Chapter 48
“What the…?!”
Lucas’s hand trembled violently as he clutched his wine glass, his face filled with utter shock as he stared across the hall at Lucia.
No matter how many times he blinked, the sight didn’t change—his adorable, lovely little sister was holding onto some man’s arm.
“Sweetheart, what’s wrong?”
Seeing Lucas’s strange expression, his lover Becky asked curiously.
“Oh, it’s nothing. I just thought I saw something weird for a second.”
“Really?”
Becky tilted her head, puzzled. Lucas forced a smile and kept chatting with her, but his mind was spinning with one thought after another about Lucia.
A man? Lucia, with a man? Who the hell is that guy? What’s he doing, sticking so close to my sister?
His head filled with wild thoughts, Lucas finally couldn’t take it anymore and spoke up.
“I’ll go say hi to Ares for a bit. Wait here for me.”
“Okay, but come back soon.”
After receiving a brief kiss on the cheek from Becky, Lucas used Ares as an excuse and went off in search of Lucia.
Just moments ago, she’d been right there—but now, she was gone.
“Damn it, where the hell did she go?”
“Who are you looking for?”
A familiar voice sounded right next to his ear, making Lucas grimace. He turned around to find Ares—his close friend and boss—standing there.
As the star of today’s engagement ceremony, Ares was dressed to perfection.
“What are you doing here? Where’s Her Highness the Princess?”
“She’ll be out soon. The star of the party is supposed to arrive late, isn’t she?”
“Ah… right.”
Lucas gave him a dry look, then immediately scanned the surroundings again.
“Did you just see your ex or something?”
“No, it’s not that…! Hah. I just saw Lucia with some guy. You haven’t seen her, have you?”
“Actually, yeah. I just did.”
“Yeah, didn’t think so… Wait—what? You did? Where?!”
“There.”
Ares pointed, and Lucas followed his finger. Sure enough, Lucia was there. Lucas’s face brightened—until he saw who was beside her. Then it froze.
“She’s definitely with someone. Judging by how close they are, they’re not just friends…”
“What the hell happened while I wasn’t around?! I’m going over there right now—!”
Before Lucas could storm off, Ares grabbed him by the collar.
“Calm down. And what exactly do you plan to do once you get there?”
“What do you mean, what am I going to do? I’m going to ask what right he has to be hanging around my sister, that’s what! Then I’ll check if he’s some creep or not, obviously!”
“At least you don’t need to worry about him being a creep.”
“How the hell would you know that?!”
“Calm down and look closely. You know that face.”
Ares gestured toward the man. Lucas, still fuming, took a better look—and recognition dawned.
“…The Marquis of Casper?”
“Yeah. We’ve met him a few times before, remember? As far as I recall, he wasn’t a bad guy. You even said you liked him, didn’t you?”
Lucas vaguely recalled meeting the Marquis before and thinking well of him at the time.
So he wasn’t dangerous—that was a relief—but what on earth was he doing with Lucia?
“What’s all this commotion about?”
A disapproving voice, followed by the sound of someone clicking their tongue, made Lucas turn around. It was Johann and Julian—his parents.
Seeing them for the first time in half a year, Lucas skipped the greetings and pointed toward Lucia.
“Mother, Father! What’s going on? Why is Lucia with the Marquis of Casper?!”
“A few weeks ago, Lucia had a formal meeting with the Marquis,” Julian said calmly.
“What?”
“They’ll be engaged soon,” Johann added. “You can take that as decided.”
“W–WHAT?!”
Hearing both their statements, Lucas nearly screamed.
Ares only shook his head—his once dignified and composed friend had turned into a frantic older brother.
“There are eyes everywhere,” Johann hissed. “Keep your voice down.”
Only then did Lucas realize how loudly he’d spoken. He cleared his throat awkwardly.
“Ahem. A sudden engagement… isn’t that a bit early? Lucia’s only twenty-one! And if she’s going to get engaged, shouldn’t it be to Herwin, not—”
The instant Herwin’s name left his lips, Johann’s eyes turned razor-sharp.
“Say that name one more time, and you’ll regret it.”
Lucas blinked, speechless, and turned pleadingly to Julian for help—but she only shook her head gravely.
He had no idea what had happened while he’d been gone, but he would have to ask later.
Leaving his bewildered son behind, Johann turned his gaze back to Lucia. She, too, had noticed them, and was now walking over with Berne.
Her smile as she stood beside him was radiant—beautiful, even—but to Johann’s eyes, it also carried a faint trace of loneliness.
He watched her quietly, lost in thought.
* * *
Lucia began officially greeting people alongside Berne.
Their first stop was her own family, the House of Agnes. Upon spotting them, Lucia introduced Berne properly.
As expected, Julian welcomed him warmly. Johann, though typically curt, told Berne to take good care of Lucia in his usual gruff way.
The problem, of course, was Lucas—who glared at Berne like he wanted to devour him alive.
But aside from a ridiculous “If you ever make her cry, I’ll kill you” threat straight out of a third-rate novel, he didn’t say anything else.
