CH 112

“Mmph…….”

His head pounding, his bones throbbing, John groaned and finally sat up, glancing around in disbelief.

His room was familiar.

“When the hell did I get in here?”

“When did I get in, when did I get in, don’t you remember you were carried in by your son yesterday?”

Julian, who had just brought water, clicked her tongue and criticized John.

John remembered talking to Hail yesterday, but after that, it was a blur.

It was the first time in a long time that he’d drank to the point of blacking out, and John braced himself as best he could. 

No wife, no matter how gentle, likes to see himself drunk.

“Here, here.”

“Mmm, thanks.”

Clearing his throat, John downed the water in one gulp. It seemed to take the edge off.

“Well, it’s a good thing it’s the weekend. Come on out, you’re the only one who needs to eat.”

He checked the time and realized it was a little late for breakfast. If it had been a weekday, he would have been awake or late.

John rolled out of bed, silently listening to Julian’s nagging. He had a feeling the nagging would continue throughout the day.

He ate a late breakfast and sat on the couch, alone. He has still hungover.

“Dad, are you okay?”

Lucas asked. John opened his eyes slightly and nodded wordlessly.

“You weren’t very rested yesterday… and you must have eaten a lot. What were you talking about with the Duke?”

“……It’s a secret.”

“Oh.”

Lucas said wistfully. Meanwhile, John thought back to his conversation with Hail yesterday.

He hadn’t said much to him. 

He’d asked him if he had any other reasons for opposing the marriage besides what he’d said in public, and when he’d said he didn’t, he’d tried to convince him.

‘I understand your feelings, Count. I think of Lucia as my daughter, too, so please think again. I’m sure Herwin didn’t get carried away and propose to her for nothing.’

‘You know, I’ve rarely been asked to do anything by my son in all my life, but the other day I received a letter from Herwin, saying that he wants to marry Lucia no matter what. He also said that if we objected, he would not inherit the dukedom.’

‘He’s been groomed to be the next duke since before Henry was born, so for him, the dukedom is his future, his goal, something he’s thought about his whole life. Do you know what it would mean to give that up?’

Hail’s words conveyed Herwin’s sincerity and his resolve, and he’d be lying if he’ll said he wasn’t shaken by them, but he didn’t want to take them lightly.

Maybe that’s why he drank until it blacked out.

Thinking about Herwin only made things more complicated. John swept his bangs back from his eyes.

“Where is Lucia now?”

“Lucia? I don’t know, she’s been gone since morning.”

“I don’t suppose she’s gone to …… to meet Phoenaeus.”

“I don’t know about that, Dad, but do you really have to call Herwin Phoenaeus? Since when do you call him that…….”

Ever since Herwin and his family had taken up residence there, a long time ago, John had called him by his first name and treated him as if he were his child.

But this time, with Lucia, he went straight for the knife and called him by his surname, not his first name.

When Lucas grumbled that it was now an inside job, John looked at him sharply. Lucas pursed his lips.

“It’s ……loud. I don’t want to hear about this guy who got engaged without consulting his parents.”

“Wow, snap. I told you that was a thing.”

“Pfft, I didn’t hear that.”

Lucas laughed at his father’s childish behavior. For a moment, he wondered if that was who he was a few months ago.

“Miss, you’re here.”

Just then, he heard Aaron greet Lucia. Both Lucas and John pricked up their ears and walked to the front door.

“Lucia, what’s up?”

“Where the hell have you been since this morning…….?”

John couldn’t finish his sentence. There was someone else in front of him, someone who wasn’t Lucia.

A small figure, barely five feet tall, stood above his eye level, and its owner was none other than Herwin.

Puzzled by the unexpected face, John immediately frowned.

Herwin smiled awkwardly.

“Good morning, Count. How did yesterday go?”

“Uhm, uhm…….”

John coughed and walked past Herwin as if he hadn’t seen him. Herwin was taken aback for a moment, but he didn’t react.

Instead, Lucia, who was next to him, was glaring at him.

John shuddered as he finally recognized her.

No words were spoken, but the look in her eyes was enough to make her point.

Don’t ignore Herwin.

It was as if she’d been silent yesterday, but she wasn’t going to look the other way today.

Unnecessarily pricked on the conscience, John awkwardly looked away.

“What is it, Herwin, I thought you were here to see her, but now that you’re here, it doesn’t look like you’re on a date…….”

“Oh, Lucia came by early this morning, and she brought my father some food for his hangover, so I brought you this.”

Herwin handed him a bag. Taking it, Lucas casually inspected its contents and then inhaled sharply.

“Gulp! This, this…….”

“I thought you might have a bit of a hangover, so I brought you some medicine, and next to it is ’50 Years of LeBour’.”

It was LeBour, a liquor that was famous in the world beyond the empire. John’s eyes widened at the mention of 50 years, not 20.

He gasped and checked the bottle in Lucas’ hand. It was definitely LeBour.

Not only that, but it was the black label, which is expensive and hard to come by.

“…… How the hell did you get this? No, no, no, did you bring this as a gift?”

