Chapter 102
“That doesn’t mean I’ll accept refugees without limits. No matter what, the most important thing is our own people. Lady Frost.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“If refugees enter through the ports or other routes, can the southern region temporarily accommodate them?”
“Yes, I will do so.”
“Good. If more refugees arrive in the future or if a refugee camp needs to be established, report back to me. I will also think of new solutions. Count Oklin.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Assist Lady Frost in this matter.”
Kenneth glanced at Hestia before bowing his head.
“I will follow Your Majesty’s command.”
Inside, Hestia cheered.
“If the Count helps, this will be much easier!”
Having spent years in politics, he had great insight and could cover areas she might overlook.
“Honestly, he’s the one who made me who I am today.”
He had taught her everything—how to deal with people, how to maintain proper etiquette, and how to navigate political matters.
“Isn’t Lady Frost taking on too much?”
Someone spoke to Hestia. It was Gabriel.
He had been standing behind Luciard since he intervened earlier, likely arriving with him.
“As a guardian, you already have many duties. Are you sure you can handle the refugee issue as well?”
Though he spoke with a concerned tone, Hestia knew he wasn’t genuinely worried about her.
“And he’s subtly targeting Luciard too.”
Luciard seemed to notice the hidden meaning in Gabriel’s words, as he frowned slightly.
“Oh, I didn’t consider that. If it’s too difficult, speak freely, Lady Frost. Nothing has been decided yet.”
Unlike Gabriel, Sylvester was genuinely worried about Hestia.
As she was considering how to respond—
“There is no need to worry, Your Majesty. We will work together to solve the problem.”
At Luciard’s words, Sylvester’s eyes widened in surprise.
It wasn’t just him—Gabriel and the other nobles were also taken aback.
“Together… I noticed earlier as well, but the two of you seem quite close.”
Gabriel’s comment made Hestia realize this was the perfect opportunity to clarify her relationship with Luciard.
“Didn’t I mention before? Luciard and I get along quite well.”
“Yes, you did. But you seem even closer than that.”
“Why does he keep bringing this up?”
Hadn’t Gabriel already asked her earlier—
“Are you two in a romantic relationship?”
Then, another voice repeated the same question.
It was Sylvester, his eyes gleaming with curiosity.
“A romantic relationship…?”
“Could it be?”
“Weren’t they supposed to be rivals?”
The nobles, who had been observing silently, began murmuring.
None of them had expected that Hestia and Luciard could be anything other than competitors, let alone lovers.
Even Hestia and Luciard themselves hadn’t thought of it that way.
Hestia glanced at Luciard, who looked too shocked to even protest.
Then, a brilliant idea crossed her mind.
At that moment—
“They are not lovers.”
To everyone’s surprise, it was Gabriel, not Luciard, who answered.
Sylvester tilted his head curiously.
“Oh? And how do you know that, Gabriel?”
“I asked them about it earlier. Since they didn’t deny it then…”
Before Gabriel could finish, Hestia interrupted.
“That’s right.”
Gabriel turned to her in shock.
“I was planning to announce it later, once things were more settled. But since it’s come to this, I have no choice.”
Smiling sweetly, Hestia grabbed Luciard’s arm.
“Actually, Luciard and I are engaged.”
This time, the entire room fell silent in pure shock.
Even Sylvester’s mouth hung open.
“Engaged…?”
Gabriel’s smile stiffened. Hestia’s own smile deepened.
“To be exact, we have promised to be engaged. The discussions only started recently, and we haven’t held an official engagement ceremony yet. We planned to announce it once everything was finalized… But since everyone keeps speculating about our relationship, I had no choice but to reveal it.”
A brief silence followed.
Then—
“Haha! An engagement! No one saw this coming!”
Kenneth burst into laughter.
“Given your positions, it must not have been easy.”
Another noble looked intrigued. The entire room’s attention was now on them.
Hestia saw an opportunity and played along.
“Love is like an accident, isn’t it?”
She recalled lines from romance novels and the gossip of maids.
With a slight blush, she spoke shyly.
“At some point, Luciard and I just… found ourselves drawn to each other.”
We need to work together to protect the young Lord.
“We’ve only known each other for a month, but now, it feels strange when we’re apart.”
There’s so much to teach him—I can’t leave his side.
“But I understand why everyone is surprised. We never expected this to happen either.”
So stop asking. Explaining is exhausting.
Hestia cleverly disguised her thoughts with a romantic façade.
“Haha! Well, love isn’t a crime. Congratulations on your engagement!”
