145 - 155

Side Story 3.5: Happily Ever After

HAPPILY EVER AFTER(5)

Lucia had not attended the party where Bruno poured cocktail on a lady's head. She only heard about the incident after the fact, then she called Damian and Bruno, sat them down and talked to them.

"Bruno. I don't think you did that for no reason. But I am worried because I hear that young gentlemen look very favorably on your actions. Do you want to become their hero?"

"I didn't do it for something like that.

"Yes. I believe that's not the case too. But think about the effects your actions could have. A gentleman observing good manners with a lady is proper courtesy and a promise for all. But if your actions are justified as right, someone will try to imitate you. There will definitely be someone who will rather insult and humiliate an innocent young lady in an attempt to become the center of discussion in the social circle. I do not want you to become a role model for someone so foolish."

"I'm sorry. I was thoughtless."

"I want the two of you to use this incident as an opportunity to once again realize that you are in a position capable of influencing a lot of people. Bruno, you go find that Count's daughter and apologize respectfully. And then you two, stay away from parties for the time being and behave yourselves."

"Yes, mother."

"Yes, mother. Sorry to worry you."

The next day, Bruno went to the Count's manor and apologized respectfully; not only to the girl, but to her parents as well.

Bruno couldn't forget the day he first visited the ducal residence upon receiving an invite from Damian.

[It's a pleasure to meet you, Bruno. I've heard a lot about you.]

The Duchess looked at Bruno with tearful eyes, then she gave the boy a big hug.

Bruno had no memory of being hugged by his own mother, so he stood frozen stiff, in that warm embrace. For Bruno, the Duchess' warm hospitality was both shocking and overwhelming.

During academy vacations, Bruno stayed at the ducal residence like he was family. Despite how large it was, the ducal residence was always filled with warmth. At first, Bruno was stupefied to see Chris shamelessly coming to the ducal residence to eat and sleep like it was his own house and even bring his brother, but then, the next thing he knew, he was doing the same thing.

The time he spent feeling the Duchess' loving care, passing the days with Damian, Chris, the troublemaking Jude and the cute and lovely Evangeline, were filled with happiness like a dream. Even the Duke of Taran, whom Chris found it difficult to be around, became an adult that Bruno adored and wanted to be like. And then from one day on, Bruno began to call the Duchess, mother.

Damian woke Bruno, who had been absorbed in past memories for a while.

"Let's go in before His Majesty comes."

"Ah, right."

The time for the meeting to begin was drawing near so there was no longer anyone in the hallway. Damian and Bruno went inside before the doors to the conference hall closed.

* * *

The conference, which began in the morning, came to an end in the afternoon. After a long meeting filled with fierce battles of results and reports, people left the conference hall, looking tired.

Near the door of the conference hall, Damian and Bruno waited for the Duke of Taran to come out. Who knew what other people had in mind but their schedule for today wasn't over yet. After attending the national conference, they had to organize the contents of today's meeting, discuss reports and exchange questions with the Duke of Taran.

'…I am exhausted.'

The time after a long meeting like this was the hardest for Bruno. It wasn't because reports or discussion were beyond his capability, but because his stamina sucked. Seeing Damian's face brimming with energy next to him, Bruno was in awe.

'Monsters. They're all monsters.'

The stamina of this pair of Duke father and son was really terrifying. Bruno had never once seen any of them tired, both Hugo and Damian. It wasn't only all day long, even if they stayed up all night, they would look be brimming with vigor as if they had just gotten a good night's sleep.

When the Duke of Taran came out, Bruno raised his slouched shoulders and stood straight.

Hugo approached Damian and Bruno and handed them a piece of paper.

"I have something important to discuss with His Majesty so both of you can go home first. As for the report, I'll hear it when I get back."

"Yes."

Damian took the piece of paper valuably, like it was an important document. As he looked at its contents, his expression stiffened slightly.

