Chapter 27: 27

“What’s this?”

Julie whispered, puzzled.

But in response, Alia only shook her head briefly and acted as if she didn’t hear.

“Shush. Give it to the Lady. You’ll find out once she reads it.”

Julie glanced back and noticed that Thomas, the butler, was watching them from his perch atop the entrance hall’s staircase.

So, Julie quickly smiled and nodded as if they didn’t have that exchange just now.

“Alright, then I’ll be on my way. It’s right around the time that the Lady wakes up.”

Taking note of Julie’s sly change of expression, Alia grinned.

Anyway, she had tact.

Alia opened the carriage door, urged Julie in, and closed it behind the younger maid.

“Don’t go and kick up a commotion there. Contact me if anything happens.”

“Yes! I’ll be off! Please don’t worry too much if I never come back! I already love His Excellency’s residence so much that it made me think of how much of a mess it is in the current household I’m serving in!”

Alia smiled as she gazed upon Julie, who was waving her hand playfully in goodbye.

“Yes, please go and don’t come back again. Just as you said…”

Be free from this infernal O’Ellin Marquisate.

 

* * *

 

As Grace had fallen asleep at the break of dawn, she ended up sleeping in.

Even though it was practically morning already earlier, she felt tired and couldn’t stand it, so she fell asleep again.

And one of the reasons she ended up oversleeping was because no one woke her up.

“Goodness… Just how long did I sleep.”

Dazedly watching the bright stream of sunlight leaking through the curtains, Grace suddenly jumped up from the bed.

The fact that she overslept at someone else’s house made her face red hot.

And it wasn’t just any other house. It’s Lucas Blacke’s manor!

“I have— I have to hurry.”

She knew that it’s much too late now, too. Her father and older brother were going to chew her up.

“Julie!”

As she put on a pair of slippers, she pulled the bell rope and called Julie.

At that moment, her sleeve was pulled back, and she caught sight of the shimmering pattern over the exposed skin of her arm.

Flinch—

Grace studied the pattern engraved upon her arm. It was shining even more beneath the sun.

“It… It wasn’t a dream.”

When her other hand swept over the pattern, it shone with a white glow.

“What in the world is this? Is, is it like a curse? Or maybe magic…? Is it something like that?”

Grace roughly guessed that the culprit was some sort of mysterious power that was said to have been used a long time ago in the bygone era, or something similar.

As she was looking at the pattern atop her wrist, the door opened and a maid came in.

“You’re awake, Milady. I’ve prepared some water for you in this basin. It’s infused with rose essence.”

She wasn’t Julie, but a maid working in Lucas’s mansion.

“Where’s Julie…”

“Ah, she went out to go to the O’Ellin Marquisate’s residence for a short while. She left about an hour ago, so it won’t be long until she’s back.”

“The O’Ellin residence? Why didn’t she wake up and go back alone…?”

“I have not been briefed about that. I believe she said that she’s going to pick up a few things that you might need, Milady…”

Hearing the maid say this, Grace shook her head.

She was planning to go back home as soon as she woke up, but why did Julie…

As Grace was wondering this, she suddenly recalled Lucas.

Was he the one who sent Julie there?

“And His Excellency? Is he awake?”

“Pardon? Ah… Mister Jaime went into His Excellency’s room earlier…”

Grace quickly washed her face with the rose water brought by the maid. Then, she hurriedly changed her clothes and went out the door.

If Lucas Blacke had sent a messenger to explain, her father would most certainly not listen.

Grace was already anxious about it happening, but she was afraid that the two of them would be swept into conflict.

‘Besides that, I’ll have to ask him about this pattern. I also want to ask if the voice I heard early this morning is really his.’

With urgent steps, she rushed to find his room.

Then, when she reached his door, she hesitated and paused where she was.

She had been in a hurry, so she had no time to process left from right. But now that she was about to open the door, she was a little…

Terrified.

Right, fear. That’s the word.

It was fear that grew by the second.

‘Right, I’m… I’m scared. My heart must be pounding because I’m so terrified.’

Grace took a deep breath to center herself, then she raised one hand to know on the door.

However, just before her knuckles could hit the hard surface—

“No, that’s exactly why I told you to calm down…!”

Jaime popped out through the door he just opened.

Jaime didn’t see Grace in front of him because he was looking behind him.

Because of that moment of inattention, the two of them collided squarely.

“Huuk!”

“Hiek!”

As the two of them crashed into each other, they both fell back in their respective directions.

“Oww…”

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In spite of herself, Grace let out a groan.

She must have fallen back pretty hard because her backside was starting to hurt so much.

