Chapter 20
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Dear, I believe you may be misunderstanding.
Episode 20
Pitter, patter.
Raindrops fell between Lucas and me as we stood facing each other in silence.
We both gazed upward at the violet sky deepening with twilight.
The droplets striking my eyes and forehead were unmistakably rain.
"It's raining...."
Before I could finish my sentence, the scattered drops swelled into a downpour.
Pitter-patter, pitter-patter.
The deluge burst forth like a dam breaking, drenching my hair in an instant.
"Come on! Run, Grace!"
Lucas sprang to his feet, seized my hand, and bolted forward.
Before I could even protest, we were racing through the rain, cutting across the Garden.
"W-wait, please! Slow down!"
"No. Keep running. If you stop, I'll carry you."
A sharp gasp escaped me.
My cheeks flushed crimson as I ran desperately, following his lead.
Thanks to him pulling me along, I covered a distance that should have taken ten minutes in just five.
Without his guiding hand, I never could have maintained such a pace.
"Gasp, gasp! I-I can't breathe!"
My lungs felt ready to burst.
Just five minutes of running, and I was already this exhausted?
Yet Lucas's breathing remained perfectly composed, making my gasping seem all the more embarrassing.
His face even looked refreshed, as if the brief sprint had invigorated him.
He ran a hand through his wet hair, brushing it back, then smiled down at me.
"Doesn't running clear your mind?"
"Gasp, gasp. I-I'm not sure about that, but gasp, I can't think of anything right now."
"You've never run until your chest burns, then collapsed right there? You have no idea how wonderful it feels. Especially when your mind is cluttered."
Exhale. Inhale—!
I caught my breath and looked up at Lucas.
I couldn't tell if my pounding heart was from the exertion or from him.
Noticing my flushed cheeks, he reached out and gently brushed the swollen area with his fingertips.
His touch was rough and calloused, yet somehow it didn't hurt at all.
It didn't hurt, but....
Where his hand passed felt unusually warm.
His touch was like a flame.
The sensation where his fingers brushed was remarkably vivid.
Especially when his thumb traced the edge of my wet lips.
"Ah."
I flinched involuntarily, startled, and drew in a sharp breath.
"...."
"...."
The courtyard fell silent, with only the sound of parched earth drinking in the rain.
The light in Lucas's eyes as he gazed upon me had shifted from moments before.
They were endlessly deep, darkened to the point of obscurity.
'Why is it so suffocating?'
Without thinking, I bit my lower lip, turning my flushed face slightly away.
Even without meeting his gaze, I could feel the weight of his stare.
After a moment, Lucas spoke in a voice that carried a slight hoarseness.
"...With rain falling like this, why not stay the night here?"
Startled, I widened my eyes and shook my head.
"That—that's impossible. This much rain is manageable. I must leave."
Lucas glanced up at the sky.
His narrowed eyes surveyed the cloud-laden heavens, and a faint smile crossed his lips.
"It will only grow worse. Far more than you imagine."
"Surely not!"
"Trust me. I'm quite accurate about these things."
"But—"
I bit my lower lip and looked toward the sky.
The movement of the clouds was indeed ominous.
Yet to suddenly stay the night without warning felt improper.
Even by carriage, the journey took considerable time, so staying at an acquaintance's estate was commonplace.
But that wasn't the real issue.
"My father—if Father learns of this, he won't take it lightly. He's particularly sensitive about such matters."
"Is that so?"
He smiled gently and spoke.
"But what can Marquess Oellin do to me if he objects?"
"...Your Excellency."
His eyes darkened further as he regarded me.
"He can do nothing to me. What concerns me is what he might do to you."
"...."
"So stay here. Within my domain."
His voice carried an unmistakable strength.
It was a voice that resonated with resolute determination, as though steeling himself for what lay ahead.
I found myself believing that everything would unfold according to his words.
Perhaps it wasn't mere belief, but certainty.
"...I'm afraid of causing you trouble because of me."
"If you leave like this, I'll likely spend the night awake, consumed with worry for you."
My voice trembled as I asked.
"Why would Your Excellency lose sleep over my welfare?"
"That's why."
Rumble!
A deafening roar of thunder rolled across the sky, sounding like the growl of some great beast.
Startled, I glanced up at the ominous heavens.
Lucas studied the swelling of my cheek before slowly following my gaze skyward.
Soon he spoke again, his voice perfectly composed.
"Look, Grace. Do you see the lightning striking over there? We cannot travel through this downpour—not safely. Even by carriage, we risk tumbling into a ditch and being stranded. An accident could easily occur."
He was right.
On the way here, I'd noticed the road to Sunny Hill was mostly unpaved earth.
This rainfall would have already turned it into a treacherous mire.
"And I would spend the entire night tormented by worry, blaming myself for sending you out into this storm."
Whoooosh!
As if to underscore his words, the rain intensified, the sheets growing thicker and heavier.
'This is quite the predicament.'
I pressed my fingers to my temple, a headache forming.
I felt trapped between impossible choices.
Watching the relentless downpour, I found myself thinking it hardly mattered anymore.
Perhaps it would be better to simply let fate take its course.
"Grace."
At the sound of my name spoken in that deep voice, I turned back to Lucas.
Had he been standing this close the entire time?
Suddenly uncertain where to look, I averted my gaze.
His hand rose, gently turning my face back toward him.
