CH 56

Rnnggg. Rnnggg. Rnnggg.

The table shook, and the floor vibrated slightly. Ares, who had been listening to the noise for a while, finally put down his fountain pen.

“What’s wrong again, what’s wrong today?”

Despite the smile on his face, a line of blood stood out on his forehead. It was Lucas who had spoken with such anger.

As Ares’ aide, they shared the same office. Lately, no, for about a month now, his best friend hasn’t been able to concentrate on his work.

When he, his boss, asked him about it and he didn’t even answer, Ares seriously wondered if he should take a pay cut.

“Lucas.”

“Ares, have you ever seen the Marquis of Casper somewhere?”

Ares opened his mouth, not so much to answer as to ask a question.

Ares clenched his molars together, ventriloquizing.

“I’m not sure, but if you don’t work faster than that, I’ll cut your salary……..”

“Don’t give me a quick answer, think about it. Are you sure?”

Lucas stroked his chin, frowning at the world. Ares finally sighed, raising a white flag.

“It’s Marquis Casper. We’ve run into each other on business, or socializing, or something.”

“Hmm…… I’m sure I’ve seen him somewhere.”

Lucas shook his head, not sure that was the answer he wanted.

“What’s the matter this time? Are you trying to catch a pod or something?”

“No, no. Sometimes the Marquis of Casper takes Lucia out on a date and then drives her home.”

Lucas, who was about to say date in mid-sentence, gritted his teeth and lowered his voice. It was that kind of reaction because he was afraid that someone was a fool for her younger sister.

“Well, we run into each other now and then, but no matter how much I think about it, I think I recognize his face from somewhere.”

Lucas coughed and reverted to his normal self, looking as fearsome as a night car.

He crossed his arms and reminisced.

Every time he looked at Bern, he felt a vague sense of familiarity.

But, no matter how many times he thought about it, nothing clicked.

“I think I saw him at …… Academy.”

Lucas muttered, and Ares searched his memory to see if he hadn’t seen Bern somewhere before.

“Maybe at the Academy. He’s only a year older than us. He’s right above us, so maybe we’ve seen him back and forth?”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah. I don’t see why you’re taking it so seriously.”

“I think there’s something to it…….”

His question was answered, but he still had a problem. There was something more important than Bern’s seniority at the academy.

Knock, Knock.

“Come in.”

When Ares said to come in, the servant of the Lydia family came in.

“What is the matter?”

“Aide Lucas, you have a guest.”

“A guest?”

Lucas was dumbfounded, not expecting anyone.

“Yes, a lady by the name of Becky. If you don’t recognize her, shall I send her away?”

As soon as he heard his lover’s name, Lucas jumped out of his seat in panic.

“That…….”

It was nice to see his lover, but it was business hours. Besides, she hadn’t made an appointment, and it was unexpected.

When Lucas caught Ares’ eye, he waved a hand in the air in frustration.

“Go ahead.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, you haven’t been able to concentrate all day anyway, so why don’t you take your victory and go get your girlfriend to cheer you up? But I’m going to make sure you keep track of what happened today.”

Even if he whined, he’d still give him the day off. Lucas grinned and patted Ares on the shoulder.

“Thank you, Ares. I’ll work hard tomorrow to make up for today.”

Ares playfully pecked him on the lips in appreciation, much to Lucas’ annoyance. Finally, having been slapped by Ares, Lucas squared his shoulders and prepared to leave.

He packed up his things and headed out with the servant to meet his lover.

Becky beamed when she spotted him.

“Baby!”

As his lovely lover strolled toward him, Lucas quickly grabbed her around the waist and spun her around, and he heard her giggle.

“Hahaha, you have a lot of eyes.”

“I’m so happy, what are you doing here?”

Becky laughed for a moment, then realized why she was there and handed Lucas what she had in her hand.

“This is…….”

“I picked up some treats from the bakery, I told you my head doesn’t work well around this time of night.”

Lucas’ face lit up when he saw the slice of cake and assorted muffins in the box.

“You brought this out here for me?”

“That and to use this as an excuse to see your face.”

Becky winked. Lucas pursed his lips, then kissed her cheek.

“Thank you so much. I’m touched.”

“Haha, you have such a big reaction to anything I do, it’s so rewarding to surprise you.”

The sesame salt of a lover’s kiss spilled out in all directions.

Even the maidservant at the table got tired of the two and left. When no one else was around, the two of them exchanged tongue lashings and nicknames.

Lucas, lost in his world, suddenly remembered something and snapped out of it.

“Oh, right, Becky, do you know Marquis Casper?”

“Marquis Casper? Yes, I know. He’s the one who’s engaged to your sister.”

“No, not that, I was just wondering if you’ve heard anything about Marquis Casper, privately or through rumors. You went to the Imperial Academy, after all.”

“Um…….”

Lucas’ question made Becky ponder. A year younger than Lucas, she had attended the Academy at the same time as Marquis Casper and Lucas.

“Well, I don’t really know anything about it… Why? Is there something holding you back?”

“Oh…….”

Lucas was taken aback for a moment.

More than half of the relationships he had passed had fallen off, fed up with his stupidity as a brother.

‘Does your sister matter? Do I matter?! Hurry up and answer me!’

He had been dumped many times before, so he didn’t want to be known as a fool for his younger sister in future relationships.

