CH 90

There are several festivals in the empire, large and small, but by far the biggest of them was the New Year’s celebration in the winter and the Summer Festival in the summer.

As they are organized by the imperial family, nobles from all over the country flock to the capital to enjoy the festivities.

The first day of the Summer Festival. Lucia took Bern’s hand and stepped out of the carriage.

“It’s just as colorful as ever this year.”

“The imperial family must have gone to great lengths this time. All those flowers, it’s a big deal.”

Lucia and Bern slowly entered the party. They had thought it would be a little overwhelming when they saw all the flowers at the entrance, but once inside, their jaws dropped at the sheer size of the party.

“Wow, there’s even an ice sculpture. It must be hard to get ice this big in the summer.”

“That’s right. As expected, it’s the royal family.”

Perhaps Lucia was the only one who felt that way, and the people at the party were talking about the spectacular scale of this summer’s festival.

“Oh, look who it is, it’s Marquis Casper.”

Just then, someone approached and spoke to Bern. It was a business associate, and Bern greeted him and struck up a conversation.

“By the way, I’d like to discuss some business with you, do you have a moment?”

“Yes, no problem. Lucia, I need to talk to him for a minute.”

“You go ahead, I’m going to go meet some friends.”

Bern smiled, squeezed Lucia’s hand, and left with the man. Lucia immediately looked around, scanning for familiar faces.

It was a big event hosted by the imperial family on summer festivals, so her friends couldn’t be left out.

She grabbed a glass of champagne to cool off and strolled around until she caught sight of Ethan’s back.

“Ethan!”

Lucia approached Ethan in a friendly manner, only to realize that there was someone in front of him.

The person had been hidden by Ethan’s large frame.

Lucia’s eyes narrowed as she sensed something odd in the air.

A fairly petite and cute-looking woman was chatting happily with Ethan.

Ethan had a cheerful personality and was talking with a big smile, but somehow his smile was stranger than usual. He blushed and couldn’t stop himself from touching his neck and ears.

‘No way, is it someone you like?’

It was the first time Ethan had ever liked someone. 

He was a handsome guy and quite popular with the ladies, but he hadn’t been in a relationship with anyone, whether it was because he wasn’t interested in a relationship or because he didn’t like anyone.

It was the first time she’d ever seen Ethan so shy.

Lucia’s mouth dropped open and she shrank back in surprise. 

“Lucia, there you are!”

Just as she was about to turn away, someone called out to her in a loud voice. Lucia was embarrassed for a moment.

“What’s going on? Where’s your fiancé? Why are you alone?”

It was Brian and Christine, who walked up to Lucia and scratched their heads when they saw her alone for some reason.

“Well, he had to go talk to someone else for a minute, but he’ll be right back.”

“Oh, yeah, and there’s Ethan, too. Ethan!”

Before Lucia could stop her, Christine called out to Ethan with all her might. Ethan’s eyes snapped to it.

“He can’t…….”

Brian’s eyes narrowed at Lucia’s muttering. Even the sharp-eyed ebony saw it all in a split second.

“Oh, I see. We made a mistake.”

“What? Like what?”

Christine was dumbfounded that she hadn’t already noticed. Then, in the distance, she saw Ethan break away from the woman he was talking to and come over. Beside her, Brian clicked his tongue at the idiot.

“Hey, guys. You’re all here, huh?”

“Go and have a good time, you idiot. Why are you here?”

“Come on. You guys called me first. What’s with all the bullshit?”

“That’s right, Brian. Are you going to give Ethan a pass for doing something wrong?”

Brian frowned as the clueless Christine took Ethan’s side.

“Ethan, it’s not that. It’s just that we feel like we’re interrupting your good time. Apparently, you have feelings for that woman, right?”

Before the friends could argue, Lucia hastily intervened, speaking up for Brian. Ethan blushed, understanding Lucia’s words a beat too late.

“A good time? Were you on a date with that person just now? Oh, my God! I don’t even know that…….”

“That’s enough, you’re going to burn his face off.”

Before Christine could blurt out an apology, Brian cut her off, and Ethan slid his hands down to cover his face.

“…… Was it so obvious?”

“No, not that much…….”

“Uh, I could tell at a glance.”

Brian was adamant, unlike Lucia, who was trying to sugarcoat it. Only after receiving Lucia’s pointed gaze did Brian look away.

“Ha, this is embarrassing. I thought I’d shown you everything I’ve got…….”

“There’s nothing to be embarrassed by. It’s fascinating, by the way. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you like anyone else before, have you?”

“……Yes, it’s the first person I’ve ever liked.”

“Well, first of all, congratulations. Damn, I thought you weren’t into girls, but you’re a boy, too.”

Ethan smiled shyly as Brian made fun of him with his arms around his shoulders.

The news of Ethan’s first love was both exciting and celebratory.

“So how far did you get with her? Did you go on a date?”

“Yeah. How far did you get? I mean, how did you find out?”

They would have congratulated them. Brian and Christine’s eyes lit up and they started asking questions in earnest. 

“Well, …… I ran into her while working last time. A hat flew out of nowhere and I caught it, and it was Lady Layla’s.”

Ethan slowly unraveled his story. 

In short, it was still a one-sided crush, but the good news is that she didn’t have a boyfriend or fiancé yet.

Since picking up the hat, they’ve bumped into each other three times and have gotten close enough to say hello.

The corners of everyone’s mouths twitched as they listened to the young love story. Lucia smiled, feeling like she was back in school after all these years.

“What’s so funny?”

