CH 14.4

dorothea11-14 minutes 18.03.2023

Exhausted, Lucas strode through the halls at a leisurely pace, unrelenting in his pursuit despite the gentlemanly act of carrying her to her room himself.

His face, which had just been full of smiles, turned cold as he descended the stairs.

Lucas arrived at his office on the second floor and was met by Vincent, whom he had paged with the bell.

Vincent, who was waiting at the door, bowed politely.

“Vincent.”

“Yes, Duke.”

“There must be a guest in the outbuilding right now. Find the two people who are writing the epic of the night, and all the employees who have used the outbuilding.”

Vincent’s face flushed red at his command.

“You mean there are such unscrupulous people.”

Lucas opened the door and paused at Vincent’s outraged words. He wasn’t sure why he cringed at the word ‘unscrupulous’.

“… Alright, let’s take care of those two first.”

“Yes! I understand.”

Vincent relished in his command. Though he had been silently cowering until now, he had been waiting for this day.

Proud and loyal to his work, he was displeased and seething at the sight of negligent and disloyal employees.

But he couldn’t do anything about it because his master, Lucas, had neglected the matter. He had decided that it would be disloyal for him to interfere in his master’s affairs.

Vincent left his office at a brisk pace. Lucas watched him go, pausing at the half-open door.

He had never seen Vincent so motivated before.

“What a…”

Stepping into the empty office, Lucas sat down in his desk chair and stared at his neatly organized desk.

He thought back to a few months ago, when he thought nothing would ever change. Before Lila had come to the duchy, his life had been busy and dull.

As for Michael, he was numb. It wasn’t that he didn’t care, he just didn’t know.

He had been raised that way, and it hadn’t occurred to him that a child needed affection.

But her arrival changed his life. Even before he saw her, he felt a stirring in his heart.

Perhaps it was her scent, but more likely it was the way she looked at him that tickled his heart.

He felt warmth in the way she looked at Michael, and he felt excitement in the way he looked at her.

He receives the occasional glare from her cobalt eyes, but even then, he was pleased.

He was used to people looking at him as if they found him distasteful, as if they saw something they shouldn’t, as if they couldn’t look him in the eye, but even the blatant stares were curious and welcomed.

The more he got to know Lila, the more curious he became, and the more his heart sank.

He was curious about the ugly makeup she wore, and at the same time, he felt sorry for her.

He wondered what had happened to her to cause her to hide her beautiful face, and how she was treated in the high and mighty social circles….

As he learned more and more about her, his heart was already stolen and his gaze was fixed on her.

Her gestures made him smile, her eyes made his heart flutter, and her body language made his head spin.

Lucas lifted his pensive eyes and stared out the window. He recited to himself the mantra he repeated every day to make sure he never forgot.

A spell his ancestor, Lupus, a gray wolf, had taught him…

“If you love and love again, you and your partner will have a bond that cannot be artificially created. That bond, once established, will never be broken even in death.”

Lucas clenched his fist lightly as he repeated Lupus’s words.

‘I love you and I will love you again, so I will keep you by my side forever.’

That’s what he liked most, that it wouldn’t end in death.

The corner of the slowly rising lips had a deep dimple.

The spell that Lupus taught him was not difficult for him. As the being had said, he would love and love again.

* * *

Lila watched Jessie creakily move things around in the parlor attached to the room before she spoke.

“Why are you moving all by yourself. What are the maids and servants doing?”

She was a little angry now. When she declined the invitations, the nobles changed their tactics and started sending her gifts.

Apparently, Louie and Becky had gotten the word to their benefactors.

“Looks like the rumor mill is working again.”

Lila crossed her arms as she looked at the boxes surrounding the table. Setting the largest crate on the floor as if it were the last, Jessie answered.

“It’s okay, ma’am! And there’s nothing we can do now.”

“Why?”

Lila asked with a wrinkled brow.

“Why? Ma’am, didn’t you know?”

Lila shook her head at Jessie’s rhetoric.

“I don’t know what I don’t know.”

“Uh, that’s odd, didn’t the Duke tell you?”

“The Duke? What, is something wrong?”

Lila asked curiously at the mention of Lucas, before feeling sorry for Jessie, who was covered in sweat.

“Sit down here, drink some of this cold tea, and tell me.”

“How can I sit here!”

“Zip! Didn’t you say you’d listen to anything I say?”

“But not this!”

“Why not? It works. Nothing is off limits.”

At her insistence, Jessie hesitated, her hips rising and falling as if she had to decide whether to sit down or not.

“Just sit back and get some rest.”

“Yes, ma’am. Thank you.”

Jessie caught her breath, her butt hanging over the edge of the couch. Lila wanted to say something to that, but that would only make her more uncomfortable, so she silently pushed the cold tea in front of Jessie with her fingertips.

