Subliminal Wayfarer

The travel time from Holmes to the city center was over an hour by carriage.

If one were to walk, it would take half a day.

Moreover, Carol had a child now, making it even more impossible for her to move.

She had become dependent on Norman for survival.

And Norman took full advantage of that.

He would visit her at his convenience, lure her with sweet words, and then, as soon as she let her guard down, he would cruelly embrace her in a way that was no different from abuse.

“That… bastard.”

Torres gritted his teeth, trying to contain his anger.

The baby, exhausted from crying, sniffled and fell asleep in his arms.

Torres secretly took care of Carol behind Norman’s back.

He brought her food and, when he had the time, took her to the city’s clinic.

When he first saw her, Carol had been as fresh as a flower fairy. Now, she had withered like a dried rose.

The area around her eyes was always reddened, and she rarely smiled due to depression.

Whenever she forced a smile, looking as if she were about to cry, Torres felt a sharp pain in his chest.

“…Aah!”

A scream faintly echoed from inside the cabin.

Startled, Torres clenched his teeth, resisting the urge to rush in.

‘If you go in, what will you do? Do you think you can save her?’

Torres turned away, holding the baby who had briefly woken up at the sound of its mother’s scream.

The muffled sounds made his heart ache as if it were being squeezed.

‘If there is truly a god above… please, look after this poor child and Carol.’

Hoping for this hellish night to end soon, Torres wandered endlessly through the dark, early morning streets.

 

* * *

 

“May God’s will always be with you, Grace.”

Selena prayed for Grace as she saw her off to the mansion.

Grace smiled slightly at Selena’s heartfelt farewell, which felt like she was going on a long journey.

“Thank you, Elder Madam.”

“It’s only been a few days since we first met, and now we have to part again. But I’ll be staying in the capital for a while, so let’s see each other often. We’ll be busy with wedding preparations, after all.”

“Wait a moment, Mother. Are you planning to stay here permanently?”

Lucas suddenly interjected.

Seeing someone who rarely stayed in the capital, he furrowed his brows as if confused by her words.

“Oh… I hadn’t planned on it, but seeing your reaction now makes me want to stay longer.”

“Haha! You jest, Mother. I’ll see to it that you are comfortably settled until the wedding.”

“Ohoho, with that statement, you’ve just made me decide to stay for another half a year, Lucas.”

Lucas pondered for a moment at Selena’s words, then struck his fist on his upturned palm as if making a decision.

“In that case, I’ll find you a new mansion. There’s a nice one about forty minutes from here by carriage. It’s a white mansion that would suit you well.”

“Oh, what to do? I like it here.”

“This mansion might not think so.”

“You ungrateful child. Are you saying you know the thoughts of this house?”

“The thoughts of the mansion’s owner are the thoughts of the mansion itself, aren’t they?”

Lucas responded with a sly smile.

Selena, hands on her hips, grumbled in an annoyed voice.

“Lucas, if you keep acting like this, it won’t be fun.”

“Oh, that threat was a bit scary, Mother.”

The two of them bickered whenever they were together.

Grace couldn’t help but smile softly.

She felt a pang of sadness, knowing she wouldn’t see this scene for a while.

Though the wedding was supposed to be ‘soon’, she still didn’t know exactly when it would happen.

“Oh dear, I should step aside before I get called an oblivious mother. Otherwise, His Excellency might kick out his old mother.”

“No way, would I ever kick out my beloved mother?”

Selena lightly tapped Lucas’s shoulder with her fan.

Grace held onto Selena, who was glaring at Lucas in mock annoyance.

“Um, Elder Madam.”

“Hmm?”

“I have a favor to ask… Is that alright?”

A favor from Grace.

Selena’s eyes sparkled with interest at the unexpected request from someone who never seemed like the type to ask for favors.

Lucas was equally curious.

“A favor? What is it, Grace?”

At Grace’s gesture, Julie, who had been waiting nearby, quickly handed something to Grace.

Grace received it and extended it to Selena.

“Could you take care of this for a while?”

“This is…”

What Grace handed over was the incense burner that Selena had given her.

It was something she had desperately searched for but had given to Grace, knowing it originally belonged to her.

“I…”

Grace took a short, deep breath.

Smiling shyly, she spoke to Selena in a soft whisper.

“When I return… please give it back to me then.”

When I return.

It was a promise of her return, not a departure.

The meaning behind the gesture was clear.

A smile spread across Selena’s face as well.

Holding the incense burner that Grace handed to her, Selena nodded and said,

“Alright. I’ll be waiting, so go and come back soon, Grace.”

“Thank you, Elder Madam. I’ll… be back.”

 

* * *

 

“If anything happens, tell Ruppell here, Grace.”