Herwin nodded. John’s mouth dropped open, as well as Lucas’, at the unusual scale.

“I get presents like this from time to time, but I’m not much of a drinker, so I brought it with me. I’ve never opened it, but if you’re ever stuck with it, let me know and I’ll get you a new one.”

“No need for that…….”

For the first time, John responded to Herwin’s words. Herwin’s face instantly lit up, but he couldn’t help but be happy. He tried to control the twitching corners of his mouth.

“But a gift of alcohol to someone with a hangover? What were you thinking?”

John grabbed the pod, not one to pass up a gift, no matter how good it was. 

He liked it. Lucia stood beside him, staring at him with cold eyes. 

Herwin saw it coming, and without a trace of embarrassment, he answered.

“I understand you had a special occasion yesterday. I know you don’t usually drink too much of it, and they say it’s good for you, so I thought it would be nice for you to have some whenever you feel like it.”

“……I see.”

John nodded bluntly. Lucas glanced at his father, who looked a little fat and took the bottle of LeBour in his hand.

“If you don’t mind, I’ll drink it.”

Wide-eyed, John snatched it up in a flash. Then he hid it behind his back.

“Hmph! When did I say I’m not drinking?”

John grumbled at the man to finish his sentence, then turned on his heel and began to run away with the brew.

Lucas and Lucia giggled when they saw their father at the top of the stairs.

“Well done, Herwin. Our father may look a little grouchy right now, but he’s very pleased with you.”

“Really?”

“He’s just stroking his ego, and it’s a good thing you did, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, I hope he’s feeling a little better about it.”

“Fifty years of LeBour is enough time to change his mind.”

He chuckled at Lucas worrying about nothing. For now, he was glad that John seemed to be in a much better mood than yesterday.

“I’ll have to try harder in the future.”

“I’ll help you, we’ll work together.”

Despite her small stature, she was reassuring to look at. Herwin hugged Lucia tightly, enjoying her affection.

* * *

From that day forward, Herwin did everything he could to win John’s heart.

He often bombarded him with gifts, using the excuse that he was buying something for him while he was buying something for himself, and he often went to Agnes to get his eye on him.

It wasn’t hard to get into Agnes’ house because everyone but John was happy to see him.

Moreover, the whole family was very supportive and made room for him to be close to John.

However, it backfired, and his mind, initially distracted by the wine, was soon back on track.

When he visited Agnes the other day, he was greeted with a bored look, and he didn’t even get to speak to John.

“Hah…….”

Herwin sighed and slumped down on the table. Today was the first day he’d seen his friends in weeks.

Arista and Ethan had been too busy to come, and Brian was the only one in the house right now.

Accepting the coffee from the servant, Brian set his cup down, pushing aside the dark hair that cluttered the table.

“You were all smiles the last time I saw you, what’s wrong with you today, what’s happened in the last few weeks?”

“……The Count objected to our marriage.”

“Kulk!”

Brian coughed, thinking he’d gotten into a fight with Lucia at best. For a moment, he thought he was joking, but the endlessly gloomy look on his face told him it was true.

“……So, did you guys break up?”

“That can’t be!”

Herwin shouted, jumping to his feet, but then drooped like a plant without a handful of sunshine.

“Only the Count is against it, so we have to change his mind. But is that…….”

“That’s not going to be easy.”

“……Yes.”

Herwin banged his head on the table again. A dark cloud seemed to float around him.

“Hahaha, so.”

Just then, he heard familiar voices. One was Lucia’s, and the other was-.

“Hey, guys.”

“……….”

It was Christine. She was chatting happily with Lucia and visibly froze at the sight of Brian. Her glassy eyes widened and she jerked back.

“Lu, Lucia, can we go to the restroom for a minute?”

“Huh? Sure.”

Lucia, unable to speak, was dragged by Christine. Brian grinned at the sight of her squirming backside.

There was a faint trace of affection on his face.

Watching the scene, Herwin spoke up.

“You must have confessed to Christine.”

Surprised, Brian slowly looked up at Herwin. Herwin was still banging his head on the table.

“……How do you know?”

“No way. The way she’s avoiding you, it’s a perfect quote. Oh, and did you happen to be the one who stood up to her?”

It was a tweezer’s guess. Brian swept his hand across his face, unable to come up with a good excuse. He’d never told anyone what was on his mind, and it felt weird to be torn apart by a couple.

“Did Lucia tell you?”

“No. But Lucia must have known?”

“Well, by accident. Yeah, I was the one who met Christine.”

“Hmmm…….”

Herwin nodded unimpressed, then remembered something and looked back at Brian.

“Wait, doesn’t it mean that you’re not originally supposed to meet Christine, but that person canceled it, and you were the next candidate…….”

Brian smirked. 

He knew in his gut that he’d pulled a fast one. Herwin stuck his tongue out in annoyance.

“You’re amazing, too.”

“I don’t think that’s what you’re supposed to say.”

“How the hell did you do it, I mean, did your father allow you to meet Christine in the first place?”

“Well, there were some twists and turns, but the way things turned out, I guess he did give me permission.”

Brian laughed, asking the obvious in a laid-back manner.