"Father. This…"

Curious about the source of Damian's bewilderment, Bruno tilted his head slightly to see the contents of the paper. The stiffness of his expression was more obvious than Damian's.

The piece of paper had two short phrases written on it.

{ Dream's Kiss

Summer Garden Rose }

Was this a new secret code for confidential information? Under the questioning gazes of the two young men, Hugo's face didn't even twitch.

"Since I'm going to be getting back late, you guys should go buy that before going back. The name of the bakery is Muiller. That, on the paper, is the cake's name. Your mom says she wants to eat it."

"…Okay."

HAPPILY EVER AFTER(6)

After telling the coachman to head to the Muiller Bakery, the two young men climbed onto the carriage. Shortly after the carriage departed, Bruno's shoulders trembled as he tried not to laugh, but he couldn't help it and burst out laughing. Infected by Bruno's laughter, Damian began to laugh as well.

"Mother is really amazing. Who else can send the Duke of Taran on an errand to the bakery?"

"Only Mother can do it."

"Do you know what surprised me the most during my stay at the ducal residence? That the strongest person in the house wasn't His Grace the Duke but mother."

Damian agreed with Bruno as he chuckled. His father was definitely a much stronger and taller man, but his much smaller mother kept winning in the strength department. When Damian was young, he could not understand it. And now, rather than saying he understood it, it had just become an expected thing.

He had never once seen his mother raise her voice or get angry. In his memories, his mother always had a smile on her face. However, there were times when his mother turned expressionless. That particular sight was truly scary. When that happened, even his father was well behaved in front of his mother.

"Let's not forget the dollhouse case too. Mother got rid of the dollhouse that His Grace had put so much effort into, overnight."

It was the first time Bruno realized the Duchess' face could actually be so scary when she welcomed all three males back that evening without her usual warm smile on her face.

[I have dealt with the dollhouse matter. As a matter of fact, I went to meet Her Royal Highness in the palace today. Honey, let's talk for a bit.]

For some reason, Bruno couldn't help but think that the Duke's back looked small as he followed the Duchess up to the second floor that day.

'This guy definitely grew up well, watching his parents like that.'

Bruno had no warm memories with his parents. His biological father always put his greed first, and his birth mother wallowed in self-pity, so she was always depressed. When he heard the news of his father's death, he didn't shed a single tear, and when he was abandoned by his mother, he felt like just giving up.

So every time he saw the affectionate couple at the ducal residence, a sight he could never imagine at home, he felt strange, and envious of Damian.

"Any news from Chris?"

As soon as Chris graduated from the academy, he left to travel with only a bundle on his back.

[I want to leave my footprints on every corner of the world. It has been my dream for a long time.]

Chris didn't leave any word of his destination or even when he would return. Marquis Philip got the news late and angrily tried to get back his son, but Chris' escape was as slippery as an eel.

After that, there was no news from him, then a few months ago, one letter arrived from an unknown source. It was a short greeting letter, saying 'I'm doing well'.

"If you don't know, then there's no way I'd know."

Bruno frowned at Damian's calm reply.

"Send people to find him. If you don't use your power as the Duke's heir at a time like this, when will you use it?"

"I know where he's going."

"Oh really? If he doesn't attend this time, he forfeits his title. Does that kid not understand seriousness?"

Aside from paying taxes, titled nobles were obligated to attend a regional meeting held twice a year. It was a duty that you couldn't be exempted from, without special circumstances, such as war. It was described as a meeting, but in reality, it was closer to a banquet. It was a place for asking each other about their wellbeing, and resolving small issues, if there were any, through their connections.

Failure to attend this aristocratic meeting at least once a year would be understood as you failing your duties as a noble and the procedure for deprivation of your title would proceed. If Chris didn't attend the meeting that would be happening in two months, it would be exactly two consecutive absences.

"Who knows, he might be thinking it's a good thing. He did say going to those noble meetings was more nauseating than an exam."

"I don't know why I'm more stressed over the guy's issue than he is."

