CH 105

Arista, who was looking outside until Becky was out of sight, was able to take a breather only after the carriage moved away from Agnes’ mansion…

“Ha, she’s persistent. Isn’t she?”

Arista chuckled and turned her head, but stopped when she saw Lucas staring at her in fascination.

“……We’re dating?”

Lucas muttered. At first, Arista didn’t understand, but then she blushed and stammered.

“Oh, I guess I had to lie, given the circumstances! She’s the kind of person who won’t fall for anything!”

Arista, who was about to shake her hand, only then realized that she was still holding Lucas’ hand.

Arista let out a short scream and let go of Lucas’ hand.

“Argh, I’m sorry, brother, when did I ever put my hand on …….”

Lucas was relaxed when Arista, who was playful but always charismatic, became sloppy in a moment.

Arista closed her mouth at the sound of a loud laugh.

“Hahaha! Yes, you’re right. Thanks to you, I was able to take it off nicely. Thank you.”

Lucas stroked Arista’s hair, his eyes softening. Arista’s already flushed cheeks grew even hotter.

“I was surprised, though, that you suddenly took my hand and said we were dating. I was also surprised that she said you like me yesterday.”

Lucas laughed, almost misunderstanding her. But then his laughter faded.

The sunset glow from the window fell on Arista’s face. It looked like she was blushing.

Her lips were pouting, her eyes were red from the sunset, and she looked shy.

It was a beautiful sight, and Lucas couldn’t help but be mesmerized.

Lucas covered the corner of his mouth with one hand and quickly turned away.

Arista stared at the suddenly silent man.

“Brother?”

Arista called out to him, but Lucas had no answer.

‘Dear me, what is this.’

The words Lucas uttered in jest had returned like a boomerang, and he couldn’t get them out of his head.

If only Arista likes him.

The thought came out of nowhere. He don’t know why, it was more of a sudden thought. 

Arista, who he had always seen as his sister, looked like a woman for the first time today. 

Confused by his sudden change of heart, Lucas said nothing until they reached the Duchess of Lydia’s mansion.

* * *

Not long after Arista’s departure, Lucia was brought into the drawing-room by Herwin.

Herwin held her so tightly that she could barely move.

He wanted to hug Lucia as soon as he saw her, but her friends were in the way.

“I came here to ask you out…….”

Herwin grumbled in a rueful tone, and Lucia looked up in surprise.

“Really, that’s why you came all dressed up?”

Somehow, it was more fashionable than usual, and he had planned it.

The corner of his mouth twitched unnecessarily at the sudden compliment, as Lucia dissected his outfit with an innocent face.

He felt like he was going to laugh like a fool.

“Hmph, hmph, am I that… cool?”

“Huh? Huh. You’re always cool, but you’re even cooler today.”

Lucia’s nonchalant way of asking the obvious made the corners of Herwin’s mouth turn upward even more.

It wasn’t every day that he heard the word cool, so why was he so happy as if he could fly?

It must have been a thoughtless comment, but in his eyes, Lucia was cuter than ever. 

Finally, unable to resist, he gently cupped her face.

Lucia’s eyelashes fluttered as he playfully kissed her.

“What are you doing all of a sudden…….”

“Because you’re so pretty.”

The look on Herwin’s face made Lucia pause for a moment. For a moment, she felt ashamed of her tomato-red face and quickly covered it with her hands.

The look in Herwin’s eyes, the look on his face, was one of unbridled love.

She felt completely loved.

But Lucia was no different, for her eyes were filled with love for him as well.

Seeing that, Herwin clenched his fists behind Lucia’s back. He had a premonition that if he didn’t control his desires here, he might get into trouble.

Instead, he compromised with himself by hugging Lucia tightly and letting out an excited sigh.

“Ha, I think it’s better to be connected now.”

“Huh?”

“If I had connected with you back in the academy… no, before that, my daily life would have been impossible.”

Lucia, who had only heard the previous words and felt sorry for herself, opened her rabbit eyes at the words that followed. She interpreted his words to mean that he liked her so much that he couldn’t go on with his life.

“Alas, I don’t want to go.”

Herwin, who had been checking the time, grumbled and hugged Lucia.

“You’re leaving already? Have dinner.”

It was an inviting suggestion, but after an internal struggle, Herwin shook his head.

“No, it would make everyone uncomfortable.”

“It’s not like we’re in a relationship, and I’m sure my mom and dad would be happy to see you.”

“Um, well…….”

Herwin felt a little nervous. Even Lucas, who was so close to him, was wary of him and disliked him, but he didn’t think that the Count and Countess Agnes would treat him casually.

If they disliked him more than Lucas, they would dislike him, not welcome him….…

“Wouldn’t your parents be surprised? We’ve only been together for a day.”

“Uh, yeah.”

Her skin felt so familiar that for a moment he thought they’d been together for months.

“I’ll come back for a formal visit later. And I’ve told my mother that we’re getting married, and she’s contacting my father, so he’ll be coming down to the capital soon.”

“Coming down to the capital? He doesn’t have to…….”

Lucia had, of course, told her parents that she would marry Herwin, but Hail’s descent into the capital was a different matter.

He had no time to come down to the capital right now, with all the work he was doing in the north, and she didn’t understand why he would take time out of his busy schedule just for her.

