Chapter 48
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Dear, I believe you may be misunderstanding.
Episode 48
Grace not only squeezed her eyes shut but quickly covered them with both hands as she sank to the ground. Even through her closed eyelids, the image of the man's bare form flickered across her vision.
'What on earth was that?'
Her shock was so overwhelming that she'd forgotten she'd been angry moments before. Heat flooded her face until her ears felt as though they might burst into flames. No matter how tightly she shut her eyes, the sculpted perfection of his body refused to fade from her mind.
'Completely naked... I saw His Grace completely naked...!'
This was her first time witnessing another person's unclothed form—and a man's at that. She'd closed her eyes in an instant, yet these treacherous eyes had captured far more than she'd intended.
"...Grace."
A low, deep voice reached her from nearby. Startled, Grace flailed her hand and cried out.
"P-please don't come any closer!"
Her fumbling fingers brushed against skin—softer and smoother than she'd expected. But that wasn't the point. Grace recoiled in alarm, withdrawing her hand as though burned, and curled into herself like a hedgehog fleeing danger.
'He's right in front of me, what do I do!'
With her face buried in her palms, Grace shook her head frantically, desperately refusing to imagine what she'd just touched.
A small sigh escaped from just beside her.
"That's precisely why... if you reach out without warning..."
"Then you should have said something first!"
"It was so sudden, and I was startled by your intensity... Besides, Grace—"
"I'm telling you, don't come any closer!"
Before the naked duke could say another word, the small hedgehog that was Grace squeaked in terror and flailed her hand again. The heat had spread from her ears to the nape of her neck.
In truth, it was difficult to find any part of her that wasn't burning crimson. The only mercy was that the night was pitch black.
Under the Tree was not well-lit, and Lucas stood with his back to the Estate's lights.
Yes, that was indeed fortunate. Thanks to the darkness, those wretched, wanton eyes of hers hadn't seen everything with perfect clarity.
For instance, what lay below his waist, or between his thighs.
Yes, she absolutely, positively hadn't seen it properly!
'Regardless... I saw nothing, absolutely nothing!'
Since she hadn't seen it clearly, that alarming thing that had barely entered her vision couldn't possibly be real. It must have been an afterimage playing tricks on her eyes.
'That couldn't possibly be attached to a human body. So I must have seen it wrong. No! I didn't see anything at all!'
Though she wasn't well-versed in the male form, she reasoned that something hidden by clothing couldn't suddenly become visible when removed.
And certainly not something so, so... impossibly enormous! So this had to be a mistake on her part. It had to be.
"Grace."
Lucas whispered her name again, his voice tinged with regret. Watching her small shoulders tremble and the back of her neck flush crimson, his heart crawled along the ground in sympathy and remorse.
'What am I supposed to do about this?'
Grace looked no different from a small creature hiding its head to escape a predator.
Curled into a tight ball on the ground, her face buried in her hands, she trembled uncontrollably.
The realization that he was the cause of her distress weighed heavily on his expression.
Lucas clenched his teeth in frustration. Glancing down at his own smooth, bare form, he couldn't help but sigh.
'There's nothing to cover myself with...'
Standing naked before a trembling woman made him feel inexplicably like a villain.
Returning to the Estate in this state would be terribly awkward.
While he worried about the servants witnessing him like this, his greater concern was his mother.
The servants would have the sense to look away quickly, but Mother might open her eyes even wider and nod approvingly. After all, she had always been genuinely devoted to teasing me.
Even heaven seemed indifferent to my plight.
What was the timing of sending Mother here supposed to accomplish?
I watched as Mother's eyes sparkled with an intensity I hadn't seen in quite some time.
Since Father's passing, Mother's temperament had changed considerably from before. In the best light, she had become far more composed; in the worst, she often fell into melancholy.
Yet the Mother I saw today gleamed with the same vibrant light as she once had, her eyes dancing with life. Whether she was delighted by the prospect of a new family member, or whether she found it endlessly amusing that I had become so anxious over someone, I couldn't quite discern.
In any case, resolving this situation as quickly as possible seemed advantageous in every way.
'There's no helping it. I'll have to let Grace inside and ask Haem to come here.'
I was somewhat worried that if she went in now, I might never get another chance to speak with her.
I steadied myself and dragged my palm across my face. The sensation of my hand felt strangely unfamiliar after days without it. Though my body was undoubtedly lighter than when I was the black horse, something felt sluggish and heavy.
"Grace—"
That was the moment.
"Miss! Where are you, Miss!"
"Miss—!"
A voice calling for her echoed from the opposite side of the Estate.
In that instant, Grace—who had been huddled and trembling—snapped her head up. Before I could even react, she sprang to her feet, squeezed her eyes shut, and suddenly pulled me into a tight embrace.
"—!"
So this was what it felt like to see stars. I stared blankly at Grace as she threw herself into my arms. The moment her breath touched my bare skin, an exquisite sensation pierced through my entire being. From that instant, I realized I could no longer control myself.
"We need to hide, Your Excellency."
Grace's urgent whisper tickled the edge of my ear. Her small strength pushed my massive frame without resistance, and our bodies tumbled together onto the soft grass below.
Without time to defend myself, Grace and I fell onto the grassy ground.
Her body covered mine, and her voluminous skirts concealed me. Our two bodies pressed together like sheets of paper, completely overlapped.
