Chapter 200
There’s no way Grandfather hadn’t foreseen this outcome.
I could clearly feel just how difficult the decision must have been for him, to correct both the Countess’s wrongdoing and the mistakes he made along the way, and how deeply sorry he felt toward me.
At that moment, Lucio quietly reached for my hand.
“You don’t need to pity her. She’s just taking responsibility for her own actions.”
Hearing that made me laugh a little.
It wasn’t that I felt satisfied or vindicated by the Countess’s miserable downfall, nor did I feel any pleasure in her misfortune. But I didn’t feel sorry for her either.
I was about to correct him, to say I wasn’t that kind-hearted.
“I’ve thought about it sometimes. What if you had never been kidnapped… What if we had met from the beginning as the Grand Duke of Belus’s daughter and the Young Duke of Elard?”
Lucio’s words made my eyes widen.
I had never entertained such a scenario before.
Especially after hearing from Raizel about my tragic connection to demons in a past life, I had never dared to imagine a version of life where I hadn’t been kidnapped.
I hesitated a bit before speaking.
“I can’t picture it at all.”
Lucio let out a soft chuckle.
“Honestly, me neither. I’m not that imaginative. I just found myself thinking about you a lot while we were apart, and got a little curious. But… wouldn’t our relationship have ended up just the same? Maybe we’d even have gotten engaged sooner.”
Despite claiming he lacked imagination, Lucio went on smoothly, which made me a bit incredulous.
Just how often did he think about this?
My heart tightened, and yet, I couldn’t help but coolly assess how one-sided his imagined outcome was in his favor.
Even if the two houses had been close, and our families often visited each other before I was kidnapped…
I didn’t think my family, who still overreact whenever the topic of dating Lucio comes up, would have accepted an engagement that easily.
It was not like there was some agreement made early on to match us together, anyway.1 [TL: Are you sure?]
Still, now that he brought it up, I was a little curious.
Would Diana have still followed me like she does now, if we hadn’t met at the orphanage? And, like Lucio so confidently assumes, would I have still fallen for him?
I knew it was all meaningless speculation, but a dull ache formed in my chest.
If only I really had the chance to live that kind of life…
Like Lucio said, maybe I—and my family—could’ve lived happily without ever getting hurt.
Trying to soothe the sudden heaviness in my heart, I smiled and asked,
“Anyway, did you tell the Duke?”
I had been wondering all along how Duke Elard reacted upon hearing that the subjugation contract with the Emperor was broken and the demon artifact destroyed, even while I was ill through the night.
With sparkling eyes, like a child expecting praise, I looked at Lucio. He gave a soft laugh.
“I told him yesterday.”
“What did he say? Was he pleased?”
“Of course. I’ve never seen him like that before.”
“How was he?”
“At first, he didn’t quite believe me. I think he’d considered it an impossible task. But when he heard that you were the one who made it happen, that’s when he finally nodded.”
Lucio then looked at me intently.
“Actually, neither I nor Father know how you managed it. But because it was you, because you’ve saved us time and time again, we couldn’t help but believe.”
His unwavering trust made me feel a bit shy.
“Thank you… for trusting me.”
“No, I’m the one who should be grateful. But… are you really okay?”
“What do you mean?”
“I know you said it wasn’t dangerous, but… fainting in the imperial palace yesterday—was it because…?”
He trailed off, looking at me suspiciously, and I couldn’t help but make a face.
He said he believed me, and yet he wouldn’t believe that I was fine?
Of course, his suspicion was totally justified, but I chose to brush past the pain from last night and changed the subject.
“By the way, did you tell the Duke about all your efforts?”
Like forming an alliance with Nicholas to make him the next emperor, founding the information guild, and endlessly searching for information on the demon artifact like looking for a needle in the desert—everything Lucio had endured silently.
I really wanted Duke Elard to recognize the dedication Lucio had shown.
But as expected…
“There’s no point in bringing up something unnecessary.”
Lucio hadn’t told him anything.
Clicking my tongue in frustration, I said,
“It’s not unnecessary at all. If it weren’t for everything you did, I wouldn’t have been able to resolve things so easily.”
And I wasn’t just trying to flatter him.
If Lucio hadn’t created Darel, I wouldn’t have been able to use the sale of mana stones as a pretext to enter the Emperor’s treasure vault.
But Lucio only shook his head.
“Just hearing you say that is enough for me.”
Realizing I probably couldn’t change his mind, I sighed and asked,
“Then what will you do about Darel and Prince Nicholas going forward?”
