CH 89

“Thank goodness it’s still not late.”

Bern hurriedly exited the carriage and entered the café. 

There were only five days left until the summer festival, and his latest project was nearing its launch. After a busy life, he finally got the time to catch his breath yesterday and finally made an appointment with Lucia today.

He couldn’t afford to be late because it was an appointment that he kept delaying because of work.

After settling in, Bern checked the time. Luckily, there were only 15 minutes left until the appointment.

Bern was relieved that he didn’t have to keep Lucia waiting today.

As he smoothed out his disheveled outfit and waited for Lucia to arrive, he felt a friendly tap on his shoulder and turned around.

“Hey……?”

The corners of Bern’s mouth slowly turned downward as he stared at the woman in front of him with bewilderment.

“Bern, you’re also here?”

Celine looked down at him with excitement. 

Bern frowned, wondering if she was following him this time, too.

“No way, you’re following me again? I told you to stop doing that.”

“I’m not following you, I haven’t been around you in days.”

Celine shook her head in exasperation. He certainly hadn’t seen her in close to a week.

“What a coincidence. I can’t believe you’re at a cafe after a long time. I’m feeling lucky today.”

Celine said shyly, and Bern’s face relaxed.

Her smile was so unadorned and innocent that his heart began to skip a beat. His fickle heart, which is only fickle when it comes to Celine, was in overdrive. 

“Since we met here, would you like to come with me today if you have time?”

“I’m sorry, I can’t. I have an appointment.”

“What appointment? When is it over? I’ll wait until it’s over.”

“You can’t wait until it’s over. You and I, we don’t belong together.”

Celine’s eyes widened for a moment at his firm answer. But when she saw that Bern was looking at her, she relaxed a little.

“Okay. I guess that’s it then. But can we at least talk after the appointment?”

“Celine…….”

“Conversation is something you can do with a stranger. It hurts me when you avoid it.”

At the word hurt, Bern reflexively closed his mouth. For a moment, though, he turned his head to look away from Celine.

“I’ll wait until the appointment is over. When do you think it will be over? Who is this appointment with?”

“It’s with…….”

As Bern hesitated in embarrassment, he heard the clattering of heels. As the sound grew closer, Bern and Celine turned their heads.

Their eyes slowly widened. 

“Viscountess Romario?”

“……Lady Agnes.”

“Oh, I should call you Lady Jayson now, right?”

Lucia smiled brightly and stepped up to the front of the two. She looked at Celine with a smile, then slowly at Bern.

Ever since she had entered the café, Lucia had seen them talking.

When Bern saw Lucia, he jumped to his feet.

“Lucia. I didn’t do anything misleading.”

“What did I say?”

Lucia said as if it were no big deal. Nevertheless, Bern couldn’t help but see the look in Lucia’s eyes.

His conscience was pricked by the fact that he kept seeing Celine, whether he intended to or not.

Celine finally wiped the smile off her face and stared at Lucia with a stony expression.

Why hadn’t it occurred to her that Bern had come to see Lucia?

‘You knew they were getting engaged.’

In her excitement to see Bern, he had forgotten that he was getting engaged to Lucia.

“I saw you two chatting happily, what did you talk about?”

“It’s not like that, Lucia…….”

“It’s been so long since I’ve seen him, so I guess I just stopped to talk to him without realizing it. I’m sorry if I offended you, young lady.”

Before Bern could excuse himself, Celine bowed her head and spilled the truth, leaving out the important details.

Lucia studied Celine for a moment, then nodded.

“I see.”

“Are you two on a date today?”

“Date? Well, if it’s a date, it’s a date. It’s summer festival in a couple of days, and we’re here to discuss it and the engagement later.”

“Engagement…….”

“Yes, so I think we need to have an important conversation if you’ll excuse us.”

There was not the slightest hint of pretense in Lucia’s sweetly spoken tone, so Celine obediently stepped back without a single grump.

“……have a good time.”

Celine walked away, her face dark. Lucia looked at her and realized that she was just as transparent as she was, wearing her heart on her face.

Lucia sat down and straightened her clothes. She looked up and saw Bern tensing up.

Lucia smiled sheepishly.

“You look like you’ve done something wrong.”

“……I apologize, Lucia.”

“Why are you apologizing?”

Bern pursed his lips as he looked at Lucia, who showed no anger, no jealousy, no emotion.

“Because even if nothing had happened… you saw me talking to my ex, and you would have been offended.”

Offended. She’d be lying if she’ll said she wasn’t surprised, but not offended.

As such, he had no heart for Bern, and he could not react harshly because he had committed something with Herwin secretly.

She could only sympathize with what had happened between them.

Lucia suddenly remembered Bern with Celine and spoke up.

“By the way, you seem quite used to seeing Lady Jayson, have you met her recently?”

“Pfft!, *cough* *cough*…….”

Before Lucia could finish her sentence, Bern let out a painful cough. Lucia’s eyes widened and she spoke shakily.

“I was just saying that, but I guess it was true.”

“I didn’t mean to meet her secretly, but I just happened to run into her a few times.”

“Hmm, is that so?”

“I’m sorry, Lucia, I wasn’t trying to hide it…….”

Seeing Bern stuttering and gibbering, Lucia spoke up a beat late.

“Haven’t you made up your mind yet?”

“What? Oh, no, that can’t be true.”

Bern hastily excused himself and threw up his hands. Still, Lucia couldn’t forget the look in Bern’s eyes as he looked at Celine.

