🔊 TTS Settings
chapter 20
Tap, drip.
A drop of water fell between Lucas and Grace, who had been silently facing each other.
Both of them looked up at the twilight sky, now dyed a deep purple.
The drops falling on their eyelids and foreheads were clearly rain.
“Rain—”
Before Grace could finish speaking, the few scattered drops suddenly increased in an instant.
Patter, patter.
Like a dam bursting, the rain poured down and quickly soaked Grace’s hair.
“Oh… Run, Grace.”
Lucas suddenly stood up, grabbed her hand, and started running.
Before she could even react, the two of them were already running through the rain and across the garden.
“W-wait! Slow down!”
“No. Run. If you stop, I’ll carry you while running.”
“Eek!”
Blushing deeply, Grace hurriedly ran as he pulled her along.
Thanks to that, they crossed a distance that normally took about ten minutes in just five.
If it hadn’t been for the hand guiding her, Grace would never have been able to run this fast.
“Haah… haah! I—I can’t breathe!”
It felt like her lungs were about to burst.
It had only been five minutes—was it normal to feel this exhausted?
Yet Lucas’s breathing was calm, almost embarrassingly so compared to hers.
In fact, he even looked refreshed, as if the short run had cleared his head.
He brushed back his wet hair casually and smiled at her.
“Doesn’t running clear your mind?”
“Haah… haah… I—I’m not sure about that, but… haah… I can’t think about anything right now.”
“Have you ever run until your chest felt like it would burst and then collapsed on the spot? It feels surprisingly good. Especially when your head is full of complicated thoughts.”
“Hoo… haa…”
Grace steadied her breathing and looked up at Lucas.
She wasn’t sure whether her heart was pounding from the run… or because of this man.
Lucas looked at her flushed cheeks and reached out, gently brushing the swollen side with his fingertips.
His touch wasn’t soft—it was rough—but strangely, it didn’t hurt at all.
It didn’t hurt…
Yet the place his fingers touched felt unusually hot.
His hand felt like fire.
The sensation where his fingers grazed her skin felt especially vivid.
Particularly when the tip of his thumb rubbed the corner of Grace’s wet lips.
“Huh—”
Grace flinched without realizing it and sharply inhaled.
“……”
“……”
The surroundings were silent.
The only sound was the rain soaking the dry earth.
Lucas’s gaze toward Grace had changed as well.
It had become deep—endlessly deep—and dark beyond measure.
Why is it… so warm?
Grace bit her lower lip and turned her flushed face slightly away.
Even without meeting his eyes, she could feel his gaze on her.
After a moment, Lucas spoke in a slightly hoarse voice.
“…Since it’s raining this heavily, stay here tonight.”
Startled, Grace widened her eyes and quickly shook her head.
“N-no, I can’t do that. This amount of rain is fine. I should go.”
Lucas glanced up at the sky.
His narrowed eyes looked at the cloud-filled sky as he smiled faintly.
“It’ll get worse. Much worse than you think.”
“No way!”
“Trust me. I’m pretty accurate about things like this.”
“But…”
She bit her lower lip and looked up.
The movement of the clouds did look ominous.
Still, staying overnight somewhere without even informing anyone…
Even if they traveled by carriage, it was common to stay overnight at acquaintances’ estates because of the long travel time.
But that wasn’t the real problem.
“If my father finds out… he won’t stay quiet. He’s especially sensitive about things like this.”
“Is that so?”
Lucas said with a soft smile.
“But if Marquis Oelin refuses to stay quiet, what exactly can he do to me?”
“…Your Grace.”
Lucas looked at Grace with deeper eyes.
“He can’t do anything to me. But what worries me is that he can do something to you.”
“……”
“So stay here. Inside my domain.”
There was strength in his voice.
It sounded like the firm resolve of someone preparing himself for what was to come.
It almost felt as if everything would unfold exactly as he said.
Maybe that wasn’t just an illusion.
“…I’m worried that I might cause trouble for you, Your Grace.”
“If you leave like this, I’ll probably stay awake all night worrying about you.”
Grace asked in a trembling voice,
“Why would Your Grace lose sleep worrying about me?”
“Well—”
Rumble!
A thunderous roar, like the growl of a beast, echoed loudly.
Startled, Grace looked up at the ominous sky.
Lucas had been staring at her swollen cheek, but he slowly followed her gaze upward.
Then he spoke again in a calm voice.
“Look, Grace. Do you see the thunder over there? You won’t be able to go anywhere through this rain. Even if you take a carriage, there’s a high chance it’ll slip into a ditch. An accident could happen.”
He was right.
The road leading to Sunny Hill was mostly dirt.
By now it might already be a muddy mess.
“And I’ll spend the whole night worrying… blaming myself for sending you out into this rain.”
Shaa—
As if supporting his words, the rain grew even heavier.
Ah… what a mess.
