CH 92

When Herwin was too flustered to say anything, Arista poked him in the side of the head, snapping him back to reality.

“……Oh, no. I’m the one who should apologize.”

An awkward silence hung in the air, but it was much more relaxed than it had been earlier. Lucas smiled awkwardly. But then he coughed and broke the expression.

“Not so much! This is…not the place to say this, but you meant what you said before, didn’t you?”

Lucas didn’t find it easy to believe Herwin’s words about liking Lucia. He knew it was true, but he wasn’t sure.

Herwin understood, and his face grew serious.

“I don’t lie like that.”

“……Yes. I see.”

Lucas’ eyes narrowed as he realized that Herwin was sincere.

“I don’t know what the future holds for you, but… be strong.”

“…my brother.”

It was a clunky word, but Lucas acknowledged Herwin. Herwin was overwhelmed with emotion, never expecting him to acknowledge him.

When Herwin’s eyes lit up and he looked at him nervously, Lucas changed the subject.

“Hmph, everyone else has gone out dancing, and you guys are just going to stay here? I’m sure there’s a line of people who want to dance with you.”

“Dude, there’s only one person I want. You know that.”

It was a very Herwin thing to say, so Lucas naturally turned his attention to Arista next to him.

“Arista, are you… are you… are you waiting for that guy you said you liked?”

Lucas’ voice was subtly lowered.

Arista didn’t notice, though. Her heart throbbed in her chest at the thought of Lucas, her crush, talking about her crush.

Arista let out a shaky breath and smiled nonchalantly.

“It’s nothing like that. I don’t really like dancing. My brother knows that.”

“……I know.”

Sensing the subtle vibe between Lucas and Arista, Becky blanched and tightened her grip on Lucas’ arm.

She didn’t like the idea of him seeing another woman, even with her fiancée by his side.

The last time she’d brought up the subject of their engagement, he’d avoided the conversation without realizing it.

At the time, she thought it was because he hadn’t accepted the engagement yet, but she couldn’t let him run away for Arista again.

“Come on, Lucas, let’s go dance, and then we can start telling people about our engagement.”

“……engagement? You’re getting engaged?”

Herwin’s eyes widened at the word engaged, and Arista clutched the hem of her skirt. Lucas nodded in rare embarrassment.

“Yeah, it happened.”

“Congratulations, bro. Have you set a date for the engagement?”

“No, not yet. Actually, we haven’t decided anything because we just promised to get engaged.”

“Well, that doesn’t change the fact that we’re getting engaged, so we’ll figure out the details soon enough, right, Lucas?”

Becky nailed the engagement before he could say anything else. Lucas merely smiled mechanically and nodded.

“We’re going to go dance. See you later.” 

“Yeah.”

After Becky and Lucas left, there was a moment of silence before Herwin jerked his head toward Arista.

“I can’t believe Lucas is engaged. What did you know? No, what does he mean you like someone?”

He hadn’t asked because he’d been too busy with Lucas and Becky a moment ago, but the sudden onslaught of information hadn’t been easy to digest, and Herwin turned to Arista. 

Still, Arista glanced over to Lucas, who was dancing with Becky in the distance.

Her violet eyes sunk low, and Herwin shook his head.

It was a strange feeling as if something was being grasped, but not held. Herwin scratched his head, following Arista’s gaze to Lucas.

Just then, Lucia, who had been dancing with Bern, slipped out of the dance hall. 

Herwin immediately turned his attention away from Arista and Lucas and walked toward Lucia. In the distance, he saw a woman approaching them.

“What is it?”

The familiar woman was speaking to them.

Bern looked puzzled, and Lucia stood still for a moment with a meaningful look on her face, before unlocking her arm and smiling.

The conversation ended, and Lucia walked away. Bern rushed to catch up with Lucia, but the woman in front of him grabbed him.

‘Scarlet hair, freckles…….’

Something flashed through his vague memory.

‘That’s the girl from Christine’s party.’

The girl who had bumped into him just before he witnessed Lucia and Bern kissing.

At the time, she was running out of the ballroom, sobbing like a broken heart.

He don’t know what the three of them were talking about, but he had a sinking feeling.

“Huh? You guys were still here, instead of going to the dance…….”

Lucia walked away from the dance floor and approached Arista and Herwin, only to stop when she saw that Arista’s mood had dropped in the past few minutes and that Herwin was staring at her.

Worried that something was going on, Lucia turned to escape, but Herwin held her back.

“Where are you going?”

“No, just…….”

“Where’s your fiancé and why are you alone?”

“Oh… Bern went dancing with another woman.”

“Another woman?”

He turned his head and there he was, dancing with her. His usual smiling face had hardened.

“Is it okay for your fiancé to dance with someone else?”

“It’s not uncommon for …… engaged people to dance with other people.”

After a moment of thought, Lucia replied a beat late.

She remembered Celine approaching him a moment ago.

‘Marquis Casper, I request a dance.’

‘……Lady Jayson.’

Bern, who always called her Celine, lowered his voice sharply, addressing her by her surname, not her first name.

Lucia sensed Berne’s embarrassment, and she would have been embarrassed, too, if Herwin had been as brazen as Celine.

