CH 78

“What? Who’s here now?”

“The Duchess of Phoenaeus is here. Shall I escort her inside?”

Julian, who was momentarily puzzled by Aaron’s words, hurriedly nodded.

“Very well, escort her inside.”

As soon as the butler was out the door, Julian scrambled to her feet and checked on her condition.

She hadn’t expected her friend to show up so unexpectedly. No, she didn’t even know she was in the capital in the first place.

The last time they wrote to each other, she hadn’t mentioned coming to the capital.

“This is not the time.”

Julian checked herself and hurried to the drawing room.

Scarlett was just entering, escorted by the butler.

“Scarlett!”

Scarlett’s face, stoic as a Northern Duke’s wife, softened at the sight of Julian.

“Julian. How long has it been!”

The two embraced each other, welcoming a friend they had not seen for a long time.

“I heard you were visiting and thought I must have misheard, when did you come to the capital?”

“I just arrived yesterday. Something came up on short notice.”

As they entered the drawing room side by side, they continued.

“Still, you should have told me you’ll come, so I could have arranged something.”

“Oh, you’re going to prepare something?”

“It’s because I don’t feel comfortable. Aaron, can you get us some refreshments, you know what Scarlett likes?”

“Sure, I’ll have it ready in a minute.”

Julian ordered Aaron, who was behind them.

“Gee, I haven’t been here in over three years, and he remembers all that?”

“Aaron’s such a good butler, he’ll bring out your favorite scones and tea.”

No matter how much she was a friend, she suddenly came in without contacting her, but Scarlett smiled as she did her best to make her feel welcome.

“So, everything’s been okay?”

“Nothing. Nothing like that. But for you to come to the capital out of the blue, you must have had some business to attend to.”

“I was…….”

Scarlett couldn’t bring herself to tell Julian that she had come to the capital the day after she heard about Lucia’s engagement.

Herwin’s words that he had wronged Lucia bothered her.

If he had truly done her a great wrong, Julian would have shunned Scarlett. But she showed no sign of it.

On the contrary, Julian was calm as if nothing had happened.

Wondering if she was deliberately excluding their children from the conversation, Scarlett decided to wait and see.

“It’s just that I’m stuck in the north, and my children are all in the capital, and my husband is off slaying monsters on a fictional day.”

Julian’s complexion paled.

“Monsters… are there still monsters?”

“They’re not going away anytime soon. Still, it’s a lot better than it was when we discovered the monster army.”

“Well, that’s good, then, because if you ever need our help, just let us know, and we’ll be there.”

Scarlett remembered the day, years ago, when she had come to celebrate the New Year and heard the news of the monster outbreak in the north.

She had been in debt to Countess Agnes for over half a year at the time.

“I still haven’t repaid you for helping us back then, so thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

Scarlett squeezed Julian’s hand, warmed by her friend’s gesture.

Just in time, the maids arrived with refreshments.

Scarlett smiled as she saw the tray filled with just the things she liked, just as Julian had said.

As they enjoyed their refreshments, they continued their conversation.

“Yeah, speaking of monsters, John has been saying some strange things lately.”

When the word monster came out of Julian’s mouth, Scarlett stopped drinking tea and raised her head.

“What is it?”

“He said something strange has been happening in the forest lately. Fields near the forest have been dug up in some places, and the carcasses of animals have been found all over the place.”

“Isn’t it just the beasts?”

“That’s what I thought at first, but when they started investigating, they realized that the footprints in the fields and forests, and the shape of the carcasses, don’t seem to be the work of animals.”

John said that sometimes animal carcasses found in the woods don’t look like they’ve been torn apart by a predator, but rather like they’ve been pierced by a long skewer.

Scarlett frowned when she mentioned that the footprints were similar to those of a human.

“Anything more?”

“I don’t know, I only heard what he said, but I do know that the footprints are incomparably larger than human ones.”

Unless what Julian had heard was an exaggeration, this was the work of a monster.

And an intelligent one at that.

“I’ll have to pay a visit to the Imperial Palace just in case. Thanks for the information.”

“No, it’s nothing. But… Based on the reaction, I guess it’s a real monster?”

“Yeah, there’s a good chance it is. I didn’t think there would be any monsters here. Maybe they came down from the north?”

“I don’t know, but hasn’t this happened before?”

“Before when… ah!”

Scarlet realized in hindsight that a monster had been spotted near the capital once before.

“That’s right, Herwin said he saw an ogre.”

“Even if the academy is far from the capital, it’s around here.”

They got the news that Herwin was badly injured and that a monster had appeared in the capital.

