HIFH | Chapter 29

Chapter 29

“It seems like you had to beg Sir Lu to come out with you. Oh dear, Sir Lolu must be very tired.”

Even though she got put in her place last time, she’s doing it again.

I had to admit, her mental fortitude was impressive.

Otherwise, she would have been too scared of Lu to keep pushing like this.

‘In some ways, I almost respect her.’

But I still wouldn’t treat her with respect.

Because she was belittling me.

“If you’re looking for a place to sit, why not join us? The other spots have no shade and reek of the crocodile farm.”

Lu looked at me.

Instead of answering, I simply shrugged.

I was telling him to decide for himself.

“Hmm.”

Lu let out a quiet hum before slowly speaking again.

“Sitting together is fine.”

Then, he smiled gently.

“But if you speak rudely to my fiancée even one more time, we’ll leave.”

Oh.

“And after that, you and Miss Cecil will never see us again.”

Ohhh.

“Do you understand?”

That’s Lu for you.

Tying things up neatly.

I gave him a thumbs-up, making sure only he could see it. Lou let out a small chuckle.

“Wh-what? H-how was I rude……?”

Cecil stammered, her face quickly turning red. Then, sniffing, she glared at me.

“Fine! I won’t say another word to Miss Charles from now on! That should be good enough, right?”

Lu turned to me again.

Asking what I wanted to do.

Hmm.

After a brief moment of thought, I nodded.

“Watching Miss Cecil can be entertaining, after all.”

I meant it.

Seeing her get put in her place by Lu every time she tried to mess with me was both amusing and satisfying.

“E-entertaining?!”

Cecil’s face turned even redder, and she let out a sharp breath.

Oh? What now?

“N-no! I won’t say anything to Miss Charles anymore! Hmph!”

Unfortunately, Cecil still had some self-control left.

She must have realized that if she kept fighting with me, she’d end up getting scolded by Lou again.

What a shame.

“Come on, Sir Lu. Everyone is waiting.”

Cecil reached out toward Lu, but he easily avoided her hand. Instead, he wrapped his arm around my shoulders and smiled warmly.

“Shall we go, Charles?”

Moments like this—when Lu only smiled at me, when he only paid attention to me—always made me feel good.

Because Lu, the man everyone wanted, was only looking at me.

Of course, his gaze was fake. This whole situation was fake. But still…

‘It’s not like I’ve ever been loved, even as a lie.’

That thought left a bitter taste in my mouth. But I didn’t let it show.

Instead, I smiled brightly—so much so that Lu looked a little startled.

“I’m hungry.”

Because, honestly, I was.

***

Under the zelkova tree, three young ladies—including Cecil—were sitting close together.

They introduced themselves as Tela and Irene. Since they had no surnames, they were probably commoners.

“Tela and Irene are the nannies of my nephew, Theo.”

Ah. I figured.

I nodded lightly and greeted them.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Charles Courtney, and this is my fiancé, Lu Vansen.”

“P-pleased to meet you.”

Tela and Irene blushed as soon as they saw us, quickly lowering their heads.

Though their voices were small, they did greet us.

It might have seemed a little rude, but judging by how red their faces were, I figured they were just shy.

Well, Lou is handsome.

I shrugged and took a seat.

“But I don’t see your nephew.”

Lu, sitting beside me, asked the question. Cecil’s eyes sparkled as she answered.

“Theo? Actually, the reason we came here in the first place was because Theo wanted to see the crocodile farm. So we planned to go after lunch, but that kid said he wanted to take a walk by himself first. He’s grown up, right?”

Cecil looked completely different from before—calm and happy as she spoke.

“For reference, Theo is six years old.”

Ah. That’s a cute age.

“He must be really adorable.”

“Well… Ahem!”

Cecil had nearly responded to me on instinct. But catching herself, she coughed and turned back to Lu.

“A-anyway, our Theo is cute, cool, and lovely! He listens well, and he’s really smart!”

A doting aunt, I see.

Muttering to myself, I took a bite of the sandwich Mardi had made for me.

I didn’t have any family, so I couldn’t really understand that kind of love…

‘Though a lot of the Guardian agents were like that.’

Some of them were so excited to spend time with their families that they lived for their days off.

Back then, I found that kind of emotion fascinating and impressive.

But since I had no future, no chance of marriage, and no stable life ahead of me, I lost interest quickly.

‘Anyway…’

I might not be great at causing chaos, but that didn’t mean I wouldn’t try.

And right now, Cecil was the only noble here.

Wouldn’t this be the perfect time to stir up some trouble without any consequences?

‘I could just leave without saying anything.’

If I did that, I’d come across as an impolite woman who left without a word.

Then Cecil would run around badmouthing me, and my reputation would plummet.

‘Sounds good.’

Grinning, I stuffed the rest of my sandwich into my mouth.

Then, dusting off my hands, I stood up.

“I’ll be stepping away for a moment.”

Lu looked at me as if to ask where I was going, but I didn’t answer.

Normally, when a lady left the table, it was just to visit the restroom, so I figured he’d get the hint.

“Alright, take your time.”

Just as I expected, Lu didn’t press further.

Which meant I could leisurely put on my coat and walk away.

“Sir Lu, that reminds me! Something funny happened recently….”

As soon as I stood up, Cecil moved a step closer to Lu.

But I didn’t care.

Lu wouldn’t like Cecil anyway.

‘…Wait?’

No.

That wasn’t the issue here.

The issue was that Lu and I were only pretending to be a couple.

Whether he liked Cecil or not had nothing to do with me.

So why did I even think that way?

‘What’s wrong with me lately?’

It must have been the grape juice I drank earlier.

That had to be it.

Otherwise, there was no way I’d keep having these weird thoughts.

‘I’ll take some stomach medicine when I get back.’

I should’ve listened to the doctor.

Clicking my tongue, I quickened my pace.

I wanted to get out of here before Lou got suspicious.

Just as I was hurrying away—

“Huh?”

A familiar smell hit my nose.

Thick, fishy, and pungent…

“Blood?”

Reacting on instinct, I spun around and dashed toward the scent.

It was instinct—

The instinct to save someone if they were hurt.

And soon, I saw it.

“Aaaah! S-someone, please help!”

A young child, surrounded by a pack of crocodiles.