Grace pressed her forehead as if she had a headache.
She felt trapped between choices.
Seeing the rain pouring down like this, she almost felt like it didn’t matter anymore.
Part of her even wished things would just happen however they would.
“Grace.”
At the deep voice calling her name, she looked back at Lucas.
Was he always this close?
Not knowing where to look, she quickly turned her gaze aside.
But his hand reached out and gently turned her face back.
To meet her lowered gaze, he lightly lifted her chin.
When their eyes met, a different kind of danger filled the air.
…I feel like I’m going to be devoured.
His blue eyes shone brightly in the darkness.
He stared straight at her and spoke.
“Don’t worry, Grace. I’m not afraid of getting hurt because of someone I cherish.”
Someone he cherishes.
His voice clung sweetly to her ears like a shadowy monster whispering.
“And I won’t let someone I cherish get hurt either.”
He gently kissed her swollen cheek and murmured.
Grace inhaled sharply at the unfamiliar sensation—soft yet strangely sharp.
It was only a polite cheek kiss, but her face burned bright red.
Lucas looked at her with darkened eyes.
“So please, tonight…”
Before he could finish—
“Stay here, Grace.”
CRASH!
A delayed thunderbolt struck above their heads.
Later
“Damn it.”
As soon as Lucas returned to his room and shut the door, he clenched his teeth.
Haem and the butler, who had rushed in behind him, quickly handed him a dry towel to calm him down.
“…It’s been a long time since I’ve been this angry.”
Lucas laughed coldly.
Haem paled and clung to him.
“Calm down! Please calm down! The madam isn’t even here—if you act like this, I’ll really cry!”
“Haem.”
“Yes?”
“Grace Oelin was hit.”
“…Yes.”
…I heard that earlier.
“Grace Oelin… was hit.”
I heard you already, so why are you repeating it…?
“Damn it! Of all places to hit—why there? And how dare he hit someone who will be my wife? Just an older brother? No—even if the emperor himself came, he shouldn’t hit someone else’s woman!”
…You two aren’t even married yet.
You’re not even officially engaged yet…
This feels a bit… excessive…
Haem swallowed all those words before they could escape.
He tightly shut his mouth and hurriedly handed Lucas a glass of cold water.
“Calm down, Your Grace. Calm down! Think good thoughts. Pretty thoughts. Peaceful thoughts.”
“Hoo! Ha! Hoo…!”
Lucas’s eyes were filled with killing intent.
Even Haem hadn’t seen him this angry in a long time.
Maybe since the time Princess Arel—the current king’s youngest sister—was poisoned years ago.
Actually… he might be even angrier now.
As Lucas’s loyal adjutant, Haem Demigras had the duty to calm him down.
In the name of the loyal family that had protected the secrets of the Black family.
“Ha! What should I do, Haem? I’m so angry…”
Lucas frowned deeply.
His pale fingertips trembled.
They were the same fingers that had gently stroked Grace’s bruised cheek earlier.
When the rain washed away her makeup, the red swelling on her cheek had been clearly visible.
When he held that small cheek in his hand, irritation had surged through him.
Just imagining the people who had laid hands on that delicate skin made him feel sick.
“…Haem, my heart is hot.”
“Oh—good heavens! No! Please calm down!”
“My heart is burning.”
Lucas clutched his chest, trying to steady his breathing.
Just then, Gabriel entered with fresh clothes.
Like Haem, he was from a family that had long shared the fate of the Black household.
Haem grabbed him desperately.
“Butler! Help! His Grace says his heart is burning! Please calm him down!”
“So His Grace is angry because Miss Grace was hit.”
Hey—if you’re here to help, why would you bring that up again so clearly?!
Haem glared at the butler, but the old fox ignored him.
He gracefully placed the fresh clothes beside Lucas and added calmly,
“I couldn’t believe it when I heard either. If the maid assisting Miss Grace with her bath hadn’t secretly told me, we might never have known. Who would imagine such a thing? That a noble lady would have a dark bruise on her stomach.”
“…!”
Lucas’s head snapped up.
Haem turned toward the butler in shock as well.
Both men’s faces twisted in almost the same expression.
“What did you just say…?”
“…Ah. You didn’t know? Miss Grace had a very dark bruise on her stomach. Quite large. Honestly… people don’t usually get bruises on their stomach from falling, do they?”
The butler spoke calmly.
Haem stared between Lucas and the butler with a pale face.
Seeing Lucas’s expression darken further, Haem instinctively stepped back.
Rumble…
Thunder rolled in the distance.
Lucas clenched his teeth, fury filling his face.
“…Ugh. I don’t care anymore.”
A massive bolt of lightning tore through the rain.
A flash of light followed by a thunderclap crashed down like a falling strike.
BOOM!!
And then—
A much rougher, heavier breathing filled the room.
Ah… it’s too late.
Haem shut his eyes tightly.
