Honey, I Believe That’s Your Misunderstanding

Thump, ba-thump! Thump!

‘W-What is this?’

Dozens of pen tips were pointed straight at her.

Through the lens of her phobia, this was tantamount to seeing dozens of ferocious beasts pushing her into a corner.

Tremble, tremble, tremble.

Her initial reaction could be seen on her chin.

It was trembling so hard that it looked like she had been driven out in the middle of a snowstorm.

In Grace’s perspective, it seemed like those sharp, pointed tips were closing in on her—about to pierce her in an instant.

She wanted to close her eyes because of how scared she was, but she couldn’t move even her thin eyelids.

Her head felt faint. It’s as if her surroundings were spinning right in front of her eyes.

“Hi— hi— hiccup!”

What burst through her lips was a ridiculous fit of hiccups because she was just so surprised.

The fact that it wasn’t a scream instead was already good enough, considering the situation.

Grace managed to come to her senses, and so she tried to even out her breathing.

She had to get out of here right away. Right now!

Suppressing the rising fear, Grace was finally able to close her eyes, and she took a step.

But was it perhaps because she was too distressed?

Her stomach, which Norman had kicked, started hurting right then. It felt like it was being torn. It’s as if getting startled like that caused her stomach to twist into knots.

“Ugh!”

Her steps faltered because of the throbbing pain in her stomach.

But just in time, someone rushed in to catch her when she was about to fall.

“Oh.”

Then, she heard a low, baritone voice that sounded a little surprised. The single syllable that was said seemed like a sigh.

But Grace was not in her right mind at this moment, and so she wasn’t able to hear this sound.

A warm feeling passed over her cheeks, and her hands instinctively grabbed onto that person’s hard arms.

“…Grace?”

After he had followed Grace into the fountain pen store, Lucas felt that something was off in this sudden situation.

The woman—who looked as if she was playing a game of hide-and-seek—suddenly jumped into his arms.

How in the world should he interpret this situation?

Ba-thump, ba-thump.

And he could feel the echoes of his skipping heart.

‘How very bold can this woman be…’

At the woman’s attack, Lucas gave in.

Grace wasn’t just holding him firmly. She went on to push him with all the strength in her petite frame.

But her force was quite a lot stronger than he had expected.

“Wait, Gra…!”

The unexpected ambush made him stagger back.

He tried to reach for anything he could hold onto.

However, he couldn’t really reach out fully because Grace might get hurt.

He embraced her tightly in his arms and braced for the impact.

The two bodies fell to the floor, entangled as though they were one.

Thuuud—!

Lucas’ solid body adeptly protected Grace.

Thanks to this, Grace felt no pain at all even when she fell to the floor.

Well, she wasn’t in the right mind to feel pain either, of course.

‘…I have to get out of here. I’m scared. I hate it!’

Even with her eyes woven shut, she could vividly see dozens upon dozens of pen tips behind her eyelids.

‘No, I hate it. Go away!’

Silently screaming, Grace tried to escape from the illusions she was seeing.

The good: Someone was there to hold her tightly, and it helped immensely.

Her phobia’s symptoms would normally continue for an extended period of time, but because she could feel someone’s warmth so close to her, the symptoms stabilized much faster.

The bad: She had yet to come back to her senses enough to grasp the situation that she was in someone’s embrace right now.

Grace gritted her teeth together.

This was so she could hold her breath.

She learned from Nottia that she could steady her breathing if she did so through her nose, and so her previously heaving chest rose and fell at a slower pace.

‘Like this— Like this, just a bit… just a bit more.’

Her mind had gone so far away, but she quickly recovered thanks to the warmth that was enveloping her small body.

It felt to her as if this solid warmth, like an iron fortress, would be able to stop those scary things.

She dug deeper into the other person’s arms, like a child seeking her mother.

Meanwhile, Lucas took Grace into his embrace with the intention to protect her, and it was only then that he felt the minute tremors wracking her body.

‘What’s making her shake so much?’

Looking down carefully at her, Lucas had to wonder. And so, he asked.

“Grace? Are you alright? Did you get hurt anywhe…”

“Just a bit. Please, just a bit more…”

Her small voice was shaking, but she asked this favor firmly.

Please stay like this, just a little longer.

Thump.

Lucas’ heart skipped a beat again.

Though bewildered, he continued to hug her.

He couldn’t refuse her request for them to stay like this a little while longer, and frankly, he didn’t want to move away from her either.

He felt the inside of his mouth getting dry as he embraced her with his posture becoming frozen now, unlike before.

His helpless eyes became unfocused as he stared into the air, but he soon closed them with a silent groan.

With his thoughts getting all tangled up, he just waited for a little while—just as she requested.

He was worried whether it would be alright for them to stay like this. But also, at the same time, one bad thought crossed his mind—that maybe it would be alright for them to stay like this. His mind was a mess.

While he was getting more frozen by the second, Grace calmed down without knowing what was going on in his mind.

