Chapter 199
Rustle.
I quickly pulled the curtains shut and clutched my startled chest.
‘Wait, he is here already?’
I had just sent the message…
Then, I heard the knocking on the balcony door again.
I couldn’t leave someone standing outside forever, so I had no choice but to open the door.
“Was there someone else here? I only sensed your presence, that’s why I knocked…”
Lucio, who stepped into the room, asked curiously.
I let out a small, incredulous laugh.
“What do you expect, barging in like this without even giving me time to get ready?”
“Get ready?”
“I haven’t even looked in the mirror since I woke up! My hair’s a mess, my face too…”
I trailed off in complaint, then suddenly stopped.
Something about Lucio’s gaze felt… strange.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
I frowned at Lucio, who gave me a sly smile, not even trying to hide his smirk as he spoke.
“Do you want to look pretty for me now?”
“What?”
“When you were little, you said it was enough to look pretty just for Diana. But that’s not the case anymore?”
I was left speechless by Lucio’s question.
How could he ask something like that so directly?
Annoyed by how confident he looked, as if he already knew the answer, I quickly shook my head.
“That’s not it.”
“Really?”
“Yes, it’s not like that.”
“I do, though.”
Before I realized it, Lucio had stepped in close and taken my hand.
Startled by the cool touch, I flinched. Then he pressed his cheek into my hand and spoke.
“Lia, I only want to be loved by you.”
As if to prove it wasn’t just words, he leaned into my palm with a smile.
I stared at him in a daze, then swallowed hard and asked in a trembling voice,
“Wait… are you drunk?”
“…What?”
“You don’t smell like alcohol, though.”
I sniffed around Lucio’s neck, but as always, all I could smell was his mint scent.
I pulled my hand away and gave him a baffled look.
“Then you said all that while sober?”
Oh my god, does he not know embarrassment?
I couldn’t believe it.
How did I ever think of this guy as cold and aloof?
Then again, he was cold—in temperature at least.
My face was burning up, but Lucio’s cheek, the one I touched, was cool as ice.
At that moment, Lucio sighed deeply and muttered,
“You’re really something…”
“Why are you sighing? You’re the one saying weird things!”
I pouted, and Lucio gave me a dumbfounded look.
“Imagine not even being able to see the person you love for nearly ten years. Thinking about you dozens of times a day, just waiting for the day I’d see you again—don’t you think I’m being incredibly patient, all things considered?”
“…You think this is being patient?”
This is what he calls patience?
Maybe he sensed what I wasn’t able to say out loud, because he bumped his forehead against mine with a soft thud and spoke reproachfully.
“If I had even a little less self-control, you’d already be wearing a wedding veil and be my wife. I wouldn’t be sneaking into your room like this—I’d be walking into our honeymoon suite, like I belong there.”
“W-What are you saying…?”
A wedding veil? Honeymoon suite?
Panicking, I took a step back without thinking. Lucio narrowed his eyes.
“Why are you so shocked? Don’t tell me you were just playing with me and never intended to marry me?”
“Playing with you…?”
“Don’t dodge the question.”
“…”
“Answer me. Are you not going to marry me?”
Why was this conversation going this way?
I was flustered, but when I saw the unease and hurt on Lucio’s face, I softened. Eventually, I let out a quiet sigh.
“It’s just… I’ve never seriously thought about marriage.”
It wasn’t only because of my family’s concerns… I myself had never considered it seriously.
Even accepting Lucio’s feelings had been a somewhat impulsive decision, and now marriage…?
“Wait, are you… proposing right now?”
No way, right?
Even Diana got a formal proposal on one knee…
Suspicious, I looked at him, and Lucio casually took my wrist and said,
“Of course not.”
He slowly stroked from my wrist to the back of my hand, then gently touched each of my fingers, murmuring something under his breath.
Tilting my head, I finally asked what had been bothering me.
“More importantly, how did you get here so fast?”
Come to think of it, ever since he knocked, I’d had a strange sense of déjà vu.
I suddenly remembered how Lucio had come straight to my room after I messaged the guild leader of Darel about the duchess’s incident in the past.
But back then, Lucio had been staying at the mansion, so it had been possible. I couldn’t understand how he’d come so quickly this time.
“There’s no way… you waited in front of the marquisate all day, just holding onto the communication sphere, right?”
“…”
At my casual muttering, Lucio quietly averted his gaze.
“…Wait, really?”
No wonder his face and hands were cold!
“How long were you out there?”
“Not long.”