“The work’s already begun. I need to see it through.”
Lucio briefly explained that if Nicholas became Emperor, at least there wouldn’t be any bloodshed within the imperial family.
That’s true. If it’s not Nicholas, Serphin will ascend the throne…
Everyone knew how much Serphin despised Nicholas and the other princesses confined to the side palace.
Though they still lived comfortably thanks to the Empress’s support, if Serphin became Emperor, that would end.
“Nicholas can be a bit frivolous, but he’s not without skill. His character leans more toward good than evil. With the right guidance, he could be a good emperor.”
Lucio added his evaluation of Nicholas.
I looked at him with slightly surprised eyes.
“What?”
“You seem to trust him more than I expected. Then again, you wouldn’t have chosen him as the next emperor lightly.”
“Like you said, if I saw no potential in Nicholas, I would’ve looked for other options.”
I nodded, understanding, and decided not to dwell on succession matters anymore.
“But… that’s all your father had to say?”
After breaking a long-standing binding contract with the Emperor, I’d have expected him to have more to say.
I didn’t want to boast, but I still wanted to hear more about how happy he was.
When my eyes sparkled with curiosity, Lucio hesitated a little before speaking.
“Um, when he heard that you resolved it, he nodded and then…”
“And then?”
“He ran to Mother.”
“To the duchess?”
Wait—did the duchess know about this, too?
Or maybe now that it was resolved, he planned to tell her everything?
“He said they’d need to start construction right away if they were going to properly renovate the honeymoon room.”
“…Honeymoon room?”
I froze for a moment in confusion before forcing a smile.
“Who’s getting married? Ah! Did Sir Allen finally cause some scandal…? Hold on! Don’t look at me like that. I’m not oblivious, I’m just pretending not to notice!”
Lucio looked at me like I was clueless again, so I quickly shouted and glared at him.
“Be honest. What did you say to the Duke to make him say something like that?”
“I didn’t do anything.”
“Ha! Then why…?”
“Other than getting caught kissing.”
“…?!”
I blinked in shock.
“What did you say?”
“…When I brought you to the marquisate, it wasn’t just your family who was there. My father was, too.”
“Gasp!”
I almost screamed again but quickly covered my mouth.
It was already mortifying that my family knew, now this?
“Oh no! The Duke must have told the Duchess. Maybe even Diana…!”
Thankfully, Allen and Jack were away on training right now, but once they returned, they might find out!
“Ugh, I must be the only person whose first kiss became neighborhood gossip.”
As I held my head in both hands in despair, Lucio quietly muttered,
“I’m in that group too.”
I looked up at him in disbelief, and he gently brushed back my fallen hair, apologizing.
“Sorry. I should’ve been more careful.”
“It’s fine. What’s done is done.”
I sighed and spoke bitterly, and he suddenly leaned in closer.
I looked up, thinking he meant to comfort me, but paused.
Lucio met my eyes with a drowsy smile and whispered,
“Since we’ve been caught anyway… want to do it again?”
“…What?”
I stared at him in shock, and Lucio gently caressed the rim of my ear, coaxing me.
“This time, I’ll try not to make you faint.”
“My god, are you insane?!”
I thought I misheard and quickly pulled back in surprise.
But Lucio simply leaned in even closer.
Up close, his eyes looked strange.
Like he’d awakened to something new… or completely lost his mind.
‘Is he… seriously crazy?’
***
In conclusion, Lucio was insane.
And I… was probably just as crazy.
“W-Wait, haah!”
Unable to bear it, I turned my head and barely managed to break the kiss.
Breathless sounds—his or mine, I couldn’t tell—lingered at my ear.
“Ugh, mmph!”
But Lucio couldn’t even wait for that short pause. He closed the distance again.
No, he dove in even deeper than before, as if he hadn’t gotten enough, exploring the soft inner parts of my lips.
I looked at him with blame in my eyes but eventually shut them tightly.
Because I had no right to blame Lucio.
⟨If you don’t want to, I won’t do it. Even if the first kiss happened like that…⟩
Lucio, who had been approaching boldly like he would kiss me any second, had said that and gently backed away when I hesitated.
And once he did that… the one who felt regret was me.
⟨Then… just a little.⟩
I had unconsciously grabbed the hem of his clothes and said that, and a bright smile spread across Lucio’s face.
My heart fluttered wildly at that smile.
I even thought I was glad I’d held him back.
But if I had known that Lucio and I had such different standards for ‘just a little,’ I never would’ve said that!
