CH 48

“What the……!”

Lucas stared in disbelief at Lucia in the distance, his hand trembling in his wine glass.

No matter how hard he rubbed his eyes, he couldn’t see his darling, adorable little sister holding onto a man’s arm.

“Baby, what’s wrong?”

Lucas’ lover, Becky, asked when she realized something was strange.

“Oh, nothing, I just saw something weird for a second.”

“Really?”

Becky tilted her head in disbelief. Lucas smiled and chatted with Becky, but his mind kept thinking about Lucia.

A guy? A guy with Lucia? Who the hell is this guy? What’s he doing here, sticking up for his sister?

Lucas’ mind raced, and he finally broke down and asked Becky for permission.

“I’m going to go see Ares for a minute. Wait here.”

“Yeah, okay. You have to hurry up and come back.”

After a quick kiss on the cheek from Becky, Lucas excused himself for Ares and went in search of Lucia.

It seemed like she’d only been here a moment ago, but now she was gone.

“Where the hell did she go?”

“And who are you looking for?”

Lucas frowned at the familiar voice in his ear. He turned around to see his best friend and coworker, Ares.

He was dressed up quite nicely as he was the star of today’s engagement.

“What, why are you here? What about your Imperial Highness?”

“She’ll be here in a few minutes. The life of the party is always late, right?”

“Ah, yes.”

Lucas looked at Ares with ice-cold eyes, then immediately looked around.

“Did you see your ex or something?”

“No, not like that…! Ha ha, I saw Lucia with some guy. Have you seen Lucia?”

“Yeah, I saw her just now?”

“No, I didn’t see her… No, you saw her, where?”

“Over there.”

Lucas looked where Ares pointed, and there she was. Lucas’ face brightened at the sight of his sister, then hardened when he spotted Bern next to her.

“She’s definitely with someone. I don’t think they’re friends, judging by how close they are…….”

“What the hell happened while I was gone, I need to go after them right now……!”

Before Lucas could run off, Ares grabbed him by the nape of the neck.

“Now, calm down, what are you going to do if you’ll go there?”

“What the hell. I’m going to ask him in what capacity he’s next to our Lucia, and as her brother, I’m going to see if he’s a weirdo or not!”

“At least he’s not a weirdo, don’t worry.”

“And how do you know that?!”

“Calm down and take a closer look. You’ll recognize the face.”

Ares calmed Lucas and pointed to Bern. Once Lucas calmed down, he realized who Bern was.

“……Marquis of Casper?”

“Yeah. We’ve seen each other a few times. I don’t remember him being a bad guy. Didn’t you say last time that you liked him?”

They had run into Bern once before. Lucas remembered that he had liked him then.

He was glad he wasn’t weird, but he couldn’t figure out why he was with Lucia.

“I was wondering what all the fuss was about.”

The sound of tongue-clucking accompanied the voice. He turned to see John and Julian.

Instead of greeting his parents, whom he hadn’t seen in half a year, Lucas pointed to Lucia in the distance.

“Mother, Father, what the hell is going on over there, and why is Lucia with the Marquis of Casper?”

“Lucia saw the Marquis a few weeks ago.”

“What?”

“She’s engaged to be married to the Marquis soon, so you should know.”

“What?!”

Lucas was stunned to hear Julian’s words, followed by John’s.

Ares shook his head as he realized that the man whose gentle charisma had made him so popular had been reduced to a younger sister’s fool in an instant.

“There are many eyes. Be quiet.”

John clicked his tongue again, drawing Lucas’ attention. Lucas cleared his throat, suddenly realizing how loud he’d been.

“Mmm, mmm. All of a sudden, an engagement… isn’t that a little early? Lucia’s only twenty-one, and if she’s going to be engaged, it should be to Herwin, not Marquis Casper…….”

John’s eyes widened at the mention of Herwin’s name and he glared at Lucas.

“You say that name one more time, and I’ll make you pay.”

Lucas, who was scolded without knowing why pouted his mouth and asked Julian for help. She just shook her head with a dark face.

What had happened in his absence, Lucas couldn’t tell now.

He would have to ask Julian later.

Leaving his confused son behind, John stared at Lucia in the distance. She had spotted them and was approaching with Bern.

Her smile was beautiful as she stood beside Bern, but somehow it felt lonely.

John looked at her with thoughtful eyes.

* * *

Lucia began to meet people with Bern in earnest.

The first was the Agnes family. Finding them not far away, Lucia formally introduced Bern to the family.

Julian welcomed Bern as expected, and John, contrary to what she had feared, was uncharacteristically blunt and said he would do her a favor.

The problem was Lucas, who glared at Bern like he was going to eat him.

However, despite his momentum, he didn’t say much to Bern, just a trashy line about not letting his ring.

Given Lucas’ personality, that’s a small price to pay, but Lucia felt unnecessarily embarrassed and apologized to Bern. Bern smiled and waved her off.

After greeting the family, she met the others.

More people were looking for Bern, the Marquis, than for herself, who was only a Countess.

Most of them, however, were trying to make some sort of connection with the new Marquis, and a few of them had brought their ladies to introduce him to their daughters, and when they spotted Lucia, their mouths dropped open.

