Subliminal Wayfarer

Lucas Blacke joined the crown prince’s knight order four years ago.

Although it was a brief period of just three years, his efforts ensured the crown prince’s safe ascension to the throne.

Princess Freesia, too, was able to stand her ground against the Third Prince and bolster her influence—thanks to Lucas Blacke.

“Now do you understand the situation? So, when Grace returns, try to be gentle with her, Norman. Make sure to thank Lucas Blacke as well. Pride is nothing compared to this.”

“……”

Kafrenn now spoke to his son in a calm tone.

And with his head bowed low, Norman remained silent. Kafrenn sighed quietly at his son’s stubbornness.

‘This foolish boy.’

Kafrenn, drunk and weary, stood up and patted the shoulders of his eldest child—his son—who was to inherit everything he had built for the household.

“Really, what’s the use of pride among family? Right? Grace is the future Duchess and the wealth of this household. Her well-being will soon be your prestige. Hasn’t she already brought us a diamond mine?”

Kafrenn decided to overlook the deposits Grace had in Thomson Bank for now.

Soon, he would be wearing a diamond-encrusted watch, so he could afford to be generous about the little money Grace had hidden away.

“Remember, be kind when she returns. Also, make sure to thank Lucas Blacke gently.”

Thump, thump.

Kafrenn patted Norman’s back before leaving the drawing room.

 

* * *

 

“Damn it…”

After Kafrenn left, Norman quietly ground his teeth.

Even if his tongue were cut out, he could never bring himself to thank that wretched Grace.

He was already furious about being treated like trash at the temple, and what he heard upon returning home only made it worse.

It felt like molten lava was boiling inside him.

He couldn’t just sit still.

“Torres! Prepare the carriage immediately!”

He ran to the lobby and roughly climbed into the carriage that Torres had readied.

“Where shall I take you, Young Master?”

“To Holmes! Right now!”

At the mention of Holmes, Torres flinched but quickly composed himself.

With a somber expression, he started the carriage, which quickly disappeared into the darkness.

 

* * *

 

“Miss, all the luggage you mentioned is ready. Butler Gabriel said the carriage will be prepared right after breakfast.”

“Thank you, Julie.”

Grace took a deep breath.

What was supposed to be a simple meal invitation had turned into an extended stay at the Blacke residence.

Lucas had reassured her, and later Selena treated Grace like her guest, making her stay more comfortable.

Even so, it was time to leave.

‘I’ll just open a small account at Thomson Bank and hand that over. The one with the least amount of savings.’

She was used to the verbal abuse and could endure it well.

Thanks to Lucas, the pressure to return had lessened, but she knew she’d still face some scolding.

‘Come to think of it, Norman is supposed to return home today as well.’

In reality, she found dealing with Norman more difficult than with their father, Kafrenn.

Her half-brother genuinely hated and despised Grace.

Even Grace didn’t understand why he was so eager to torment her.

Norman had bullied her since she was too young to remember.

‘But… I don’t even care to know the reason anymore.’

Grace rubbed the now-faded bruise on her stomach. The bruise had disappeared, but there were still times when the pain resurfaced.

She didn’t even want to think about revenge against Norman. She just wanted to stay out of his petty, spiteful sight.

She was sick and tired of Norman’s obsessive and irrational hatred.

“…But if they touch my people, I won’t tolerate it.”

“Sorry, Milady? Rate what?”

“Oh, never mind, Julie. By the way, I think I ate too much dinner. My stomach feels heavy. Could you find me a shawl so I can take a walk in the garden?”

“Yes!”

Julie answered brightly and quickly found a shawl made of white yarn.

Grace went straight out to the garden.

 

* * *

 

Tadak, tadak.

The sound of Grace’s footsteps harmonized perfectly with the chirping of the insects.

Now dimly lit, the garden boasted a serene atmosphere under the lanterns the gardener had lit.

The flowers, blooming in hues calmer than in the sunlight, looked vibrant.

Grace felt as though she had grown attached over this scene in the past few days. She gazed around the garden with a wistful look.

“I’ve just tidied up this path, so why don’t you take a walk here? And as you mentioned earlier, I’ve dried the cornea instead of cutting it down.”

The elderly gardener showed Grace to the west garden.

The gardener mentioned the cornea plant Grace had previously requested.

“Oh, really? I didn’t expect it to be done so quickly. Thank you.”

“Not at all. The garden requires daily care, so I took care of it along the way. I didn’t realize that plant was so useful. Thanks to you, I’ve come to appreciate things I hadn’t noticed before.”