It was the look of one who still had something left to give, of one who still had love to give.

“I don’t mean to reprimand you. I just wish you’d tell me if you still have feelings. To be honest, I’ve been wondering if my suggestion might cost Bern the chance to be with someone he truly loves.”

Bern clenched his fist when he saw Lucia smiling awkwardly.

Lucia was worried that her proposal would be too much for him, but he was the one who accepted her offer so readily.

It was hard to say that he had stopped caring about Celine, as Lucia had said, but he had decided to put it all behind him and move on.

“I’m all right. But is Lucia okay, too? You also have someone else in mind.”

Lucia lowered her gaze as she remembered Herwin. Bern did not know that Herwin had confessed to Lucia.

Still, knowing how much she liked him, he worried that Lucia would give up everything and marry someone she didn’t have in mind.

“……I’ve already made up my mind, haha. I wasn’t in a position to tell Bern what to do, but I meant what I said, and if you really don’t want to lose her, feel free to tell me. You don’t have to look at me.”

“……Thank you.”

Bern smiled lightly. After breaking the ice, they continued to talk about what they hadn’t been able to talk about. For now, the topic was the summer festival, which was just around the corner.

“Oh, by the way, did you hear about that?”

“What?”

“Recently, there were rumors of a monster near the capital.”

A monster. Lucia stiffened, suddenly remembering Herwin.

“Yes, I’ve heard about it, too. We need to catch the monster as soon as possible…….”

“Indeed. The last place it was spotted was near the Imperial Forest, so we might run into the monster just in time for the Summer Festival.”

“Does that mean the hunting festival will be canceled?”

“I suppose it’s fair to say that the hunt is being canceled because of the danger that might be lurking, but there hasn’t been any official word to that effect as of yet. However, the hunt only happens twice a year, and I don’t think it will be canceled easily.”

“It certainly is. Bern, I don’t mind if you don’t bring a gift of a game, so please take care of yourself.”

“Yes, I will.”

After chatting and making some arrangements for the engagement that they hadn’t gotten around to last time, the two left the café.

As Lucia and Bern left the café, she glanced over to where Celine had been.

She was gone, and someone else was sitting where she had been.

“Shall we wait a moment for the carriage?”

Lucia turned quickly at the sound of Bern’s voice next to her. Lucia smiled and nodded.

Soon enough, the carriage arrived, and Lucia climbed in, escorted by Bern.

“I’ll see you next time at the summer festival.”

“I see. You didn’t forget what I told you, did you? You should wear something green.”

“Of course, I will, and I’ll see you then.”

As the carriage moved, Lucia waved to Bern through the window. Lucia leaned back in her seat and let out an involuntary sigh.

“I’m tired.”

She was tired because it was her first time attending an important event with her fiancé, and she had a lot on her mind. 

Still, most of the work was done, and now she just needed to finalize the dress for the summer and finish the handkerchief for Bern.

As Lucia thought about the handkerchief, she suddenly remembered Herwin.

‘Then make me a handkerchief, too.’

It was an insistent wish. Lucia said she would never do it, but she secretly made a handkerchief for Herwin every night without realizing it.

Of course, it was a less colorful, less labor-intensive handkerchief than the one for Bern.

“I can’t even give it to him…….”

She can’t give it to him. When she thought of Herwin, her mind became complicated for no reason.

Since their last encounter, he has sent letters and gifts from time to time. Looking at the letters carefully written one by one, she could see that his love for her was not a lie.

Lucia had to admit it now.

‘Herwin likes me.’

She’d had a crush on him for over thirteen years, so she was thrilled that he liked her back. Sometimes she had to catch her breath to control her excitement.

But at the same time, she also felt a little disheartened, because the timing between him and her was as off as if God had played a trick on them.

“Maybe I’m not talking to Bern.”

That he could always go back to Celine if he changed his mind. 

It wasn’t a trivial consideration, but it was sincere, but maybe those words were not only to Bern but also to herself.

‘What do I want to do?’

Does she want to compromise and live a normal life with Bern? Or does she want to be loved by Herwin and have the happiness she’s always wanted?

She couldn’t find the answer to that question yet.

Lucia closed her eyes and leaned back against the rocking carriage. Thinking about it any further would only complicate her mind.

Eventually, the carriage arrived at the mansion. Lucia rubbed her neck tiredly and entered her room. Sean, who was tidying up, greeted her.

“Have you returned, my lady?”

“Yes, I’m tired, but can you help me get dressed?”

“Yes, of course. Oh, right. Before I do that, I have a gift for you, would you like to check it out?”

“A gift?”

Lucia turned around as she set her gloves and bag on the couch. In her hands, she held a large box.

“It’s from Mr. Phoenaeus.”

“Again? What is it this time?”

Lucia was puzzled by the unusual size of the box, unlike the previous ones, which were usually small items.

When she unwrapped it, she saw a beautiful dress with a pale pink hue.

“This is…….”

“Oh my, what a beautiful dress.”

The dress was beautiful enough to make Sean swoon, and best of all, it looked like it would look good on Lucia.

Lucia looked at the dress with trepidation, then picked up the card that came with it.

[I bought it because I thought it would look good on you, and I think you’ll look beautiful in it at the summer festival.]

It was a short note, but it was enough to get the point across. 

“Summer festival. If you wear this, the main character will definitely be you… Miss, why don’t you wear this… Miss?”

Sensing the silence beside her, Sean turned her head to find Lucia’s head bowed low.

She could see her flushed face through her disheveled brown hair.