CH 71

Knock. Knock.

“Marquis, Lady Agnes has arrived.”

Just then, a servant knocked on the door, announcing Lucia’s arrival.

As soon as she heard Lucia’s name, Celine stiffened, but then she pulled away from Bern and locked eyes with him.

“I’ll come back another time.”

Leaving a stunned Bern, Celine walked away.

She could sense the servant’s embarrassment, but she shrugged it off and continued on her way.

She bumped into Lucia, who was also on her way there.

“Are you…….”

Her eyes widened and she looked confused. She looked more surprised than if she’d just run into someone by accident.

Celine clenched her fists.

Lucia must know everything.

Otherwise, it didn’t explain her deliberately taking Bern away from the party.

“The Viscountess has visited. Are you here to see Bern?”

Lucia smiled benignly, hiding her surprise.

‘Did she call Bern by his friendly name on purpose to provoke me?’

Celine had a hard time accepting Lucia’s words as they were. However, I couldn’t find any ulterior motives in Lucia’s calm face.

It would be easier if she felt the same way… but she felt unnecessarily guilty.

‘……I can’t give up, though.’

Celine’s fists clenched involuntarily, a smile barely tugging at the corners of her hardened mouth.

“Yeah, I just had to run a quick errand.”

“I see, I’m here for a quick errand too, but my appointment is up, so I’ll have to leave now….…”

Lucia nudged Celine with a bow.

“Lady Agnes.”

Suddenly, Celine grabbed Lucia’s arm. When Lucia turned around, Celine spoke with a look of determination on her face.

“From now on, please address me as Celine Jayson, not Viscountess.”

“What?”

“Well, then, until next time.”

Celine left without another word.

Lucia, who remained standing, stared longingly at the spot where Celine had disappeared.

“You don’t want me to call you Viscountess?”

Judging by the fact that she said Jayson and not Romario, she’s guessing she was married before, but if she’s using her old surname, does that mean she’s divorced?

‘Divorce can’t be that easy.’

It had only been a little over a week since the party. She was clearly a viscountess at the party, but she got divorced in such a short time?

‘That’s weird…….’

Many things were odd, but her appointment with Bern came first, so Lucia pushed her curiosity aside and started walking.

“Bern. I ran into Viscountess Romario on my way here. What happened…….”

As Lucia entered the parlor, she stopped short when she saw Bern standing in the distance.

For a moment, she wondered at Bern’s condition.

He was completely mesmerized. Seeing the unfocused look in his eyes, Lucia put a hand on Bern’s shoulder.

“Bern. Bern, wake up!”

Bern shuddered. Suddenly, his eyes lit up.

“Lucia……?”

“Yes, it’s me. Did something happen with the Viscountess?”

It was a casual question, but Bern was visibly agitated and averted his gaze, and Lucia realized that something had happened between them.

“Something must have happened with the Viscountess.”

“Did she say anything to ……Lucia?”

“She didn’t say anything… but she asked me to call her Jayson from now on, not Viscountess. Did she get a divorce or something?”

“Hah…….”

Bern collapsed. Lucia panicked and grabbed Bern’s hand.

“Are you sick? Let’s sit on the sofa first…….”

“It’s ……Viscount Romario has been killed in an accident.”

Lucia paused in her support of Bern.

“She came to me to tell me that she is no longer Viscountess Romario and that she is now a free woman.”

The words alone made it clear to Lucia what was going on. She bent down on her knees to be at eye level with Bern.

“On the day we broke up, she held on to me saying that all the harsh words she said to me back then were lies and that she didn’t want to regret it anymore. That she still loves me… … .”

Clear tears fell down his cheeks through the large hands covering his face.

Lucia wordlessly wrapped her arms around Bern’s shoulders and patted him on the back.

“What the hell am I supposed to do? If what Celine said is true… I’m……!”

“Bern. Look at me.”

Lucia carefully cupped Bern’s face, forcing him to make eye contact with her.

The dewy golden eyes slowly took in Lucia.

“Are you in pain?”

“……It’s painful.”

“What does Bern want to do?”

“I don’t know… I’ve already broken up with Celine, and to fall in love with her again now…….”

It has come too far.

It would be hard to accept someone again when you’re already deeply hurt.

Lucia could see the deep hurt in Bern’s eyes.

“Bern. Let’s get engaged.”

“……?”

“We’re getting engaged, Bern.”

He felt the warmth of a small hand cupping his face. Bern’s eyes fluttered open.

“Lucia…….”

“If you can’t love again… if it’s too painful, you can get engaged to me. We promised to get engaged anyway, so there’s nothing new here.”

“But then Lucia…….”

Wouldn’t she be insecure to find herself swayed by another woman?

How could Lucia be so bold as to tell him about the engagement when she’s still unsure of her feelings?