The gardener smiled warmly and stepped back.

And having sent Julie away, Grace strolled through the quiet garden alone.

She felt a pang of regret knowing she would soon have to leave this place.

‘…For a while.’

That phrase made her feel oddly tingly.

It implied she would be back soon.

Indeed, she had come too far to feel excited about such things.

The marking on her hand and arm had become a part of her.

Having heard bits and pieces about the curse, there was no turning back.

Since His Excellency planned to hasten the wedding, the marriage would happen sooner than she had anticipated.

Typically, noble marriages took six months to a year to organize.

Including the formal engagement period, it could take up to a year and a half, or even ten years if betrothed from a young age.

‘So, will it take us about six months too?’

Six months was considered quite fast, even among the nobility.

Usually, couples who couldn’t wait and fell in love quickly had their weddings that soon.

Sometimes, they even had children first and leisurely got married later.

The timing of registering in the family registry didn’t matter much.

“If it’s six months, people might misunderstand us.”

But that didn’t matter.

What others thought wasn’t of great importance.

The image shown to others was often an illusion—a façade one wanted to show or project.

If one believed in illusions, they were swayed by them. But if not, it didn’t have much impact on oneself.

Of course, if one cared about reputation, it could be frustrating, but how much reputation did she have to worry about?

But what about him?

Thinking of Lucas, Grace suddenly recalled the day she fell on top of him in the fountain pen shop.

What had he said then?

 

“Accursed chronic anemia.”

“If Lady Grace didn’t catch me, I would have fallen straight to the floor. How dare I commit such discourtesy towards her…?”

“Please keep my shameful display today a secret. I am truly ashamed of what others will think of me if they find out about this, especially Marquis O’Ellin.”

“So, if there’s anyone here who’d carelessly flap their—no, that is to say, if everyone keeps quiet about this, I will remember all your faces here, and I’ll be sure to greet you separately later.”

 

“…Pfft.”

Recalling that moment made her laugh again.

The man, who was as large as a bear and emitted a terrifying charisma, had clasped his forehead, blaming his ‘chronic anemia’.

He had then grinned, and his gaze had been so chilling.

Thanks to that, no rumors about that day had spread.

Who would dare speak carelessly after Lucas Blacke himself threatened to personally confront them?

Clearly, he wasn’t someone who cared much about his reputation.

‘…Maybe I should suggest we move the wedding date up a bit.’

Grace habitually rubbed her right hand and wrist.

Although she didn’t know everything, she had gathered that the curse had been passed down through generations.

This meant that the curse could also affect future generations after Lucas.

And here lay the problem.

The brand was fully embedded into her arm.

While Lucas might be able to control the transformation through her, how would future generations manage it when they turned into horses?

Would they have to mummify her arm if she died?

Or would the brand return to the riding crop upon her death?

Nothing was certain.

What if she died suddenly in an accident?

What if, like her mother, she grew weak and succumbed to an unexplained illness?

Her anxiety grew.

Nobody ever told her that she would die young, but the worry took hold. She realized she couldn’t just sit idly by, lost in thought about the curse that had transferred to her.

“Since a marriage vow is needed to access the secrets of this curse… We need to hurry.”

Grace knew she wouldn’t easily uncover the secret of a curse that had persisted for over 750 years.

But she couldn’t just sit back and do nothing.

There had to be a reason why the curse had suddenly transferred to her arm, and she needed to focus on that.

Her urgency increased.

When did His Excellency plan to have the wedding?

A year later? Six months? Or… four to five months?

Grace looked up at the moonlit sky.

For some reason, His Excellency was late tonight.

She was supposed to leave right after breakfast tomorrow, so she wasn’t sure if she’d see him before she left.

Since turning back into a human, he had been busy. He had a lot of work to catch up on, work he couldn’t do while he had transformed.

Grace also had many tasks awaiting her at the mansion—work at the school and organizing her handwritten botanical compendium.

A few days ago, she had received a letter from her personal physician, Nottia.

The letter expressed concern over not hearing from her and asked if she had any lingering pain since that day.

She had so much to do.

Both she and Lucas.

If she returned to the O’Ellin residence now, it might become even harder to see him.

‘It was convenient when he was a horse, I could hear his voice whenever…’

She never thought she would miss those days.

As she chuckled softly and turned around, she realized she had wandered too far.

She had walked aimlessly and ended up in a place she had never been before.

Though the path wasn’t too dark, she knew it would take a long time to walk back, so she quickly turned to head back.

At that moment,

Rustle—

She heard the sound of dry grass being stepped on from somewhere nearby.