CH 107

“Luckily, she hasn’t had any reaction since that day. I should be thankful that she didn’t kick Celine out, for now.”

“I wish you the best of luck with that.”

“Thank you.”

As Bern’s story came to a close, the drinks they ordered arrived. 

Over the aromatic coffee, Bern turned to Lucia.

“Lucia, I hope everything is okay with you, too. I was wondering if you were surprised by our sudden split.”

“Well, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t surprised, but that’s okay. They knew how much I like Herwin, and they even seemed a little happy about it.”

“Really? That’s surprising.”

“There’s a bit of a conflict of interest, and fortunately, the Phoenaeus family has been very accepting of me.”

“That’s good to hear.”

“Yes, it did, and soon we’ll be getting together with the Phoenaeus family to officially talk about the marriage, mostly about scheduling, since it’s already confirmed.”

“Then you’ll be having the ceremony soon, too.”

“Probably. Herwin wants to get married as soon as possible, and I can’t wait to get married myself.”

“I think I know how you feel, we’re the same way.”

Their eyes met, and they both smiled. They stared at each other wordlessly for a while before Lucia spoke up.

“Are you happy?”

Bern nodded with a gentle smile.

“Nothing is bothering you anymore, is it?”

“No, nothing, and even if there was,…….”

Glancing at the closed door, Bern smiled happily.

“Celine and I will get through it together.”

It was a much better answer than the anxious, fearful one he’d gotten in the past. 

“I know it’s been a short time, but I’m glad you’ve been there for me.”

“Me too. I’m glad you’re my fiancée.”

It was pure sincerity, without an ounce of pretense. The two gave each other a reassuring smile and rose from their seats.

The closure had been reached. It was time to go their separate ways.

“Oh, by the way. About our breakup.”

Just before heading out the door, Bern suddenly turned around.

“I’ll be the one to tell everyone.”

“You mean you’re going to tell them on your own?”

“Yes, and I’m also going to announce my marriage right after the breakup, which is bound to get people talking, right?”

It was the kind of story that gossip-loving chis would love to hear. Once the news spread through the social circles, there would be all sorts of ugly people tearing them apart.

But Bern was saying that he would bear the brunt of it all alone.

“You don’t have to do that, it’s a consensual breakup, I can’t make you carry all the burdens alone…….”

“No. I’ll handle it myself, and I’ve already talked to Celine about it. In fact, she’s the one who brought it up.”

“You mean Lady Jayson?”

“Yes. She said she owes you so much, and that this is the least she could do to repay the favor.”

“But…….”

“Please don’t say no. Later, when the rumors have died down a bit, you can announce your marriage then, and we’ll take all the arrows in the meantime.”

Lucia wondered if she was putting too much of a burden on Bern, but he seemed more comfortable with it.

Unable to help herself, Lucia nodded.

“……Then I beg you with shame.”

“Well thought out. Oh, and you’ll be coming to our wedding later, right?”

It wasn’t very common to go to the wedding of a man she was so close to getting engaged to, but given the rumors that were going to start, she needed to make a public statement that she was still on good terms with him after the breakup.

Lucia readily accepted.

“Of course, when the wedding invitations come out, be sure to send them to me first.”

“Haha, okay, I’ll send it to Lucia first.”

With those cheerful words, Bern opened the door. The cafe was still crowded.

At a table near the door were Celine and Herwin.

“Herwin, should we go… What are you doing?”

For a moment, as she approached Herwin, Lucia trembled slightly at the sight before her. It was the same for Bern beside her.

Herwin and Celine were glaring at each other, furious, but somehow they looked like friends of years.

“Ah! Lucia!”

Growling, Herwin spotted Lucia and jumped to his feet, immediately pulling her away from Bern.

Celine clicked her tongue as she watched.

“Tsk, tsk, do you have to show your emotions so openly? That’s not very mature.”

“Hmph, aside from that, aren’t you also holding onto the Marquis’ arm?”

Unbeknownst to Herwin, Celine was also clinging to Bern, subtly showing off that he was hers.

Meanwhile, Lucia and Bern, who had no idea what their lovers were doing, were stunned.

“Seriously, what do you think you’re doing, Herwin?”

“Celine, you’re being a bit much today.”

The two only laughed and tried to soothe their pampered lover. Their eyes met for a moment, and Lucia and Bern realized their shared plight and nodded silently.

“We should probably get going, it’s been fun talking to you today.”

“So have I. I wish you both happiness in the future.”

No more goodbyes. This was truly the last time. Bern and Lucia looked away from each other and toward their respective lovers.

Bern took Celine and Lucia took Herwin and they left the café.

As they left the café and headed in the opposite direction, Herwin whispered to Lucia.

“What did you talk to the Marquis about?”

“We didn’t talk about anything, just said our final goodbyes.”

“If that was the case, you could have done it in a letter, not in person.”

Herwin grumbled, still feeling bad about meeting Bern. But he didn’t say much more than that.

