CH 15.4

“No reply this time?”

He bowed deeply at the sound of the frosty voice.

“My apologies, Your Highness.”

“Ha!”

Theobald threw down the teacup he was holding, unable to contain his boiling anger any longer.

“Prepare the carriage at once.”

The chamberlain didn’t move even at his command. He just bowed deeper, lowering his waist.

“Your Highness, have you forgotten His Grace’s request?”

Theobald’s red eyes sparked at the bluntness of his words. This was why he hadn’t gone to see Lila sooner.

“I don’t understand your sudden change of heart, and why should I, the Crown Prince, have to cater to the whims of a mere duke?”

“Perhaps he’s being considerate because of the prospective duchess’s state.”

“… Damn it.”

Theobald rose and sank back into the couch, closing his eyes.

He, too, had dug into the case. It was ridiculous that Charlotte had been the one to do it, but it was equally ridiculous that his father had let it slide.

With Lucas forced to back down, Theobald took it upon himself to capture Charlotte.

He has always thought she was pure, but she was much more vicious than he expected. Everything from buying the courtiers to what she did to Lila in the tent during the meantime.

“Are you sure they’re coming to the Autumn Ball?”

Theobald was dying to see Lila, but the Emperor’s insistence left him with no choice.

The only thing he believed was that she would be at the Autumn Ball.

“Yes, I have certainly confirmed her attendance.”

“Hhoo… Get out of here.”

At his command, the chamberlain picked up the broken teacup and left. He stretched out on a couch in a room that wasn’t his office and muttered to himself.

“Lila…”

His brow furrowed and he closed his eyes, his recent dreams giving him a headache. Still, he tried to sleep, knowing that if he could dream, he could find her.

Theobald entered the familiar dream and found Lila in his bedroom.

Even though he hadn’t seen her for a while, he felt impatient and hurried his steps.

“Lila.”

Lila, with her back to him, turned slowly at his call.

She looked so much different than she did in real life, but that alone filled Theobald with satisfaction.

She was still beautiful, albeit her blank stare, depressed and lethargic.

He grabbed her arm, which he could hold with one hand, and pulled her close. Her body was warm against his.

“Lila…”

He called her name, like a sigh, like a longing. The Lila of his dreams didn’t answer him.

Too bad, Theobald thought, shaking her. As if to ask her to say something, anything.

Lila’s eyes, unfocused and unseeing, suddenly became clear.

“Lila?”

Dark blue eyes stared back at him, but he didn’t mind that she was looking at him.

A laugh burst out of him from happiness, but his deep baritone voice faltered at her rough words that came out abruptly.

“I want to kill you.”

“… Lila.”

Theobald’s pupils fluttered in disbelief, and as if the image were fake, the Lila of his dreams burst out laughing maniacally.

He wanted to grab her arms and pull her into his arms as she laughed so hard it took his breath away, but the next thing he knew, she was gone, lying bleeding on his bed.

“Aaah! Lila!”

Theobald cried out in anguish at the sight of her. He crawled over and grabbed her limp body.

And like a madman, he uttered the same words.

“It’s just a dream. Wake up. She’s alive.”

Unable to let go of the cobalt eyes, he whispered weakly.

“It has to be a dream…”

* * *

Lucas took Lila’s hand and personally led Kate to her room. It was an act that would never have happened normally, but he had a purpose.

Lila and Kate’s eyes widened as they entered the largest and most luxurious room in the guest quarters.

Lila and Kate’s eyes widened at the sight of the jewelry boxes that filled the room and the expensive fabrics that were laid out on display.

Kate remained frozen, as immobile as a rooted tree. Lila looked up at Lucas, her mouth hanging open.

He’d been waiting for her to look at him, and he looked into her wide, dark blue eyes.

He was pleasantly surprised to see the reaction he expected. With a light quirk of one eyebrow, Lucas raised the tip of his long lips.

Lila, staring at him blankly, pursed her lips and forced herself to speak.

“You didn’t have to prepare this for me…”

“Why, I’ve been waiting for this day.”

Lucas rolled his eyes like he had just heard something stupid. Then he continued.

“I’ve lost to my nephew as my opponent repeatedly, so shouldn’t I make up for it this time?”

“Michael?”

“Yeah, he took you away from me every time.”

A mischievous smirk spread across his face, and Lila, blushing at the sight of him, quickly looked away.

If she kept staring, she felt like she was going to be swept up and kissed. He was so adorable, she felt like her heart would burst.

Lucas, who was staring at her, was filled with sinister thoughts. He could easily imagine the sweetness of her, the way she could fill his mouth with just one bite.

A screeching breeze passed between the two of them that would have been a lustful crimson if the air had color.

“Aaahhhh! I think I’m going to lose my sight! How can there be such a lovely couple? I was really touched! Oh! Bless this couple, Lupus!”

Kate rushed over to see if her stiff feet had loosened up and began to inspect the fabric.

“Isn’t this fabric… Porocle silk, a specialty of the Duchy of Charlesworth? And they say they can only make one piece a month…?”

Kate muttered, carefully cradling the heavenly fabric the color of the night sky with both hands.

“Kate.”

She answered Lila’s call, unable to tear her gaze from the fabric.

“Yes?”

“You must have travelled a long way to get here. Why don’t you get some rest and join us for dinner later.”

“What?”

Kate stared at Lila, wide-eyed with surprise, then spoke angrily.

“How dare I dine with the Duke and Duchess!”

Lila looked stunned, as if she’d been told something she wasn’t supposed to hear.