“Liar! What if I’d fallen asleep without checking my communication sphere? You should’ve just come! Silly!”
Upset, I glared at him with a pout, and he smiled as he replied.
“I didn’t want to put you in a difficult situation by showing up.”
“When I brought you back yesterday after you fainted, your family didn’t exactly react kindly.”
At Lucio’s added comment, I let out a deep sigh.
“Even if you hadn’t shown up, I was already in enough trouble.”
Strictly speaking, fainting had been my fault, and Lucio had only dealt with the aftermath. Still, I couldn’t help but grumble, and he softly said, “Sorry,” while gently rubbing his thumb over the back of my hand.
That tender, careful touch melted my heart right away.
I quickly took his hand with my other one as well.
“How long were you out there, really?”
Even while I held his hands and breathed warm air onto them, Lucio’s hands were still as cold as ice.
I kept muttering, “You’re so silly. You should’ve come. I wouldn’t have minded, even if it caused trouble.”
He finally admitted with a resigned tone,
“Actually, something seems to be happening with the Marquisate, so it wasn’t easy to visit openly.”
His words made my eyes widen.
“Don’t tell me…”
“Before you ask—I didn’t dig into it on purpose. The rumor that Count Amber is going bankrupt because the Diapel Marquisate is pulling all its investment is already all over the place.”
So it was about that.
“Everyone’s criticizing Clara Amber for slandering you, but at the same time, they’re saying the former Marquis was too heartless.”
At Lucio’s words, my hand curled into a fist.
It wasn’t unexpected.
To those who didn’t know the full story, it probably looked like a coldhearted grandfather had disowned his daughter and granddaughter over me.
While I was still unable to hide my frustration, I felt Lucio’s gaze fixed on me.
From his expression, I could tell what he wanted to ask.
He wanted to hear from my own mouth why my grandfather had made that decision.
It was a shameful family matter, hard to speak about, but I didn’t want to hide it from Lucio. After a moment of hesitation, I slowly opened my mouth.
“Actually, yesterday we found out that the Countess was involved in my kidnapping.”
“…What?”
“She didn’t ally with demon worshippers or anything. She just… told them when my father would be out of the capital.”
But before I could even finish, Lucio pulled me into his arms.
I had tried to speak casually, so he wouldn’t be too shocked, but apparently it didn’t work.
“It’s really not a big deal. My family seems more affected than I am—I’m okay.”
I gently pulled back from his embrace, but Lucio’s eyes were dark and stormy.
“Are you mad?”
My words hit the mark, and Lucio gave a small nod.
“Yeah, I’m mad. If you hadn’t been kidnapped, you wouldn’t have gone through so much or been hurt like that. You could’ve grown up warm and safe, surrounded by love and protection. I’m angry that you didn’t get to have that.”
He trailed off, his voice shaking with rising anger, then exhaled deeply to calm himself.
After a moment, he cautiously asked,
“Did you cry?”
“No. I didn’t cry.”
I answered quickly, but he still looked unconvinced.
As Lucio carefully examined my eyes, I was reminded of a moment from long ago—when I cried after my mother said something cruel, and he had asked me, demanding to know who had made me cry.
A strange lump formed in my throat.
“I really am okay. I’m saying that because I truly mean it.”
Because I have someone now who gets angry and sad on my behalf.
“…Alright. If you say so.”
He reluctantly accepted my answer, then murmured quietly,
“Good thing I told Diana not to visit the marquisate today.”
“You did?”
Lucio nodded, and I praised him for it.
I wouldn’t have minded seeing Diana, but I couldn’t say the same for my family.
Besides, we had spent the entire afternoon talking about Lucio. If Diana had been there, it might’ve been awkward.
Then, as if still unable to shake his foul mood, Lucio spoke in a low voice.
“The Countess won’t live out her days peacefully. I won’t even need to do anything.”
His words sounded slightly dangerous, and I looked at him in surprise. He relaxed his tense jaw and explained,
“She’ll probably be divorced soon.”
“Divorced?”
“Yeah. Count Amber’s had plenty of complaints about her, but he kept quiet out of deference to the Diapel Marquisate.”
Given the situation, it wasn’t hard to imagine what would happen next.
A noblewoman with no means of supporting herself, abandoned and unable to return to her own family—her future would be bleak.
And Clara won’t even be able to leave the county under the emperor’s order…
Which meant the Countess, separated from her daughter, would live the rest of her life alone, worrying about survival, let alone luxury and eventually die in loneliness.
