Chapter 103
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Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
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Dear, I believe you may be misunderstanding.
Episode 103
A low, deep voice whispered against her ear, and Grace felt goosebumps rise along the nape of her neck.
With nothing but that soft voice teasing at her earlobe, my spine tingled and my breath caught. I hid my face against his shoulder, flustered by my own reaction.
"Could you be more specific about what fell short of your expectations? I'll do my best to correct it however I can."
He was teasing me.
This man was enjoying himself at my expense again.
"Stop it. The fact that something doesn't go according to your will—I understand that much."
"You never know. By your own admission, you're half-beast, so perhaps there are ways to control things in that bestial domain?"
A lie!
Grace glared at Lucas with resentment as he toyed with her through such an obvious falsehood. Lucas let out a low laugh and pressed his lips to the corner of her eyes, which were narrowed with fierce determination.
"That actually frightens me a little."
"You're far more mischievous than I thought."
"I'm sorry. Every time you're like that, you're so adorable that I can't help myself. Since you're this cute, it keeps changing without warning. It's not because of me—it's all your fault."
"How is that my fault! You're truly shameless!"
At Grace's indignant words, Lucas burst into laughter. His laughter only infuriated her more, and without thinking, she covered his mouth with her hand again.
"Stop laughing."
Yet I could feel his smile beneath my palm. He uttered words designed to make my heart race—how could he not laugh with me before him—but I didn't remove my hand.
However, that was my mistake, for Lucas began to lick my fingers with a hot, wet tongue beneath my palm.
"Your Excellency!"
Grace gasped and pushed him away. Laughter from both of them leaked endlessly from the rattling carriage.
Haem and Julie, sitting on the driver's bench and steering the carriage, found themselves meeting each other's eyes and laughing at the bursting sounds of merriment.
"Newlyweds are truly newlyweds. What could possibly be so delightful?"
"They say that during the honeymoon phase, even a glance can make your toes tingle."
"Is that so? How would Julie know that?"
"Well, I've seen and heard quite a lot."
Julie spread three fingers wide.
"I have three married sisters."
"Ah... that's certainly convincing."
"Right?"
Julie nodded with a satisfied smile.
'Three married sisters. Three. Julie is the fourth.'
Watching Julie beam with pride, Haem carefully etched this newfound information into his mind.
There hadn't been many opportunities to talk, so I knew little about Julie.
'I need to reduce my workload soon. I should tell them I absolutely cannot accompany them on this trip to Contana. And when no one's around, I should get closer to Julie...'
"Oh, that's right!
Just as Haem was in the midst of planning his strategy for a promising future, Julie asked as if she'd suddenly remembered something.
"Have you ever been to Contana, Haem?"
"...Pardon?"
"The young lady and I are so excited about it that we talk about it every day. Since the young lady has never left the Capital before... you've been there, haven't you? What was it like? Oh, you're going too, aren't you?"
Whoosh—Haem's carefully laid plans scattered like dust in an instant.
Only one word remained etched upon the blank slate of his mind: Contana.
Haem turned to Julie with a radiant smile.
"Of course. If I don't go with you, who else would?"
"Exactly! I'm so excited. They said we'd be traveling by a special method...."
Watching Julie's eager expression, Haem gripped the reins tighter, his thoughts churning.
This was his chance.
'I cannot afford to miss this opportunity...!'
With renewed determination burning in his eyes as he surveyed the road ahead, Haem suddenly yanked hard on the reins.
"Whoa! Wait!"
Haem brought the carriage to an abrupt halt.
Fortunately, they hadn't been traveling at great speed, so the carriage stopped immediately.
He had spotted a small carriage overturned on the roadside.
The carriage they were riding in was constructed slightly larger than a standard carriage.
Passing by that stationary carriage posed no problem, but he needed to be prepared for any risk of collision.
"Your Grace, there is a carriage stopped ahead."
Haem opened the small window connecting the front seat to the interior of the carriage and relayed the situation.
After a moment, Lucas inquired.
"What kind of carriage?"
"A standard four-wheeled carriage, sir. It bears no family crest—an old, faded brown carriage. From what I can see, an Elderly Woman has stepped out, so it appears to be hers."
Shortly after, the carriage window opened.
But it was not Lucas who leaned out—it was Grace.
Curious about what was happening, Grace peered out at the stationary carriage and spotted the Elderly Woman standing by the roadside.
In that instant, her eyes widened.
"Oh, could that be...?"
Recognizing the Elderly Woman, Grace opened the carriage door and stepped outside.
As if she had sensed Grace's approach, the Elderly Woman turned to face her.
"So we meet again."
"You are...."
A smile blossomed across the old woman's weathered face as she observed Grace's astonishment.
"It was remarkable enough to meet you on the day I first arrived here... but to encounter you again on my final day of departure? It reminds me once more of how mysteriously wonderful the bonds of fate truly are."
The Elderly Woman glanced back at her overturned carriage as she spoke.
"If you wouldn't mind, would you help me? In return, I shall share with you an amusing tale."
* * *
Lucas and Grace returned to the Estate with the elderly woman in their carriage.
Gabriel rushed out barefoot to greet them.
Selena emerged alongside Gabriel, who was making a dignified fuss, and welcomed them warmly.
"My, who is this?"
