena, but couldn’t pinpoint what exactly it was.

‘Could it be… because of that?’

Seated next to Roxanne was her eldest daughter, Alendia Rosenheim, with fiery red hair and emerald green eyes.

Suddenly, Grace remembered where she had seen this woman before.

‘…She’s the one who was supposed to be His Excellency’s fiancée.’

About three years ago.

Grace had seen Alendia at a royal banquet where she met Lucas Blacke.

Back then, everyone congratulated Alendia as if it were certain she would marry Lucas Black.

However, they never got married, nor did they even get engaged, and the scandal faded away.

Grace had completely forgotten about it and didn’t know what had happened.

Even if she had remembered, she wouldn’t have paid much attention, given how chaotic things had been.

A marriage that nearly happened but didn’t.

There must have been some misalignment from that point.

“Grace, these cookies are delicious. Have some.”

“Thank you. They go well with the fragrant tea.”

“I do love flower tea. Do you like it too, Grace?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

…But Selena was too calm.

Over there, it was obvious Roxanne was extremely conscious of Selena.

Now, Roxanne’s gaze turned to Grace.

Her narrowed eyes swept over Grace as if observing her.

Grace responded to her gaze with an awkward smile.

Twitch.

Roxanne’s face hardened.

Her thick eyelashes and large eyes widened as she spoke directly to Grace.

“Lady Grace of House O’Ellin, is it? I’ve always been curious since I haven’t seen much of you in high society. You’re quite… beautiful.”

“You flatter me, Madam.”

“I heard high praise from the Second Princess, and it seems justified. With such beauty, it’s no wonder His Excellency fell for you.”

“It’s not… like that,” Grace denied, blushing, but the fire in Roxanne’s eyes did not diminish.

Alendia, seated next to Roxanne, also observed Grace intently.

Suddenly, all eyes were on Grace.

Although Grace’s face turned slightly red, she did not shrink back.

Perhaps because Selena maintained her composure beside her, Grace did not feel as flustered as she expected.

“Everyone, don’t look at her like that. I persuaded her to come with me, so if you keep staring like that, it’ll make our Grace a bit uncomfortable.”

“Selena, aren’t you being too protective, considering she’ll soon be family?”

“Why wouldn’t I be? I’m always soft on my people. You know that, Roxanne.”

At Selena’s words, Roxanne’s arm trembled.

“…That’s too much!”

Roxanne suddenly stood up and shouted at Selena.

Alendia, who was sitting next to her mother, looked embarrassed.

The atmosphere suddenly turned tense, as if cold water had been poured over the gathering.

‘…W-What is this?’

Roxanne’s approach was anything but ordinary.

Grace, tensing up, watched as Roxanne came closer.

Surely, the countess wouldn’t harm a duchy’s matriarch publicly, right?

Rationally, Grace thought so, but Roxanne’s reddened, furious face made it hard to let her guard down.

Grace instinctively leaned forward as if to protect Selena.

Seeing this, Selena glanced at Grace and smiled.

“Roxanne, calm down.”

“Mother, there are many eyes watching.”

Countess Gestash, who had been observing, intervened to calm Roxanne.

Alendia also stepped in to follow her mother.

However, Roxanne finally reached Selena.

Selena looked at her with a smile, as if asking why she was behaving this way.

Roxanne’s fists trembled.

Soon, her clenched fists moved toward Selena.

Startled, Grace jumped up.

Selena quickly moved to hide behind Grace.

At that moment, tears welled up in Roxanne’s large eyes.

“Selena! Are you hiding now? This is too much! It’s been two years since we last saw each other, and you didn’t even acknowledge me once!”

Roxanne stomped her feet like a girl, crying and forgetting her dignity.

At that moment, everyone who had been tense let out a sigh of relief.

‘Oh, Mother…’

Alendia and Anastasia, Roxanne’s daughters who had rushed over, sighed as well. They looked exasperated.

‘What on earth is going on?’

Grace was bewildered by the sudden change in atmosphere.

Finally, Selena, who had been hiding behind Grace, peeked out and spoke soothingly to Roxanne.

“But, Roxanne, you looked like you were about to eat me up. I’m sorry. I was a bit scared.”

“What? You were scared of me? How could you say that…! Hiic! I was just so happy and a bit sad, that’s why I was looking at you… Selena didn’t even glance at me once. Hiic, hiic!”

The countess, with her red hair, beauty mark under her eye, and fierce-looking eyes, cried like a gentle lamb, stomping her feet.

Only then did Selena slowly come forward, hugging and comforting Roxanne.

“…You must be taken aback, right? I’m sorry. It’s just that my mother really, really likes the Duchess. A bit too much.”

Alendia, who had approached Grace, smiled awkwardly.

“Sometimes, seeing our mother like this makes us think she likes Madam Selena more than Father.”

“Sometimes? I feel that way all the time, Asha. If Madam Selena lived nearby, our mother would visit her every day. I bet Madam Selena is staying at the Duchy’s country estate to avoid Mother.”

Grace stood there, dumbfounded.

While Selena was comforting Roxanne, Alendia added a brief explanation.

In fact, Selena and Roxanne had been as close as sisters since childhood.

Roxanne, in particular, had admired and liked Selena for a long time.

“Our mother loves beautiful people. She always said that the Elder Madam was dazzlingly beautiful from a young age. She boasted that Madam Selena was exceptional in everything from studies, horse riding, hunting, singing, poetry, and foreign languages.”

“Oh…”

“It’s hard to believe, but it’s true. Everyone who knows us even a little bit is aware of this.”

The sisters laughed, unashamed.

“So, it was actually due to our mother’s insistence that His Excellency and I almost got engaged… but he refused. He said he wouldn’t marry without love.”

‘…Ah.’

Grace finally understood the situation.

Lucas Blacke, that man, seemed to have always been quite assertive.

In this male-dominated society, a man of his status talking about marrying for love would have been laughable.

Yet, he did so with confidence, without shame or ridicule.

‘He’s truly an unusual person.’

Grace thought of Lucas again and smiled softly.

Noticing her smile, Alendia whispered.

“My mother might grumble a bit out of jealousy towards you, Grace, but she’s not really a bad person.”

Grace nodded and smiled in understanding.

Alendia extended her hand to Grace and said.

“It seems I’ve introduced myself too late. Welcome, Miss Grace O’Ellin. I’ve heard you’ve done many impressive things. It would be an honor to hear about your experiences. I look forward to getting to know you.”

Grace looked at Alendia.

Her sparkling eyes were full of life.

She seemed like an amazing woman. Grace took her hand and nodded.

“Likewise, I look forward to it, Miss Alendia Rosenheim.”

Selena, who had been comforting Roxanne, glanced at them and smiled quietly.