Considering Lucas’s temperament, that was practically restraint. Embarrassed, Lucia apologized to Berne, but he simply laughed and waved it off.
After greeting her family, they began to mingle with others.
Naturally, as a mere count’s daughter, Lucia didn’t attract nearly as much attention as the Marquis.
Most people who approached were clearly trying to curry favor with Berne, and some even brought their daughters along—only to realize who Lucia was, and leave with a disappointed look.
As Berne greeted the endless stream of guests, he suddenly brightened, having spotted someone familiar.
Lucia immediately guessed it was one of his acquaintances and braced herself.
“Well, look who it is. The great Berne, actually showing up to one of these things.”
“So you are alive. You disappeared so completely we thought you’d died.”
Judging by their easy banter, these men were old friends.
Berne chuckled.
“What’s the big deal? I’ve been busy taking over the title and all that. Sorry for not keeping in touch.”
“So you do know you were in the wrong, huh? Buy us drinks later and we’ll forgive you.”
They laughed—until one of them finally noticed Lucia clinging to Berne’s arm.
“…And who might this lovely lady be?”
“Allow me to introduce her properly,” Berne said with a proud smile. “This is Lady Lucia Agnes, my fiancée. Lucia, these are old friends of mine. We’ve seen each other at our worst, so please forgive their rough manners.”
“It’s quite all right,” Lucia said politely, lifting her skirt slightly in greeting. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Lucia Agnes.”
As she straightened, she studied their faces.
One looked intrigued, another seemed flustered, and the last appeared both bewildered and skeptical.
Had she done something wrong? Lucia felt herself shrink a little.
“You… seriously—” one began, only to be interrupted.
“It’s an honor to meet you, Lady Lucia. I’m Adolphe Bailey,” the curious one said brightly.
Lucia quickly smiled and nodded in return.
“I was so surprised I forgot my manners,” another said with a laugh. “Hector Chase. I hope we’ll meet often.”
As Hector spoke, he jabbed the third man in the ribs. That one sighed, raking a hand down his face before finally speaking.
“Derrick Harion. I also behaved rudely just now—please forgive me.”
Far more polite than she’d expected, Lucia hurriedly waved her hands.
“No, not at all! Berne told me none of you knew yet, so I imagined you’d be surprised. Please, don’t worry.”
Derrick gave a sheepish smile and then shot Berne a glare.
The rest of the conversation went much like when Berne had met Lucia’s friends earlier—questions about how they’d met, and disbelief that Berne had brought a woman at all.
“I can’t believe you of all people suddenly have a fiancée.”
“Guess time really does change a man, huh?”
“It’s not official yet,” Berne admitted, rubbing his neck awkwardly. “Today’s only our fourth meeting, actually…”
“What? Four? That’s it?”
Their astonishment made Lucia realize just how short their relationship had been so far.
“Yeah,” Berne said. “We haven’t had any serious discussions yet, but…”
When he glanced at her nervously, Lucia smiled back. That seemed to relax him.
“Still,” he went on, “I feel like I could be happy if I married Lucia. I don’t know what she thinks, though.”
Every eye turned to Lucia.
“What do you think of him, my lady?”
“Right—if this is only your fourth meeting, what made you like this guy?”
It was a tricky question, but far easier than the one Herwin had once asked. Feeling Berne pat her hand reassuringly, Lucia answered.
“It’s true we haven’t known each other long. In fact, he was thirty minutes late to our first meeting.”
“What?”
“He was? And you still—?”
Under his friends’ sharp stares, Berne began sweating.
“I was only going to wait thirty minutes,” Lucia continued, smiling faintly. “But just as I was about to leave, he arrived—and once we talked, I realized he had a good reason. He turned out to be far more considerate than I expected, so I kept meeting him. And…”
She looked up at Berne, who seemed both nervous and flustered.
“For some reason, talking to him just feels easy. Don’t you think so too?”
“Yes,” Berne said softly. “I feel at ease when I’m with Lucia.”
He smiled—a real smile, not the polite one he usually wore in public.
To anyone watching, they already looked like lovers. The warmth and trust between them were unmistakable.
After a long pause, Derrick spoke quietly.
“So you’ve really… let go of everything now?”
“…Yeah.”
Berne gave a faint smile.
“It’s about time I got my act together.”
“I’m glad you found someone good.”
“Yeah. It’s a relief to see you settling down.”
“My lady,” Adolphe said, stepping forward with a grin. “He’s a hopeless guy, but please take care of him.”
Lucia blinked, then hurriedly took his offered hand.
She had worried they might dislike her because of the rumors about her—but instead, they welcomed her warmly.
Their acceptance made her heart flutter with shy happiness.
Bam-bam-bara-bam!
Just then, a fanfare rang out. From the grand staircase on the second floor, the princess—the star of today’s celebration—appeared, holding the emperor’s hand.
Everyone bowed as they descended.
After a brief speech from the emperor, the orchestra began to play.
The princess and Ares stepped into the center of the ballroom and began their dance.
The engagement banquet had truly begun.
