CH 41

“Whoa.”

Lucia hurried out of the café, trying to contain her anger that threatened to explode at any moment.

Thankfully, Simon didn’t follow.

‘Follow me or not.’

Apparently, there was no word that there was a woman in the information John handed over. She thinks it actually said that the relationship between women is clean.

‘Either my father’s information is wrong, or he’s been meeting people secretly, pulling the wool over everyone’s eyes.’

No, if John had known about this in the first place, he would have dealt with it without putting it on the list.

The unpleasantness of stepping on a bombshell from the first meeting was not lost on Lucia.

Lucia quickened her pace and made her way to the carriage house where she’d arranged to meet Sean.

Since she was ahead of schedule, it was faster to go there than to wait for the carriage.

Luckily, the stables were not far away, and when she arrived, she was met by a surprised Sean.

“Miss, are you finished already? It’s still only been an hour…….”

“Not this time, I’ll tell you the details when we get back.”

“Okay, okay, then, shall we head back to the mansion?”

As Lucia climbed into the carriage with Sean’s help, she paused.

“Let’s get something spicy on the way.”

Sean nodded silently, familiar with her tendency to seek out spicy food when she was angry or stressed.

She couldn’t imagine what the man had done to upset Lucia.

As expected, Lucia bought some chicken skewers with a special hot sauce in the middle and returned to the mansion.

The servants were also surprised by her quick return.

When Lucia entered her room without a word, Sean prepared the food she had bought to cheer her up, as well as a mouth-watering dessert.

She sat down gingerly next to her as she cut into a chicken skewer.

“Now can you tell me what happened?”

Sean stole a glance at Lucia. She ate what looked like a spicy meal.

“He asked me to marry him on a contract.”

“…You mean a contract marriage?”

“Yes. I guess he thought I had that kind of relationship with Herwin after hearing rumors that I liked Herwin. And since he has a girlfriend of his own, he thought we could make it work…….”

“What a rude thing to say!”

Before Lucia could finish her sentence, Sean snorted in disgust.

“What kind of person does he think you are to make such a suggestion… and a woman, too. He’s a mess!”

“I’m annoyed that he revealed that he has a girlfriend, but I’m more annoyed that he saw me and Herwin as their equal.”

Even more upsetting than the fact that he had a girlfriend was the fact that he and Herwin were woven into a promiscuous relationship.

‘How on earth do I get lost in thoughts like that.’

She thought there were only rumors in society that he had a crush on Herwin, but did some people think that it was a promiscuous relationship like Simon said?

‘No, if it was, it would have reached my ears.’

Even if she wasn’t interested in socializing, she had connections. If there was such a rumor, she would have heard about it one way or another.

If so, it was likely that Simon had come up with the idea on his own.

“Lady, don’t stay like this, make a formal complaint! I can’t just stand by and let you be insulted like that!”

Sean, still furious, said.

“I hadn’t thought of protesting, but I’ll have to tell my father, won’t I?”

“Of course, you should, you can’t let him get away with it.”

For a moment, she imagined how John would react when she’ll tell him the truth.

She quickly imagined John’s anger, and she clamped her mouth shut.

His father is a man who doesn’t usually lose his temper, but when it comes to family matters, he’s a man of action.

If he’s truly angry, as she suspects he is, it’s likely to lead to family-to-family problems.

She didn’t want to scratch the surface.

“For now, we’ll have to wait and see.”

“Miss!”

“I still have three more candidates. There’s no need to make a big deal out of it.”

“That’s true, but…….”

“Don’t tell father. That’s an order.”

“……Yes.”

At the word “order,” Sean backed away.

Lucia finished off the last of her chicken skewers and thought to herself.

‘Surely the rest of them aren’t all weird?’

The second date was in three days. Lucia sighed, hoping her next candidate would be normal.

* * *

Rattle, rattle, rattle.

In the swaying carriage, Sean quietly diminished her presence so as not to offend the person sitting across from her.

Lucia was the one she was eyeing.

The reason she’s such low pressure right now is that all three encounters have been a disaster.

Her first candidate was Simon Deyhad, and her next candidate was Viscount Harriet Soledad.

He was two years younger than Lucia and had inherited the title at an early age, and was now in the middle of a big business.

So far, so good, but then came the problem.

‘My mother has been suffering from dementia lately, and I’m the only child, so I can’t take care of her very well. If you become my spouse, I would like you to take care of her. I feel more at ease with someone close to me taking care of her rather than a stranger.’

Obviously, his mother’s illness was mentioned in the application, but there was also information that she had a caregiver on the side.

It’s a lot to ask of someone you’ve only just met.

‘How many children do you have in mind? I mentioned earlier that I’m an only child, and I grew up lonely, so I want my children to have as many siblings. I’m thinking at least three, but what do you think?’

He asks her about her plans for children when they haven’t even held hands.

‘I don’t have a lot of time right now because of the business I’m working on, so if we have to get married, why don’t we make it a quickie and just do it this month?’

She didn’t say a word, but he’s making the marriage go his own way.

Lucia didn’t like the whole thing.

In the end, Lucia politely turned him down. And then he said….…

‘Are you serious? You’re going to regret this.’

‘Why would I regret it?’

‘Well, you’re having a hard time finding a decent groom like me.’

The words were sincere, not sarcastic. That was even more stimulating.

