Chapter 21
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Dear, I believe you may be misunderstanding.
Episode 21
Neigh!
The sound of a horse's cry jolted Grace awake.
"...I must have dozed off without realizing."
Just moments before.
Having rushed through the Garden with Lucas in the rain, I was soaked through to the bone.
The head maid of the Black Family had prepared hot water the moment the rainwater began to drip, promptly ushering Grace into a steaming bath.
My body, tense throughout the entire day, melted the instant it sank into the warm water.
Without realizing it, I dozed off in the bath until I was thoroughly warmed through.
In the meantime, the rain had grown heavier, transforming the weather into something impossible for carriages to traverse.
Just as Lucas Black had said it would be.
'...Well, what can I do? Let fate decide.'
I laid my head upon the guest bed Lucas had prepared, surrendering to circumstance with a resigned heart.
The sound of rain became a gentle lullaby, drawing me swiftly into slumber's embrace.
Julie, as though she had been waiting for precisely this moment, quickly draped a blanket over me, then tiptoed carefully from the room.
Thus I fell into a deep sleep the moment my head touched the pillow.
"How long have I been asleep...?"
I murmured drowsily, rubbing my eyes that still carried the weight of sleep as I sat up.
I could see no clock, and with the curtains drawn to dim the light, I had no sense of the time.
Neigh!
In that moment, the sound of a horse's cry came again from outside.
'...Why would I hear a horse neighing all of a sudden?'
Puzzled, I descended from the bed and approached the window.
I drew open the tightly closed curtains and peered into the dark world beyond.
The outside, already difficult to see, became even more obscured by the falling rain.
'Is there a stable nearby?'
With such thoughts, I was just turning my head away when lightning suddenly flashed.
The darkened view brightened, revealing something I had not seen before.
"...!"
In that fleeting light, I glimpsed an enormous black horse.
Its wet black mane glistened, its blue eyes gleamed brilliantly through the darkness, and its body was larger than anything I had ever witnessed.
The horse was vast yet beautiful, brimming with power and speed.
"My goodness...!"
Such a magnificent horse existed.
Like a legendary steed from some ancient tale, the black horse leaped powerfully, galloping across the Black Estate's Garden.
I watched in silent awe, my gaze captivated by the horse's magnificent form.
"...Could it be... His Lordship's horse?"
I had never seen a horse that appeared so rare.
Not in any equestrian club, nor in any noble's stable had I ever encountered such a creature.
How could she be so free?
How could she overflow with such vitality?
I wanted to watch the horse gallop longer, but the black steed vanished swiftly into the darkness.
She stood transfixed, her gaze fixed upon the direction where the horse had disappeared.
"It's gone."
Grace stared into the darkness long after the horse vanished, but it never reappeared.
She turned her head away reluctantly.
Only then did concern for the horse that had charged through the rain begin to weigh on her.
Even if it was merely a beast, surely it could feel the cold....
'Will it be alright?'
Had the horse broken free from the stable?
Or was it a horse that naturally roamed so freely?
What if it had actually destroyed the stable to escape?
She briefly debated whether to inform the Estate about this.
At that moment, she spotted Haem, Lucas's adjutant, rushing frantically from the Estate.
'Ah, he must be going to search for the horse.'
Which meant there was nothing more for her to do here.
Grace felt reassured and turned back.
She tried to return to bed, but once sleep is broken, it does not return easily.
Her concern for the horse that had bolted continued to gnaw at her.
It must have been a fine breed.
She had learned to ride before, but never truly galloped on horseback.
She had only walked slowly in circles, as if trapped in one place.
'...Much like my own life.'
But that black horse was not meant to be ridden that way.
It was a creature meant to thunder across vast lands and endless plains with those thick, powerful legs.
What would it feel like to ride upon it, cutting sharply through the wind as it raced?
'It must be extraordinary.'
Even lying in bed, Grace continued to think of the horse she had seen, until finally she tapped her forehead and rose from the mattress.
"I should drink some water."
Grace shook her water bottle, only to realize belatedly that she had nearly emptied it.
When she had woken earlier with a burning body and a parched throat, she had drained it completely.
How troublesome.
She ultimately rose from bed, intending to fetch water herself.
She didn't want to wake Julie or any other servant at this hour, and besides, she had also begun to feel the need to use the washroom.
Grace slipped on her slippers and draped her nightgown over herself before opening the door.
Creak—
She peeked her head out cautiously to survey the corridor.
Fortunately, lamplight illuminated the hallway in places.
Though there was a desolate atmosphere befitting the pre-dawn hour, it was certainly navigable.
'Let me hurry back.'
As I left, I checked the time and confirmed what I already suspected—it was well past midnight.
In a few hours, the morning sun would rise.