‘I know it’s rude, but I’m begging you, is that all right? My Lady Agnes.’

Lucia faced Celine squarely. Celine’s hands and shoulders were shaking with nervousness, but she didn’t avoid Lucia’s gaze.

Lucia could see how desperate she was.

‘Lucia, you don’t have to do that, and I’m sorry I got you into this mess.’

Lucia was silent, and Bern, thinking she was angry, hurried to excuse himself.

As Bern started to walk away with Lucia, a look of despair began to settle on Celine’s face. Seeing her on the verge of tears, Lucia opened her mouth to speak.

‘No, it’s all right. You don’t have to be engaged to dance.’

‘Lucia?’

Bern was taken aback, he hadn’t thought Lucia would say yes. Celine’s eyes widened in response.

‘I’m going to take a break.’

As Lucia moved away from Bern, Celine whispered in her ear.

‘……Thank you so much, young lady.’

There was a mixture of overwhelming emotion and gratitude in the cry-filled voice.

Compassion? Lucia doesn’t know why she gave up Bern to Celine. 

She just had a vague feeling that it was the right thing to do at that moment.

“…… So, I guess you don’t mind dancing with me.”

“Huh?”

Lucia, who had been thinking about Celine and Bern, looked up at the sudden words.

Herwin was looking down at her with a serious face. Then he bent down and offered her his hand politely.

“Will you dance with me, my lady?”

There was a stir around them as Herwin, the most recognizable figure in the room, asked Lucia to dance. Even Arista, who had been preoccupied with Lucas, turned her head.

Asking Lucia to dance is one thing, but the fact that Herwin, the most popular man in town, asked a woman to dance is the topic of conversation.

There’s nothing new here, as he usually only dances with the girls he normally hangs out with, like Lucia and Arista. However, this was the first time he had ever politely asked a woman to dance.

Lucia blushed at the attention.

“Geez, what are you doing?”

“I’m asking you to dance with me, is that something you don’t like?”

“No, it’s not like that…….”

“Lucia, as you said, you can dance even if you’re engaged.”

Lucia hesitated, and Arista, who was nearby, nudged Herwin. Arista narrowed her eyes and jerked her chin toward the dance floor.

“Don’t look at the others. You’ll get more stares if you refuse.”

Lucia glanced around nervously, then back at Herwin. He was still bent at the waist, looking only at her.

His gaze was so intense that Lucia swallowed hard.

“……Yes.”

Herwin’s face instantly brightened as a small hand was placed over his. It was enough to make everyone around them, including Lucia and Arista, momentarily mesmerized.

“Let’s go.”

Lucia naturally took Herwin’s hand and led him out onto the dance floor. Bern and Celine were in the distance, but right now, all Lucia could see was Herwin.

‘This is just like…….’

It was like when she was 16 and dancing at Herwin’s birthday party.

She knew then that she was Arista’s substitute, but she’d been happy that he’d smiled at her, that he’d chosen her for their first dance.

A wave of overwhelming emotions washed over her, just as it had back then when she was younger.

She’s about to drown in a tidal wave of emotions. Her mind went white and she couldn’t think straight right now.

Meanwhile, Herwin, who had no way of knowing what Lucia was thinking, couldn’t help the corners of his mouth curling up as he watched her stare at him like a baby bird chasing its mother.

If he relaxed here, he would only end up laughing like a fool.

It was quite pleasing and exhilarating to find himself staring into a crystal-clear wall with no one but himself in sight.

Her tiny hands fit easily in his grasp, her slender waist in a handful, and her tiny frame with the crown of her head just visible.

Normally, he hate dancing more than anything, but with her, he could dance all day.

He felt like it was just him and Lucia in the world right now.

Just in time to hear the orchestra play, Herwin lifted Lucia with a flourish. It was a light gesture that drew stares.

It jolted Lucia out of her daze.

“Hey, what are you doing!”

“Haha, why, are you embarrassed?”

“That’s right…! Of course, I am! I’m not even in the lifting section, and all of a sudden I’m…….”

Lucia lowered her voice, conscious of the gaze. When she whispered to him, it sounded like a lark chirping.

“……are you listening to me?”

“Yes.”

Lucia’s mouth dropped open when she saw the soft curve of his eyes. She almost felt embarrassed at how affectionate those red eyes were.

“Oh, I’m happy…….”

“What?”

“I wish time would just stop.”

Whirling around, Herwin whispered something only Lucia could hear.

Hearing the tickling words, Lucia looked up at him. He was smiling like the happiest man in the world.

‘……me too.’

The words stuck in her throat. She almost let it slip out. 

Lucia leaned forward and stared at his chest.

Then she saw something familiar in his jacket pocket: the handkerchief she’d given him.

The material, the color, and the peek-a-boo embroidery peeked out. All of them had passed through Lucia’s hands.

From the moment she saw the handkerchief, Lucia was shaken.

‘Is this really okay?’

She knew she had to go through with this engagement for Bern’s sake, for her own sake, but the thought flashed through her mind that she might be blinded by her foolish pride and miss the most important thing.