Shocked, Jaime jumped to his feet and helped Grace up.

“Huk! Are you alright, Milady? I apologize, truly. It’s my fault for opening the door without paying attention.”

“Ah, you don’t need to apologize, Jaime. I’m fine. Rather than that, is His Excellency inside?”

“H-His Excellency? No, he’s not inside…!”

“Huh? Then who were you talking to inside just now? Oh, is Gabriel in there?”

But just as she was about to nod, the butler passing through the hallway found them both and ran straight to them.

“Milady, did you fall? Are you hurt?”

“…Gabriel is here. Then, isn’t it His Excellency who’s inside?”

Flustered, Jaime turned to the butler, who just shrugged nonchalantly.

“Is something the matter, Jaime? I need to talk to His Excellency, but am I not allowed to go in?”

“No, it’s not that, Milady. His Excellency really isn’t here…”

When Grace tried to crane her neck to see inside, the half-closed door creaked open.

Grace raised her head and gawked at the presence coming out from the room.

“……!”

Clack— Clack—

With a gentle gait, an enormous stallion walked out the door.

Grace unknowingly covered her mouth as her eyes went wide.

…No, but what’s the horse doing here?

“H-H-How come the horse is in His Excellency’s room…”

Besides that, even carrying itself with such a majestic air…

While the speechless Grace opened and closed her mouth several times without saying anything, the black stallion drew close to her.

And, ever so naturally, nuzzled its snout against her rosy cheeks.

It was a friendly gesture, like a greeting.

Though still bewildered, Grace stroked one side of the horse’s snout in return.

“W-What?”

“Ah, um. H-His Excellency loves this horse very much, so, uh, he sometimes likes bringing it here in his room to lull it to sleep!”

“Huuh?”

No matter how fondly one thought of a horse, was there really anyone who’d keep it in their own room to lull it to sleep?

Absolutely incredulous, Grace stared at the black horse that came out of Lucas’s bedroom.

The horse showed its teeth and shook its head as if it was laughing.

This situation was just so chaotic.

Right around that time, the sound of someone stomping up the stairs could be heard, and a familiar voice called for Grace.

“Milady—! Huuk, huuk. You’re, you’re here!”

“Julie.”

After the maid had run from afar, her breaths came short, but she did not pause at all. She immediately broke the news.

“I-I went back to the manor for a little while and, huuk, huuk, I heard such a surprising story! The Young Master, he’s, he’s hurt!”

“What? When?”

“Last night! I don’t know the details, but apparently a huge horse broke into the mansion last night and crushed the Young Master’s ribs!”

Julie’s face lit up the moment she uttered the word, ‘crushed’.

“What are you saying, Julie? Last night? A horse? What kind of horse did that?”

“I wasn’t given the details either! But it suddenly appeared—a huge, majestic, black… horse… Eh? But there’s also a huge, majestic black horse right here…? Huh?”

As Julie was excitedly conveying what she had heard from the other maids of the O’Ellin manor, her eyes stopped over Grace’s shoulder.

Right there, a huge, majestic black horse had its chin raised in a regal manner.

“Um, Milady? Are, uh, jet-black… huge, super majestic horses… very common?”

As Julie asked this, Grace looked behind her at the black horse.

“Hiiing!”

And the moment its eyes met with Grace, the black horse shook its head deftly.

It rubbed its snout gently against her cheek, pleasantly taking a whiff of her fragrant hair as if it knew nothing.

“I’m not sure. I’ve also never seen another horse as majestic as this one here.”

Strangely enough, Grace felt as if she saw a smile flash across the horse’s face.

As the horse continued to gently nuzzle her cheek, Grace ducked her head and giggled.

The horse did not stop.

And her small giggles continued to grow.

“It tickles, stop.”

Bhrr—

Its snout moved to her earlobes and her hair.

And Grace couldn’t do anything but giggle, not knowing what to do as the tickling continued to go deeper.

“It tickles. Come on now, stop.”

She tried to push the black horse away as its snout went down to her shoulders, but it’s not as if the black horse would be pushed away with just that much strength.

As if it liked Grace’s soft hair and scent very much, the horse refused to move like its snout was stuck on her.

Grace’s shoulders went up as she ducked her head, unable to stand the tickling.

She didn’t know why, but it felt a little strange, and her face kept turning red.

Not knowing what to do, she put a hand on the horse’s neck. But, at that moment—

Slap—!

Along with the sound of the horse’s bum being slapped, Jaime muttered in a low voice,

“How indecent, sir. Really.”

…Bhrr.

The admonished black horse suddenly seemed embarrassed. Right after, it drew away from Grace and stared at Jaime.

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