Then, the wall in front of him shifts, and Lucia slowly strokes Bern’s face with an expression of understanding, like a wide, all-encompassing lake.

“You’ve helped me before, and I think it’s my turn to be your shield.”

Bern stared into the eyes that contained him.

Just five minutes ago, it was dull compared to Celine, who looked at him with a love-filled gaze.

Lucia’s eyes held no love. But in the absence of love, she tried to sympathize with him and support him.

Bern slowly buried his face in Lucia’s shoulder, as if mesmerized.

“Are you okay with me like this?…….”

“You can’t just walk past someone who’s in pain, and if I falter later, I know you’ll be there to hold me up.”

Bern felt guilty, wondering if he should just lean on Lucia like this.

But he didn’t want to think about it now.

The ripples Celine had caused were unimaginable. If he let himself get swept up in it, he felt like everything would be ruined, just like it had been when he’d chipped away for a year.

He wanted to run away from it all right now.

Bern managed to reach out and grasped the small hands that are trying to save him.

“Please, please…I look forward to your kindness.”

“……Take care of me too, Bern.”

Lucia squeezed her eyes shut as Bern’s body trembled in her embrace, mirroring her love-struck state.

‘Yes, that’s enough.’

They say she can be happy even if it doesn’t start with love.

She used to think that all happiness came from love.

But now she knows differently. She knows that happiness comes in many forms, and she knows that she’s going to find her way to it.

‘It doesn’t have to be Herwin to be happy.’

Now that she has decided to get engaged to Bern, Lucia is going to start dreaming about her future with Bern, not Herwin.

To do that, she’ll have to overcome the obstacles that lie ahead.

If Bern had helped her last time, now it was her turn.

Lucia sees herself in Bern and hugs him tightly, just like he did.

* * *

Thud-

A dull sound was heard in the darkroom without a single light.

The eyes, accustomed to the darkness, reached out to catch what was in front of him.

Barely holding on to his shaky vision, he tried to pour himself a drink, but the glass bottle was empty.

“There’s no …….”

His eyes freed, and Herwin tossed the glass haphazardly.

It shattered on the plush carpet. There were quite a few at his feet.

For a week after returning from the party, he had locked himself in his room and done nothing but drink, drink, drink.

Herwin had never been much of a drinker.

He would stay away from it, never enjoying it, so it was strange to see him drinking for a whole week.

Finally, on the third day, Jerome begged him to stop drinking, to at least eat and drink, but Herwin, like a man of his word, refused to listen to anyone.

He just stared at the empty glass.

Drinking more than his limit seemed to make his mind clearer.

He looked at the handkerchief in his hand and ran his fingers over the embroidery.

Lucia gave it to him in her last confession. Looking at it, he couldn’t help but think of Lucia.

He remembered the first time she came to the ducal castle when she was eight years old.

He vaguely remembers having fun with Lucia before that, but it was at the age of eight that he can vividly recall her face.

“What was I thinking then?”

The chubby cheeks, the short haircut, and the walls that were as clear as the sky. It was all so perfect.

“Oh, yeah…….”

He finally remembered what he was thinking when he saw Lucia. Herwin gave her a small smile.

“I thought you looked like a fairy.”

He thought a fairy had fallen into the human world.

After all these years, he could still remember her face as a child.

At first, their eyes were level, then he could see the top of her head, and her cute face gradually became that of a woman.

He didn’t realize it when he was at the academy, but now that he thinks about it, he didn’t want other men to approach her.

Lucia probably doesn’t know- how many guys liked her.

Some of them talked about hitting on her, and some of them insisted that he introduce her to them.

He struggled to keep them quiet, but in hindsight, he was a fool.

Already in the academy. No, he had a crush on Lucia before that, so why did he think otherwise? Why did he think she was just a friend?

A real friend wouldn’t have made him feel this way.

He couldn’t get the image of Lucia and Bern kissing out of his head.

Frowning, Herwin put his head in his hands.

No matter how much he didn’t want to think about it, the thought of the two of them kissing, sleeping, and eventually having a child nagged at the back of his mind.

He didn’t want to see Lucia as a wife to someone other than him. The thought of a child that looked just like her, cute as a pixie, but not of his blood, would drive him insane.

He drank to drown out the pain, but in the brief moment of sobriety, all his thoughts returned to the surface.

Running a hand through his throbbing hair, Herwin stood up.

“Jerome. Jerome……!”

He shook his head and called out to Jerome.

“Jerome, bring me another bottle of wine……!”

No matter how long he waited, Jerome never came.

Puzzled, Herwin lifted his head and looked toward the doorway. There was a flicker of movement beyond the door.

Thinking it was Jerome, he flung the door open.

“Why are you taking so long to get back to me…….”

Before he could finish his sentence, Herwin froze. It wasn’t Jerome at the door.

“……Mother.”

It was Scarlett, Herwin’s mother, the Duchess of Phoenaeus.