CH 108

“Ares, I need to ask you something…….”

It was Arista who opened the door. She was holding papers and paused when she saw Lucas.

Arista’s violet eyes flickered for a moment, then she turned to Ares as if nothing had happened.

“What is it?”

“This is a document our father sent me the other day. I don’t recognize this part here.”

“Let me see.”

Arista had been helping Ares with a little bit of the family business now and then.

Lucas watched in fascination as Arista went about her business, chatting thoughtfully with Ares.

“I’ll have to take a look at this later. Put it on my desk.”

“Okay. Anything else?”

“Um, did you do what I asked you to do last time?”

“I’m still working on it. If it’s urgent, can I push it to later today?”

“No, it’s still due, so I don’t think there’s anything else for you to do… Lucas, did we get any work this time?”

“Uh, uh, no.”

“I see.”

Ares tapped Arista on the shoulder, telling her to take a break. Arista nodded in understanding, then realized Lucas was still staring at her and glanced over at him.

And then – bam – their eyes met. Through the shaking walls, Arista clenched her fists.

Ever since the last time they’d met Becky, Lucas had been avoiding her and acting awkwardly whenever they crossed paths.

Perhaps she should talk to him alone.

“Oh, I think the princess visited you. Do you know that?”

Arista brought up the princess to get Ares out of the room.

“My honey is here? Then I’ll go right away!”

Ares fell for the lie, and without a second’s hesitation, he headed outside. The sound of excited footsteps faded into the distance.

Satisfied that there was no sign of a crowd beyond the door, Arista turned her head. Lucas flinched as their eyes met.

Moving toward him, Arista hesitated, pressing her lips together.

“Brother, do I make you uncomfortable?”

“……What?”

Lucas replied, a beat too late. It was a far cry from his usual playfulness.

“Is it because I pretended to be your girlfriend the other day without your permission?”

“What? Oh, no, that’s not possible!”

Realizing what Arista was talking about, Lucas hurriedly threw up his hands. But Arista’s face only grew darker, not better.

“Then why are you avoiding me?”

Although she was not in tears, Lucas was speechless the moment when he saw Arista’s tearful expression.

“When we were in the carriage together, you didn’t say anything, and then you avoided me whenever you saw me.”

“That was…….”

He felt like he should say something, but he couldn’t make any excuses like there was a thorn in his neck.

Something he couldn’t quite put his finger on yet was tugging at his heartstrings, confusing him.

Still, he felt he had to clear up Arista’s misunderstanding, so he approached her cautiously.

“It’s not your fault, there’s something wrong with me.”

“……….”

Arista, who bowed her head, raised her eyes when she felt the presence.

Just as Lucas felt Arista as a woman in the carriage, he approached her as a woman even now. No, it was more than that.

Lucas paused for a moment, then carefully placed his hand on Arista’s head as he had always done.

Hoping she couldn’t feel the tremor in his hand.

“It’s been a rough few days, ……, with Lucia and my… personal life.”

He couldn’t stand the way Arista was staring at him with teary eyes. Lucas removed his hand from her hair, awkwardly avoiding her gaze.

“You must be having a hard time with everything. I’ve never avoided you.”

“……really?”

“Yeah, really. Why would I avoid you?!”

Lucas laughed, showing his fine teeth. It was his usual playful laugh, so Arista suspended her disbelief.

“Well, I’ve had a lot going on lately…….”

Lucas sighed inwardly, relieved to have gotten away with it.

“As long as you don’t ……avoid me.”

Feeling a little better, Arista glanced at Lucas and smiled. Lucas’ heart skipped a beat at the sudden attack.

He froze in surprise, wondering if Arista was looking at him strangely, and then-!

BANG!

“Arista, why did you lie to me? She didn’t come!”

Ares, who was fooled by Arista, came back, still high.

“Ah, wasn’t it the Empress?”

“Wasn’t it-? Come here. Let me give you one.”

“Hit me if you can.”

With Lucas in the middle, Arista and Ares gave chase. Lucas, thankfully sober, protected Arista and pushed Ares away.

Along the way, Ares accused Lucas of favoring his sister over him, but Lucas was oblivious and protected Arista.

He had no intention of getting into a sibling fight, but before he knew it, he was stopping Ares from reaching for Arista.

Arista felt all the resentment she’d been building up melt away as Lucas, who usually watched from the sidelines, told her to play it cool.

One of the walls between them had lowered a little.

It was a while before she noticed the change.

* * *

Two weeks have passed since the end of the hunt, and many things have happened, big and small.

The victims of the hunt have banded together to make a formal complaint to the Emperor, while the commoners have focused on the appearance of orcs in the capital.

At least, anxiety was created among those who were relieved that the North blocked the monster from moving south.

As nobles and commoners alike began to falter, the imperial court had its hands full.

Meanwhile, those who weren’t concerned about the hunt or the orcs focused on other news.

Bern and Lucia had broken up.

The breakup of their engagement was hardly newsworthy, but Bern’s unexpected announcement that he was marrying Celine sent social circles into a frenzy.