Lucas, opening the carriage door, pointed to the coachman who would accompany Grace.

Ruppell was someone he had chosen personally. He was trustworthy and skilled in many areas.

“He will follow you to the O’Ellin residence. I’ve already informed Julie.”

“Thank you for your consideration.”

Lucas smiled, as if it were nothing.

“Oh, and your father might act a bit strange towards you. Don’t worry about it. If anyone tries to harm you, make sure to tell Ruppell.”

Grace smiled weakly at Lucas’s sincere insistence.

“Don’t just smile like that, give me a firm answer, Grace.”

“Alright. If anyone tries to harm me, I’ll tell Ruppell. Then will Your Excellency come running?”

“Anytime.”

Even though she knew he was joking, Grace was grateful for his words.

Having someone who promised to come running if anything happened to her was strangely touching.

“Then, Your Excellency, if anything happens to you, let me know immediately. I’ll come running anytime, too.”

“That’s very reassuring.”

Lucas nodded with a joyful smile.

Grace stepped lightly into the carriage he had opened for her. Suddenly, Lucas grabbed her wrist.

“Ah, Grace.”

“……?”

He pulled her close and whispered in her ear.

“Does this mean we can do all sorts of things after we get married?”

“W-What kind of things…?”

Seeing her flustered, Lucas grinned mischievously.

“I’ll tell you while we do them.”

‘What… exactly is he going to tell me while doing… what?’

Lucas’s lips lightly brushed against Grace’s cheek, which was turning bright red as if it might burst.

“Oh, Grace. I forgot to tell you yesterday. Our marriage has been approved.”

“Pardon…? Approved? When…?”

“Yesterday. And our wedding will take place in a month’s time. Let’s see each other in the same bed in a month, okay?”

He cheerfully waved his hand and closed the carriage door.

“A month… No, wait. Did you say one month?”

Still in a daze, Grace stood up abruptly, hitting her head on the ceiling.

“Ouch!”

She quickly sat back down, clutching her head, then opened the carriage window and stuck her head out.

Lucas was waving politely with his hands behind his back.

“This can’t be happening.”

A month, just one month…!

While Grace was in shock, the carriage sped toward the O’Ellin estate.

 

* * *

 

“Welcome, Grace! Are you alright?”

Before Grace could even step out of the carriage, Kafrenn O’Ellin burst out of the lobby to greet her.

“Let me see. Yes, you look a bit thinner. You’ve been through a lot, Grace.”

Startled by Kafrenn’s attempt to hug her, Grace quickly stepped back.

Her reflexes, which she didn’t even know she had, made her instinctively move backward.

Though she didn’t notice, Ruppell also instinctively reached for the dagger at his side.

Fortunately, because Grace had dodged appropriately, nothing else happened.

Kafrenn’s hand awkwardly stopped in midair, but Grace pretended not to notice and greeted him.

“I’m fine, Father. I had a safe trip.”

“Oh, hahaha! Hahaha! Yes, yes. That’s good. You had a safe trip. Well, ahem, come in.”

The marquis led Grace to the parlor.

He instructed someone to bring tea and tried to engage Grace in conversation the entire time.

Grace found the whole situation very awkward and strange.

 

“Oh, and your father might act a bit strange towards you. Don’t worry about it.”

 

Lucas’s words from when she was leaving the Blacke residence came to mind.

This must be what he was referring to.

‘What on earth did he do to make my father act as if he’d give me the world?’

Did he give him a diamond mine or something?

Grace watched her father boast about how amazing it would be to become a duchess with a somewhat bewildered expression.

But his long speech showed no signs of ending, and she eventually had to use the excuse of being tired to go upstairs first.

“Why is His Lordship acting like that?”

As soon as they returned to her room, Julie whispered in disbelief.

“How would I know, Julie?”

Grace was just as bewildered.

Kafrenn O’Ellin was not an emotional person who would have a change of heart just because his daughter was getting married.

Nor did Grace want him to.

She neither hoped for nor needed her father’s affection.

‘…I just wish he wouldn’t be a bother.’

One month.

In just one month, she could escape the influence of both her father and Norman.

As long as she bore the name ‘O’Ellin’, they would continue to try to control her.

But as ‘Grace Blacke,’ they couldn’t treat her the same way.

“……”

Suddenly, she felt strange.

She should have felt relieved about leaving this mansion, but she didn’t feel entirely happy.

“Milady? Why do you look like that? Are you feeling unwell? Are you having indigestion again? Should I bring some plum tea?”

“Hmm? No, it’s just that… I have some strange thoughts…”

“Strange thoughts? What kind of thoughts?”

Grace hesitated for a moment, then finally voiced the thorny thought stuck in her mind.

“This… Is this really the independence that I wanted?”