‘Breathe slowly, yes, that’s right— Imagine… imagine cute things.’

The children in the orphanage were the first that came to her mind.

The mischievous Chris, the adorably freckled Anna, the mature Kristine.

And… the orphanage’s youngest child, Renée.

How many more seconds passed like that?

“…Is somebody there?”

As he had been dozing off at the counter, the store owner woke up belatedly and asked.

At the sound of his voice, Grace opened her eyes as though she was startled awake.

‘Where am I right now…’

With her cloudy head slowly getting clearer, she began to understand the situation she was in now.

Her whole body was pressing down on someone’s firm physique.

Her soft, tender skin pressed against a body of a completely build from hers—woven with muscles everywhere.

And, the sensual scent that she caught a whiff of a few days ago.

“Do you still need more time, Grace?”

Like a whisper, the man’s voice spoke to her familiarly.

It sounded like he was speaking with his lips tugged up in a slight smile, but his voice was deep and nonetheless polite.

‘This scent, this voice…?’

Feeling goosebumps rising over her skin for a moment, Grace raised her head.

Then, the face of the other person entered her vision. And because they were laying down together, he was much too close.

As he stared back at her, his statue-like features, as ever, made it look as if he had been carved by a master craftsman.

“H-Huh…?”

As she unconsciously expressed her incredulity, Lucas raised one eyebrow.

She could see the corners of his lips rising slowly.

And when the man smiled right in front of her eyes, Grace suddenly felt that this was unreal.

The situation was so gobsmacking that, fortunately, the terror she felt due to the pen tips had flown away.

When Lucas was at the mercy of Grace’s blank stare, he let out a dry cough and continued to talk to her.

“You… surprise me every time, Grace. It seems like I’ve underestimated you.”

The sparkle of awe that flashed in his eyes made Grace feel even more clueless.

“Y-Your Excellency, why…? Hiccup.”

And she was so shocked that another fit of hiccups broke out again.

Her face had been so pale just a while ago, but some color gradually found its way on her features once more, until both her cheeks eventually turned red.

And the tip of her cute nose became red as well, enough that it was noticeable.

‘Why is this man in front of me— no, wait, where even am I right now? And how has it come to this? My head… my head hurts so much!’

While she was inwardly reproaching herself, the hiccups showed no signs of stopping.

Like the sound of a cuckoo chirping, her hiccups kept coming up, and she looked like she was about to cry as she covered her mouth.

“E, excuse me, hic—cup!”

She’s doomed.

“It’s alright. It’s because you were so surprised, but… Well, I believe that’s also possible.”

‘What exactly is possible?’

Without even thinking that she should ask him, Grace began to scramble to her feet.

However, her efforts were in vain. Her legs were weak, and her hands didn’t quite know where they should go.

Utterly flustered, she fell once again on top of Lucas’ solid torso.

Grace wriggled and continued to move on top of him. On the other hand, the expression on Lucas’ face changed more and more strangely.

“Grace, if you move like that…”

“Yes? Yes. Yes! I’ll, hiccup! I’ll get up! Hiccup, I, I will! Hiccup!”

Ah, I wanna die.

On the verge of tears, Grace thought this to herself.

Lucas Blacke had the same thought. He, too, wanted to die at that moment.

Die. Please.

…Just die, Lucas.

He took in a deep, sharp breath as he closed his eyes tightly.

Then, he tried to recall the lyrics to a church hymn so that he could calm both his mind and body. And it worked well because it was a sacred song.

“I, hiccup, d-don’t think I have any, hiccup! strength right now, I-I’m really sorr— hiccup!”

Why was it that she couldn’t catch a break, even today?

She had turned her head, thinking that it might be faster to just find a mouse hole to crawl into.

But then, she looked up over Lucas’ head, through the huge window of the fountain pen store. And Grace’s face instantly turned blue.

“What’s the matter, Grace?”

With a sinking feeling, Lucas followed her gaze.

‘Oh god.’

A few familiar faces were peering into the window, and some more of them forgot to keep up appearances as they rushed to look at Lucas and Grace.

The old woman in the red hat was high society’s bullhorn, Marchioness Rhodia. That woman with the yellow fan over there was Countess Gilasch, a renowned gossip who was running her own daily newspaper.

And… That blond man over there was Norman O’Ellin’s close friend, Young Count Thomas Hopkins.

The moment Grace found him, her blood ran cold at once.

‘I’m doomed.’

That man would immediately tell Norman about this, and Grace could already hear his uproars ringing behind her ears.

The places that he had hit hadn’t yet healed, so if he were to raise his hand against her again, she would definitely need to be bedridden for a few days this time.

Grace’s expression stiffened.

Her heart was beating so heatedly because of how flustered she was, but now, it sank heavily right then.

“Your hiccups seem to have stopped, but your complexion has gotten worse.”

Hearing the other person speak at such a close distance, Grace then realized that she was still lying right on top of Lucas Blacke’s chest.

Ah, why did she keep acting like a fool today.

Seriously, it’s so bizarre.