Chapter 28

Why would he care if Lestia ate well or not?

Now that the family head, Gerard, was back, Lysian did not have any need to worry and pay attention to Lestia.

So, why do I keep on caring about her?

His forehead crumpled on its own as this thought flashed through his head.

Lysian, who never held any interest in other human beings, was unfamiliar with this strange sense of concern over Lestia.

“Lysian-nim?”

Lestia called out his name when she felt Lysian’s gaze on him.

Ah!

Lysian came back to his senses and replied to her as he always did.

“You, you don’t have to look at the sea right now. Once you arrive at the Verchester territory, you will get sick of it.”

“Yes? Get sick of… it?”

Lestia looked at her with her incredibly big eyes as she blinked and expressed her doubts.

“That’s right. Since Verchester’s base castle is located on a cliff overlooking the sea. You’ll definitely be able to see it in your room.”

“My goodness…”

She never imagined that she would be able to look at the sea from her room.

Mathias, who was watching Lestia’s reaction, spoke up quickly.

“That’s right, Liti! It’s going to be summer soon! Let’s go to the beach once it gets hot. This brother of yours will definitely play with you!”

Lysian and Joel’s expressions changed once they heard his words. It was as if they weren’t satisfied by his words.

“Mathias, you’re going to take our sister to the beach? Please, don’t make any trouble.”

“What? Joel! Stop picking up a fight! If you keep on talking like that, my reputation as a brother will fall!”

“Ah! You still have some reputation left?”

“Really! Even you, Lysian?! Why is there no one on my side in this house?! No, Liti, you’re on my side, right?”

Mathias hurriedly asked Lestia.

In the end, all Lestia could do was answer him with… “Yes, brother Mathias. Let’s go to the beach. I think it will be fun.”.

“See? As expected, Liti is on my side!”

Hearing Liti’s words, Mathias’ expression immediately turned triumphant. It was as if he wasn’t sullen at all earlier.

“Ehem. Our youngest is so kind.”

Lestia smiled quietly as she looked at her three brothers one after the other. She still couldn’t believe that these young nobles were her family. However, Gerard Verchester, the family head, had personally guaranteed her status. With his scary face, he declared that Lestia was truly a child of the Verchester Duchy.

‘The duke is not someone who would speak nonsense.’

So, she thought that it was alright.

‘Just like brother Joel had said… I will be able to hear the story of my birth.’

Lestia tried to erase the growing anxiety and suspicion in her heart as she received another macaron from Joel.

All she would do was live in the moment.

The carriage finally stopped moving after running along the beach for a long time.

“Ah, I think we have already arrived. Lestia, you’ll ride a ship soon.”

“Ship?”

“That’s right! Liti! Let’s get off and take a look!”

Mathias grabbed Lestia’s wrist as he quickly stepped out of the carriage.

The scenery outside was completely different from before. The endless blue sea remained the same but there was a pier instead of a beach. There were even ships as big as a house lined up side by side while countless workers moved busily along the ships and the road.

“Waaaaaah…!”

Lestia’s mouth and eyes widened surprisingly big. The scenery of the port was similar to the illustrations that she had seen in the book in the study the other day. However, she couldn’t believe that it was at such a scale. It was so amazing to see the world that she saw in the book personally.

“Well then, Lestia. Can you try and find which ship we’re going to ride?”

Joel approached Lestia and patted her back affectionately.

“Huh…”

Lestia quickly swept her eyes all over the pier. Joel’s question was extremely easy.

“Over there. I think it’s that ship. The sails are decorated with the Verchester Family’s Lion.”

“As expected. My sister is really smart.”

“Ah! But…”

Now that she looked at it, there were more than one or two ships that had the crest of the Verchester Family.

Out of all these ships, which one am I going to ride?

While Lestia was busy pondering over the question, Mathias hurriedly grabbed her arm and led her somewhere.

“Liti! Liti! That’s it over there. There! The biggest ship! Let’s ride it quickly!”

“Yes? Yes!”

Lestia, under Mathias’ guidance, boarded the largest ship among the numerous sailing ships with the Verchester flag.

“Ah… The sea!”