‘How in the world can he say he’s marrying another woman when he’s only just broken up with her?’

‘What’s more, she’s the ex-wife of the recently deceased Viscount Romario, and why, there’s been quite a stir in his household lately.’

‘Ah! The one where the viscount’s wife ran away before his funeral?’

‘Yes, that’s it. They were only married for a year, and apparently, the marriage was annulled of its own accord, without any formalities.’

‘That’s ridiculous. No matter how it is, how can you not hold a funeral when your husband is dead…….’

‘Well, it’s not that I don’t understand how she feels. Lady Jayson was married as if she were being sold. She probably wanted to run away as soon as possible.’

‘But how on earth did she end up marrying the Marquis of Casper?’

‘It’s obvious. Anyone who marries under such duress must have had an accident.’

‘There was even talk of the two being former lovers?’

It was safe to say that all eyes were on Bern and Celine, except for the attention the hunt was getting.

As a result, the gossip magazines were running a series of sensationalized articles, each with a title that began, ‘Marquis Casper and Lady Jayson?’.

As Bern had said earlier, he was really getting all the slings and arrows.

Lucia sighed heavily as she checked the paper.

“I feel so bad about this, what should I do? Should I speak up now?”

“Why? The Marquis is keeping his word.”

Herwin, beside Lucia, snatched the newspaper from her hand and urged her to be still.

“Still, this is going too far. Elsewhere, they’re saying that Lady Jayson is marrying out of wedlock.”

“Is this the first time people do this? They’re going to get tired of this shit and leave.”

“But……!”

“Come on, don’t stress yourself out.”

Herwin gave Lucia a big hug and shoved a spicy chicken skewer into her mouth. With her mouth full of food, Lucia couldn’t say anything.

Herwin wasn’t telling her to be still for nothing. A few days after Bern and Lucia’s last meeting, a letter from Bern arrived on Herwin’s doorstep.

In it, he asked him to keep an eye on Lucia to make sure she didn’t get involved in whatever was to come.

He would have done so even if it hadn’t been Bern’s words, but as Bern had feared, Lucia was guilty of Bern being the only one in this whole situation.

“I’m sure the Marquis hasn’t contacted you because he’s still alright, and public opinion will be worse if you get involved here.”

“Ugh…….”

Lucia whined, shaking her head gloomily. Finding the sight adorable, Herwin wiped the sauce from Lucia’s mouth with his hand.

Instinctively, he licked his hand, and the pungent flavor that hit his tongue made him dizzy.

“Ew! It’s spicy!”

“Hmph! Is it too spicy? Here, water, water!”

Lucia hurriedly gave him water, which he gulped down.

The onlookers clicked their tongues at the comical scene.

“Who the hell is this Herwin I’ve been seeing all this time?”

“He must have suffered a head injury, there’s no way that cold-blooded human could have gone limp like that!”

“He’s nice, though. I can see he cares about Lucia.”

They were with their friends. They were having a tea party now.

They used to meet regularly, once a month, but lately, they’d gotten together four times in two weeks.

Of course, there was a reason for the frequent get-togethers.

“If you’re only going to play with the two of you, don’t even call us anymore!”

Herwin had dragged the other kids along to spend time with Lucia.

Herwin’s tactics worked, as Lucia wouldn’t let him hold her hand outside and wouldn’t let him come over to her house as often as he wanted because she was afraid of people watching.

The effect was spectacular.

In front of their friends, who knew everything about them, they were comfortable making physical contact, and it was no secret that the six of them were close.

The fact that it was at one of their friend’s houses, where they usually hang out, was a bonus.

“Guys, I’m sorry…….”

Lucia, who had been embarrassed, apologized with a red face. Her especially weak friends held out her hands.

“You don’t have to apologize. That thick-faced man should apologize.”

“Yes, and it’s not a bad thing to see you more often, because once we’re married, we won’t be able to get together as often as we do now.”

Everyone shook their heads at Arista’s words.

Once they started families, they wouldn’t be able to get together as often as they did now, and those whose homes weren’t in the capital would likely move there.

As it was, Herwin alone would move up north as soon as he is married.

“Come to think of it, Ethan, you’ve been doing well with her lately. How’s it going?”

“Oh, that’s right, you said you were going to ask her out the other day, how did that go?”

The conversation started to drift toward romance. Aside from Lucia and Herwin, the first person who seemed to be in a relationship was Ethan.

Things seemed to be going well with the cute girl from the summer festival.

Ethan blushed and touched the nape of his neck.

“Actually, I…….”

Ethan paused, and everyone tensed up.

“I’m going out with Lady Layla.”

Everyone’s eyes widened like rabbits. After a moment of silence, cheers erupted.

“Oh my God! What a surprise! What a surprise!”

“Awww, congratulations!”

“That’s your first relationship! Congratulations!”

“I’m glad you ended up with the right person.”

“Congratulations.”

As everyone congratulated him one by one, Ethan laughed embarrassedly. Ethan, who had never been interested in girls, much less relationships, was thrilled to finally be in a relationship.