Bern, who was constantly dealing with people approaching him, spotted someone and his face lit up.

Lucia realized he had spotted an acquaintance and braced herself.

“My God, who is this, Bern of all people, coming to a place like this.”

“You’re alive. I hadn’t heard from you in so long, I thought you were dead.”

As much as Lucia and her friends, they joked at Bern without hesitation.

Bern returned the favor with a smirk.

“What’s the big deal about me being here? I’ve been busy with the succession and everything else, and I apologize for not getting back to you.”

“I know, I know. If you’ve done anything wrong, come clean to us later. We’ll forgive you.”

The chuckling man shifted his gaze to the side and looked at Lucia, who had her arm around Bern.

“……By the way, who is this beautiful lady next to you?”

“Let me formally introduce her. This is Lucia Agnes, who is to be engaged to me. Lucia, these are my friends from childhood. We’ve seen each other through thick and thin, so forgive me if I’m a little rough around the edges.”

“It’s okay.”

Hearing Bern’s explanation, Lucia lifted the hem of her skirt slightly in greeting.

“Nice to meet you. It’s Lucia Agnes.”

Lucia lifted her slightly bowed head to look at Bern’s friends.

One was wearing an intrigued expression, one was fidgeting in embarrassment, and the other was frowning in confusion and disbelief.

Lucia felt a little disheartened, wondering if she had done something wrong with her greeting.

“You… sincerely…….”

“Pleased to meet you, young lady. I’m Adolph Bailey.”

Before one man could finish his sentence, Adolph was the first to approach, his eyes full of curiosity.

Flustered, Lucia quickly regained her composure and returned his greeting with a light smile.

“I apologize for my rudeness in startling you, my name is Hector Chase, and I hope to see you often in the future.”

Hector returned the greeting with a smile and poked his friend in the side.

As if he had a lot to say, he only pouted his mouth and then opened his mouth, wiping his face.

“I’m Derek Harrion. I was so surprised that I couldn’t help but be rude, so please forgive me.”

Contrary to her expectations, Derek was polite. Lucia hurriedly held out her hand.

“No. Bern said you would be surprised because he didn’t tell anyone. I don’t mind, so please raise your head.”

Derek smiled awkwardly, relieved, then glared at Bern.

Their meeting wasn’t much different than Lucia’s friends’ encounters with Bern in the beginning.

They wondered how the two had gotten together. They were surprised that Bern had brought a woman with him.

“I didn’t expect you to bring your fiancée out of the blue, let alone someone else.”

“So, time is indeed a medicine?”

“We’re not engaged yet.”

Bern smiled wryly.

“In fact, today is the fourth time we’ve met…….”

“What? Four times? It’s only been that long?”

Their surprised reactions made Lucia realize how short her encounters with Bern had been.

“Yeah, we haven’t really gotten serious yet…….”

Lucia smiled back at Bern, who looked away. Bern’s worried expression relaxed.

“I’ve come to realize that I wouldn’t mind getting engaged to Lucia. I don’t know what Lucia would think, though.”

All eyes turned to Lucia at the sudden question.

“What does the lady think of Bern?”

“Well, if today is your fourth meeting, that means you’ve only met three times. What did she like about him?”

It’s a bit of an awkward situation, but it’s a lot better than what Herwin asked just a moment ago. Bern patted her hand on the arm, telling her not to worry. Taking his encouragement, Lucia replied.

“It’s a short time, to be sure, and the first time we met, Bern arrived half an hour late.”

“What?”

Bern broke out in a sweat under the scrutiny of his friends.

“I was only going to wait half an hour at first, but he arrived just as I was about to leave, and when we talked, there was a good reason, and I felt like it was a lot better than I thought, so I kept seeing him, and-“

Lucia lifted her head and looked at Bern, who looked confused.

“Strangely, I couldn’t feel comfortable talking to Bern. Right?”

“Yeah, I’m comfortable around Lucia, too.”

Bern smiled. It looked like a smile from the heart, much more relaxed than the outward smile he usually showed.

To a third party, it was obvious that they were already lovers, that they trusted each other and were comfortable with each other.

Derek stared at them for a moment, then spoke seriously.

“So you’re clean now, huh?”

“……Yes.”

Bern smiled faintly at the meaningful words.

“I’m going to get my act together now.”

“I’m glad you met someone nice.”

“I am. I’m relieved to meet someone I can settle down with.”

“Lady, he’s not good enough, but please take care of him.”

Behind Derek and Hector, Adolph extended his hand to Lucia.

Rolling her eyes, Lucia hesitantly took his hand and shook it.

She was worried that the rumors that had spread through the social circles would make her unwanted, but they welcomed her with open arms.

She felt a little embarrassed to be recognized by them, and her fingertips tingled.

Pamparabam-!

At that moment, a loud trumpet sounded, and from the second floor, the heroine of the day, the Empress, appeared.

As she appeared, holding the emperor’s hand, everyone bowed to greet them.

The Emperor gave a brief speech, and the band began to play. The empress and Ares danced to the music in the center of the hall.

The engagement party was in full swing.