To meet his eyes with mine, he tilted my chin upward with a subtle pressure of his fingers.
When our gazes locked, I felt a different kind of danger—one far more perilous.
'...I feel as though I'm about to be consumed.'
His blue eyes gleamed with brilliant intensity, oblivious to their own darkness.
He stared at me intently, his lips parting.
"Do not worry, Grace. I do not fear being hurt for the sake of someone I cherish."
Someone I cherish.
His voice clung sweetly to my ear like a shadow-casting monster.
"And I will never allow harm to come to someone I hold dear."
He murmured softly against my swollen cheek, brushing it with his lips.
At that strange sensation—tender yet somehow sharp—I drew in a sudden breath.
It was merely a greeting, a simple cheek kiss, yet my face burned crimson without reason.
Lucas gazed at me with darkened eyes.
"So please, tonight..."
As his words trailed off.
"I'm here, Grace."
Crash!
A belated thunderclap flashed and struck directly above the two of them.
* * *
"Damn it."
The moment Lucas returned to his room and closed the door, he ground his teeth together.
Haem Demigrass, who had rushed in after him, and the butler quickly pressed dry towels into his hands, trying to soothe him.
"...It's been such a long time since I've felt this angry."
Lucas laughed bitterly.
Haem Demigrass clung to him in alarm.
"Calm down! Please, calm down! The lady isn't even here—if you keep this up, I'll really start crying."
"Haem."
"Yes?"
"It was Grace Oellin."
"Yes, sir."
...But I heard that just now, didn't I?
"It was Grace Oellin. That's right."
He heard me, so why is he saying this? What exactly....
"Damn it! There's nowhere to hit, so where do I strike? And how dare they lay hands on my future wife? Over some mere brother? No. Even if the Emperor himself came, you don't strike another man's woman, do you?"
...But they haven't even married yet.
They haven't even had a formal engagement ceremony....
This seems a bit... excessive... doesn't it....
Haem Demigrass barely managed to swallow the various words tickling his throat.
Pressing his lips firmly shut lest anything slip out, Haem Demigrass quickly poured a glass of cool water and offered it to Lucas.
"Calm yourself, sir. Calm down! Think of good things. Think of beautiful things. Think of peace."
"Huff! Ha! Huff...!"
White vapor seemed ready to escape from between his clenched teeth.
The murderous intent glinting in Lucas's eyes was that sharp.
It had been a very long time since Haem Demigrass had seen him this angry.
A few years ago, when Princess Arel, the youngest sister of the current King, was poisoned to death, he had been this angry.
No, it seemed he was even angrier now than he had been then.
In any case, as Lucas's adjutant and loyal retainer, Haem Demigrass had a duty to soothe his master's rage.
In the name of the loyal subject who had guarded the secrets of this house, the Black Family.
"Ha! What do I do, Haem? I'm so angry...."
Lucas's brow furrowed.
His pale fingertips trembled slightly.
They were the very fingers that had been caressing Grace Oellin's bruised cheek.
Her cheek, swollen and reddened where the rain had washed away her makeup, was laid bare before him.
How could he not have seen it?
When he had cradled her cheek in his palm, he felt a surge of rage rising within him.
The mere thought of those wretches who had touched this delicate cheek, this tender skin, made him feel as though he might retch.
"...Haem, my heart is burning."
"Oh—good heavens. This won't do! Please, calm yourself!"
"My heart is far too hot."
Lucas, his face contorted in distress, clutched at his chest and struggled to steady his breathing.
At that moment, Gabriel entered carrying fresh clothes for him to change into.
Like Haem, he was part of an ancient lineage of loyal servants bound by fate to the Black Family.
Haem clung to Gabriel desperately, crying out.
"Butler! Help me. His Excellency's heart is burning! Please, help him calm down?!"
"It appears His Excellency is upset that Miss Grace Oellin struck him."
Why, when I'm asking for help, must you bring up that matter again so deliberately, Gabriel?
Haem shot the butler a resentful look, but the old fox of a servant paid him no mind.
With an elegant gesture, he laid the fluffy new clothes beside Lucas and added one more remark.
"I myself could hardly believe it when I heard. Had the maidservant attending to Miss Grace Oellin's bath not whispered it to me in secret, I would never have known. Who could have imagined? A noblewoman with a vivid bruise across her abdomen."
"...!"
In that instant, Lucas, who had only just begun to steady his breathing, snapped his head up.
Haem too was so startled that he turned to face the butler.
The faces of the two men, so different in every other way, twisted nearly identically.
"What did you just say...."
"Ah.... You were unaware? Miss Grace Oellin had a most vivid, most vivid bruise across her abdomen. A very large one. Honestly... one cannot simply fall and bruise one's abdomen, can one? Surely not?"
The butler spoke matter-of-factly.
Haem, his face drained of all color, stared frantically between the butler and Lucas.
As Lucas's expression twisted further and further, Haem found himself unconsciously backing away.
Krrrumble.
The sound of thunder rolled in.
Fury blazed across Lucas's clenched face.
"...Ugh, I know nothing."
A great bolt of lightning tore through the descending rain.
A flash of brilliance seared the air, followed by thunder that crashed down like a thunderbolt.
...BOOM!!
Whoooosh....
And then came a ragged breathing far more violent than before.
'Oh, it's too late.'
Haem squeezed his eyes shut.
Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org