Subliminal Wayfarer

‘By the way… I wonder if he’s doing well?’

For one reason or another, it had already been well over a week since she last saw him.

Just as she had been busy, Lucas was surely just as occupied, so she hadn’t reached out to him.

No, well, if she were being honest, he was likely far busier than her.

Even before, he had been working late into the night almost every day.

‘It’s really strange. Neither Norman nor Father ever worked that hard, burning the midnight oil. Isn’t it supposed to be that the higher your rank, the less you have to do?’

Grace tilted her head slightly in confusion as she made her way to the lobby.

Waiting in front of the lobby was the carriage Lucas had arranged exclusively for Grace, along with Ruppell, who was standing by.

“Sorry I’m late. Thank you for waiting, Ruppell.”

“There’s no need to apologize, my lady. I’ve been quite bored with so little to do lately. I was delighted to prepare the carriage today, as I hear you have many places to visit.”

Ruppell responded politely, with a touch of wit.

As Grace took his outstretched hand and was about to step into the carriage, another carriage pulled up behind them.

The young coachman, wearing a familiar fedora, caught her eye.

Recognizing him, Grace’s expression hardened.

She hurried to get into her carriage, only for her skirt to catch on her heels.

At that moment, the door of the carriage behind her swung open, and Norman appeared.

Norman’s face also stiffened when he recognized Grace.

For a brief moment, they locked eyes, both wearing frozen expressions, until a grin slowly spread across Norman’s face. He greeted her with a smirk.

“Well, well, if it isn’t my darling little sister, head over heels in love?”

Grace stared at Norman without replying.

She felt Ruppell, who was still holding her hand, give a slight squeeze before releasing it, as if to say, Don’t worry, I’m here.

“Going out, are we? You seem busy with wedding preparations these days… Then again, they say a bride should look her best on her wedding day. That way, her husband will fall in love with her all over again.”

Norman’s smile remained as he approached, his words clearly intended to sting, even if his face didn’t show it.

Not that what he said was the kind of thing that would make anyone smile.

“It’s convenient that I ran into you, actually. Do you have a moment to talk?”

“Since when did you and I exchange warm words, Brother?”

At her cold retort, Norman’s expression hardened.

In the past, he would’ve already been trembling with rage and spewing curses, but for some reason, he was pretending to be composed.

His forced smile trembled slightly at the corners.

“You’re right. We weren’t like that in the past. But time has passed, and don’t you think it’s time our relationship improved, even a little?”

The absurdity of his words made Grace want to laugh.

She let out a small scoff and turned away from him.

It wasn’t even worth a response.

Norman grabbed her wrist as she turned to leave.

“I’m talking to you, Grace.”

Grace narrowed her eyes and looked at him.

He was clenching his jaw so tightly she could see it quivering.

“Is it too much to ask for a brother and sister to talk before the wedding?”

Why was he acting like this? Patience had never been one of Norman’s virtues.

‘…Could it be because of Father’s change?’

If that were the case, then it meant Norman was also wary of Lucas Blacke.

It wasn’t surprising. Norman had always been the type to cower before the strong and bully the weak.

He must want something from Lucas Blacke.

And he thought he could get it through Grace.

‘Not a chance.’

Grace clenched her fists tightly.

Neither Norman nor their father would be allowed to direct their ugly ambitions toward Lucas.

Even if Lucas considered it a small matter, Grace would never tolerate it.

“A talk, huh… Fine. We’ll set a time, Norman. But not now. I have an appointment to keep.”

Her voice was icy, her words stripped of emotion.

Her cheek still ached from where he had slapped her, and her stomach throbbed where he had kicked her.

She wasn’t the only one who had suffered under his hand.

Julie, Alia, and even the young servants had been beaten countless times.

There would likely be more Julies and Alias. There could even be another Grace.

“I’ll decide when we talk and let you know. As you can imagine, I’ve been rather overwhelmed lately.”

Perhaps the time had come to finally settle things for good.

 

* * *

 

“Wow! Teacher!”

“We missed you!”

“Why are you only coming now?”

The moment they saw the carriage approaching from afar, all the children at the orphanage came running outside.

As soon as the carriage stopped and Grace stepped out, the children who had been bouncing on their feet all rushed toward her at once.

