Chapter 83
“Actually, a few days ago, Herwin came to our house.”
“Herwin?”
A few days ago… could he be talking about the day he suddenly ran out?
“Yeah, he came looking for Lucia…”
Lucas trailed off mid-sentence, and Arista prompted him.
“He came?”
“Ha… yeah, he came, but I chased him away…”
Arista’s eyes went wide. Lucas, looking uncomfortable, continued.
“Because of that, I got into a fight with Lucia once, and my parents scolded me too. No matter what, you can’t just throw a guest out like that.”
“Uh… um…”
Arista didn’t know how to respond. Seeing her hesitation, Lucas let out a small laugh.
“I didn’t say anything because I thought that would be your reaction.”
“No, I just… I was too surprised. From what I know, you and Herwin were almost like brothers, right?”
Lucas nodded with a complex, subtle expression.
“But why did you go that far?”
“…You’re friends with both of them, so you probably have an idea.”
Lucas paused for a moment, murmuring something under his breath as he looked at Arista. Meeting his intense gaze, Arista shivered slightly.
“Actually, the reason Lucia got engaged was all because of Herwin.”
“What?”
“Well, to be precise, their hearts didn’t match, so you could say Lucia gave up on Herwin.”
Hearing Lucas, Arista recalled the conversation she had with Herwin earlier.
‘Back then, right after Herwin rejected Lucia’s confession, didn’t she go on a matchmaking meeting?’
“At first, I thought they both liked each other. But I assumed that because of that incident during the Academy days, they couldn’t get close.”
Arista began to understand Lucas’s feelings. Before hearing the truth from Herwin, she had thought the same way.
“Ha… but that wasn’t the case. Lucia confessed to Herwin sincerely several times, but he never accepted her feelings.”
Lucas’s shoulders trembled, and the sound of his teeth grinding could be heard. Sensing his anger, Arista swallowed hard.
“But that’s their business. You chased Herwin away just because he didn’t accept Lucia?”
Lucas, who had been staring at the floor, lifted his head and looked at Arista steadily.
“Yes, you’re right. It’s their matter, and it’s ridiculous for me to get involved. But… how could any brother stand by while his sister is being hurt?”
Lucas clenched his fists tightly. It was hard to say that chasing Herwin away was purely in a fit of rage—it was partly a rational decision.
‘I want my brother to marry the person he truly likes.’
She had told him with a resigned smile, hoping for happiness. At that time, Lucas couldn’t bring himself to badmouth Herwin in front of Lucia, so he had left the room with a neutral expression.
But Lucas couldn’t forgive Herwin.
He hated seeing his younger sister, who was too precious to lose, giving up everything and entering an engagement almost like being sold, all because of one man.
Even though it was Lucia who first told their parents she wanted to get engaged, he also resented their parents for pushing her to that cliff.
And above all, Lucas wanted to completely erase Herwin, the main cause of all this, from in front of Lucia.
Yet all he could do was quietly support her from behind.
At first, Lucas even disliked everything related to Lucia’s engagement, including her fiancé, Bern.
But over time, he realized that Bern genuinely cared for and cherished Lucia, and he was relieved that she had at least found a good person.
Just as Lucia was slowly recovering from the pain of heartbreak and finally trying to be happy, Herwin appeared again.
And he casually uttered that meaningless line about liking Lucia now.
“If I weren’t close to him, I would have thrown a punch already.”
Thinking of Herwin stirred Lucas’s anger once more.
Seeing Lucas’s emotions swing back and forth several times, Arista spoke up.
“But… was all the sighing today just because you were annoyed with Herwin?”
Lucas froze, rolling his eyes and avoiding eye contact with her.
“Not exactly…”
“From what I can tell, you still have feelings for Herwin, don’t you?”
Lucas, who wanted to deny it, couldn’t say a word.
“You said that because you chased Herwin away, Lucia and your parents scolded you too.”
“…After I chased Herwin away, he waited outside for Lucia for almost half a day.”
“That long?”
“Yeah, he didn’t even get into the carriage… Anyway, it hurt him a bit. According to Lucia, he caught a terrible cold…”
A sigh escaped Arista. Lucas, nervously fiddling with the back of his neck, looked slightly guilty.
Even though he hated Herwin, a part of him still cared for him.
“But… Herwin got sick? I’ve barely seen him ill before.”
Aside from the time they had faced an Ogre together and got injured, she hadn’t seen him sick.
Even during the particularly cold winter at the Academy, when half the students were suffering from severe flu, he was perfectly fine.
Considering how strong he was, it was hard to believe he caught a cold from just half a day outside. Then Arista suddenly remembered something.
“Was the day Herwin came two Fridays ago?”
“How did you know?”
“I thought so. That would explain why he was still sick.”
“What do you know?”
Lucas, suddenly excited, grabbed Arista’s shoulder. Seeing him so close, Arista stepped back slightly.
