090. Warning (2)

 

“You’re in quite a hurry,” Lucia remarked calmly.

Edward, unfazed by her question, responded with an equally composed tone. His lips, curling smoothly upward, radiated a cold sharpness.

“You wanted to have a conversation, didn’t you? I’ve gone out of my way to accommodate you, so naturally, I’d like to get straight to the point.”

As she observed Edward’s icy smirk, Lucia slowly folded her fan. The elegant motion of the black-feathered fan, snapping shut with a soft rustle, exuded poise.

“Speak, then. If you dared to touch someone under my protection, there must be a reason. If not, you’d better invent one.”

A crimson glint of malice flickered in Lucia’s red eyes, the subtle hint of murderous intent unmistakable. Faced with her piercing gaze, Edward smiled brightly, as if genuinely pleased.

“I expected no less from you.”

Though his demeanor retained the chilling, ominous quality of a serpent, his apparent satisfaction seemed sincere.

Lucia continued to observe him intently, prompting Edward to press on.

“I had a hunch when I first saw you. Lucia, you and I are alike.”

His slanted gaze was peculiar—cool, serpentine, and imbued with a strange certainty.

Anyone else might have felt fear in the face of such a gaze, but Lucia merely let out a short, dismissive laugh, as if mocking the absurdity.

“Edward of the Celid Marquessate, I don’t recall giving you permission to address me by name.”

“Ah, yes… That’s true. Even that, I found delightful.”

His reply, tinged with rapture, came despite her clear boundary-setting. Amused by his reaction, Lucia tilted her head slightly.

“You seem to have a habit of attaching significance to trivial matters.”

“Is that what you think?”

Their eyes locked—hers, filled with killing intent and fury; his, swimming with dark obsession and madness.

“Or perhaps you simply enjoy indulging in delusions.”

With a crooked smile, Lucia reopened her fan. The sound of its feathers unfurling lightly masked her next words as she brought it to cover her nose and mouth.

“It seems the banquet is about to start. People are coming in.”

Her half-concealed face gestured subtly toward the nobles entering the hall. Edward, however, paid them no mind, his gaze fixed solely on Lucia, unwavering from the moment they first met. His stare was like the coiled body of a serpent, cold and unrelenting.

“It’s your sister’s birthday, isn’t it? You should go offer her your congratulations.”

Lucia’s tone was nonchalant as she pointed out the obvious, fully aware of Edward’s relentless fixation.

Edward, undeterred, murmured a response while maintaining his gaze.

“You know as well as I do, Lady Lucia, that siblings in noble families aren’t always close. A sibling is not always a true sibling.”

“Oh my. My brother Louis and I are as ordinary a pair of siblings as you’ll ever find.”

Feigning ignorance, Lucia dismissed Edward’s insinuation about her and Louis’s strained relationship.

“It’s a pity to hear you don’t get along with Lady Hannah of the Celid family. She seems quite invested in your house’s reputation.”

“Excessive zeal often leads to problems. Turning people into enemies in the name of family honor is never wise, wouldn’t you agree?”

Edward’s implication was clear: his falling out with Hannah, his sister, stemmed from Lucia breaking off their engagement. Hannah perceived it as a slight against their family, which fueled her animosity toward Lucia.

“Now that you’ve followed her lead, you two should get along famously.”

Lucia waved her fan lightly as she added a taunting remark, insinuating that Edward had similarly turned against her.

“I’m not sure what you mean.”

Edward raised a brow, seemingly confused by her pointed words.

“You laid hands on someone under my protection. What other conclusion could I draw?”

Watching his lack of understanding, Lucia inwardly clicked her tongue, reaffirming her low opinion of him.

He’s not even fit to be called human, she thought. Feeding nuts to someone with a known allergy, causing respiratory distress, hives, and fever, yet dismissing it as a trivial matter—it was appalling.

Edward treated human lives like worthless stones on the roadside. While many might act selfishly, using others to their advantage, this was a line that shouldn’t be crossed.

“You’ve said you have no one to lose, no attachments to speak of.”

Lucia swept her gaze over the increasingly bustling banquet hall, moving leisurely toward a wall as she spoke. Her heels clicked rhythmically against the marble floor.

Edward furrowed his brow, but he followed her nonetheless.

Once they reached the wall, Lucia abruptly turned to face him, her crimson hair gleaming as it swayed with the motion.

“Even if you have no one to lose, you must have plenty of things to lose. Don’t you?”

Edward’s eyes followed the flow of her hair before shifting back to meet her steady gaze.

Under the banquet hall’s lights, Lucia shone brilliantly. Though he wasn’t fond of the stark black dress she wore, even that seemed to suit her perfectly, much to his amazement.

