Chapter 35
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Dear, I believe you may be misunderstanding.
Episode 35
'This, this! This infuriating scoundrel!'
Grace nearly let that thought slip past her lips before catching herself.
She bit down hard, unable to suppress a frustrated huff.
Lucas asked in an unbothered tone.
-Surely you're not cursing me silently right now?
"I couldn't say. I'm not sure why you'd think otherwise."
I answered without thinking, my true nature slipping through.
-Ah....
Lucas let out a low chuckle at my bold retort.
-Were you hoping for some other, more peculiar reason?
A moment later, he spoke again.
-That shouldn't happen. They are my most loyal servants.
"Of course. Yes, quite right. Such a thing shouldn't occur."
Grace, deflated, collapsed back onto the sofa.
-The Butler is someone I trust second only to my mother and Haem. Even if he wouldn't throw himself into a burning pit with me, he would do everything in his power to prevent me from jumping into one.
It was a statement brimming with conviction.
Someone who would try to stop me from jumping into the burning pit I was about to enter. What a wonderful thing to say.
I sat on the sofa, hugging my knees, and gazed once more at the photograph I had set down.
A precious little child, crying his eyes out.
A family that seemed so harmonious.
Those he trusted, and those who trusted him.
I traced my finger across the photograph as if wiping away the tears from the black-haired child's eyes, and spoke.
"Your Excellency seems somewhat different from what I imagined."
-Is that so? What did you think of me before?
Grace hesitated for a moment, then answered honestly.
"To be honest, I thought you were quite frightening. Extremely, very frightening."
-I cannot deny that. When I choose to be, I am indeed a terrifying person.
Lucas spoke in a deliberately measured tone.
A low, gentle baritone.
A voice that resonated with weight.
Even that deliberate slowness that had once sounded so cold.
His voice, which had seemed only frightening at first, sounded different now.
Why didn't it sound frightening at all when he spoke of himself as a terrifying person?
Instead, I found myself laughing.
'Perhaps it's because we've been talking continuously without facing each other?'
This man didn't feel distant at all.
Rather, he felt closer than anyone else could.
Though we hadn't seen each other's faces, perhaps it was because we had been conversing almost without pause that I felt this way?
With him absent from her sight, the awkwardness and fear receded, replaced instead by a deepening curiosity about him.
Grace walked to the window and raised her hand to shield her eyes from the sunlight. She closed her eyes gently as light streamed through the gaps between her fingers, murmuring softly.
"Were you always so mischievous, sir?"
-Call it playfulness.
"I see. So you were naturally inclined toward such playfulness?"
-It's something of a family trait.
"That sounds like you're saying you had quite a bit of it originally."
He laughed.
-I promise I won't play cruel tricks on you, Grace.
"Either way, it sounds like you're determined to play tricks on me."
-Unfortunately, I can't give that up.
This time, she laughed.
Grace returned to the sofa and reclined against it.
She observed his space from her comfortable position.
Above the fireplace, between the walls, scattered throughout the densely packed bookshelves...
Frames of various sizes adorned the Study in every corner.
Though books lay scattered in all directions, the volumes that appeared most important were arranged on the right wall's bookshelf, positioned away from direct sunlight.
The Study, with its low table, plush cushions, and slightly worn blanket strewn about, emanated a far more comfortable atmosphere than one might expect.
Contrary to its outward appearance, his Study—seen up close from within—was intimate and welcoming.
It was a space that resembled Lucas Black himself perfectly.
Multifaceted dimensions invisible from a distance, revealed only when one drew near.
-May I ask you just one thing?
Grace, who had been quietly observing his space, answered comfortably.
"Now it's your turn, sir. Please, ask away."
Lucas waited a moment, then asked carefully.
-That phobia of yours. Do you happen to know how it began?
"Ah, that. Well... there was an accident when I was young."
-An accident?
Like shattered glass, her memory of that day was imprecise and fragmented.
"Yes, I don't remember exactly, but... I woke up at the sound of something, and there it was, right in front of my eyes."
-That being?
"Scissors."
-Scissors?
"Yes, I'm not entirely certain. But it was scissors. There were scissors. Right in front of me. So close, as if they were about to pierce my eyes, extremely close."
That sharpness which had drawn so near she could scarcely breathe.
That pointed object, hovering so close that the slightest movement would have driven it into her pupils.
That acute, piercing memory—as if it could impale her at any moment—made her tremble with terror.
Grace clutched at her chest and hurried to suppress the memory of that day.
She drew in a deep breath and exhaled slowly, struggling to calm the fear that threatened to resurface.
-Grace, are you all right?