‘Even if I’m not interested in socializing, I’m aware of your rumors. Think about it. What kind of man would welcome a woman who has been in love with another man for ten years?’

‘I don’t think that’s any of your business, Viscount.’

‘Perhaps not, but think about it. There aren’t many men who would accept a young lady like you with no strings attached.’

He wasn’t as obnoxious as Simon, but he was annoying in a different way.

The kind of person who scratches you to the bone and then says, “What’s wrong with telling the truth?”.  That’s the kind of person she doesn’t like.

After the second blind date, Lucia made up her mind. The data handed over by John was detailed, but it didn’t tell her anything about the other person’s personality, so there were too many variables.

For the third match, she cleared her mind and went to see.

Her third candidate was Count Aren Valterre. He was the only one younger than her.

When she met Aren with no expectations, Lucia was able to learn an unexpected fact.

‘You’re a junior at the Academy, I didn’t realize that.’

‘Haha, is that so? I’ve seen you a few times on my way back and forth. If I’d known we’d meet like this, I’d have at least tried to talk to you.’

After all, there is only a one-year age difference between them, and most noble children are admitted to the Imperial Academy, so it was natural that he was her immediate junior.

Time flew by as they talked about the academy.

This candidate was better than the previous two.

‘To be honest, I was very surprised when the offer came in because I thought you and Herwin were dating.’

‘Was there even a rumor of that?’

‘It’s more speculation than a rumor, but you two seemed to get along so well that I thought you were having a secret relationship.’

‘I’m afraid I’m just friends with Phoenaeus. We’ve never dated.’

Aren’s eyes widened in surprise.

‘Really, not even once?’

‘Yes, just friends.’

‘Aha… I see.’

They talked about a lot of other things after that. For the first time, Lucia realized that this was a man she would be happy to have as a spouse.

The conversation ended with a promise to exchange letters. Lucia was grateful to Aren for escorting her to the front of the store.

‘I must leave you now, my dear, I have enjoyed my day.’

‘Yes, it’s been a pleasure, too. Please be safe..’

After they parted ways, Lucia waited for the servant to fetch the carriage, when she suddenly noticed a handkerchief on the floor.

It was a handkerchief with Aren’s initials on it.

Picking it up, Lucia looked in the direction where Aren had disappeared. He was just rounding the corner in the distance.

To return the item, Lucia hurried after him.

When she rounded the bend, she found Aren in front of a carriage, with a man with him. Lucia tried to call out to him.

‘Walter Young……!’

‘How was Agnes?’

But she heard their conversation first, and it made her pause.

‘You were right, they never held hands.’

‘Hahaha! I see, I win the bet.’

‘Damn, this is going to ruin my plan.’

Bet, plan, ruined? She couldn’t figure out what the two of them were talking about.

All she knew was that he was up to something.

Lucia listened to their conversation for a bit longer, feeling her blood run cold.

‘It’s a shame. It was a golden opportunity to take over the woman of the Phoenaeus.’

‘I thought she was dating Herwin, but she’s gone cold. I thought they were dating at least once.’

‘I don’t know why you thought they would have dated, and more than that, why are you so obsessed with Phoenaeus?’

Aren smirked and ran a hand through his hair. In front of Lucia, his face, which had never been more affectionate, broke into an eerie grin.

‘He’s so good so I’d like to beat him once.’

‘What’s that.’

‘There’s something like that. I wanted to get engaged to lady Agnes and feel superior, but it’s a pity.’

‘So, are you going to end it like this?’

Aren frowned thoughtfully for a moment, then smiled.

‘Think about it. She’s not from a bad family, and she’s quite a beauty, so there’s no harm in having her as a spouse, and she’s already halfway to me. I’m a little disappointed that she’s fallen for me so easily after a couple of flirtations, but a girl gotta have some bounce in her step.’

Lucia’s lips curled as she realized Aren’s true feelings.

She wasn’t angry or sad, just emotionless, like looking at an inanimate object.

Lucia walked over to Aren, who was still chattering away. It was quite a sight to see his face gradually turn pale when he spotted her.

‘Well, that’s a funny thing to say.’

‘Oh, Lady Agnes?’

‘I could have sworn you were hiding something like this behind that smiling face of yours, my dear.’

Aren panicked as he realized Lucia had heard everything.

She dropped the handkerchief she had packed to give him at his feet.

‘I suppose further meetings will be useless.’

Lucia turned to leave, but Aren caught her afterward, his tongue lolling out in an expression she couldn’t tell if he was crying or laughing.

‘I don’t know where you heard it, but it’s all a misunderstanding. Sometimes men play jokes like this on each other…….’

‘You don’t need to make excuses, because I have no desire to see you anymore.’

She resolutely shook off his arm and moved forward. However, it wasn’t long before Lucia glanced back.

‘How dare you want to outwit Herwin, you’re either arrogant or you don’t know your own fractions.’

Aren’s pale face burned with anger. Lucia looked him up and down with a blatant stare.

‘I don’t think you can even keep up with Herwin’s toes, so don’t get your hopes up, dear.’

‘Zee, what are you saying……!’

Leaving the rampaging Aren behind, Lucia returned to the mansion.

Three encounters were all fiasco.

And now, she was on her way to meet her last candidate.

She hadn’t liked any of the men she’d met so far, as they were all terrible. At this point, Lucia’s patience was wearing thin.