CH 42

“Haa…….”

A deep sigh escaped Lucia’s mouth, causing Sean to fidget.

“Well, miss… if you’re not feeling well today, shall we postpone the date?”

“Never mind, I’ll see him anyway. Might as well get it over with.”

“But…….”

Lucia realized that Sean was watching her, and made a crumpled impression.

“I’m sorry to have worried you. I guess you’ve been under a lot of stress lately.”

“No, no, I’m fine, I just thought you might be pushing yourself too hard…….”

“Too much… Well, I don’t know about that. Still, I started this, so I can’t quit halfway through, right?”

“Miss…….”

Lucia smiled and tried to reassure Sean, but it only made Sean’s face darken even more.

Thud-!

The carriage screeched to a halt at a good time. Lucia stepped out of the carriage, avoiding the burdensome gaze that was staring at her.

“If there’s any trouble, I’ll be right back.”

“Okay. I wish you the best.”

The carriage carrying Sean drove away. Lucia wiped the smile off her face and stepped into the date.

‘I wish you the best.’

This was the fourth time she’d heard that, but would it be a good outcome this time?

Once inside the café, Lucia made sure that her opponent hadn’t arrived and took a seat in a corner off the beaten path.

She sat still and thought about all the candidates she had seen.

They must have been picked and chosen by John, but how could they all be so bad?

One had personality issues, and the other two had dirty tricks up their sleeves.

‘I felt like they were looking down on me.’

Upon further reflection, she realized that all three of them looked down on her. They seemed to think she was easy.

Why was that?

She doesn’t come from an easy family, and she’d never met anyone before, so it’s pretty unusual to be belittled at first.

‘Maybe…….’

Lucia laughed weakly as a sudden realization dawned on her.

‘Maybe it’s because I’ve had a crush on Herwin for so long.’

No matter how she thought about it, this made the most sense.

It was no secret in social circles that Lucia had a longtime crush on Herwin.

Besides, rumors had been spreading at the Academy because of her unintentional public confession.

Bold enough to make a public confession in front of so many people, it’s possible that she was naive or simplistic to think that she only had eyes for one person.

Or perhaps they saw Lucia as an “if,” since rumors of this kind are deadly in the marriage market. Just as her second candidate, Harriet Soledad, did.

She don’t know exactly why, because she can’t get into other people’s heads, but whatever it was, she didn’t like it.

She’d never regretted her decade-long crush on Herwin. But she didn’t expect it to hold her back.

Lucia gave a self-deprecating chuckle.

Lucia looked across with indifferent eyes. The fourth candidate hasn’t come yet.

It seemed like she had been waiting for quite a while, so she checked the time.

The appointment was at 2:00. The current time is 2:06.

Only six minutes had passed, but this was the first time the other person was late.

Lucia decided to wait a little longer.

Another 5 minutes passed, then 10 minutes, then 2:20, and the other person still hadn’t shown up.

Sitting back, Lucia crossed her arms and stared at her watch impatiently.

“……rejected?”

It’s not a meeting with a friend, it’s a date, and he’s so late. Or maybe he was protesting that he didn’t want to meet.

She tapped her fingers on the table and stopped when she saw the minute hand move.

“Okay, let’s just wait until half an hour.”

If he doesn’t show up in 30 minutes, she assumes he doesn’t want to meet.

Lucia closed her eyes as she impatiently waited for the half hour to pass.

She could hear people talking in her ear. The bell on the door chimed softly as people entered and left the café.

Tinkle-tinkle-tinkle

Lucia opened her closed eyes. The minute hand was already pointing to the number six.

Lucia slipped her pocket watch into her pocket and stood up.

“Okay, wait!”

Just as she was about to leave, a man appeared in front of her. Lucia looked up, startled.

The man bowed, his dark green hair flowing.

“You must be Ms. Lucia Agnes, right?”

The man looked up, gasping for breath.

She could see a face slightly damp with sweat, glasses perched precariously on the bridge of his nose, and dark gold lenses set in finite eyes.

This was the fourth candidate she’d learned in advance, the one she’d memorized by drawing.

For a moment, she’s angry that he’s not ten minutes late, but half an hour, and then she realizes he’s disheveled as if he’s been sprinting.

“……, I’m Lucia Agnes.”

“I am so sorry to be so late for our first meeting, young lady. Please forgive me.”

The man, who had finally caught his breath, wiped the sweat from his face with a handkerchief and looked fresh, then gently took Lucia’s hand in his own and kissed it briefly.

“My name is Bern Casper. I’m half an hour late, and I want to thank you for your patience.”

Lucia settled back into her seat, wondering if there was a reason for his tardiness.

His face brightened as if relieved that she wasn’t leaving.

“You haven’t been here in a while, so I was just about to leave.”