Even though she had boarded the largest ship that was almost the size of a mansion, she could still feel the slight fluctuations from the tip of her toes.

‘I’m really, really floating on water…!’

Lestia put some weight on her toes as she enjoyed the waves that shook her body lightly. It was a strange yet fulfilling feeling.

“How is it? You’re just on a ship but don’t you think you feel a bit free?”

Mathias smiled brightly at her as he swept his lemon-colored hair up after the sea breeze blew and scattered it into a mess. Lestia nodded her head at him in agreement.

“Yes. It’s amazing. I’m floating on the sea!”

“Right? Let’s go see the sea more closely!”

Lestia followed Mathias to the bow of the ship as they looked at the scenery outside of the ship. The port that she saw earlier felt a bit different from before. Strangely enough, something else drew her attention.

Joel, who was directing the butler Halo, and… Lysian, who was standing next to him. Lysian had covered his entire body and face with a long robe so he was more noticeable.

‘Come to think of it, why is Lysian-nim always wearing a long robe whenever he goes out?’

It was a bit chilly but there was no need for him to cover his face with the robe like that. Lestia couldn’t help but wonder about the reason.

‘He has a handsome face but…’

The sparkling golden eyes that were covered by the robe were so pretty that Lestia thought that it was such a waste. Somehow, she felt sorry that he was covering his beautiful eyes that looked more precious than any other jewelry that she had seen with Mathias in the jewelry store before.

‘Oh…!’

Lestia made eye contact with Lysian as this thought flashed in her head. She was so surprised that she bowed her head and avoided his gaze. When she thought about it, she often made eye contact with Lysian these days.

‘I think I have been seeing Lysian too often these days. No matter how pretty his eyes are, I would still look like a fool if I continued to look at it.’

That was why she felt shy. And for some reason, she felt bothered by it. She had always made eye contact with people but for some reason it was awkward to do so with Lysian.

“Ah, this.”

Mathias suddenly frowned as he felt annoyed while standing next to her. Lestia looked up at him in surprise when he heard his words.

“Brother Mathias, what’s wrong?”

“Ah, it’s nothing. I thought that it would be perfect if we just left like this. I just feel a bit annoyed since he came earlier than I imagined.”

“Yes?”

A luxurious black carriage entered the port at the end of Mathias’ words. Gerard, who rode in the carriage of the family head engraved with the Verchester’s crest, came in the port.

“Your Grace, Duke Verchester!”

The busy sailors, who saw the carriage, stopped moving for a moment as they bowed their heads at Gerard’s carriage.

The young Lestia could vaguely understand that Duke Verchester and his influence was truly powerful. And the more she understood, the more she felt that it was difficult to get along with Gerard.

The carriage stopped in front of the ship where Lestia was on. Gerard came down from the carriage with a cold and firm expression on his face.

“The duke is here, I guess I have to go and say hello.”

Lestia told this to Mathias but he just grabbed her wrists and did not let go.

“Liti, you don’t have to do that. You’re going to see each other until you get tired anyway. Why are you going to say hello again?”

“Brother Mathias…”

She had felt this the other day, but it seemed like Mathias truly did not get along well with Gerard.

What happened between the two of them?

However, Lestia did not bother to ask as she stayed beside Mathias. It was because she believed that Gerard, from what she knew of him, would not necessarily look for her.

“So, you’re here.”

But Gerard completely overturned her expectations. He walked directly to the helm of the ship where Lestia and Mathias were currently at. And his cold blue eyes were fixed at Lestia.

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Chapter 4 (2)

“…Duke.”

Lestia was on high-alert the moment Gerard stood in front of her.

It seemed like Gerard was truly someone who could freeze the space with just his cold expression. However, Lestia did not give in to the pressure as she opened her mouth to greet him.

But Gerard was already in front of her even before Lestia could greet him. And he spoke in a low voice.

“…Since this morning, you have been unpleasant.”

“Yes…?”

Lestia’s tongue hardened like stone at his unexpected words.

What in the world did Lestia do to get on Gerard’s nerves?

Lestia pondered deeply. But no matter how hard she thought about it, nothing came to mind.

“Duke… I…”

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