CH 80

“Oh my… I’ve never seen anything like this in my life.”

Henry stared at the sleeping Herwin in disbelief.

It was the first time in his life that he had ever seen his brother, who was strong enough to chew through stones, in pain.

He’d stopped by the mansion briefly to confront Herwin about Lucia, but he was suffering from a summer cold that even dogs don’t catch.

After a moment of grumbling, Henry saw him break out in a cold sweat and mutter,

“Is he …… sick?”

“He had a little fever yesterday, but now it’s gone down. Still, the fever hasn’t gone yet so we have to wait and see.”

The person who is sensitive to someone’s presence was sleeping well without knowing who was next to him.

Out of a mixture of defiance and concern, Henry lightly touched Herwin’s forehead, but when he saw Herwin stir, he withdrew his hand.

“I’m sure I’d be a distraction.”

Henry eventually walked out.

He thought he wouldn’t let him go after hurting Lucia so badly, but it felt strange to see him sick.

Brothers were brothers.

“Master, where are you going?”

Jerome, closing the door carefully behind him, caught Henry as he turned to leave.

“I’m going to the academy. I was going to try to talk to him, but he can’t even have a proper conversation in his condition. I have to go.”

“Then stay a little longer. Your mother will be back soon.”

“Is my mother here?”

“Yes, she’s almost here.”

“Hmm… I’ll have to wait to see her face.”

After a moment’s hesitation, Henry said he would wait and left the hallway.

Just then, there was a commotion at the front door, and judging by the sound of “Ma’am,” Scarlett had returned just in time.

“Mother, are you home……?”

As Henry greeted Scarlett, he noticed Lucia with her.

Henry froze at the unexpected combination.

Scarlett smiled broadly at Henry as she hadn’t seen him in a long time.

“Henry, what are you doing here? Are you here because you’re worried about Herwin?”

“Uh, no. I just needed to run some errands for my brother… and by the way, how are you and Lucia…….”

“Henry, it’s been a while.”

Lucia greeted Henry awkwardly.

“I went to Countess Agnes for a while, and then Lucia said she wanted to see Herwin, so she came with me, right?”

“What? Yes… well, yes.”

Lucia replied shakily.

She’d come along because she wanted to see how Herwin was doing, but Scarlett’s tone was subtly different.

Like Lucia, Henry glanced between the two of them to see if he could sense something was amiss.

Scarlett’s wide-eyed expression was obviously full of scheming, and Lucia’s stiffened posture seemed a little troubled.

But after a moment, Scarlett spoke to Lucia.

“Why don’t you go and see Herwin first?”

“If it’s my brother, he’s sleeping.”

Before Lucia could respond, Henry interrupted Scarlett.

“Still sleeping?”

“Yes. He’s been sleeping since I got here. Shouldn’t he wake up in a little while?”

“Hmm, does it still hurt much?”

No matter how much it hurt, it had been a long time, and it was time to get up.

“Lucia, do you want to stay with us until Herwin wakes up? If you’re going to talk to Herwin, you’d better…….”

“Can’t I just check on him now?”

Scarlett, who had been leading the way, stopped. Lucia’s lips were curled in a worried expression, the slightest hint of a smile gone.

“I just wanted to check on him, I want to see him now, and I don’t want to overwork someone who’s sick.”

“Well, if you say so.”

Scarlett allowed her to do as she pleased.

At Scarlett’s insistence, Henry led Lucia to Herwin’s room.

On the way to Herwin’s room, they talked.

“So, what’s up with the academy, and you’re home? Oh, it’s a weekend, so you’re just out for a bit?”

“Yeah. I needed to talk to him, but I didn’t realize he was so sick. It’s been a while since I’ve seen him in bed. I haven’t seen him in bed except as a kid.”

Lucia clenched her fists involuntarily.

She had heard that Herwin had locked himself in his room when he was struggling with his trauma.

Her heart sank, knowing how much he struggled with his trauma back then.

‘I made it harder for him with my selfishness.’

Even if it was unintentional, what happened on Herwin’s birthday at age 16 was enough to trigger his trauma.

Feeling impatient that she could not reach his feelings, she put him in trouble.

After it happened, she felt like she wanted to die. She felt like she was the one who put him in trouble, not the other way around.

‘If Herwin hadn’t come up to me…….’

Her relationship with him would have stayed at 16.

Does Herwin know how comforting and saving it was that he came to her first?

“……Yes. I hope he gets better soon.”

Henry frowned at the look on Lucia’s face.

He could tell at a glance that Lucia was still very much in love with Herwin.

He wanted to tell her to tell him if he hurt her, to tell him everything, but he didn’t dare.

There was a very solid wall between Lucia and Herwin that no one could invade.

Sometimes he imagined that he had been born before Herwin, so that he would be by Lucia’s side now, instead of Herwin.

He thought he had completely let go of Lucia when he gave her to Herwin, but then he felt an ache in his chest.

