Chapter 24
Knock knock.
That evening, Alfie came to Lucien’s room.
Had his conversation with the grandmother gone well afterward? Worried, Lucien opened the door, only to find him smiling with a much more relaxed face.
“Is your injury okay?”
As he entered the room, the first thing he did was examine Lucien’s hand carefully.
“It’s not even bad enough to really call it an injury.”
“Let me see.”
He took her hand and studied it closely, frowning deeply.
“There mustn’t be a scar.”
At those words, Lucien was reminded of a worry she had forgotten about all day. Was he concerned it would hinder her adoption?
“I-It’s okay. Actually, I already have a lot of scars all over!”
“What?”
“I mean, um… enough to make someone not want to adopt me.”
“I don’t really understand what scars have to do with being family, but… Anyway, I came to say thank you.”
He bowed from the waist.
“Thank you very much, Miss Lucien.”
And when he raised his head, it was as if a long-standing thorn had finally been removed from his chest.
“I’m glad to hear that.”
“It’s all thanks to you, Miss Lucien. And also, this is a bit of a different topic…”
For a brief moment, a small sense of unease bloomed in Lucien’s heart.
‘What if he asks where I got the pendant?’
“First, I think I owe you an apology.”
“Huh?”
“I told you, didn’t I? That you were too young to solve any real problems.”
“Ah…”
“That couldn’t have been a pleasant thing to hear. And yet, you helped solve my problem. I had to apologize.”
“No! I didn’t solve it—!”
“Then what? That pendant—?”
Faced with the unavoidable question, Lucien turned pale and immediately blurted out the most important part.
“I-I didn’t steal it!”
“…What?”
“It’s true!”
Alfie stared at her—intently, really intently—before bursting out laughing.
“As your teacher, I know better than anyone that you have no talent for stealing. You can’t even walk without making noise. So, where did you find it?”
“I… I found it.”
The words came out impulsively, but thankfully, she was able to continue naturally. It must have been all those years answering questions from guests in the traveling troupe that helped.
“I-I found it in the garden. Under the cornelian cherry tree on the way to the cabin.”
“Hmm, really?”
“It’s true! So I thought…”
With trembling hands clasped tightly together, Lucien managed to meet Alfie’s gaze.
“I thought the Duke had helped me. I mean, the former Duke.”
That part was sincere. Especially since he was the one she had prayed to before falling asleep.
But would Alfie believe in such a miraculous story? She wasn’t confident. What if, just like at the orphanage, she was falsely accused of theft again…?
“Well, actually, I felt something similar.”
“Huh?”
He smiled and told her about what had happened earlier. How, no matter how hard he tried to avoid it, he ended up going to the chapel.
“It felt like the whole world was pulling me there.”
“That’s exactly it!”
Lucien felt a strange relief at the thought that he, too, had experienced a similar miracle.
It was as if she now knew the reason behind the strange phenomenon that had happened to her.
Maybe the former Duke and his mother had worked together from beyond to ease Alfie’s suffering.
Otherwise, how could that pendant have just poofed into existence before her?
“It was such a strange day.”
“It was for me too.”
As he had done the previous night, he gently patted Lucien’s head.
“Hey, I have a favor to ask. Will you do it?”
“Anything!”
Lucien liked his kind demeanor so much that she answered willingly.
“Could you… keep a secret?”
“A secret?”
“Yeah, um…”
He lowered the hand patting her and turned his head slightly, seemingly embarrassed—something that didn’t suit him.
“That I cried.”
“Crying isn’t something to be ashamed of.”
“I know. B-But still, I kind of want to keep it hidden. I’m a grown man, and I cried in the middle of the street.”
Lucien thought adults were truly pitiable. Even if they had every reason to cry, they still felt embarrassed about it.
“Well, if that’s what you wish, I’ll bury it deep in my heart where no one can see it. I promise.”
Lucien held out her pinky. Alfie, amused, looked at it for a moment before linking his pinky with hers.
“So cute, really.”
“What?”
“I mean it—thank you. Now my tears will live forever in your heart, Miss Lucien?”
“Well… I guess if you put it that way.”
“No matter where you go, don’t forget to keep it safe, okay?”
No matter where I go?
Lucien froze at the ominous phrase. Did that mean her adoption was finally going to happen?
‘I don’t want that.’
If she were adopted, she wouldn’t be able to stay by Benedict’s side—the one who said he needed her.
And her promise to the former Duke…
No, that wasn’t the only reason.
Lucien had come to love the feeling of belonging here. Waking up in a place that was truly hers, repeating the rhythms of daily life, gave her a kind of peace she had never known before.
And because of that, she had come to care about this mansion—and the people living in it.
‘…But that’s just my one-sided feelings.’
Maybe no one else wanted her around.
“Am… Am I being adopted?”
Eventually, Lucien couldn’t help but ask.
“I know I’m not in any position to make demands, but I….”
Her lips trembled.
Even though she knew crying wouldn’t change anything, she couldn’t stop the tears from welling up.
“…I-I want to stay here. Please, I beg you!”
Thin tears streamed down Lucien’s cheeks.
“Please don’t send me away!”
“What? Of course not! Who told you something like that?”
“Huh?”
Relieved by his immediate answer, Lucien quickly wiped her tears and asked in a shaky voice,
“J-Just now, you said not to forget, no matter where I go… I thought you meant you were sending me away.”
“Well, yes, you’ll go somewhere.”
“…!”
“Miss Lucien has a lot to learn. There are museums, libraries, and all sorts of scenery to see. But,”
He held out his pinky, just like Lucien had earlier.
“Wherever you go, make sure you return home safely. Got it?”
Lucien hooked her pinky with his at once.
So she could keep the promise of calling this place her ‘home’ in her heart.
But she was still uneasy, so she asked again.
“S-So I’m not going to be adopted out?”
“Heavens, don’t be ridiculous.”
Alfie bent slightly to meet her eyes at her level.
“Do you think our master would just sit still if you were adopted out?”
“I… I’m not sure.”
Because Benedict was so kind, he might think she needed a real family.
“Wow… Our master’s still got a long way to go, huh.”
“What do you mean?”
“Oh, nothing. Well, if you can’t trust him, trust me.”
He shook their still-linked pinkies.
“You?”
“You think I’d let the girl who carries my precious secret just go off somewhere? You’ll be safe here, with my tears. Got it?”
At his cheerful answer, Lucien had a realization.
“Oh! That’s what it was!”
“What was?”
“You’re a real parachute!”
Alfie flinched.
“W-Where on earth did you hear something so awful?!”
“Scientists say even if you go to dangerous heights, if you have a parachute with you, you’ll be safe. That’s why you’re the parachute—a strong, reliable one that keeps me safe!”
Lucien felt embarrassed for ever thinking Juliet disliked Alfie so strongly.
She had been praising such a wonderful person every single day!
“I want to tell the whole world: You’re a parachute, but like, literally!”
Alfie shook his head, face turning pale.
He was clearly just being modest out of humility.