'I need to return to the Estate as soon as I wake up. Father will certainly scold me for this... but there's no helping it.'
I was grateful I'd asked Julie about the location of the Simple Kitchen before falling asleep, however vaguely.
She pressed down on her racing heart as she stepped into the Simple Kitchen in front of the first-floor Lobby.
Fortunately, drinking water had been prepared.
She filled a cup and drank it, then immediately left the kitchen.
Only then did she notice the paintings in the Lobby that she hadn't seen on her hurried descent.
'Are all these people ancestors who have protected the Black Family?'
Their sense of family bonds seemed remarkable.
There weren't many places where portraits of family members across generations were displayed so comprehensively.
Even in the prestigious Oellin Family, the paintings on the walls changed depending on which heir inherited the title.
Yet this Estate appeared to have portraits spanning several generations all displayed together.
'...Ah, these people seem to resemble the Commander a bit.'
The most recent painting depicted a middle-aged man who bore a striking resemblance to Lucas Black, alongside an elegant woman with black hair.
Grace found herself gazing at the couple's portrait for longer than necessary, her footsteps moving with deliberate purpose.
"Perhaps it's because a black horse is the family crest... there are truly so many paintings of horses."
Among roughly twenty paintings, more than half featured horses.
Some depicted only a single horse, not even fitted with reins.
Unless one had an extraordinary fondness for horses, one wouldn't commission such large frames to display equine portraits.
'How magnificent.'
The horses in the paintings were uniformly beautiful, majestic, and appeared utterly free.
Their coat colors and eye colors were nearly all different.
There were enormous horses and smaller ones alike, and she even spotted breeds she'd never seen before.
Though all different, they shared one common trait—each was dignified and beautiful.
It was quite enjoyable to observe.
Grace, unafraid, made her way upstairs while admiring the paintings hanging in the dim Corridor.
It was as she turned the corner where her room came into view.
...Thud.
Something caught against Grace's feet.
"Hmm? What is this?"
Grace picked up the long object rolling beneath her feet.
"...A riding crop?"
It was a riding crop with long leather tassels dangling from its end.
Whatever dye had been used, the handle of the crop bore a crimson pattern that resembled characters, gleaming with a lustrous sheen.
"Wait? This isn't just a pattern—it's ancient script!"
Having taken considerable interest in ancient linguistics during my Academy years, I had acquired quite a collection of such characters.
Ancient script, also called the old tongue, was useful for studying documents left behind by alchemists of old, mages, or those called witches from ages past.
Though such a useful and captivating field of study existed, few pursued it—the characters were far too difficult, and most research materials had been lost to time.
Perhaps for this reason, people nowadays tend to deny the existence of alchemists, mages, or those called witches who once wielded the ancient tongue. They dismiss such things as mere fabrications—nothing more than legends or fairy tales passed down through the ages.
Yet dismissing them as simple legend proved difficult when so many artifacts imbued with mysterious power still remained. The problem was that all such items commanded exorbitant prices, making them visible only among the nobility and royal families.
"So this character means...."
Grace examined the shimmering ancient script with fascination, studying each stroke with meticulous care.
Though my memory felt hazy, I recognized these characters.
'Yes, this word here means destiny.'
And the characters that followed meant 'to follow, to obey, to embrace.'
Pleased with myself for recalling such ancient words after so long, I spoke them aloud.
"La dor... Leshio."
In that very instant.
The magic stone I held erupted with blinding light.
Startled, I dropped the magic stone.
But the light spreading from it had already climbed across the back of my hand and engulfed my wrist.
"Ugh...!"
The skin touched by the light burned with searing heat. Even I, confident in my pain tolerance, couldn't suppress a gasp.
Fortunately, the pain subsided in an instant, and the light faded just as quickly.
"What, what is this?"
I looked down at my wrist, cold sweat beading on my brow. The piercing pain and heat that felt like thousands of needles had vanished, but the area where the light had spread still tingled persistently.
As I squinted at the luminous area, the pain suddenly flared again across the wound.
"Hss!"
I clenched my teeth and gripped my wrist, biting down so hard I trembled.
'It hurts—it hurts so much.'
Cold sweat trickled down my spine. As I curled inward to endure the agony, the pain vanished in an instant, just as the light had faded before.
As if nothing had ever happened. Completely.
'Is it over?'
I opened my eyes and looked down at the wrist touched by the light. In that moment, shock flooded my clear violet gaze.
"What, what is this?"
The words that had wrapped around the magic stone were now imprinted perfectly on the back of my hand.
With trembling eyes, I examined the magic stone that had fallen at my feet.
My startled heart pounded violently.
"...What on earth just happened?"
In stark contrast to my forearm now marked with these characters, the glowing script on the magic stone had completely vanished.
Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org