Her dress happened to be rather light, so I felt the full warmth of her skin against mine. My jaw met her forehead. She forgot to breathe, slowly lifting her head.
In the deep darkness, brilliant blue eyes blazed down at me with an intensity that pierced through.
"...."
"...."
We couldn't tear our eyes from each other, frozen in a searing moment. Our pressed bodies burned with heat, yet neither of us dared move—we could only breathe each other's air.
"...Miss Grace! Is it over here?"
At the sound of a voice so close, Grace's lips trembled and parted slightly.
My gaze shifted to her softly opened lips.
It was merely a flicker of my eyes, yet Grace felt as though all moisture drained from her body. She swallowed hard, her throat dry.
'What do I do?'
The moment I heard the other voices, my only thought was to hide Lucas Black. So I grabbed him and pulled us both behind the Ornamental Tree.
My body moved before my mind could catch up. Only now, in this position, did I realize how reckless and shameless my actions had been.
'...What now?'
Beneath me lay Lucas, now unmistakably in his true male form. My heart, which had been pounding against the ground moments before, was now racing wildly in my chest.
My throat burned with dryness. Why did his gaze make my lips tingle so?
Without thinking, I licked my lower lip.
In that moment, Lucas held his breath, but I was too deafened by the roaring of my own heartbeat to notice.
"Let's spread out and search. Julie, come with me."
"I have a feeling they're somewhere nearby...."
"We'll search this area more thoroughly. Would you mind exploring a bit further out?"
I heard the voices of Haem, Julie, and Selena all at once.
If only Haem were here, I might have found a way to call out to him, but how could I let Julie and Selena discover me like this?
As Grace stood there in awkward silence, merely chewing her lip, Lucas called to her in a hushed voice.
"Grace."
"Shh. Be quiet.... We can't let them find us."
Grace urgently pressed her hand against his lips. Beneath her palm, I could feel the distinct shape of his mouth, and something about it felt strangely unsettling.
When I felt him smile beneath my palm, my face flushed even deeper red.
Fortunately, the footsteps that had been wandering nearby gradually grew distant. Around that moment, Lucas's hand—which had been holding my waist—shifted.
His large hand cradled the back of my neck, near the base of my skull. The gentlest pressure drew my head closer. Startled, I tensed, and Lucas's face drew near my ear.
As my breathing quickened urgently, Lucas lowered his voice to a whisper against my ear.
"I'm sorry."
"...N-now isn't the time for that. Stay quiet. If we're discovered, it'll be a disaster. Not for me, but for you!"
Of course, if anyone found us tangled together like this, it would be awkward for me too, but Lucas—who was completely bare—had far more at stake.
My expression cycled through red, grimacing, and flustered.
Watching my face contort through these varied emotions, Lucas had to bite his lip to keep from laughing.
Undeterred, he whispered again.
"I'm sorry for deceiving you, Grace."
He wouldn't stay quiet when I told him to. I glared at him through narrowed, reddened eyes.
Why was my heart racing so relentlessly in the midst of all this?
"If I may offer a belated excuse..., your unguarded smile was simply too endearing, and I found myself wanting to see it just a little longer. Just a bit more, just a bit more..., and before I knew it, things had come to this."
His voice, which kept tickling my earlobe, was far too sweet. I had to bite my lip to keep from gasping.
"It may sound like an excuse, or rather, it is an excuse. But I truly cherished how comfortably you spoke with me."
"...I understand. Let's talk about this tomorrow."
If we continued any longer, I feared my mind might scatter entirely. As I hastily tried to stop him, Lucas gazed at me with concern and asked softly.
"Has your anger..., at least somewhat, subsided?"
I didn't answer, merely glancing away from him. Then, releasing a faint sigh, I gave a small nod.
"Just a tiny, tiny bit. But not much has really been resolved. Only the tiniest amount...."
I emphasized "tiny" by narrowing my eyes to slits. Those slender eyes, as if to show just how little I'd forgiven him, were utterly endearing. Lucas gazed at me and smiled gently.
"I'm truly grateful, even for just a little."
Grace, who had been staring at him intently, suddenly turned her head away. This moment, when my own heart refused to obey me, was simply bewildering.
As I shifted my gaze about, trying to shake off thoughts of Lucas, I brought up something that had been bothering me since earlier.
"But, Your Grace."
"...?"
"There's something caught near my navel.... Isn't it uncomfortable for you? It doesn't seem to be a branch, and it looks rather bothersome."
At Grace's words, Lucas suddenly went still.
Soon, his face contorted in a subtle way that suggested he'd realized something, and he exhaled a sigh. He looked at me with an embarrassed expression, then covered his face with one hand.
Beyond his palm, his face seemed to be both smiling and crying at once....
"Your Grace...?"
I wondered why he'd suddenly gone quiet and called out to him cautiously, but he could only shake his head without answering.
As I tilted my head in confusion, a rustling sound came from directly behind us. Just as we both tensed and glanced at each other in alarm.
"Oh my goodness...!"
The voice of the last person in the world I wanted to see right now echoed against the back of Grace's head.
Damn it.
The moment I heard his voice muttering in exasperation, Grace squeezed her eyes shut. Lucas wrapped his arms gently around Grace's stiffened shoulders and let out a low growl.
"Is there something worth seeing, Mother?"
"Well, Lucas. Your grown son's bare body, no less.... Where else would one find such a spectacle, Lucas?"
Selena laughed mischievously as she observed Lucas and Grace pressed together as one.
Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org