“This is Herwin’s room, right?”

They arrived at Herwin’s room. Lucia started to open the door, but Henry grabbed her hand.

“Hey, sis……!”

Henry’s body froze when he faced Lucia’s eyes for a moment when he was about to open his mouth.

Lucia’s eyes didn’t meet his, and he realized at once that all her attention was on someone else.

“Why? Do you have something to say?”

Henry swallowed the lump in his throat and released his grip on Lucia.

“……No. I just want you to take a good look at him.”

“Okay. I’ll check it out.”

As Lucia entered the room, Henry sat down with a deep sigh.

“As expected, I’m no match for you…….”

He felt a pang in his stomach, even though he’d known this for a long time. Closing his mouth in bitterness, Henry sighed heavily.

Meanwhile, inside, Lucia scanned the dark room.

Only the bedside lamp was lit, giving her a faint glimpse of Herwin’s face.

Herwin’s soft breathing filled the room. Hearing the colorful sounds, Lucia took a step forward.

“Herwin…….”

Herwin’s face was even gaunter than yesterday. Even a glance at him made her tear up unnecessarily.

“Don’t be silly, you could have just made an appointment.”

She was upset that Lucas had kicked him out, and she was upset that he’d been waiting for hours, not knowing when she’d show up.

“If you’re trying to distract me, you’ve succeeded. I’m here to see you, now get up.”

A whining that was contrary to her heart kept popping up. She grumbled and called Herwin, but he didn’t respond.

Lucia slowly reached out.

Her thin fingers gently brushed his face.

“I’m glad the fever isn’t high.”

A little hot, but not a high fever, but considering he’d been sick last night, his current low-grade fever was proof that he’d been through a lot.

Lucia, who confirmed that the wet towel on his forehead was dry, wet the towel with a basin next to her.

As she wrung it out, she noticed a handkerchief next to the basin.

Lucia’s eyes widened as she recognized the familiar embroidery. Lucia slowly examined the handkerchief.

“This is…….”

It was the gift she’d given Herwin when she’d made her last confession to him.

She thought he could leave it anywhere and he wouldn’t care, but why is it here?

She could faintly smell Herwin’s musk on the handkerchief.

It was proof that he still uses it every day.

Feeling emotional for no reason, Lucia put the handkerchief back in its place and put the wet towel on his forehead.

“If you said you liked Arista, why did you keep this? You could have just ignored what I gave you.”

The cufflinks, the handkerchief. Herwin wore Lucia’s gifts until they were worn out.

He didn’t even bother to look at the others.

“It makes me look forward to it like you think I’m special.”

She bit her trembling lip tightly and wiped away her tears.

“……Do you really like me?”

“……….”

“You’re mistaken. You must have mistaken sadness for love when your best friend suddenly walks away from you.”

Even though she knew Herwin couldn’t hear her, it felt lighter to say what was on her mind.

“You look into your heart, too. Did you really like me or did you mistake other feelings for love? Then you will feel more at ease.”

The touch of her hand through Herwin’s hair was tinged with affection. After watching him for a while, Lucia rose from her seat.

Now that she had seen his condition, she had no more regrets.

Being here wasn’t going to make him better, and looking at him in pain made her feel weak.

Lucia straightened the disheveled quilt and carefully covered him.

“……I’ll go.”

As she turned to leave, a hot sensation wrapped around her wrist.

She stopped and looked down. It was Herwin’s hand on her wrist.

“……Lucia.”

A deep, husky voice called out to her.

Lucia looked up at Herwin with trembling eyes.

His eyes were bleary as if he were still asleep.

“Don’t go…….”

His voice was desperate, and her heart was pounding. After a long moment of silence, Lucia finally spoke.

“……Why don’t you want me to go?”

“Because I think you’ll leave my side forever…….”

It was clear that he hadn’t woken up properly yet. Lucia took Herwin’s hand and eventually walked over to him.

“I’m not going anywhere. I’ll be your friend forever.”

“No.”

“What’s not…….”

“I don’t want you to be with another man…….”

Lucia’s mouth dropped open at Herwin’s next words.

“That would mean you’d be gone from my side, and I…I don’t want that.”

Surely he was mistaking the loss of a friend for love, but why did it feel so desperate?

“……What do you want me to do then?”

“Stay by my side. Stay with me… for the rest of your life.”

Herwin looked at her with a mixture of love and despair in his eyes.

“If you would come to me, we would have the most extravagant wedding in the world, and you would be the most beautiful, happiest bride ever. It makes me so happy just to think about it.”

Herwin took Lucia’s hand again. This time, he slipped his hand between her fingers.

“I hope our child is a daughter who looks like you. You know, when I first saw you, I thought a fairy had fallen into the mortal realm. Maybe I fell in love with you from the moment I laid eyes on you.”

No matter how sleepy he was, he had a shy way of speaking.

How many people can lie in a state of somnolence?

Lucia felt her face heat up, as much as the hand she held tight.