Chapter 58
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Dear, I believe you may be misunderstanding.
Episode 58
"Time has already slipped away like this.... I must have been pushing myself too hard. You must be exhausted—I'm sorry."
Lucas Black and Grace Oellin continued their trivial conversation endlessly.
What books she had read, which authors she favored, whether she knew about the spotted cat they'd encountered in the Garden yesterday....
Despite the conversation consisting of nothing but such petty details, time slipped away like a boat caught in a current.
Lucas Black, who had been roughly gauging the hour, suddenly realized the time and rose from his seat with a start.
"Are you going to sleep?"
"Ah, I still have some pending matters to attend to.... Please rest early and comfortably in my stead, Grace Oellin."
Lucas Black left the room with a casual smile, as though it were nothing.
Grace Oellin, who had been hesitating, caught his wrist just before he completely exited the room.
"Um, Your Excellency."
"Hmm?"
Lucas Black, who had been leaving, was pulled back inside by her grasp.
He turned back with an amused expression, unbothered.
In truth, the mere fact that Grace Oellin had stopped him as he was leaving had lifted his spirits considerably, and his face brightened.
Lucas Black was so tall that from Grace Oellin's perspective, his face was positioned quite high above her.
When a man of such height looked down at her from such proximity, she ordinarily felt a sense of intimidation.
Yet now, no matter how much she had to look up at him, she felt no fear whatsoever.
Rather.... his eyes, seen from this closeness, felt infinitely transparent to her.
'Is it because I saw him so much when he was Lucky?'
Indeed, Lucky, the enormous black stallion, had been overwhelmingly larger than other horses, yet she had never once felt intimidated by him.
Grace Oellin took a short breath and gently tapped his shoulders.
"Would you lower your head for a moment?"
He looked at her questioningly before obediently lowering his head.
When his face drew near to hers, Grace Oellin reached up and cradled both his cheeks in her hands.
"Lower still."
She drew him deeper, pulling him closer, and then gently pressed her lips against his closed eyelids.
"...!"
It was a kiss that barely brushed before parting lightly.
Yet Lucas Black froze in place, while Grace Oellin, feeling bashful, took a small step back.
"Don't overexert yourself. Sleep well. ...Lucky."
Grace Oellin whispered his nickname softly before quickly pushing him out of the room.
Thud—
The door closed with a soft sound.
It had been such an unremarkable gesture of affection.
A kiss that close companions might easily exchange to express fondness or gratitude.
And yet, her heart raced like that of an inexperienced girl.
'...Well, I suppose I am inexperienced in such matters.'
Grace Oellin shrugged as though it were nothing and quickly made her way to the bed.
My heart raced, yet strangely, sleep seemed like it would come easily.
In one corner of her darkened bedroom.
Incense burned softly in the censer.
* * *
"...What was that."
Meanwhile, Lucas Black found himself thrust outside.
"What in the world just...happened to me?"
In the span of a heartbeat, I'd been kissed on my eyelid, and in the next, expelled from the room.
All I'd managed to do in between was freeze in place.
"Ha.... Heh...."
A breathless laugh escaped me. I traced my fingertips across my eyelid where her lips had briefly touched and withdrawn.
It was merely a fleeting brush of lips.
Not a deep or passionate embrace, yet one side of my heart burned with subtle warmth.
"Ha, truly...."
I leaned against the wall beside the closed door.
I couldn't suppress the smile creeping across my lips.
After rubbing my face with a dry hand and massaging the back of my neck, I simply collapsed onto the floor.
"...I'm going mad, truly."
I couldn't even devour her.
As I sat there laughing quietly against the wall, I realized the absurdity of it all.
It was fortunate that she was herbivorous in nature.
Had she been carnivorous, Grace Oellin would have already been consumed by me long ago.
"...You should consider yourself fortunate, Grace Oellin."
After my quiet laughter subsided, I brushed myself off and stood.
Work. Yes, I needed to work.
That way, I could hurry Ludwig along about the marriage all the sooner.
* * *
The dream consumed Grace in an instant.
Submerged in shallow waters, she drifted in a languid haze.
Then, in a moment, warm arms enfolded her tenderly.
—My little one.
A soft voice called to her. Though her name was not spoken, Grace knew this voice belonged to her alone.
—My precious little one.
Mother would sometimes hold Grace close and call her that—her little one.
Even when Grace was seven years old, just before Mother passed, she remained Mother's little one.
Grace lifted her head to gaze at the mother holding her.
Mother, with dark hair like her own, held her close with eyes closed, stroking her gently.
—I'm so sorry I won't be able to watch our Grace grow.
Before she passed, Mother had lost her sight.
So this must be how she looked just before the end.
—My poor darling. Grace. If only I had been stronger... I could have protected you to the very end.
—Mother.
Grace called out, her lips trembling.
It had been so long that her voice barely came.
Mother patted the small back of young Grace as if she understood everything.
—I'm sorry, little one. I'm sorry. I'm sorry for leaving you here alone.
'—Mother.'
This time, fortunately, her voice came clearly.
Grace embraced her mother's thin back, burrowing into her warmth as she spoke.
'Why are you sorry, Mother? You have nothing to apologize for...'
The one who should apologize doesn't even know it—yet my poor mother, who loved me so completely, why must she apologize?
Elenoa, holding her young daughter, smiled quietly.
—I'm sorry, Grace. Mother is... sorry.
'Mother's illness wasn't Mother's fault... Mother, please don't apologize.'
At her words, the arms holding Grace tightened further.
The hand stroking the child's round cheek was infinitely tender.
—Live with a heart as strong and warm as it is now. Grace, I love you so much.
'I love you too, Mother. So very much...'
—You will endure. You will...'
Endure what? What am I supposed to endure?
She wanted to ask, but the dream's essence grew ever fainter.
The warmth of the embrace, so real, slowly receded.
Grace awakened slowly, as if surfacing from shallow sleep, just as she had sunk into the dream.
"Ah."
She sat up, lifting her head in a daze.
Even after waking, the image of Mother remained vivid in her memory.
His warmth, his embrace, and even his scent.
Grace, who had been standing in a daze, gazed at the incense burner resting on the bedside table through tear-filled eyes.
The incense stick that had been placed there was gone, leaving only white ash crumbling away.
Grace slowly rose from her seat and walked toward the incense burner.
"How strange."
It was a dream Mother hadn't had in over ten years.
Was this incense burner truly one that showed you what you most wished to see?
With hesitant hands, she embraced the burner as she had done when she was small.
"...Mother."
Though her heart ached, seeing her after so long filled her with joy.
Grace closed her eyes, wet with longing, and smiled quietly as she whispered.
"Thank you for letting me see Mother again."
* * *
"So we're sending this to each Territory, correct?"
"Yes. Double-check the addresses. You know it absolutely cannot be late, right? Especially you, Hugo—don't forget how much trouble you caused last time when you mixed up the documents for Olchen and Ollear."
Haem adjusted his glasses and spoke curtly.
At that, the large-framed man with drooping eyes among the three men standing before him flinched in surprise and began scratching his head frantically.
"That was because the characters looked similar at a glance...."
"Exactly. These are important documents—why are you only glancing at them? You need to look carefully. Well, anyway, that's already in the past, so it doesn't matter why it happened. Just don't make that mistake again. Understood? And Gary, Chris—stop laughing. What, do you think you've never made a mistake?"
At Haem's stern tone, the three men standing in a line automatically straightened to attention.
Haem narrowed his eyes and fixed each of them with a piercing stare.
Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org