Chapter 23
Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
Dear, I believe you may be misunderstanding.
Episode 23
"Sigh."
Back in my room, I stared at the letter with bewilderment as the characters faded from its surface.
After exhaling deeply, my gaze shifted to my right arm, where the letters had been inscribed.
"What on earth is happening?"
The crimson letters that had shimmered moments before had vanished without a trace, yet they hadn't disappeared entirely. A faint, pearlescent shimmer remained on the skin where the characters had seeped in.
I swept my anxious gaze across the glimmering forearm.
The luminous letters sparkled on my skin in the exact same pattern they had been inscribed on the letter. The way they stretched in a long, delicate line from the back of my hand to my wrist and forearm was almost mystical.
I rubbed the skin where the letters were marked, just to be sure. But my skin remained perfectly intact, as if nothing had happened. There was no pain, not even the slightest discomfort.
Yet something deep in my heart whispered that something was terribly wrong. A dark, fog-like unease bloomed in the depths of my consciousness.
"What a day this has been."
Taking a deep breath and trying to compose myself, I found myself laughing despite everything.
So many absurd things had happened in succession that laughter was all I could manage.
On impulse, I murmured "La Dor Leshio" again, and the red letters flickered briefly across my skin before fading, but nothing else changed.
It was a phrase that could be interpreted in many ways.
Surrender to fate, follow destiny, love one's fate, or embrace destiny itself.
Why had such words been written on that letter? What could they possibly mean?
'Could it be some kind of incantation?'
Could this be some magical artifact passed down from ancient times?
'No. That's impossible. How could something like that be lying unguarded in the Estate corridor?'
I looked down at the letter with complicated thoughts, checking the time again.
"Should I wake him and ask?"
I had only come downstairs for water and picked up this fallen letter, yet something strange had occurred.
"Ugh."
Well, there's no point blaming anyone. I could only hope this was nothing serious.
I glanced out the window.
It was past four in the morning.
Dawn was still some time away, though it was already too early to fall back into a deep sleep.
I would wait until daylight and then find either his aide or the Butler immediately upon waking.
I resigned myself to the situation and returned to bed.
Just before lying down, I recalled Haem's retreating figure as he chased after the black horse that had bolted, but I had no desire to venture back out into this early dawn to search for him.
And I couldn't very well wake anyone else either.
Right. I'll wait a bit longer and call for him once dawn breaks.
The moment that thought crossed my mind, I heard something from outside.
'What is that?'
Footsteps and urgent voices tangled together.
Someone was awake.
Thinking this was fortunate timing, I quickly rose and opened the door.
"...Look! ...Where did... Damn it!"
"It's not here.... It should definitely be up there...."
"Usually.... Without it...! The Butler went to the Attic.... I'll check again...."
The voice I caught fragments of seemed to belong to Haem.
Grace Oellin grabbed her cloak and stepped outside, then descended to the first floor once more.
* * *
Haem's mind was in complete disarray.
Such situations were truly rare.
When he served in the Royal Knight Order, an intruder had once severed Princess Fresia's finger.
Lucas had been just as unhinged back then.
To dare attempt an assassination on the Princess under Lucas Black's protection.
Lucas had ultimately hunted down the intruder and traitor, executing him.
That man's fingers had naturally disappeared as well.
'That was about three years ago, wasn't it? He found and apprehended the audacious fool who had sneaked into the party.'
But even then, his rage hadn't caused him to lose control entirely.
Long before 'that' manifested, Lucas had been trained to regulate his anger.
Of course, given his natural temperament, it wasn't easy, but he had managed relatively well.
Yet for it to suddenly erupt so unguardedly like this!
'And at this ungodly hour, so abruptly—it's too much!'
When a normally composed person suddenly snapped, it was terrifying beyond measure.
If that person was Lucas Black, it was even more terrifying.
Even the Crown Prince—no, the current King himself, who shared an unspoken friendship with his master, had said that a Lucas who had lost his reason was beyond anyone's reach.
The only one who could control him was the Mistress, but she rarely came to the Town House, spending most of her time at the Country House.
'Please, please let nothing terrible happen.'