“Oh, that’s right, Bern decided to tell people about the breakup on his own, because he knows there will be a fuss about it. We’ll be announcing our marriage right after the news of the breakup.”

“Hmm, yeah? I like that one. Of course, he needs to, after what he did to you.”

“Well, if you look at it that way, I’m not much better than Bern…….”

“No. You’re not like the Marquis.”

After they became lovers, Herwin had gotten his beanstalk tight. Lucia shook her head in disbelief. 

She shook her head, saying that she couldn’t stop him.

When Herwin stopped, dumbfounded, Lucia smirked.

“By the way, we’re not allowed to have physical contact outside for the time being until the rumors die down.”

Herwin’s face hardened as if struck by lightning. He stammered, unable to speak.

“That’s ridiculous! What does that have to do with anything!”

“Why it doesn’t matter. When news of our breakup gets out, eyes will naturally turn to me, and when they see us together, they can’t help but talk. Look, when we walked into the cafe today, people were staring and gossiping.”

“That’s……!”

“You can do whatever you want when people aren’t around, so just be patient. Oh, and of course, you know you’re not supposed to come to my house often, right?”

Lucia added that she had to be careful about what people sees, but Herwin felt hopeless.

Now that we’re finally together, why can’t he touch his sweetheart or visit her?

Lucia stifled a laugh as she watched Herwin’s expression change from moment to moment. 

She wondered if Herwin had always been such an expressive person, but now that she was dating him, she seemed to have seen many different sides of him.

‘I’ll tell him later that he looks cute.’

For the first time, she wanted to enjoy this moment of dominance over Herwin a little more.

Lucia hummed her nose and took the lead. Herwin stumbled along behind her, secretly trying to grab her hand, but she playfully dodged his every time.

It was their first date since becoming lovers, but it was a happy day for Lucia and a depressing one for Herwin.

* * *

Bang!

“Lu, Lucas! Did you hear the news?”

Lucas, who had been going about his business as usual, snapped out of his daze when he saw Ares stomping into the room.

Before he could react, Ares was on him.

“Look, Marquis Casper is getting married!”

Ares handed him a newspaper. It was a publication that specialized in gossip and scandal. 

Ares turned to the page and saw that the Marquis of Casper had separated from Lucia and was marrying Celine, who had been Viscountess Romario only a few months earlier.

Lucas, who had already heard the whole story from Bern, was completely unmoved.

“What, it’s no big deal.”

“Isn’t this a big deal? If it’s your sister, why are you running around in circles? Tell me the truth, you’re not Lucas, are you?”

Ares couldn’t believe Lucas’ reaction. He grabbed Lucas by the shoulders and shook him, but Lucas shook his hand away.

“Come on, man. I’m normal.”

“How can you be normal now, when the last time Lucia told you she was engaged to Marquis Casper, you couldn’t concentrate on your work for days!”

Seeing his friend ranting, Lucas remembered something.

“Oh, didn’t I ever tell you?”

“What.”

“It’s been a while since Lucia and the Marquis of Casper parted ways, and she’s decided to marry someone else.”

Ares had never heard that before. He was too stunned to react, frozen in a stunned position.

“I guess I didn’t tell you.”

Lucas’ stammering apology brought him back to reality. Ares didn’t know where to start getting angry.

Obviously, he was worried that his friend, who is a fool to his younger sister, might be shocked, but now…….

“Asshole.”

If it had happened, he would have told him right away.

“Hah, well, at least Lucia doesn’t seem to be hurt. Tell her congratulations on her marriage to Herwin.”

“What, how did you know she’s getting married to Herwin?”

“I heard Lucia is getting married.”

“Yeah.”

“You said she’s getting married out of the blue, without even meeting anyone else, so of course the only person she’s getting married to is Herwin, right?”

“That’s…….”

“Besides, lately, Arista’s been making fun of Herwin, saying he’s very ugly. I’ve heard Lucia’s name come up from time to time, and I wonder if Herwin likes her.”

Lucas flinched at the mention of Arista’s name. Ares didn’t see it, though.

“For some reason, you’ve been distracted lately, I assumed you were worried about Lucia?”

“I’ve been… distracted?”

“It’s been days, I’ve had to call your name several times to get you to respond, and you’ve been staring out the window instead of working. I thought you were just reeling from heartbreak.”

“Ah, ahaha, right…….”

Lucas was shaken at first, but then he regained his composure and blurted out ‘Yeah’.

He’d just broken up with Becky. He’d broken up with her after he’d witnessed her cheating on him right in front of him, and he hadn’t thought of her once since. On the contrary.

‘I can’t get Arista out of my head.’

He could still see Arista’s face in his mind from that awkward ride to Lydia’s house a few days ago.

No matter how hard he tried to shake it off, he found himself thinking about her at some point.

Lucas blushed, covering his face with the back of his hand behind Ares’ back.

‘What’s wrong with me?’

His heart kept pounding in his chest, a pleasant rumble. 

Before he could define what this feeling was, there was a loud knock on the door.