Just then, she heard a familiar voice in her ear.

“Arista. You’re here?”

“I just got here a few minutes ago. What are they talking about, I can’t hear them, and what are they doing with Ethan now?”

“Alas, Ethan is telling us his love story.”

“What?! Ethan? This is a scoop!”

Like Brian and Christine, Arista’s eyes widened and she stepped in between them.

Ethan stammered and told Arista his story.

“Ha, I’m jealous. You’ve got spring, and I don’t know when I’ll ever get it.”

Brian, feeling a tickle in his gut as Ethan finished his story, whined in an envious tone.

“What, weren’t you dating someone?”

“I broke up with her, but it’s been over a month now.”

“Wow, what’s wrong with you, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you go that long without a girlfriend.”

Arista’s surprised reaction made Brian fidget a little awkwardly, looking away.

“Well… I guess I should settle down with one person, I can’t do this forever, right?”

Brian glanced slyly at Christine next to him, wondering if he’d matured a bit or if he had a different mind.

“Mm-hmm, Christine. Any news from you? You’re just as uninterested in relationships as Ethan.”

To be honest, none their my friends had ever been in a relationship, except for Brian, and Lucia, who was engaged.

They’re all pretty good-looking people, so they’ve always gotten flirted with, but they’ve never picked anyone in particular.

Nevertheless, Brian nudged Christine, and she opened her slender eyes, her glassy pupils shining.

“I might be getting engaged soon.”

Brian’s cheeks hardened at Christine’s answer. After a moment of speechlessness, Ethan, Arista, and Lucia exploded.

“Is that true?!”

“What, you never said you had a significant other, what happened?”

“Have you been dating someone else behind our backs?”

“It’s not like that. I don’t hide anything.”

Christine laughed, telling them to calm down. Brian, who had been holding his breath for a while, turned serious and grabbed Christine’s shoulders.

“So what’s this engagement thing about?”

“Well, my parents have been asking me lately if I’m thinking about getting engaged. To tell you the truth, earlier this year I thought engagement and marriage were a long way off, and I didn’t really want to do anything about it, but then I saw Lucia and I was so jealous.”

“Huh? Me?”

Lucia nervously pointed to herself, feeling suddenly named.

“Yes, when I saw Lucia and Marquis Casper’s affectionate relationship, I realized that arranged marriage isn’t such a bad option, and if I’m lucky, I might find a man as good as Lucia’s fiancé, right?”

“Ha, ha, ha… It’s nice of you to say that, but are you sure? I’m getting engaged in a hurry because of my circumstances, but you have a lot of time, so it won’t be too late to get engaged after you meet more people and have a deep relationship?”

“It’s okay, actually, I’m just saying this now, but I’ve never been in love with anyone before.”

“Really? You don’t even have a first love?”

“No, I don’t.”

Everyone stared at Christine, eyes wide with surprise.

“I mean, Ethan just fell in love for the first time, too, so I guess it shouldn’t be that surprising.”

“Well, yeah, it is, but it’s still kind of weird. So you’ve never felt a crush, or even a little attraction, if not love?”

“Well…….”

Christine pondered, and then a scene flashed through her mind.

She had just entered the Academy and was getting to know her current friends. 

When she had gotten to know Ethan, Lucia, and Herwin, who sat near her seat, and later Brian and Bianca joined the group, she hadn’t been able to take her eyes off Brian very often.

He was a good-looking guy, almost as good as Herwin, and he had a lot of admirers because of his sly, sociable personality.

So when she knows him very well, she found herself drawn to his sweetness. 

‘Yeah, if it’s a good feeling, then that must be a good feeling.’

But before the crush could turn into love, she realized that he was flirtatious with all the girls, not just her and that his flirtatious nature made her lose interest.

It wasn’t a conscious decision, but more of a realization that she couldn’t imagine a future with Brian.

That had been five years ago. Christine chuckled at the memory and cocked her head to the side, noticing that Brian was staring at her with a rare smile on his face.

“No comment.”

“Oh, there’s no such thing.”

“She must have had a crush on someone to talk like that.”

Ethan and Arista huddled next to Christine, whimpering for her to get it right.

Meanwhile, Lucia, vaguely aware of Brian’s feelings, looked at him. Brian still couldn’t take his eyes off, Christine.

After a moment, he murmured something.

So they’re getting engaged?

Suddenly, the hairs on the back of her neck stood up and she felt something ominous. 

“I think the party is about to start, but is Herwin here yet?”

“Is he not coming? He always tries to skip these events.”

“No, he’ll be here soon, he’s just running a little late because he’s doing some work.”

“Work? What work?”

“You mean the monster?”

“Uh, yeah. Lucia, how did you know that?”

Ethan nodded in agreement. Currently working for the Imperial Knights, Ethan had a front-row seat to what Herwin was doing.

“Herwin told me the other day, and from the way he’s talking, it sounds like the monster hasn’t been captured yet.”

“Well, that’s half right and half wrong. Actually, we did capture a monster hatchling a few days ago.”

“You captured a monster?”

“Yes. But why did you capture it instead of killing it? You’re supposed to kill the monster right away.”

“Herwin wanted to kill it right away, but the higher-ups stopped him because he hadn’t captured all the monsters yet. The higher-ups said they’d use the babies to lure the monsters in…….”

Ethan muttered that it sounded more like he wanted to show off his first monster kill.

If he hadn’t killed the monster for such a simple reason as Ethan said, Herwin would have been very upset.

It was easy to see what would have happened. Suddenly, Lucia was worried about Herwin, who was busy working.