“No offense, but I was late because I had an accident on the way here.”

“An accident?”

“Yes, there was a little collision between carriages, and a horse was injured…….”

Lucia was surprised to hear about the accident.

“Oh, are you hurt anywhere?”

“Thankfully there were no casualties, but I couldn’t pull the carriage, so I was a little late. I’m so sorry.”

Lucia waved her hand as he apologized again.

“No, if there was such an accident, you should have sent someone, and then we could have rescheduled our appointment.”

“There was no difference between sending someone and me going, and I’m not hurt.”

Bern reassured Lucia with a gentle smile. It was a gentle smile, and it seemed so benevolent.

‘No, don’t give me the benefit of the doubt.’

He was smiling now, but he might be something else later.

Lucia braced herself for release.

Forty minutes after entering the café, she placed her first order and started talking to him.

She asked him the usual questions and responded to his answers, just as she would with any other candidate.

But as time went on, Lucia lowered her guard around Bern.

It had been a long time since she’d felt this comfortable talking to someone outside of her friends and family.

Even if she hadn’t been comfortable with the first and second, the third, Aren, had been easy to talk to until she realized his true nature. They had a connection to the academy, so they had a lot to talk about.

However, she didn’t go to the academy with this man, and she didn’t know him, but somehow they had a good conversation.

“If I were only a year younger, we might have gone to the Academy together.”

Lucia tensed, wondering if Bern was going to say something about Herwin or her rumors.

“Do you know that there’s a secret room hidden in the Academy’s second library?”

But, as expected, he steered the conversation to another topic. After a moment of hesitation, Lucia answered.

“No, I didn’t know there was such a thing. I didn’t know that. How did you find out about it?”

“Oh…….”

Bern paused for a moment, and then a bitter look crossed his face. But within a short time, he smoothed out his expression.

“I stumbled upon it because I love books, and I used to frequent the library. I used it as my hideout until my professors found out.”

“That must have been a fun memory.”

“Yeah, it’s hard to forget those days.”

Bern smiled faintly as he reminisced for a moment, then snapped out of his reminiscence and looked at Lucia, his eyes softening.

“I do feel at ease with Miss Agnes.”

It might have been an empty statement, but at least there was no pretense coming from him.

Therefore, Lucia spoke honestly.

“Yes, it’s been a long time since I’ve had such a relaxing conversation.”

“I’m glad to hear it because I was afraid it was just me.”

He pushed up his glasses, savoring the rest of his tea. Then he set the teacup down and pursed his lips.

“Actually… I was worried that Miss Agnes might be disappointed in me.”

“Me?”

“Yes. It’s our first meeting, and I was half an hour late, and when I ran up, I was afraid you might have gone away.”

“You ran because I might not be here?”

“Maybe not, but just in case, and if you were waiting for me, I felt that I owed you a face-to-face apology because that’s what people do.”

Bern’s face was grave. His simple nature and straightforward mind were evident.

What little wariness she had left was completely gone.

Lucia looked at him with a smirk.

“I’m glad I waited because if you’d been a few minutes late, I would have missed such a gorgeous man.”

“Well, you don’t have to flatter me.”

“But it’s true, in today’s world, it’s hard to find someone as honest as you.”

He flushed and scratched his cheek as if embarrassed by the blunt compliment.

“……Thank you, young lady.”

As she chatted with him, she realized that the time she’d told Sean had come.

“I think I’d better get going, the carriage will be here soon.”

“Oh, is that so? I’ll wait with you until the carriage arrives.”

The two left the café and waited for Sean to arrive.

She checked her watch and it was just after four.

“Well, young lady.”

Bern spoke softly from beside her. Lucia tucked her watch away and looked at him.

“I was wondering if you don’t mind if we could meet again some other time?”

Lucia’s eyes widened at the unexpected words. Bern’s golden eyes were serious as he looked at her. After a moment’s hesitation, she smiled slightly.

“Yes, it would be fine.”

Bern’s tense face brightened.

“Thank you. I’ll send a letter to the mansion.”

“I don’t mind any time, so please schedule it at your convenience, though you know you can’t be as late as this time, right?”

He chuckled at her slight joke, and then placed a hand on his chest in a playful, knightly manner.

“I’ll make sure I’m not even a minute late.”

“We’ll see.”

A carriage appeared in front of them, who laughed in unison. The door opened and Sean waited inside.

Bern gently took Lucia’s hand and escorted her into the carriage.

Once in the carriage, Lucia looked at Bern, realizing something in hindsight.

“Marquis, do you have a carriage for you to ride in?”

“The carriage I rode in was ordered to return to the mansion after the horses had recovered, so I’ll have to go to the carriage rental shop first.”

After a moment’s thought, Lucia spoke up.

“If you don’t mind, would you like to take a ride in my carriage?”