“Of course, he should come. It’s for our marriage, and my father secretly wanted us to get married.”

Lucia looked deeply surprised by Herwin’s words and suddenly remembered Scarlett’s words from earlier.

‘I meant what I said a moment ago, I wanted you to join our family, even though Herwin may be lacking in many ways, and that’s not just for me, it’s for him as well.’

She felt unnecessarily embarrassed as she suddenly realized that she was loved by the Phoenaeus family.

“Do you think we should go on a proper date tomorrow?”

It was then that Herwin, who had been muttering about not wanting to go, asked her out. Lucia was about to say yes, but then she remembered something and paused.

“I have an appointment tomorrow…….”

“An appointment? What appointment?”

Herwin asked in surprise, and Lucia paused for a moment.

“Well, I’m supposed to have a quick meeting with Bern…….”

This morning, a letter arrived from Bern. They hadn’t had a chance to talk since Lucia fainted after the orc incident yesterday.

They’ve arranged to meet tomorrow for a quick chat to make sure things are in order and to catch up.

Herwin was understanding, but not pleased.

“…… What time are you meeting tomorrow?”

“We’re meeting at Taylor’s Cafe at 1:00.”

His eyes were stiff, but Herwin tried to smile. He didn’t want to be a pathetic human being for this.

“I’m coming with you.”

“You too?”

“What, I can’t go?”

“Uhm…….”

The longer Lucia hesitated, the more nervous Herwin became. Even if they didn’t have feelings for each other, he couldn’t get over the fact that Lucia’s first kiss was with Bern.

Just as jealousy was about to take over, Lucia spoke up.

“Well, I suppose it’s okay. Yes, come with us tomorrow.”

Herwin’s face instantly brightened. 

“Really? No hesitation?”

For some reason, Lucia thought she could see a tail wagging wildly behind Herwin.

“When you’re done talking to the Marquis, let’s go on that date we didn’t get to today. How about that?”

“Yeah, that sounds good.”

“I’ll organize the perfect date tomorrow. So you do nothing but… oh, right.”

Herwin was babbling when he suddenly remembered something and let go of Lucia.

Lucia was dumbfounded for a moment, but then she saw the gift box in front of her.

“What a surprise!”

Herwin grinned.

“Open it.”

Lucia obeyed and unwrapped the gift. Inside were a pair of aquamarine earrings as blue as the sky.

Lucia’s eyes widened as she realized they were exactly her style.

“They’re so beautiful…….”

Herwin clenched her fists behind Lucia’s back as she was mesmerized.

“What do you think, do you like it?”

“Yes! Yes! I love it! When did you buy this?”

There was a pause as Herwin casually removed the topaz earrings from Lucia’s ears and slipped in the aquamarine ones.

Herwin smiled bitterly.

“I bought these just before I went north.”

“Huh? Before you went to the North…….”

That was the last time Lucia had confessed to Herwin. Puzzled, Lucia looked again at the wrapping paper she had unwrapped. 

It was an accessory that Herwin had bought secretly.

“No way… did you buy it for me?”

Lucia’s eyes flushed at the unexpected revelation. Herwin nodded.

“I originally bought it for you. I wanted to give it to you when I dropped you off… We got separated like that that day, so…….”

“Ah…….”

Lucia sighed. They got separated suddenly because of her confession.

At that time, she thought it was for Arista, but it was hers….…

‘I’m so happy.’

Lucia’s heart sank. Lucia looked at the aquamarine in her ear in the mirror and blushed.

“Thank you, Herwin. This is the best gift I’ve ever gotten.”

“I’m glad you like it.”

Herwin whispered, pulling Lucia into a tight hug.

“I love you, Lucia.”

In response, Lucia threw her arms around Herwin’s neck. 

“I love you too, Herwin.”

It was a magical word that they never got tired of hearing. They hugged each other for a long time, both of them smiling. Lucia chirped happily.

“I think I’ll wear these every day from now on.”

Lucia rearranged her earrings. Herwin giggled as he watched.

“I’ll buy you as many as you want, so don’t waste them. By the way, I haven’t seen these earrings before, when did you get them?”

“Oh, they’re from…….”

Lucia, who had been talking excitedly, remembered something and broke out in a cold sweat.

“Huh?”

“Those are the earrings Bern gave me…….”

Herwin’s face instantly turned cold. 

It was quite a favorite earring, so she wore it inadvertently.

When Lucia looked at Herwin, Herwin narrowed his eyes.

“Hmph, yeah?”

Herwin took the earring from Lucia’s hand and glared at it as if it were an enemy. He clenched his fist, and with a snap, it fell to the ground.

“Oh no, it’s broken.”

Does it break? No matter how strong he was, a jewel shouldn’t shatter so easily.

She looked at Herwin’s hand in surprise, and the jewelry was indeed shattered. Lucia stared in disbelief, but Herwin only smiled with an indifferent expression.

“I’ll get you something prettier than this.”

“Ugh, okay…….”

Herwin jumped to his feet, wiping his hands on the trash can.

Lucia couldn’t help but giggle at his obvious pout.

‘He’s not even a child.’

It was clear that he had broken it on purpose out of jealousy. Still, his jealousy was cute, so Lucia decided to let it slide.