Edward was certain—there was no one as flawless and beautiful as Lucia in this world.

“Titles, status, wealth, influence, your enterprises—you’ve amassed so much, haven’t you?”

Her voice was steady, self-assured, and slightly husky—different from the higher-pitched tones of other noblewomen. It carried a unique allure.

“Do you think it’s wise to act so recklessly?”

With a soft tap, the folded fan lightly touched Edward’s chin. Applying gentle pressure, Lucia tilted his head upward ever so slightly.

The fan’s gentle pressure was hardly enough to be forceful, yet Edward obediently raised his chin to Lucia’s liking.

“Do you truly believe you can antagonize both Edelte and Verdun without losing anything?”

Edward, who had been silently admiring Lucia, let out a long exhale the moment the name “Verdun” left her lips. He closed his eyes briefly, regaining composure, and smoothly stepped out of the fan’s hold.

“Lucia. Of course, I possess much, which means I have much to lose as well,” Edward admitted readily.

It was true—Edward had countless things he couldn’t afford to lose. With numerous illicit dealings under his name, he was riddled with vulnerabilities. But still—

“But who would concern themselves with something as trivial as a maid’s life?”

All Edward had done this time was play a petty prank with the meal of one of Lucia’s maids. A kitchen assistant at the Edelte Ducal Estate, who frequented one of Edward’s illegal gambling dens, had been his tool. The assistant, though not yet in debt, had panicked when Edward threatened to expose them. Working for a prestigious ducal family like Edelte was a rare opportunity, offering unmatched wages. Being fired would not only ruin their reputation but also make future employment nearly impossible.

Terrified, the assistant had done as instructed, tampering slightly with the maid’s food. Yet Lucia’s fury was volcanic—overwhelming. It was a clear declaration that no one could touch those under her protection.

“To think someone would attack a marquessate over a single maid’s life—don’t you think that’s meaningless?”

Selfish and pragmatic, Lucia fiercely guarded those she deemed hers. Edward found that trait captivating. The idea of belonging to someone who would rage on his behalf was intoxicating.

“Lucia.”

Edward took a deliberate breath and closed the distance between them. The three steps separating them shrank to two.

“I’m the only one who can truly understand you.”

His brown eyes gleamed with a strange certainty. Edward seemed wholly convinced of his own words.

“The Duke of Verdun is an excellent knight, a shrewd businessman, and bears the renowned Verdun name. He even feigns tenderness convincingly, I’ll give him that…”

Perhaps Edward thought of Lucia as his kindred because of these observations. Yet, Edward and Owen were fundamentally different, just as Owen and Lucia were. Nevertheless, Edward believed that Lucia was like him.

“Do you truly think he can love every part of you? Even your selfish, flawed sides?”

Lucia had her own imperfections—her possessiveness, her fiery desire to claim whatever she wanted. Edward, watching her, was certain that no one could understand her as deeply as he did.

“I can accept every part of you. Because I’m just like you.”

Edward’s declaration hung in the air, but Lucia let out a small laugh, her voice carrying through the fan that veiled her mouth. The sound was clear and deliberate.

“How amusing.”

Lowering the fan, she finally spoke again, her voice tinged with amusement.

“You understand me better than I thought. You even know why I love him.”

Her long, drawn-out remark was laced with unmistakable mockery. Edward’s expression twisted, irritation flashing across his face at her dismissal of his heartfelt confession.

“And yet, you’re still so full of yourself. How pitiful.”

Unbothered by his reaction, Lucia continued. Her expression was a masterful mask of feigned pity as she cast him a glance of false sympathy.

“You can’t even fake tenderness, Edward. Not even a poor imitation.”

Her voice, though delivered with an air of warmth, was ice-cold, chilling enough to pierce through one’s heart.

“Neither in tone, nor words, nor manner. You’re utterly incapable of it.”

“Lady Lucia.”

A low growl escaped Edward’s lips—a voice strained with suppressed anger.

Lucia chuckled softly, her amusement evident.

“See? Even a simple observation draws out your raw emotions. How could someone like you ever feign tenderness?”

Edward’s brown eyes bore into her, silent yet seething. Lucia pushed further, her tone light but cutting.

“Do you truly know me, Edward? How can you claim to love all of me when you don’t even understand me?”

“I was your fiancé.”

“That was years ago. It’s all in the past.”

Lucia’s retort was calm, dismissing his claim with ease. At her words, Edward exhaled deeply, his frustration evident, before abruptly grabbing her wrist.

“Let’s step outside to the terrace.”

His grip was rough, the force behind it unfriendly. Lucia glanced down at his hand, but she offered no resistance. Instead, she decided to go along with him, curious to see how far he would go.

After all, she planned to watch him crumble completely.