“Hello, sorry! It’s been too long since I last came, hasn’t it? How have you been?”

“Teacher! I’ve grown this much taller!”

“I finished all my homework while waiting, but you didn’t come, so I was worried!”

“Wahhh! I really, really, really missed you!”

Renée, who was waddling along behind the older kids, got pushed by the excitement and fell to the ground, landing on her bottom.

Although the toddler’s wail was drowned out by the loud voices of the other children, Grace immediately noticed and went over to pick up the crying Renée.

“Renée, how have you been? You’ve grown so much in such a short time!”

It had only been a month or two, but the four-year-old had grown noticeably. She was heavier, taller, and most of all, her speech had improved.

“Gwace-y, Gwa-cee! Waaah!”

Renée called her name with clearer pronunciation than before.

Grace affectionately pressed her face against Renée’s soft, chubby cheek.

One by one, the mischievous red-headed Chris, the freckle-nosed Anna, and finally the most mature of them all, Kristine, hugged Grace.

“Hm? Has it really been that long?”

“Did you forget about us? Are you not going to play with us anymore?”

“No, it’s not like that…”

Grace smiled sheepishly, crouching down toward the children.

As she brought her hands together as if sharing a secret, the children leaned in eagerly, their ears close to her.

“This teacher of yours is getting married soon.”

“Whaaat?!”

Several of the children jumped up in surprise, tumbling over each other.

The most shocked of all was Anna.

She shrieked and clung to Grace.

“With whom? How? When did this happen? Did you kiss yet?”

‘…Uh, Anna?’

Grace’s face turned bright red at Anna’s forward question.

“Waaaah! You kissed, didn’t you! Oh my gosh!”

“A kiss!”

“Teacher kissed someone!”

‘Um, kids…? Teacher’s a bit flustered here…?’

The word ‘kiss’ echoed throughout the orphanage as the children ran around excitedly.

Just as Grace was drowning in her embarrassment, unable to figure out what to do next—

“You mischievous little rascals. What will you do if your teacher runs away because of you?”

Kelly Cransen, the director of Hills Orphanage, appeared like a savior and gently led Grace away.

 

* * *

 

“It’s been a while, Director.”

“Indeed. I’ve missed you. How have you been, Teacher?”

Kelly, her white hair clearly visible, warmly clasped Grace’s hand and asked kindly.

Her hands were rough, but they were still warm.

After studying Kelly’s face for a moment, Grace asked with concern.

“You look quite worn out. Has something happened?”

“Oh! It’s nothing serious. I just had some trouble repairing the fence on the east side.”

“The east side? Did you fix it yourself?”

“The western wall collapsed a few days ago, so I had to redirect the available workers there. The east fence, well, I could handle that with just the kids.”

Grace’s face darkened at the thought of the elderly Kelly working so hard.

She immediately rolled up her sleeves and stood up.

“Where is it? I’ll help you!”

“Oh no, no. You’ll help best by staying put. You’re not very handy with repairs, remember? You can’t even stand the sight of sharp tools.”

The director had a point.

What use could someone who couldn’t even touch nails or knives be in repairs?

Grace slumped back into her seat, looking dejected.

“Don’t make that gloomy face. No one’s blaming you. You already do so much for us without needing to fix things.”

“But it upsets me. Seeing the kids get small cuts, or the calluses on your wrinkled hands…”

Kelly chuckled and patted Grace’s shoulder.

“That’s just part of growing stronger. Just as you need to exert strength to gain strength, everyone grows through hard times.”

The director, well into her sixties, smiled reassuringly, as she always did, comforting Grace.

Kelly was someone Grace respected deeply.

She thought it was remarkable how Kelly never showed her pain, her resilience always shining through.

Despite her shabby clothes, her heart and spirit were more elegant than anyone else’s.

“By the way, I’ve heard the good news… You’re getting married!”

“Oh, yes. Have you heard?”

“Well, I saw it in the newspaper a few days ago. Your wedding is the talk of the town right now, you know?”

It was a wedding to be held within a month—an unprecedented event in Zeronium.

Lucas had even managed to give an interview, and the article had included a photograph of him sitting in a grand, antique chair, alongside an utterly absurd headline.

 

[ Love at First Sight, a Passionate Romance. ]

 

…Excuse me, what?