“… Ha.”

Jessie took a quick gulp and blew out a cool breath, smiling brightly.

“Mmm, cold tea with peach juice. It’s sweet and delicious.”

“You can have more.”

“No, this one cup is enough!”

“… Okay, so what about the Duke?”

“Oh, that’s right, there’s a riot at the mansion right now.”

“Why?”

Lila asked, her eyes widening as she realized she had no idea. Jessie took a moment to mentally organize what she was about to see and hear, then began to speak.

“So, there’s an outbuilding at the back of the mansion, and it looks like the servants had been using it at their disposal. Why, that…”

Jessie paused, his cheeks flushed.

“That, a man and a woman went into the outbuilding together, and that…”

Lila’s cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

“Well, anyway. They caught all the employees who used the outbuilding recklessly! That’s more than half the employees who work in the mansion.”

“… What?”

Lila stuttered in disbelief.

“That’s why we’re so short-handed right now.”

Sweat dripped from Jessie’s forehead as she smiled broadly. Lila pulled out a handkerchief and handed it to Jessie.

“Ma’am!”

Jessie exclaimed, and Lila told her what she feared most.

“… If you don’t wipe the sweat off in time, you might get another pimple.”

At her words, Jessie quickly took the handkerchief from the hand she had outstretched to refuse.

“… Thank you, ma’am.”

“You’re welcome.”

“If it weren’t for you, ma’am, I might still be ugly, and I wouldn’t have the face I have now.”

Dabbing at her face with her handkerchief, Jessie smiled as brightly as anyone could. Her face, completely acne-free, was radiant.

Beaming with pride, Lila said.

“I’m so happy for you. To be able to help you.”

“Ma’am…”

After a moment’s glance at Jessie, who looked impressed, Lila turned her attention to the pile of gifts.

“Well, let’s try to unwrap them all of it first, right? We need to know who sent it to us before we send a rejection letter.”

“I guess that’s true.”

“Ugh, this is such a hassle.”

Jessie looked at Laila with a curious expression. She seemed bothered by the gifts rather than happy. She spoke courageously, with a look of admiration and respect, as if it were impressive.

“I’ll do my best to help you!”

“Okay, thank you.”

Lila lowered her eyes and smiled. Jessie’s cheeks flushed with color at the whole scene.

Jessie unwrapped the box and set it open on the table, and Lila pulled out the letter inside to read it.

When she realized that some time had passed, Vincent came to her.

“My lady, you have a visitor. I’ve refused her, but she asked to speak to you first, so I thought I’d ask your opinion.”

Turning to Vincent, who was always so polite to her, Lila pressed her eyes tightly together and asked.

“Who is it?”

“Lady Monaca Ro Arias.”

Her hand, which was touching her forehead, suddenly stopped. Lila didn’t know why she’d come to her, but a flash of thought troubled her.

What came to mind was the quip Monaca threw in during the hunting competition when Charlotte and she had a fight.

She would have gotten out of the situation without her help, but some things were easier because she was there.

Of course, it didn’t end well after that.

“Um…”

At her troubled demeanor, Vincent stood still, waiting for an answer.

“Is she in the parlor?”

“Yes, she’s on the first floor in the guest parlor.”

“Okay, I’ll come down.”

“Yes, I see. I’ll have some refreshments and tea ready for you.”

“Sure.”

Leaving Vincent to leave the room first, Lila rose from the couch. Her whole body was stiff from sitting on the couch for longer than she thought.

“Ugh…”

She stretched her arms lightly, then turned to Jessie.

“You should take a break too, and when I get back, we can do this together.”

“I’ll help you dress.”

“No, I’m…”

Lila, about to decline as usual, thought for a moment, then said.

“Okay.”

Jessie was surprised, since she usually dressed and applied makeup on her own. She quickly followed, hoping she would not change her mind.

Lila, who had come to the dressing room, chose a dress that Jessie brought out while looking at herself in the full-length mirror.

Lila, wearing a fabric dress with flower patterns, received her hair adornment from Jessie for the first time.

She liked the way her hair was up, not too much yet not lacking at the same time.

“Thanks. Shall we go?”

Once she stopped wearing ugly makeup, she realized how simple the process was. She didn’t need to put on makeup because her natural skin was good enough.

She woke up in the morning, applied a little skincare, and her face glowed. Lila praised her work, feeling a great heroine buff even when she looked at it again.

‘I can’t believe I messed up such a great look like that. Great job, me.’

With a small smile, she left the room and made her way to the parlor. She had no idea why Monaca had sought her out, but she wanted to at least say hello.

Arriving at the parlor, she slipped through the door that Jessie held open for her.

hi. since i'm currently working on 〈a lot〉 of projects, updates are now slower. but i'll change them once i've translated a lot of chapters on that novel.