CH 50

They were best friends in their first year at the academy until the betrayal and they never saw each other again. It was Bianca.

“Lucia…….”

Bianca was surprised and flustered.

There was an awkward air and silence between them that made the water sound particularly loud.

As soon as Lucia saw Bianca, her complicated head turned white like a drawing paper. However, she was able to regain her composure and calm down.

She was embarrassed because she hadn’t seen her at a single tea party or event, large or small, since the academy, but she was a noble, so it was only natural that she would be at a big event like this.

“……It’s been a while.”

She didn’t know what to say, but Bianca spoke first.

She was expecting her to avoid her or make some excuse about being lost, but she didn’t expect her to say hello.

So Lucia followed her bewilderedly and greeted her.

“I know… It’s been a long time.”

Bianca’s eyes widened at first, then she glanced at the empty seat next to Lucia.

“Is there anyone seated next to you?”

“Huh?”

“If not, sit down.”

Without her permission, Bianca plopped down next to Lucia. She couldn’t say she didn’t like it because it was not a closed seat and it was a vague place.

“How have you been?”

Unlike Lucia, who was confused, Bianca spoke again, intent on continuing the conversation.

Knowing that this was a strange situation, Lucia answered steadily.

“I was just being normal.”

“I see…….”

There was another awkward silence. Bianca wasn’t sure what was going through her mind.

“How are the other kids doing?”

“……Uh.”

“What about Herwin? Are you still friends with him?”

“……….”

“Or are you two engaged or something?”

“……What are you doing, why are you asking me that?”

Lucia glared at Bianca because the question of whether she was engaged to Herwin sounded like a slur. Bianca returned Lucia’s glare with a stern look and turned her gaze straight ahead.

“No particular reason, I’m just curious.”

Bianca had been good enough at acting to fool a lot of people, so she searched her face to see if she was still lying.

But there was a lot less venom in her face than there had been before.

When Lucia didn’t say anything, Bianca started talking to herself.

“It’s been a while since I’ve been on the Islands, so I don’t know anything. I dropped out of the Academy before my sophomore year, so I don’t have any connections.”

She knew she had dropped out of the academy.

But she doesn’t know why she dropped out. Her friends had cut her some slack, and she didn’t want to find out for herself.

“It was self-inflicted. I couldn’t be at peace with myself after being mean to you guys, and my new friends weren’t too happy with me for betraying you.”

Only now did she realize why she had dropped out.

Bianca gave a self-deprecating laugh.

“Damn love. What a blind, stupid thing to do.”

Lucia glanced at Bianca. Her face was tinged with faint regret and bitterness.

Where was the confident look she’d worn during the three-way confrontation with Christine, and now she was wearing that look….…

“You’re not laughing at me?”

Bianca suddenly turned her head and blurted out. Seeing Lucia’s confusion, she smirked.

“You’re still the same, aren’t you, for a man to be so withdrawn? If I were you, I’d have slapped me or cursed at me on sight.”

“……Why would I do that.”

“Why would you do that? I’m sure you would have if it was Princess Lydia or Christine.”

Bianca burst out laughing, even though it wasn’t funny at all. After a moment, she stopped laughing and looked at Lucia again.

“……I’m sorry about that.”

“……….”

Lucia didn’t accept Bianca’s apology. She was too nice to be soft, but she was a knife when she was a knife.

Bianca only smiled bitterly as if she knew it.

“I didn’t think you’d accept, I just wanted to apologize if I ever saw you again.”

With that, Bianca stood up.

As she turned to leave, Lucia grabbed her in a panic.

“Why……!”

Bianca stopped and looked back at Lucia.

“Why did you betray me?”

Lucia had heard the reasons in the past, but Bianca hadn’t told her everything.

“I know you liked Herwin, but if you did, shouldn’t you have targeted Arista, not me?”

She did what she did purely because she liked Herwin.

So it made sense to target Arista, whom Herwin had a crush on, rather than herself, who was only a childhood friend.

However, Bianca had an elaborate plan to take down Lucia, not Arista.

Lucia wanted to hear the real reason she was targeting her.

Bianca thought for a moment, then looked up.

“Because Herwin likes you.”

“……what?”

Unbelievable words came out of Bianca’s mouth.

Unlike Lucia, who was stunned, Bianca was calm.

“At first, I wanted to get rid of you and Princess Lydia from Herwin’s life at once, because I was annoyed with you as a childhood friend.”

It suddenly passed through her mind that she was deceived by Bianca’s scheme, disparaging Arista, and trying to set her up.

“If my plan succeeds, you’ll both be away from Herwin’s side, so I’ll kill two birds with one stone.”

“But why did you suddenly…….”

Had she changed her target to Lucia?

“I told you, it’s because Herwin likes you, not Princess Lydia.”

She couldn’t understand Bianca’s words.

“What are you looking at to say that? Herwin likes Arista, not me.”

“You don’t have to lie to me. I gave up on him a long time ago.”

Bianca thought Lucia was lying and didn’t believe her.

But then she caught Lucia’s look of frustration, and Bianca’s eyes widened.

“No way, you’re not lying…….”

“Why would I lie to you?”

Bianca stepped forward with a look of alarm on her face.

