CH 13.3

“Who are they?”

Lila shook her head at Vincent’s comment about being a hard man to say no to.

Her face hardened as she summarized who he was.

“Is it, by any chance, the crown prince?”

“No.”

One of Lucas’s eyebrows rose slightly at her words.

“Then, Duke Frederick?”

“No, my lady.”

“Then, Marquis Benière?”

“…No.”

Lucas’s eyebrows rose higher and higher as he listened to the names come out of Lila’s mouth.

Jessie met Lucas’s gaze before answering.

“It’s… the Baron and Baroness of Este who’ve come here to see you.”

“…Who?”

Lila repeated, puzzled.

“It’s the lady’s cousin, and they said they needed to see the lady, to see how you’ve been doing… The butler told me to ask you directly.”

“… I see.”

Lila was quite flustered by their unannounced visit. They hadn’t made any arrangements when she left the barony, and had forgotten about them.

She hadn’t heard from them, so she assumed they’d forgotten about her, too.

And then today?

And out of the blue?

It seems that when a person has been through a lot, their senses improve. Always a good judge of character, she assumed they had come to confirm the rumors.

She even considered the possibility that someone had arranged it.

“… Hmm.”

Leaving her alone with her thoughts, Lucas waited without speaking.

Part of him wanted to kick her family out directly, even though they weren’t really family, but he didn’t want them to know he’d done research on her.

He also wanted to make sure that she was fully heard.

Lila weighed her options quite seriously. Should she show them her bare face, show up in ugly makeup, or do the opposite and use them to silence the rumors…

After much deliberation, she asked Lucas a question.

“If I were to be more honest with you, do you think you could handle it…?”

She said, remembering what he’d said before. When he had asked her to be honest.

Lucas smirked at her words. Lila ran her fingers over the light freckles that matched his open expression.

Lucas replied, clutching the tiny hand that caressed his lovely face as if a fairy had sneaked up on him at night and sprinkled it with light dust.

“I don’t mind if you’re more honest than that.”

His hot touch seemed to give her courage.

She realized how lucky she was to have him, and not just him, but Michael and Jessie and Vincent and Owen.

She also thought of the original Lila. To this day, she still doesn’t know if what she saw in her dream was true or not.

But she felt sorry for the woman who ended her life by pouring out her resentment and hatred, and part of her wanted to live her life with dignity instead.

Until now, she thought she could just avoid them. Yet despite her avoidance, she ran into Charlotte, a wicked woman.

What would happen with the men of 〈A Bird in A Birdcage〉?”

She was worried, but she didn’t want to avoid them anymore. She wouldn’t be dragged back to the original anymore.

Ten years was enough.

Lila took Lucas’s face in her hands and kissed him deeply. The way she smiled up at him, her face softened, was adorable.

“Jessie, you wait for them first, and tell them they showed up unannounced, so they’ll have to live with that.”

Lucas grinned as he took Lila’s hand in his own as she spoke in a breezy voice.

“I’ll come with you, Lila.”

“Yes, Lucas.”

* * *

Louie sat down on the huge, ornate parlor couch and stiffened at the waist.

He kept telling himself that he didn’t need to be nervous, but the way he kept squirming made him look even more ridiculous.

“Darling, I think that china… is from the Duchy of Charlestown, and they say the price of a single piece is worth a whole mansion…”

Becky couldn’t stop talking about the ducal residence, which was so different from the barony.

“Which craftsman made this sofa, and why is it so soft?”

Louie scolded Becky for her continued fussing.

“Be still, you’re being undignified…”

“… Okay, I will.”

After sitting in silence for a while, Becky asked in a low voice.

“But do you think the rumors are true?”

“.. How could they be?”

When Louie heard the rumor about Lila, he thought someone was playing a prank.

But when he heard that the source of the rumor was the Imperial Knights, he was a bit puzzled.

“Well, she was pretty when she was younger, it’s just that she suddenly turned weird…”

Becky’s chattering beside him made Louis think back to the past.

When Lila’s father had died in the accident, she had been pretty. Not just pretty, but there was something about her that drew people’s attention.

There was something about her that made her even prettier. In the Empire, even cousins can marry, so he thought it would be a good idea to take her as his wife.

