LUW 46

Chapter 46

Thanks to the carriage prepared by the Grand Duke’s household, they arrived at House Niberius even faster than expected.

Pierre, seeing how Cecilia couldn’t hide her anxiety and kept biting her dry lips, gently urged her to rest if she wanted to stay by her father’s side. But she couldn’t hide the unease in her tightly clenched hands holding the letter.

The message Cecilia had received was short and simple. Her father’s condition had worsened. She was urged to return home immediately.

It had been sent by her uncle, Olga, acting on behalf of her father. The brevity and lack of formal greetings revealed the urgency. With a heavy heart, Cecilia arrived at the family estate’s gates.

“Dad…!”

Looking desperate and panicked like a child, Cecilia rushed into the mansion. Just imagining her father, now half the man he used to be, lying weakly in bed broke her heart. But the inside of the house was strangely quiet.

Pierre, who had followed her, also looked around as if trying to understand the situation. Then, from the end of the corridor—not from the bedroom—they heard commotion.

The two instinctively moved toward the noise, which came from the dining hall spacious enough to hold a large group. Through the slightly ajar door, warm light and lively chatter leaked out.

As if drawn by a trance, Cecilia pushed the door open. The creaking of the old hinges revealed a literal party scene.

Her mercenary uncles had gathered, and the tables were overflowing with roast chicken and beer.

Her father used to host such gatherings to comfort the mercenaries after a major mission was completed, and the mood was exactly like that. But this wasn’t the time for celebration.

‘Why would they be throwing a party when my father is gravely ill?’

Confused, she was still trying to make sense of things when one of the burly uncles raised a beer mug and shouted,

“Drink it all!”

With a hearty toast, he poured the beer into his mouth. That man—was none other than her father, Cargo Niberius. Cecilia, stunned, watched him wipe his mouth and suddenly met his gaze.

“Oh, Cecilia?”

His cheeks flushed from alcohol, her father blinked in surprise as if seeing a hallucination.

Cecilia’s brows furrowed deeply. Her voice shook with anger as she asked,

“What on earth are you all doing here?”

In the Study

Cecilia sat on one couch, Cargo sat on the other, hunched over and carefully gauging his daughter’s mood.

Arms crossed, Cecilia began,

“So what you’re saying is—you lied to me?”

“Uhm, well, if you put it that way, it sounds bad. Can’t we use a softer word? Like…”

Cargo glanced behind him, seeking help from Olga. Olga cleared his throat and murmured,

“His condition improved…”

“Y-Yes! My health got better during that time.”

“Don’t lie.”

Cecilia cut him off firmly.

“You didn’t even know I was coming and threw a party.”

“T-That was to honor the team’s hard work…”

“Exactly. If you’d really been sick, my uncles wouldn’t have let that happen. I know them too well.”

Having grown up around them, she knew her uncles wouldn’t have allowed a celebration if her father had truly been ill.

Cargo once again looked at Olga for help, but even he now looked away, unable to defend the lie.

Cargo stammered for a moment, then noticing Cecilia’s stern expression, pursed his lips and added,

“Still, no matter what, I’m not going to apologize.”

Cecilia’s eyes widened.

“Are you really saying that? Do you know how worried I was?”

Having imagined all sorts of horrible scenarios on her way there, Cecilia was furious at her father’s childish tone. Just as she opened her mouth to snap at him, Cargo spoke softly.

“Then you must know how worried I was about you.”

“…What?”

That caught her off guard. She blinked in confusion. Then Olga cautiously stepped forward and whispered to her,

“We heard rumors from the capital a few days ago. There’s talk of a cunning seductress in the social circles… and absurdly enough, they say it’s you, my lady.”

“…!”

“We all dismissed it immediately, of course. But in our line of work, we hear all kinds of things. Regardless of what we believe, the negative rumors about you kept spreading, and we couldn’t just sit by and watch.”

Cecilia’s eyes widened in shock. She had thought that, with Pierre’s help, the rumors had been handled quickly and wouldn’t reach somewhere as far as Niberius. But clearly, she had been too optimistic.

Seeing her expression, Cargo’s face hardened before he sighed deeply and said,

“Cecilia, I really don’t know what exactly you’re dealing with over there.”

“That’s because—”

“I don’t care about the facts. We all know you, and even if the rumors were true, we’d believe you were forced into it.”

He looked straight at her with sincere eyes.

“So don’t worry about how I’ll react. What worries me is that, even in tough times, you never lean on anyone.”

“……”

“Even now, see? If I hadn’t done this, you wouldn’t have come at all.”

His sharp words left Cecilia speechless. It was true. She had wanted to resolve everything alone, without burdening her family.

But realizing that very mindset had caused her family so much worry—it hurt.

After a moment of silence, Cecilia said,

“Still, don’t do this again.”

Her father’s face fell, but she continued.

“When I got that letter, my heart felt like it would burst the entire way here. I was terrified that… maybe you wouldn’t wake up. I was so scared.”

Tears welled up in her eyes. Flustered, Cargo squirmed, lifting his hips like he wanted to comfort her, then sat back down awkwardly when their eyes met.

“I’m sorry,” he said at last. “I won’t lie like that ever again.”

Hearing the answer she had wanted, Cecilia wiped her eyes and nodded. Then, changing her tone, she said,

“And I’m sorry, too. For worrying you and Uncle.”

At her apology, Cargo and Olga’s expressions crumbled. Cargo looked like he wanted to hug her immediately.

But he hesitated, worried she might dislike it. Sensing this, Cecilia spread her arms—and her father pulled her into a tight hug.

“These bastards who dare mess with my precious daughter… I’ll split that border duke in two with my bare hands.”

“You’re… crushing me.”

Cargo rubbed his beard against her head and vowed to take down the border duke himself.

After basking in the affection of her father and uncle, Cecilia noticed her father’s eyes narrow as he looked past her.

“But it seems we have one uninvited guest here today.”

Following his gaze, Cecilia looked over. Sitting quietly, like a painting separate from the scene, was Pierre.

He was smiling gently, relieved that things had been resolved.

Since he had comforted her countless times on the journey, Cecilia wanted to thank him properly and apologize for her outburst earlier. But before she could, her father stepped between them and shielded her behind his broad back.

“What brings the Grand Duke here? We were hoping to spend time as family today, and weren’t expecting guests.”

Though he wore a smile, a vein was bulging on Cargo’s forehead. Clearly, he had no intention of being hospitable.

Startled by his blunt hostility, Cecilia tried to calm him, but just then Pierre rose from his seat and spoke first.