Selena's eyes widened as she recognized the elderly woman descending from their carriage.
"We encountered her on the way. Her carriage wheel had come loose, so we decided to send one of our people to assist her."
"I see. Welcome. How startling that your wheel came off so suddenly. We met at the Gestash Estate before, though I'm not certain if you remember."
"Of course I do. Even with these aged eyes, I remember quite clearly—you are far too beautiful to forget."
"Oh my, you flatter me. I simply hope to age gracefully and in good health."
"Have no worries about that. You shall live a long and blessed life, and see many grandchildren besides."
"...I beg your pardon?"
"Hehehehe."
The small elderly woman smiled, her weathered face creasing with warmth.
There was something in her smile that seemed to disarm one's caution.
Selena tilted her head in puzzlement as she walked behind Gabriel, who led the way, with the elderly woman ahead of her.
Lucas and Grace, walking just behind, asked what was wrong, but Selena had no ready answer.
"Hmm? No, it's nothing. Just a strange feeling... Come, let us go inside."
* * *
"Will you rest here for a moment? We shall change our clothes and return shortly."
"I'm just a frail old woman with weak legs, so I cannot wander about easily. Take your time."
The elderly woman waved her hand dismissively from where she sat comfortably on the Reception Room sofa.
"Julie, please bring her some tea."
"Ah, yes, child."
The elderly woman called out to Grace, who was about to head upstairs.
Lucas and Selena, who had been waiting for Grace, turned around simultaneously.
"When you come back down, will you come alone? I have something I wish to tell you—something for your ears only."
At the elderly woman's words, Lucas and Selena both looked toward Grace.
Grace hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
"Understood. I shall return shortly."
She was a peculiar elderly woman.
Her wrinkled face, whose age was difficult to discern, bore no distinctive features that would reveal her nationality.
"Ah, my back. Standing for so long while the carriage was being repaired has made it ache. Oh dear..."
Her clothing was plain, yet her accent was strangely unfamiliar.
Because of this, it was impossible to determine whether she was from this country or not.
Was that why?
Her words, delivered with the warmth one might use toward a granddaughter, did not feel unpleasant.
Given that she was an old friend of the Gestash Estate's mistress, her identity was not entirely obscure... yet how did she know Grace from her childhood?
But how do you know Grace from when she was young?
No, could it really be true that the Elderly Woman actually knows me?
* * *
"Are you truly going down alone?"
Lucas Black caught Grace as she emerged from changing her clothes.
"Yes? Oh, well. We're still inside the Estate anyway."
"Still...."
Grace soothed his evident worry with gentle reassurance.
"You said no one could intrude here. And the moment I open the door, it feels like His Excellency will be waiting. What could I possibly have to fear?"
"Would it be acceptable if I waited right outside the door?"
Lucas Black asked quickly, as though pressing his case.
It had been a casual remark, yet he seized upon it so eagerly.
Grace asked with a stunned expression.
"...You would truly wait right outside the door?"
"If you're comfortable with it."
His gaze was remarkably earnest.
Grace regarded her new husband with fresh eyes.
Refined black hair.
Eyes of crystalline blue that gleamed with icy clarity.
A face carved with sharp lines, eyes deeper than anyone else's.
His sturdy frame spoke for itself, complemented by a voice of grave resonance.
He emanated strength rather than gentleness, an aura of formality rather than familiarity.
Once, he had made Grace tremble with fear—and when he became the Princess's right hand, he had made everyone in the Royal Palace quake. The very same fierce black stallion called Lucas Black.
And such a man....
"I shall wait obediently outside the door."
...was saying he couldn't bear to leave the doorway, worried about his wife.
As Grace met his earnest gaze, she found herself unable to contain the emotions welling up within her.
Something warm and tender and wonderful enveloped her.
Grace knew the name of this feeling.
Affection.
His gentle affection directed toward me.
This man's affection, unguarded and without hesitation.
'How can you possibly care for me so deeply?'
Grace reached out and gently caressed his cheek.
Lucas Black, momentarily startled by her sudden touch, soon smiled and placed his hand over hers.
Grace traced the texture of his skin with her fingertips as she spoke.
"I'm fine, Your Excellency. Please don't worry so much. Do I seem so untrustworthy? Like someone who would come to harm even within her own home?"
Lucas Black found himself unable to respond to her words.
Grace had not truly convinced him. Rather....
'Even within her own home....'
Those words clung to his heart with a poignant tenderness.
Grace had called this estate her home.
The thought that she had accepted it as her new sanctuary made Lucas's chest tighten with an unfamiliar warmth.
Yes, home. Her home.
This place was his sanctuary for her.
Within these walls, Grace must be free and safe.
For that to be true, he who stood as her protector could not afford to show weakness.
Lucas nodded with composure, as though he had never wavered.
"Very well. I dislike being parted from you, even briefly, but it cannot be helped."
"It will only be for a moment. Your Excellency, you are such a busy man. Just attend to your work for a little while."
Lucas smiled silently.
There seemed no need to mention how he had labored relentlessly this past month to carve out uninterrupted time with her.
He pressed a kiss to Grace's cheek, whispered something against her ear, and released her.
Her face flushed crimson, she gave a small nod and hastily retreated to the Reception Room.
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Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
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