But Lila had changed too much. Ever since her father’s death, she had been acting strangely, and at one point, he was surprised to see her completely different.

No, was he surprised?

He didn’t think he was surprised because it was so natural. At some point, he just lost interest.

“But did he really say he was going to pay you?”

“Yes.”

“He said all you had to do was check out the rumors? How could he give you that much money when there’s a good chance she’d still be ugly regardless?”

Becky asked doubtfully. Louie waved his hand in the air in annoyance.

“I already got half of it. It’s not like it’s a small amount of money.”

“Good for you!”

Becky beamed, praising Louie.

“You’re smart after all.”

“Hmm.”

“Well, why don’t we treat ourselves to something nice while we’re here? I mean, the lady was stuck if I do say so myself.”

“She was.”

“Well, we’ll just have to eat the soup we’ve been making, and maybe the lady will help us out once in a while, and life is good.”

Louie, who had been watching Becky with amusement as she said all the things he liked to hear, began to fuss over Lila, who hadn’t come in what seemed like an eternity.

“If her cousin has come, she should be quick.”

“I know, it’s taking too long, and I wonder if she’s just puffing herself up to be a duchess?”

“If so, she should be punished. How dare she do this to her cousin, who fed and raised her. A person should know how to return the favor.”

“Ho-ho-ho, yes, you’re right about everything.”

Just then, the door burst open. Lucas walked in first, dressed comfortably, followed by Lila.

“Good evening, Duke.”

“It is a pleasure to meet you, Duke.”

Louie stood up, flustered, because he hadn’t expected the Duke to meet with them. Becky was no different. Surprised, they both looked up at Lucas’s face and gave him a small smile.

They looked at his freckled face and thought to themselves.

‘You can’t believe the rumors. Who said he was handsome?’

Once upon a time, rumors about Lucas had been quite widespread, and Louie assumed this one would be no different, so he lifted his bowed head to look for the ugly Lila.

His mouth dropped open in surprise as he was struck by the beauty of Lila’s face, which had been transformed as if by a hard slap on the back of the head.

“Lady?”

Becky called out to her, her eyes tearing up. Lila smiled narrowly at the two women she hadn’t seen in a long time.

“How can you just show up unannounced like this?”

It wasn’t a welcome one, of course.

“Uh, no, I mean.”

“Have a seat.”

Lucas said, cutting off Louie’s stammering at the sight of her face.

“Yes, Duke.”

Lucas said, and Louie and Becky sat down immediately. Lila sat down next to him and touched her forehead.

“Ah…”

“My lady, I hope you don’t mind, so let’s just rest.”

“But it’s nice to see my cousin after all these years.”

Lila’s words brought color to Louie and Becky’s faces.

“Lila, I’m very happy to see you too, but how can…”

Louie really didn’t understand. She certainly didn’t look like that before she left for the North.

Leaving Louie dumbfounded, Lucas turned to Lila.

“I understand your feelings, I’m sure it must have been a thrill to see me in person after only writing to say hello.”

At his words, Louie blushed and chimed in.

“Haha, yes, it is indeed a relief to see you in person.”

“That’s strange, I’ve never received any correspondence from you…”

Lila said, scratching her head. Louie shook his head in disbelief.

“That can’t be right, you must have gotten it wrong, I’m sure she said she sent it…”

Louie asked Becky about the letter she hadn’t sent. Becky, still unable to take her eyes off Lila’s face, hesitated, then said.

“Yes, I definitely sent it. How could I not be curious after sending you up north, I was so worried about you and wondering how you were doing, but it’s a relief to see such a sweet Duke.”

Oh, she’s a good liar.

Lila rolled her eyes in amusement.

“So, you’re saying that someone in the Duchy has been intercepting your correspondence.”

“That…”

Lucas echoed her words, his complexion hardening.

“Well, then, as soon as we get back to the North, we’ll have to track down the culprit.”

“I suppose we will, my lord, for intercepting a letter addressed to my family. I think he should be dealt with severely, Duke.”

“I will, my lady. Leave it to me.”

Becky blushed in spite of herself as she watched Lucas kiss the back of her hand affectionately.

She’d thought he was ugly, but now that she looked at him, she realized he was even more handsome than her husband.