EWOWMAIBTYPF Chapter 189

Chapter 189

 

Lucio frowned the moment I finished speaking.

“Lia.”

“Is it because you don’t trust me? I’m really strong, you know. You saw me in the finals! Honestly, if I really tried, not just the emperor, but the entire empire could—”

“That’s not it.”

Lucio shook his head.

“There’s no way I wouldn’t trust you. But… I still worry. I’m afraid you’ll be in danger.”

“…”

“And I’m scared. Scared I won’t be able to protect you.”

I could feel the sincerity in his softly added words.

Lucio raised his hand to cover his face, seemingly not wanting to show his distorted expression.

Seeing him so shaken was unfamiliar to me, but not unpleasant.

So, after a moment’s hesitation, I gently removed his hand and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

“…!”

He’d kissed my forehead and cheeks all he wanted, but now that I took the initiative, Lucio looked at me, frozen in surprise.

I held back a smile and spoke.

“I forgot to tell you something.”

“…What is it?”

Lucio blinked slowly and asked quietly.

“I like you too.”

“!”

“Probably more than you think. And for a very long time now.”

Lucio’s eyes trembled slightly.

I thought he’d already realized it yesterday when I accepted his feelings, but his reaction still felt fresh.

Feeling my cheeks flush, I shyly continued.

“You said you were scared I might regret it, right? Actually, I’m scared too. Scared you’ll regret loving me. But I won’t regret it—so you shouldn’t either…”

“There’s no way I’ll ever regret it. Not even if I die.”

He cut me off and pulled me into his arms.

I felt the rapid pounding of his heart against mine.

Listening to that fast, almost frantic heartbeat—whose it was, I couldn’t tell—I whispered,

“Then you’ll leave it to me now, right?”

Lucio quickly pulled away.

When I asked, “Why?” because he looked so flustered, he sighed.

“If you ask me like that, I can’t say no. I’m the one who suggested using seduction, so I can’t call you unfair.”

“Hehe.”

“…You’re sure you won’t be in danger, right?”

“Of course!”

To reassure him, and to indulge myself a bit, I reached up and slowly ran my fingers through his hair.

It was softer and finer than I expected, silver strands slipping silkily between my fingers.

Captivated for a moment, I smiled and said,

“You really don’t have to worry. Just get me one gem, and I’ll take care of everything.”

Hearing me speak with exaggerated confidence, Lucio let out a soft chuckle. Then he held me tightly and whispered,

“Alright. I’ll trust you.”

 

***

 

Meanwhile, at the Elard Ducal Residence.

“I told you to go to bed first.”

The Duke of Elard, having just returned home after enduring the emperor’s temper until late, said to his wife.

The duchess gave a wry smile at her tired husband’s face and reached out to take his coat instead of replying.

The duke asked sheepishly, “The kids?”

“They’re all asleep. Lucio sent word he won’t be coming home tonight because of work.”

“Tch. Is he the only one working at the foreign ministry? He’s working overtime every day. Seeing my son’s face is like trying to catch a star in the sky.”

The duchess chuckled and said,

“Still, ever since Lia came, haven’t we seen him more often than before?”

“Hm.”

True, they saw him at the founding festival ball and even the finals of the sword tournament.

There had been times they’d go over a month without seeing him at all, so this was an improvement.

The duke nodded, but his expression darkened.

At first, when he saw Lia arrive at the finals with Lucio, he had been quite pleased.

But the moment the monsters appeared and Lia wielded powerful magic, his heart sank—and instinctively, he looked at the emperor.

He thought he saw something strange flicker in the emperor’s eyes.

And as expected, the emperor, who had seemingly given up on marrying Lia to Nicolas, now showed renewed interest in Lia.

After hearing the royal mage say that not even the grand duke Belus, dubbed the great mage, or the empire’s swordmasters could match Lia, the emperor began calculating when she might leave the empire, even planning to summon her to the palace.

It was obvious to anyone that he coveted Lia. The duke felt his insides burn.

‘Well, if I find her beautiful, others will too.’

She was so kind and lovely, like an angel, and incredibly capable on top of that!

But it had already been almost ten years since the duke started thinking of Lia as both a daughter and a future daughter-in-law. He couldn’t just let her be taken.

‘Especially since Lucio seems deeply in love.’

The duke resolved to do everything in his power to ensure Lucio and Lia stayed together, as long as Lia returned Lucio’s feelings.

“By the way, Viscountess Bardo said she finished the medicine. Should we just send it to the marquis’ house tomorrow?”

The duke shook his head at his wife’s question.

“No, how about we invite them for dinner instead?”

“Oh, that’s a great idea! I’ll prepare all the dishes Lia loved as a child.”

“Mm. Tell Lucio to make time for it too.”