“Herwin was with me before going to your house. He wasn’t in good condition even then. I heard he didn’t eat for a week and just drank alcohol…”
Lucas looked bewildered, clearly doubting that Herwin had been drinking so much.
Arista snorted lightly and looked at him seriously.
“Do you think Herwin is lying?”
Lucas’s face immediately hardened.
“Of course not. That guy never even looked at her when she said she liked him, and now he suddenly does? Ridiculous. He doesn’t want me to have her, but he doesn’t want anyone else to either.”
“But is Herwin really that bad? You’ve known him longer than I have, so you know his personality well.”
Arista continued defending Herwin, and Lucas pouted.
“What are you trying to say?”
“I’m saying that Herwin must have his own reasons. And the fact that he said he likes Lucia isn’t a misunderstanding, is it?”
“What?”
“Herwin didn’t realize his feelings until now. He only became aware of them after seeing Lucia with another man.”
Lucas, momentarily stunned, then wore a confused expression.
After sighing repeatedly in disbelief, he realized Arista was representing Herwin’s side and looked at her.
“But how do you know Herwin likes Lucia?”
“Because I heard it directly from him.”
“You heard it directly? Then do you know why he didn’t realize it before?”
Arista hesitated, recalling that Herwin had mistaken his admiration for her as love before realizing his feelings for Lucia.
‘I can’t tell anyone this. Especially not Lucas…’
Lucas, staring at her expectantly, made Arista fumble her words. She quickly tried to cover it up.
“I… I don’t know that part. But if he came from being with me to Lucia, I think he probably confessed?”
“What?!”
Arista flinched at his loud voice.
“It’s not that surprising. Didn’t you already expect Herwin would look for Lucia?”
“Y-yeah, but I thought he was just trying to mess with her feelings…”
“Mess with her? He was worried she’d reject him. Herwin wouldn’t act so seriously otherwise.”
Lucas recalled Herwin asking him seriously to let him meet Lucia.
No matter how rationally he judged, he already had a biased view of Herwin.
His guilt about Herwin conflicted with his previous resentment.
“I… still can’t forgive Herwin…”
Yet Lucas couldn’t relax his expression. He seemed to feel guilty.
Arista, understanding his feelings, nodded.
“Whether you hate, dislike, or roast Herwin, that’s up to you. But, Lucas…”
At her calm voice, he looked up.
“This is their matter. Outsiders shouldn’t interfere.”
Lucas couldn’t argue—she was right.
He had always been protective of his beautiful younger sister, and he knew he tended to act impulsively when it came to her.
Realizing he had no right to intervene, he still acted emotionally without noticing.
He felt embarrassed. Arista had calmly observed everything, while he, older than her, had let his emotions cloud his judgment.
Looking into her serious violet eyes, Lucas muttered without realizing it.
“…You’re amazing.”
“Huh? What did you say?”
“…Ah, nothing!”
Lucas quickly turned his head, changing the subject. He couldn’t look at Arista properly, perhaps because he had shown an immature side to his younger sister.
‘Why do I feel a little hot…?’
Lucas didn’t realize his ears had turned red.
“But if Lucia fought with him, Herwin must have been really sick. Well, he was practically a wreck even before leaving.”
Lucas, fiddling with his fingertips, was brought back to reality by her words.
He recalled what Lucia and his parents had said a few days ago and paled.
“Was he really that sick? I thought Lucia and my parents were exaggerating…”
“What did Lucia say?”
“Nothing…”
“Nothing?”
“Nothing, she just looked at me with a gaze of contempt.”
Seeing Lucas so frustrated, Arista imagined how Lucia had looked at him.
Lucia usually laughed things off, so if she reacted that way…
“Yeah, you were in the wrong, Lucas.”
“Ha… What should I do? Should I go apologize to Herwin?”
“Well… aside from glaring, did Lucia say anything else? Like if Herwin got better or if his cold was gone?”
“Now that you mention it, Lucia did seem a little off when we got home.”
“How so?”
“Her face was a bit red, I think? At first, she didn’t respond no matter what I called, so I wondered if she had caught Herwin’s cold.”
Recalling that moment, Lucas tilted his head, puzzled by her behavior. Arista, however, had a feeling that things between the two might have progressed slightly.
She sneaked a glance at Lucas. Unlike a moment ago when he had been sighing heavily and looking miserable, his face had brightened.
“Have your worries been resolved a bit?”
“Huh?”
Lucas looked up at Arista.
She had worried she’d talked too much, but Lucas now smiled widely.
“Yes, thanks to you, my head feels clear! Thank you, Arista! If it weren’t for you, I’d still feel uneasy.”
“T-Thanks… I’m glad I could help.”
Lucas smiled, promising to repay her someday. Seeing his mood lift, Arista shyly smiled too.
She fiddled with her hands behind her back, her heart fluttering with excitement.