He was able to hide that fact until now because he followed Ares down to the Duchy for about half a year….…

“Well, it’s just that my sister is getting engaged, and I don’t want her to get engaged to someone weird.”

Lucas, sweating profusely, came up with an apt excuse. Luckily, Becky took it in stride as a normal big brother concerned about his sister.

“Well, yeah, I guess. There’s a rumor… I’ll look into it.”

“Huh? Really?”

Lucas was surprised by the answer, and Becky laughed at his shaky reaction.

“I’m sure it won’t take long for you to find it because rumors follow you around like a tag.”

Lucas was overjoyed at the unintended income and hugged her. Becky giggled at the tickle.

“What are you doing there, brother?”

Just then, a stranger’s voice called out.

Becky’s eyes widened at the familiar voice calling out to Lucas.

She turned to the source and saw Arista standing on the center staircase.

Arista had spoken to Lucas as soon as she saw him, so she hadn’t noticed Becky in his arms.

Arista stopped her descent when she saw her looking at her warily.

Lucas, oblivious to the subtle undercurrents that flowed between the two women, smiled and greeted Arista.

“Oh, Arista.”

Recognizing Arista as Princess Lydia, Becky softened her fierce stare.

“I’m heading home now.”

“Going home? At this hour?”

“Going home? Really?”

Both women reacted at the same time. As the words overlapped, the two looked at each other, and Becky first dug into Lucas’ arms with a coy expression and looked up at him.

“Yeah, I got a special day off today, and look, I’m even wearing a coat.”

“Oh, really?”

Becky, who had noticed Lucas’ attire belatedly, fiddled with his coat.

Arista shrank back, in her world where third parties were off limits

.

“I’m sorry to interrupt your… good time. I’m going to go now…….”

“Arista, wait.”

Lucas stopped Arista as she turned to leave. She looked back at him, biting the inside of her cheek.

“Huh?”

After giving Becky a moment’s pause, Lucas made his way up the stairs to where Arista was.

As he got closer, Arista clutched the hem of her skirt.

“Here, this.”

Lucas thrust a box into Arista’s hand.

“My lover brought these snacks for you and Ares.”

Arista’s delicate hand trembled. She looked up at Lucas. He was smiling as bright as ever, like a ray of sunshine.

She glanced down the stairs and saw Becky, arms crossed, scowling.

Arista pursed her lips.

“……Thank you. Can I just give it to him?”

“Yeah, there’s a lot of good stuff in there, so you can eat too, okay? I’m going to go now. See you later.”

Lucas patted Arista on the shoulder and hurried down the stairs.

Becky, clinging to Lucas like a magnet, asked him.

“I brought it for you. Why are you giving it to them?”

“Well, it’s because of Ares that we’re going on this date tonight, so the least I can do is bribe him.”

Convinced, Becky pouted her lips but didn’t say anything else. Instead, she glanced at Arista behind her and spoke in a voice that was no less small.

“What’s your relationship with Princess Lydia, anyway?”

“Nothing. She’s a friend’s sister, and you know me and Ares.”

Although Lucas and Ares have a hierarchical relationship, they were close friends before that.

“But aren’t you too close? This makes me jealous.”

“Haha, don’t be jealous, he’s just my friend’s sister, and he’s also my sister’s friend. Isn’t that interesting?”

“Hmmm…….”

Becky nodded curtly and turned back around.

Arista remained in the same position, her eyes fixed on Lucas and Becky.

Becky, aware of the fact, laughed poutingly.

“Then there’s really nothing between you, right?”

“Yeah, Arista is just like my little sister.”

Satisfied with her answer, Becky grabbed Lucas’ waist and led him out the door.

Meanwhile, Arista, who had been watching them the entire time, let out a weak laugh and looked down at the dessert in her hand.

Feeling downcast, Arista hung her head, but quickly recovered her composure and turned to walk away.

She burst into Ares’ office without knocking.

“Awww, what a surprise… No knock?”

An angry, surprised Ares scowled at the sight of his flesh and blood. Arista ignored him and plopped down on the couch, tossing a box of desserts onto the table.

“Eat this.”

“……What’s that?”

Ares got up from his seat and sat down across from her, his eyes widening as he recognized the dessert in the box.

“Cake? What are you doing here?”

“I didn’t buy it. Lucas brother’s girlfriend brought it for you and me.”

“Oh, yeah? I should say thank you later.”

Ares snorted and ordered the servant to bring out the tea. Arista, still leaning stiffly against the couch with her fat face, spoke up.

“Hey.”

“Why.”

“It’s ……Lucas brother. Has it been a long time since he dated his girlfriend?”

“Lucas?”

Ares, who had already taken a bite out of a muffin, said in disbelief.

“No. Almost two months? Has it been 3 months? Why is that?”

“I thought he might be a little too affectionate.”

“Alas, Lucas is a bit like that.”

As a witness to all of Lucas’ love affairs, Ares readily agreed with Arista.

“He does it every time. He tries to give everything like it’s the first time he’s in love, but for some reason, it doesn’t last very long. I think the longest was half a year, and it’s not like he’s cheating, but girls dump him all the time.”

Ares mumbled something about how strange that sounded, but when the servant brought them tea, he quickly sipped it and savored the dessert.

“…it won’t last long.”

“Huh? What did he say?”

Ares asked, not hearing Arista’s mumbling. Arista shook her head.

“Nothing, just eat.”