Unlike the other confused nobles, Kenneth laughed heartily.
From his reaction, Hestia could tell—
“He knows I’m lying.”
He was laughing because he saw through her deception.
But that didn’t matter. Kenneth wasn’t deeply involved in Winston’s power struggles, so his opinion didn’t concern her.
“As long as the others believe it, that’s all that matters.”
She should have done this sooner.
All it took was one word—love—and people were willing to accept anything, even if they looked a little skeptical.
People even fell in love with enemies from rival nations.
Why wouldn’t rivals fall in love, too?
“It’s so much easier than explaining our relationship in detail.”
“This is worth celebrating! No wonder Luciard’s gaze felt so intense earlier.”
Sylvester also congratulated them. But his last comment made Hestia tilt her head.
“…Intense?”
“Didn’t you notice? When you danced with Gabriel and then with me, Luciard’s stare was so sharp it made my back tingle.”
Hestia had locked eyes with Luciard a few times while dancing, but she hadn’t realized he had been watching that closely.
She wanted to nudge Luciard’s side and ask if it was true—
“Oh.”
But he was just as shocked as everyone else.
To the others, he looked calm, but since Hestia was holding his arm, she could feel it.
Luciard was frozen stiff.
“It seems he was jealous. Just earlier, he even questioned if I really had to dance with someone else.”
“Haha, Luciard, no matter how lovely your fiancée is, being too possessive might make her dislike you.”
“I remember being like that when I was younger. Such a fresh, youthful romance.”
Luckily, no one seemed to notice Luciard’s shock.
“When you hold your engagement ceremony, be sure to inform me.”
“Yes, Your Majesty, I will send a formal letter.”
Sylvester had a satisfied expression.
“Now, everyone, don’t just focus on work—enjoy the final night of the Milky Way Festival. We’ll discuss the refugee issue in more detail at the next meeting.”
“Are you leaving, Your Majesty?”
“It’s getting late, and I’m a bit tired. I’ll be heading in now.”
“Then, I will escort you.”
Acid stood up and left with Sylvester.
Once the emperor departed, the others also ended their discussions and began moving separately.
Kenneth approached Hestia.
“Lady Frost, are you heading south tomorrow?”
“Yes, Count.”
“Then spare me a little time. We need to discuss a few things about the refugees.”
“Shall we move to another place to talk?”
Kenneth nodded, then glanced at Luciard, who was standing beside Hestia.
“You said he’s your fiancé, right? He can come along if you wish. But if that’s not true…”
“It’s fine. He can listen too. Let’s go, Luciard.”
Before Luciard could say anything, Hestia quickly left with Kenneth, ensuring he wouldn’t slip up.
Gabriel, watching them from a distance, murmured to himself.
“…Engaged?”
His violet eyes were filled with doubt.
“Engaged?! What were you thinking?!”
“What about you? You froze up so badly that we almost got caught lying!”
On the way back to the townhouse, as soon as they got into the carriage, Luciard snapped at Hestia for her sudden announcement.
“You just declared we were engaged without any warning! How was I supposed to stay calm?”
“In the end, it worked out, didn’t it? Now no one is doubting our relationship, and no one will try to separate us.”
“That’s not the point!”
Luciard sighed deeply, running a hand through his hair.
“What are you going to do now? By tomorrow, all the nobles will know about our engagement.”
“What else? We’ll go along with it.”
“You mean… actually get engaged?”
“Yes.”
“You’re unbelievable…!”
“Calm down. This isn’t a bad situation.”
Hestia calmly explained the benefits of pretending to be engaged.
The biggest advantage was that no one would try to break them apart anymore.
“It’s just an engagement. Breaking it off later won’t be a big deal. Once we finish the handover process, we’ll call it off and go our separate ways.”
“Still… who gets engaged like this?”
“Does it really matter? Plenty of people get engaged without even meeting each other first. Unless… do you already have someone you like?”
“Of course not.”
“Then it’s fine.”
Luciard let out another sigh as he looked at Hestia, who acted like it was no big deal.
“Are you really okay with this?”
“Oh, come on. Do you know how convenient this arrangement—”
“I’m not talking about convenience. I’m asking you—are you okay with this?”
Luciard’s serious gaze made Hestia fall silent.
“What if you meet someone you truly love in the future?”
‘Is he… worried about me?’
The moonlight shining through the carriage window illuminated Luciard’s face.
Even though he was frowning slightly, his eyes were filled with concern as he looked at her.