"...Yes, I'm fine. Your Excellency. I'm perfectly fine."
Grace answered with deliberately cheerful brightness.
"But honestly, I remember almost nothing. It's just the fear that remains and torments me. Looking at how perfectly intact my eyes are now, whatever it was couldn't have actually pierced them."
Yet why did my eyes ache whenever I recalled that day?
My eyeballs throbbed as though they'd been pierced by something.
Terrifyingly so.
"It's such an old memory from my childhood. That's all there is to it."
Grace had neither the desire nor the inclination to learn more about that day.
Besides, there was no one left to ask for more details about what happened.
Father would sigh and make no effort to hide his revulsion whenever she so much as mentioned her phobia.
Norman was out of the question entirely.
The Butler, who had served the Oellin Family for over twenty years, had never been kind to Grace.
In any case, that day's memory had become a trauma, and now the mere sight of anything sharp sent her into a panic.
Just as it did now, with goosebumps erupting across her entire body.
"Ever since then, I've been terrified of anything pointed."
-...I see.
After that, Lucas fell silent, lost in thought.
Feeling oddly self-conscious, Grace rose from the sofa and surveyed the bookshelves crammed with volumes.
There were four enormous bookcases, each requiring a ladder to reach the upper shelves.
Between the bookcases lay gaps wide enough to accommodate a two-seater sofa, and smaller shelving units were scattered near the sofa in front of the bookcases.
While it couldn't be called a library in scale, every single book displayed was a treasure.
There were rare antiquarian volumes, and many books known to be out of print.
'Good heavens, this is here.... Grandel's Botanical Compendium!'
She widened her eyes and carefully withdrew one volume.
It was a book from over a hundred and twenty years ago, now completely unobtainable.
While many derivative works existed, none matched the comprehensiveness and detail of Grandel's Botanical Compendium.
Because it contained archaic language that made interpretation itself difficult, and Grandel's handwriting was nearly illegible, it apparently received little attention in its time.
Yet as time passed, it had been reevaluated as a precious reference work.
'To think this is in a Private Study! Does His Excellency have a strong interest in botany? Though judging by his appearance alone, he looks like a carnivore through and through....'
While Grace was chuckling to herself with such thoughts, Lucas's voice reached her ears once more.
-...Grace!
"Oh! You startled me. Why, why are you calling?"
-Were you frightened? My apologies. I kept calling because you wouldn't answer no matter how many times I tried.
"Ah, I was so absorbed in selecting a book that I didn't hear Your Excellency's voice."
-I see. Well, that's true. One can't spend all day thinking only of me, after all.
Lucas spoke as though he understood.
Yet there seemed to be a hint of displeasure mixed into his voice.
He sounded somewhat sullen, almost petulant.
'...Hmm, is he upset?'
She couldn't think of any reason for him to be upset, yet on the other hand, she supposed it was understandable—after all, his conversation partner had suddenly disappeared in the middle of their discussion.
Grace tapped her fingers awkwardly before speaking with careful deliberation.
"From now on, I'll do it whenever I have the chance."
He asked after a long pause.
-Do what, exactly?
"Thinking of you, Your Excellency."
-...Pardon?
"Thinking of you, Your Excellency. I'll make sure to do it whenever I have a spare moment."
For some reason, he offered no response.
'Did I misspeak?'
She felt belated embarrassment, wondering if she'd somehow made the atmosphere awkward.
Upon reflection, the words did sound rather... suggestive.
'It's too late to take it back now, isn't it?'
As his silence stretched on, Grace's face grew increasingly flushed.
Though she'd meant nothing improper, the possibility that her words might have been misinterpreted tormented her increasingly.
"No, I mean, that is to say."
-Grace.
"Yes, yes?"
-If you keep doing this, I'll find myself in quite a predicament.
His words, released with a heavy sigh, sent Grace's face burning crimson.
"No, that's not what I meant, I was trying to say."
-I'm not sure when you began harboring such feelings toward me, but please refrain. I find myself rather... unable to cope. Ah, it's just... I can't.
What was he saying?
When did I begin to harbor such feelings...? What?
Grace faltered mid-excuse, bewildered by Lucas's cryptic words.
In that moment, Lucas appeared to have fallen into some reverie of his own.
-If you keep being so adorable like that, I find myself rather... unable to cope. Ah...
"Yes, yes? W-what did you just say?"
'Adorable? Did I mishear?'
Grace's face, now even more flushed than before, pressed for clarification.
-No, this is rather... you're more straightforward than a wild boar, so it's difficult to pretend I didn't hear.
'Yes...? A wild boar?'
Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org