LUW 58

Chapter 58

Cecilia, startled, blurted out his name aloud.

Only then did it occur to her that Honik was still behind her. As she turned around, Honik, gazing distantly out the window, spoke as if to himself.

“Come to think of it, I have something to do. I’ll step out for now. Call me if you need anything.”

With those parting words, Honik walked out of the room with steady footsteps. Silence settled between the two remaining.

Cecilia, suddenly embarrassed that she’d almost cried, avoided Pierre’s gaze.

Then Pierre lifted his upper body slightly and leaned back. Cecilia looked concerned, as if wondering whether he should be moving. Sensing her worry, Pierre gave a faint smile and began to speak.

“So, I’d like to hear what it was you didn’t get to say.”

“Ugh… That…”

Cecilia could feel heat rising up her neck. The fear of possibly never seeing him again had made her confront feelings she’d tried to ignore.

But saying them out loud, to his face, while completely sober, was proving impossible. It felt too much like a confession. Especially under Pierre’s unwavering gaze, her cheeks flushed even deeper.

So Cecilia dodged.

“Wh-what exactly happened? I heard you were attacked by an assassin. I just… I don’t understand.”

Her voice was filled with sincere concern. Pierre gave a small laugh and answered.

“I let my guard down. I’d been drinking, and I was distracted by too many thoughts. I didn’t sense the assassin sneaking in until it was too late.”

It had been late at night, just after he’d returned from a meeting with the emperor — a time when he’d finally decided what kind of life he truly wanted to live. That’s when the assassin had struck. The blade grazed him, laced with poison.

The injury wasn’t life-threatening — just something a few days’ rest would cure — but when Pierre heard Cecilia had arrived, he had hurriedly bandaged himself and laid down as if more gravely wounded.

A childish desire had taken over: Would she worry for him like family would? But the moment he saw the tears in her eyes, he’d felt like he already had his answer.

Pierre smiled at her concerned expression.

“You said I seemed distracted?”

“Yeah…”

“Are you okay now?”

“Yes. I’ve decided to be honest with myself.”

Cecilia wanted to ask what he meant, but part of her was afraid to find out. What if he had chosen someone else among the candidates for his duchess? She knew she wouldn’t be able to keep her expression neutral if that were the case.

So instead, she hastily changed the subject.

“…What happened to the assassin?”

“He took his own life. When cornered, he swallowed poison hidden in his mouth.”

Someone that well-trained meant he’d undergone extensive assassin training. Cecilia, now grim, asked again.

“…Do you know who sent him?”

“I have a suspect.”

It had happened right after he returned from a private audience with the emperor. But the assassin had been too sloppy to have been sent by the emperor.

If someone wanted to stop him at that moment, it was more likely that man.

“Valdir Richmond.”

Cecilia’s eyes widened. Her last encounter with Richmond flashed through her mind. She had mentioned Pierre just before parting.

‘Could he have planned this after that? Because I provoked him?’

As Cecilia’s expression darkened, Pierre continued.

“It’s just a hunch, but he’s the most likely.”

“…”

Pierre looked at her serious face and asked gently,

“So? Cecilia. Are you going to tell me?”

“…What?”

She looked puzzled, not understanding what he meant. He clarified.

“You said earlier — there was something you didn’t get to say.”

He clearly wasn’t going to let it slide. Cecilia’s face began to flush again.

“Th-that was nothing important.”

“Still, I’d like to hear that ‘nothing important.’”

Pierre’s gentle tone made Cecilia blink slowly in panic. She was about to dodge again, but this time, Pierre beat her to it.

“Ah, my wound might be hurting again…”

Feigning pain, he hinted that if she didn’t tell him, his injury might get worse.

It was a ridiculous, childish act — but Cecilia found it oddly endearing. Strange, but not unpleasant.

And hadn’t she just regretted earlier not being honest? Hadn’t she wanted to tell him how she really felt?

After a brief pause, Cecilia finally spoke.

“I wanted to say I regretted it.”

“Regretted it?”

“Yes. Regretted how we parted back then. I shouldn’t have just let you go.”

Pierre’s eyes widened slightly.

“So that’s why you came? Because you were worried?”

Faced with such a direct question, Cecilia nervously scratched her cheek and tried to play it off.

“O-of course — as a partner. I was worried as your partner.”

“…”

“If it had been someone else — like Mr. Honik — I would’ve come too.”

Pierre’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“Really? So you’re saying there’s no personal feeling involved at all?”

“…Well, not none…”

Pierre couldn’t hold back anymore and laughed. Cecilia’s face burned even hotter in embarrassment. She didn’t need a mirror to know how red she was.

She instinctively looked down, mortified — but Pierre called her name.

“Cecilia.”

It was a kind voice, as if telling her there was no need to be embarrassed. When she cautiously lifted her eyes, Pierre was smiling.

“I missed you, too, Cecilia.”

* * *

Pierre slowly began to tell Cecilia everything.

How he had been sent to the Temperia ship as a child under the emperor’s orders, and how he had supposedly died in an accident. How he was raised like a dog under the emperor’s command.

And how all of it had been part of the emperor’s scheme.

Cecilia’s face gradually darkened. Pierre told the story with a calm detachment, as if it had happened to someone else — but that only made her heart ache more.

The loneliness, the coldness of the life he had endured — it was too much to bear. Her eyes welled with tears.

Trying not to cry, she bit her lip. Pierre paused his story to check on her.

“The blueprint found in the Zilgerk estate was fake, too. The real one is probably in someone else’s hands.”

“…Richmond?”

“Probably. He’s the origin point.”

Cecilia caught the subtle heaviness in Pierre’s tone and added:

“I doubt Richmond has it. If he did, he wouldn’t have approached me.”

“He approached you?”

“Yes, recently. I think losing Zilgerk made him desperate. Zilgerk was his key supplier for crucial materials.”

Pierre looked surprised, then intrigued.

“Cecilia, you might be right.”

“I haven’t just been fooling around while I was at your side, you know.”

Cecilia spoke teasingly, and Pierre smiled. Then, she seemed to remember something and cautiously asked:

“So… those duchess candidates. Was that also the emperor’s doing?”

“Yes.”

“…You’re not really going to marry one of them, are you?”

Pierre hesitated at her nervous question, then asked with a mischievous smile:

“What do you think I should do?”

Cecilia found his question strangely cruel. She was no one — what right did she have to comment on a decision of that magnitude?

She shrank back a little.

“Who am I to interfere in such a serious matter…”

“…”

“I just…”

Her voice faltered. At that moment, Pierre asked softly:

“Then… would you like to be someone who can interfere?”

“…What?”

Cecilia couldn’t believe her ears.

‘What did he just say? Be someone who can interfere?’

Said like that… it sounded like something else.

‘Am I going crazy? That sounded just like a confession…’

Her mind was spinning — but Pierre’s gaze was unwavering. He wasn’t joking. His blue eyes were sincere.

Pierre gently took her hand and slowly leaned in. Their lips were almost touching.

Then, just before they kissed, Pierre whispered in a low voice:

“If you don’t want this, stop me now.”

And with those words — he kissed her, tenderly.