Though Allen was away training and couldn’t attend, gathering the rest of the family for a meal would feel almost like a formal meeting between in-laws.

The duke’s lips twitched upward as he imagined the furious face of the grand duchess.

He looked forward to seeing if Lucio would handle it shamelessly again, just like he did at the ball.

“By the way, is this batch of medicine bitter too?”

“Yes. The Viscountess said the base herbs are especially bitter.”

“He’s going to complain again.”

⟨You rascal! After all I did for you as a child, how could you give me only bitter medicine!⟩

Even if they explained over and over that medicine was supposed to be bitter, the late marquis, who had a sweet tooth, would still throw a fit. The duke could almost hear his voice ringing in his ears.

Shaking his head, the duke chuckled and muttered,

“As if he was ever that kind to me…”

⟨You scoundrel! Why didn’t you tell me right away that you were a boy!⟩

Suddenly, an old memory resurfaced.

Though the previous marquis rarely visited the capital, he somehow never realized the Elard family had only one son, and fully believed that the one his daughter befriended was a girl too.

It wasn’t until much later that he discovered Dominique was a boy—and he was furious.

Of all times, it had been when Stella had dressed Dominique up as a girl for their first meeting.

Still, perhaps he wasn’t unaware of his daughter’s difficult personality, or maybe he pitied the neglected child.

Whenever the marquis visited the capital, he never failed to stop by the ducal residence.

Then one day, he handed Dominique a sword that was clearly a fine blade and said,

⟨If anyone says anything, tell them I gave it to you! And the training ground at the Diapel estate won’t even notice one more kid swinging a sword!⟩

Apparently, he’d heard Dominique was too cautious of the elder council to even use a proper sword, or the duke’s training ground freely.

⟨What are you standing there for? Take it! And why the long face, kid? You’ve got dark circles under your eyes!⟩

As the marquis clicked his tongue and forced the sword into Dominique’s hands, Dominique calmly replied,

⟨Thanks for the sword. But the reason for my face is because Stella told me ghost stories last night, and I couldn’t sleep.⟩

⟨Ahem! My daughter is… rather persuasive, isn’t she?⟩

⟨She also showed up dressed as a ghost outside my window.⟩

⟨Her… her costume skills are impressive too…⟩

The flustered marquis awkwardly changed the subject and quickly pulled out the food he brought.

⟨She said to give you this. Said you used to cry and go crazy over it.⟩

Dominique looked at the food and scowled.

Yes, he had cried after eating it.

Not because it was delicious, but because it was so spicy…

The duke, vividly recalling the taste, shook his head to push the memory away.

Later, he found out Stella genuinely thought it was his favorite food and wanted to share it with someone she liked.

But for the duke, it was simply a painful memory.

‘Yes, even if something is good for the body, forcing it on someone is just cruelty.’

Deep in thought, he asked his wife,

“Prepare something sweet to go with the medicine. And tell the viscountess to reduce the amount of bitter herbs next time, even if it makes it a bit less effective.”

 

***

 

Several days had passed since the Empire’s founding festival ended.

Yet the world remained noisy.

It was all because of the monsters—creatures thought to have vanished forever.

Fanatics shouted that demons would soon rise again, soldiers arrested them, and the streets were filled with uneasy people disturbed by the ominous atmosphere.

Clara, watching this scene from her carriage window, roughly shut the curtain and closed her eyes tightly.

‘Everything is a complete mess.’

A mother without grace, suitors her father kept pushing despite not liking any of them, and constant criticism from Lady Elard—Clara had once thought those were her biggest problems.

Only now did she realize how peaceful and comfortable her life had been.

And it wasn’t just fear or confusion from the crazed people’s cries.

‘Adriana…’

It was because the whole world was now praising her.

People trembling in fear of monsters and demons, or of some coming disaster, all eventually uttered the same name:

Adriana.

They praised her, again and again, as the only one who could protect and save this world.

‘The temple even announced she’s not a saint anymore, idiots!’

But even Clara couldn’t deny Adriana’s abilities were real and exceptional.

Clara slowly raised her hand and touched her smooth right cheek.

When the monsters appeared during the finals, the late Marquis Diapel urgently drew his sword to protect the Count and Countess of Amber and Clara.

But he couldn’t block the surge of people fleeing in panic, and Clara was knocked down to the ground after crashing into someone.

The fall hurt, but what terrified her was the stinging pain in her cheek.

When she reached up, her hand came away bloody and she froze.

 

Hello dear readers,

There is a good chance that this site will close up for good soon, we are waiting for boss final announcement. However, I am still hoping everything goes well and we don’t have to close Moonlight. 

But if it was inevitable, I will have to post my novels including this one on another site (if I find one…)(⁠ᗒ⁠ᗩ⁠ᗕ⁠)