I was worried about Lucas's state as he rushed out.
It wasn't that I feared he might get hurt somewhere.
Rather, I was terrified he might rampage too wildly.
'Oh, please don't let the headlines read "murder"!'
The moment I heard that Grace Oellin had bruises on her body, even I felt rage surging up.
But how much more must he be feeling, given his special feelings for her.
If Norman Oellin fell into his hands, it was certain he'd lose at least a bone or two.
At minimum, social ruin.
'...Please, just don't bury him alive. Please, please.'
I shook my head vigorously, trying to dispel my concerns about Lucas and that bastard Norman Oellin.
"I don't have time to worry about that right now."
There was something more urgent than a rampaging Lucas.
Something that should definitely be here was missing.
Specifically, that cloak that should be here, in this very place!
"Where the hell is it? Why!"
A frustrated groan escaped me.
Haem tore through the display cabinet as if he might cry, searching desperately.
"Over here."
"Gasp!"
Just as he was about to pull his hair out in frustration, someone approached silently and spoke in a hushed voice.
Haem spun around in surprise, his eyes widening.
"G-Grace Oellin?"
What was she doing here at this hour?
"Oh, I'm so sorry! Did we wake you with all this noise?"
"No, that's not it... Actually, are you looking for something?"
The very person who had driven Lucas to madness.
She carefully extended something toward Haem.
"Is this what you've been searching for, Haem?"
The Black Family's seal that he had been desperately seeking.
* * *
"Wh-wh-what?"
Haem inadvertently made a foolish sound.
His wide, clear brown eyes trembled endlessly.
"H-how is that even...?"
So shocked was he that Haem rushed forward without a shred of courtesy, his composure completely shattered.
He stared vacantly back and forth between Grace Oellin's snow-white hand and the jet-black seal she held.
"How... no, wait, why would you... I mean, Grace Oellin, why do you have...?"
Grace Oellin smiled with an awkward expression as she watched Haem finally manage to speak.
Seeing him so flustered, it was clear this seal was no ordinary object.
Then he would surely notice something amiss about it immediately.
And indeed, as Haem accepted the seal with trembling hands, as if receiving something sacred, his expression shifted subtly.
"Hmm? Wait? Something feels... off about this?"
'Sigh.'
Grace Oellin took a brief breath and spoke calmly.
"I came down early this morning because I was thirsty and found it. It was lying on the floor. But Haem, that object... it doesn't seem like an ordinary thing."
"What? It was lying on the floor?"
Haem asked in disbelief.
Something impossible had happened, yet the person before him had such innocent and honest eyes that there was no room for suspicion.
'How could this possibly be lying on the floor?'
Haem examined the seal with a vacant expression, and sensing something was indeed wrong, he tilted his head again.
"But... was this always like this?"
This was definitely the seal, yet it didn't feel right.
"There should be some pattern here."
"That's right. There was."
"Exactly. But it's strange—it's so dark here I can barely see it."
Holding it up to the air, then lowering it to the ground, then bringing it close to the firelight—Grace offered Haem a bitter smile as she observed his continued confusion.
"It's not just invisible to your eyes, Haem."
"Then perhaps this place is simply too dark."
"No, Haem, that's not it."
Grace bit down on her lower lip and exhaled a weary sigh.
This dawn felt impossibly long.
No—ever since I reunited with Lucas Black, time itself seemed to flow differently for me.
The hours that had lain dormant beneath the surface of my existence began to ripple slowly in the warm current of Lucas Black's presence.
"Actually...."
Grace lifted her right hand, which had been clenched into a tight fist.
It was in that very instant.
Neeeigh!
The rough whinny of a horse sounded again from outside.
Haem's head snapped toward the lobby door.
"...He's arrived! Grace, my apologies. I'm in quite a hurry, so I'm afraid I won't be able to escort you to your room."
Grace reached out her arm after Haem as he bolted away.
Her sleeve had rolled halfway up, exposing the back of her hand and wrist, which gleamed with a subtle luminescence.
"Wait, hold on."
Good heavens. What could be so urgent?
Grace stood with her fist clenched, then turned to follow in the direction Haem had disappeared.
Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org