At that time, she had assumed that an ogre that had strayed from the pack had accidentally descended into the forests near the capital, but if what Julian said was indeed a monster, this was a problem she could no longer ignore.

‘I’ll have to break the news to him.’

Scarlett thought to herself that she should contact Hail.

“Now that you mention it, I’m a little shaken up. You don’t think something’s going to happen, do you?”

Julian seemed to sense the danger, and she brushed her goosebumps off her arm.

Scarlett froze at first, then reassured Julian.

“It’s okay. If you’re really scared, call my son. He’ll get it done in no time.”

At the mention of Herwin, Julian visibly panicked.

“Ha, ha, ha… That’s right…….”

An awkward silence descended for a moment. The atmosphere in the drawing room quickly turned icy.

Julian rubbed her palms together, realizing her mistake.

“By the way, I heard Lucia is getting engaged. Is it true?”

Just then, Scarlett spoke up. Julian jerked her head up and stared at her.

Scarlett’s all-seeing gaze was fixed on Julian.

Julian rubbed the back of her neck and smiled awkwardly.

“Well, you’re right. I didn’t tell you, so how did you know?”

“Henry told me in a letter. I’m sorry. Lucia’s like a child to me, and she doesn’t talk about things like this.”

“She had a little thing going on…….”

Unlike Scarlett, who smiled, Julian felt awkward, unable to make eye contact with her.

“Who is she getting engaged to?”

“She’s got to do it with the Marquis of Casper.”

“Oh, really? By Marquis Casper, do you mean the one who recently inherited the title?”

“Uh, yeah. They met through a blind date, but seeing them getting engaged, they seemed to get along well.”

“I see… So, engagement is already confirmed? Henry says the ceremony hasn’t been held yet.”

“We haven’t spoken formally yet, but I’m sure we will soon. The Marquis seems to be very fond of our Lucia, and she seems to have her heart set on him. I’ll be sure to tell you when she’s getting engaged.”

It was a casual conversation, but there was tension beneath the surface.

Julian recognized the bone in Scarlett’s words.

Wondering if she was being too sensitive, she quickly changed the subject.

“Have you heard anything from Herwin? He’s supposed to be getting engaged soon.”

Thud.

Setting down her teacup, Scarlett straightened up and smiled.

“Not yet, but I suppose we’ll have to find out.”

“Oh, I see…….”

There was a subtle silence again. Without words, without eye contact, they knew a gap had already opened between them.

Suddenly, the whole thing felt frustrating.

It wasn’t Scarlett’s style to go around in circles, looking at the other person.

Eventually, Scarlett raised the white flag.

“Haha, to be honest, I thought Lucia was engaged to Herwin.”

Julian looked at Scarlett in a much softer voice. Her sharp eyes drooped down.

“I don’t know if I was the only one who felt that way, but I thought Herwin and Lucia had a thing for each other. So I thought they’d say they were going to get engaged when the time came…….”

“Scarlett…….”

“Well, this is how …… things turned out.”

Julian clenched her fists. She knew what Scarlett was feeling right now. Just a year ago, she’d felt the same way about her.

If Lucia was going to marry, she thought, it would be Herwin.

Partly because they’ve been together for so long, but mostly because Lucia has a crush on Herwin.

When Lucia confessed to Herwin when she was younger, she thought it was just a childish crush.

But Lucia has had a crush on Herwin for years, hiding her feelings from everyone.

If it weren’t for what happened at the academy, she wouldn’t have known she had a crush on him until now.

“You’re really going to get her engaged like this? It’s a shame, to say the least. It’s not like we’re against marriage, the two like each other, and to tear them apart like this…….”

“It’s already been done, Scarlett.”

Scarlett stared at Julian as she cut her off. Julian bit her lip tightly as if deciding something.

“I don’t know how much you know, but there’s already been enough talk between the two of them, and that’s why Lucia decided to get engaged to someone else.”

“Didn’t you push for the engagement?”

“……Half right, half wrong.”

Once she realized what was going on in Lucia’s mind, she noticed how she was treating Herwin.

She could see how much she loved him, and as a mother, she could see how much she was struggling and how tired she was of love.

After much discussion with John, they finally broke the news of Lucia’s engagement.

If she confessed to Herwin and was accepted, it would be a good thing, and if she was rejected, it would be the end of him.

It is not the answer to groan alone in love.

But it was all a mistake.

The day Lucia was rejected by Herwin. On that day, Julian could only watch her daughter fall apart.

“Scarlett, I know what you’re trying to say, but I’m going to let Lucia do what she wants.”

Scarlett flinched. She looked up at her, her eyes filled with determination.

“Because I can’t stand by and watch my daughter suffer any longer.”