“Wait, so you two don’t have a relationship or an engagement, I thought I heard you say you were getting engaged?”

Bianca’s sudden excitement startled Lucia, but she tried to remain calm.

“I’m not engaged to Herwin. I’m engaged to someone else.”

“What?”

“No, it’s not right to say that I’m next to Herwin, and now I’m… And that Herwin likes me.”

“Wait, wait, wait.”

Bianca interrupted Lucia before she could finish her sentence. Bianca tilted her head in confusion.

“So… you’re not engaged to Herwin, you’re engaged to someone else?”

Bianca’s reaction was so intense that Lucia nodded shakily. Bianca’s eyes darted around.

“Why, no, why on earth would Herwin let that happen?”

“It’s …… my engagement, what does Herwin have to do with it?”

“Huh…….”

Lucia was dumbfounded.

Bianca covered her mouth and let out a long sigh.

“So, you’ve given up on Herwin?”

Lucia could neither say yes nor no. Bianca’s expression of surprise at her tightly closed mouth faded.

Then she stepped back as if she’d figured it all out.

“……You’re still in love with Herwin.”

She didn’t have time to retort. Bianca beat her to the punch before Lucia could make an excuse.

“Are you happy with the way things are? Are you sure you want to spend the rest of your life with someone else?”

Lucia’s walls shook as Bianca was the first to ask the question no one else had ever asked.

“I’m…….”

As Lucia hesitated to answer, a hand suddenly grabbed her shoulder from behind.

As soon as she smelled the familiar musk scent, her reliable chest was just around the corner.

She looked up and saw a face that shouldn’t be there.

“What the hell are you doing here?”

A brute-like voice that seemed to scratch the throat spread to life.

Herwin wrapped his arms around Lucia and shoved Bianca.

Bianca, suddenly a rogue, glanced in panic at Herwin, who was wrapping a protective arm around Lucia.

If she touched Lucia in the slightest, she would be swallowed up by those fearsome red eyes.

Bianca let out a small mocking laugh.

“And you call this a misunderstanding?”

Bianca shook her head in disbelief and looked at Lucia in Herwin’s arms.

“I’m not your friend or anything anymore, so I guess it doesn’t matter, but think about what I said. See who’s right.”

“Lucia has nothing to say to you, so… go away.”

Bianca flinched at the sight of Herwin, then gave him a pathetic glare.

Bianca! Bianca!

Just then, she heard a voice calling out for her. Bianca turned her head toward the source.

“Calyps, I’m here!”

Bianca, who shouted at the party, looked back at Lucia and Herwin.

“……Be well.”

With that, Bianca walked away. In the distance, they saw Bianca greeting a man affectionately.

The name Calyps and the face of the man with her were vaguely familiar. As Lucia tried to figure out where she recognized him, a tug pulled her gaze back.

“Are you okay?”

“Huh? Uh-huh…….”

Lucia shakily replied as she realized that Herwin was standing right in front of her.

“Shit. I never thought you’d see her in a place like this.”

Herwin looked quite displeased that Lucia had run into Bianca. No, it was worse than that, as she could see the animosity in his eyes.

“You went out with Marquis Casper, why are you here alone?”

Lucia, who had been watching Herwin angrily as if it were his business, felt the warmth of his hand on her shoulder and quickly pulled away from him.

“He went to get something to drink, and Bianca just happened to be here.”

At a loss for words, Herwin’s hand lingered in the air, then slid down into a tight fist.

“I see……”

There was silence. Herwin glanced over at Lucia.

Her reluctance was palpable in the way she avoided his gaze.

He wondered if he had done something wrong, but he couldn’t come up with an answer.

Herwin, who thought he couldn’t stay like this, opened his mouth.

“Are you sure that nothing happened between you and Bianca? Were you threatened, or did she threaten you or anything like that…….?”

“Nothing, really, just a chance encounter, the first time I’ve seen her since she dropped from the Academy.”

“……That’s good.”

She cut him off again, this time firmly. Herwin couldn’t hide his disappointment this time.

Hearing the sour tone in his voice, Lucia changed the subject.

“By the way, what are you doing here? Are you lost?”

“That’s…….”

For a moment, Herwin was taken aback. But after a moment, his red eyes turned serious and he looked at Lucia.

“I came to find you because I wanted to ask you something.”

This time, Lucia’s walls shook.

She’d been trying so hard to avoid this situation, and now it had come to this. If she’d given him at least a day, she’d have been able to avoid facing him in a stupor.

But there was no avoiding it any longer. Lucia pulled herself together as best as she could.

“So, what is it? Tell me.”

Despite her calm-sounding voice, her heart was beating like crazy. She could only hope that the person in front of her couldn’t hear it.

“Are you, indeed, engaged to be married to the Marquis of Casper?”

The question was well within her expectations.

“Uh, yes. He hasn’t said anything definite yet, but I think he and I are on the same page.”

“No, but… you said you met on a date, which means you met while I was in the North, and in that short time you were engaged?”

“I met him with that intention in the first place.”

“……When did you meet?”

Unlike Lucia, who remained calm, Herwin frowned and couldn’t keep still for a moment.

Lucia saw that he was fidgeting and blurted out,

“What are you so curious about?”