“I just wanted to dine with someone I haven’t seen in a long time… Are you too busy?”

Lila asked dejectedly. Her first thought was that it was because she didn’t have much time before the ball.

Kate looked at her blankly as she tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear with a deadpan expression, but her eyes narrowed and she answered firmly.

“I can make enough before the ball. Believe me, Madame.”

Lila’s dazed expression was uncharacteristic. It wasn’t normal. Feeling like she had done everything wrong to bring such a depth to her beautiful face, Kate stamped her foot, covering her mouth.

“I can’t believe I’m having dinner with you… I’m so honored, what can I say, I’m so nervous.”

Lila laughed as Kate took an exaggeratedly deep breath.

“No pressure, just relax, I’ll send someone over later.”

“Okay, okay.”

Kate nodded vigorously, unable to take her eyes off Lila’s face.

Relieved to get a positive response, Lila turned her head to look at Lucas, and was stunned.

Lucas’s face, which had been smiling so brightly a moment ago, had turned grim. The familiar jealous, grumpy look on his face made Lila glare down at him.

“Hmm, wife.”

“This isn’t real.”

“What do you mean?”

As Lucas placed his arm around her slender waist and took a step closer, he asked. Lila replied as she walked briskly.

“I don’t think you’re jealous of your nephew, or even Kate, the dressmaker.”

“Why do you think jealousy is only reserved for men? That’s prejudice.”

“No, really…”

Lucas chuckled inwardly at her reaction. Jealousy is jealousy, but it’s funny how she reacts to it.

He liked the way she watched his eyes carefully, trying to ease his mind by telling him that she didn’t mean it, which made him want to be even grumpy.

Unaware that he had already dropped his stern expression and was smiling, Lila eagerly explained. Lucas was happy at this moment.

No, he was happy for every moment.

After a nice, relaxing dinner, Lila led Lucas by the hand to the orangerie in the garden.

She was delighted to see that he was constantly smiling, as if something good had happened to him.

Wondering if she should have dessert after the meal, Lila couldn’t help but gape as she entered the orangerie.

Flowers of all kinds covered the floor, tables, and shelves, as if every flower in the garden had been brought in.

A strong floral scent filled her nostrils, and for a moment, his familiar, fragrant scent enveloped her.

The scent hovered around her, moving like a living thing. Lila grabbed his arm, covering her open mouth in surprise.

“What’s all this?”

“Well, it’s flowers.”

The answer sounded innocent enough, but his eyes had already curved into half-moons.

“Is today a day to surprise me?”

Lila asked with a small laugh, shifting her feet. Following the pathway to the table, she spotted a box buried in flowers.

The jewelry box, studded with emeralds and blue sapphires, was as green as the leaves on the flower’s branches.

“What is this…”

Lucas, who had been watching her through fluttering mauve lashes, came up behind her. Grabbing her rounded shoulders, he whispered in her ear.

“Do you want to open it?”

At his words, Lila reached out a trembling hand. Inside the gently opened jewelry box were rings made from a variety of precious stones.

There were rings made of rubies, rings of blue sapphires, rings of diamonds, rings of emeralds, a dozen rings in all, stacked on the black velvet.

Lila couldn’t find the words. She don’t know how many times she had been surprised today.

Lucas, who had wrapped his arms around her from behind as she stood frozen with the box open, glanced at the gemstone ring on her right hand.

Then he took both her hands in his.

“I actually wanted to give it to you earlier… but I hesitated because I didn’t want to overwhelm you with too much at once.”

Lucas slipped them into her hands.

“I change rings every month, no, I change them every day to whatever I like.”

Releasing his grip, he gently grasped Lila’s shoulders and spun her around.

Looking deeply into her swaying cobalt eyes, Lucas spoke.

“I’ll give it to you every year on our anniversary, because there’s nothing you don’t deserve.”

Taking her hand, he slipped his other hand inside his jacket, not into the jewelry box. Pulling another ring from an inside pocket, Lucas gave it a quick twist and slid it onto the ring finger of her left hand.

The ring was nothing like the colorful one in the jewelry box. It seemed to be made of black metal, black as the night sky, and plainly shaped with inscriptions.

“It’s a mysterious metal found in very small quantities in our mines, and it’s harder than anything else.”

Lucas brushed his lips over the ring, which fit snugly on her finger, then raised his eyes to meet Lila’s.

She felt dizzy, as if she were being sucked into Lucas’s eyes as they gazed back at her, and she wasn’t even breathing because this moment wasn’t real.

She drew in a sharp breath and looked at the ring, which seemed to embrace the warmth of his lips.

〈I love you, and I will love you again.〉

That was the meaning of the words engraved on the outside of the ring.

She felt a rush of excitement, heat rising to the corners of her eyes. She’d been looking forward to the ring, but she hadn’t expected this.

Her eyes were filled with tears of joy, and her lips couldn’t help but curve into a wide smile, in contrast to the upward slant of her eyes. She was so happy she could hardly contain herself.

She was so in love with this man who gave her 13 wedding rings that he said would all match.

Raising up on her heels, Lila threw her arms around his neck and whispered sweetly.

“I love you, Lu, and I’ll love you again.”

Lucas closed his eyes as his arms tightened around her waist in a gentle embrace. Her sweet scent seemed to envelop him.

He felt a rush of happiness as the scent caressed him because it meant that she was going to be by his side for the rest of his life…

They filled the orangerie with a variety of flowers and filled it with their scent. No flower could outshine their scent.

Or rather, they mingled with their scent, emitting the same fragrance.