Bruno heaved a long sigh and looked out the window, feeling annoyed.

"Probably because he is most indifferent when it comes to his own issues."

"That's what I want to say. I mean, how can there be talk of forfeiting a title? Something so ridiculous is about to happen in front of my eyes. Won't His Grace the Duke be angry about this? He did personally request the title from His Majesty, after all."

"My father won't care about something like that. He'll probably think of a way to retrieve the forfeited title. That way is much simpler than getting someone to go capture Chris."

"…that way is simpler, huh?"

Bruno was tired and stopped talking. Now he knew why Damian was so nonchalant about this. He thought he had gotten used to it but sometimes he couldn't keep up with the vastly different ways the duke father and son thought.

The carriage stopped in front of the Muiller Bakery. The two young men getting out of the carriage, paused at the sight of the pink signboard. They had a very ominous foreboding. Then again, the cake's name wasn't exactly ordinary.

"…I'm feeling more and more like he shifted this over to us."

Damian was also thinking that might be the case.

The inside of the Muiller bakery was quite spacious, and it was filled with female customers who were either ordering a cake or seated at a table eating a cake. The area, which was filled with the chattering of women suddenly became quiet. Everyone's gaze was drawn to the two handsome young men that had just entered the shop.

Damian and Bruno were both accustomed to being looked at by a considerable amount of people, but at this moment, their faces were so hot that they wanted to turn around and go back this instant.

The interior was as pink as the signboard outside and the decorations were like entering into another world. The colorful flowers, drooping laces, sweet smell that filled the air, and the scorching gazes of the women glued to their face, made their head spin.

For a while, the two young men stood at the entrance, like they were frozen.

The moment Bruno took a slight step back, Damian quickly grabbed him. Before he could turn around, his arm was swiftly caught by Damian.

"Are you sure you won't come here again? If you're going to go by yourself when that time comes, I might as well do the assignment Father gave me this time."

Bruno gave up on running away. He could never come here alone. It was better for the both of them to come here twice, than for him to come here once and alone.

After taking a brief glance of the interior and verifying where the place to order was, Damian was about to walk over, but then he flinched. His eyes trembled at the back view of the woman who was talking to the staff at the counter.

Ashen blonde hair.

Damian unconsciously moved quickly, approaching her, then he grabbed the woman's arm and turned her around to face him. The woman's murky brown eyes shook with confusion.

Her eyes were not clear green. And on a closer look, the hair color was different. Her hair was a much brighter color.

Damian immediately let go of the woman's arm and apologized for his rudeness.

"I'm sorry, lady. I mistook you for someone else."

As he watched his friend from afar, Bruno clicked his tongue.

HAPPILY EVER AFTER(7)

"Oh my, Sir. Taran. How unexpected to see you here."

Seeing the face of the middle-aged woman who was greeting him, Damian quickly plastered on the expression of a dignified and upright youngster.

"I hope you've been well, Marchioness."

Marchioness Philip's eyes were filled with satisfaction as she looked at her son's reliable friend. If she had a daughter under her roof, she would definitely fight to have him as a son-in-law, and the fact that she couldn't, made her feel regretful. As Bruno approached and greeted her as well, the Marchioness felt like it was truly a pity as she looked at the two dignified young men before her. Her son should have also been beside them.

'Oh, Chris. I'm vexed because of this childish son of mine.'

What 'traveling around the world'. This wasn't the time to do something so useless. The Marchioness was more than a little worried that at this rate, Bruno would fully occupy the position of Damian's closest aide.

As the Marchioness warmly discussed the current hottest topics in the social circle with them, the noblewomen who came with her covertly showed their interest and approached.

"Marchioness, you must have fate with these lovely gentlemen."

"Goodness me, you didn't know? Marchioness' son is close with Sir. Taran and Sir. Matin. Very close."

Hearing the envious voices of the noblewomen, Marchioness Philip's mood was greatly lifted. The two young men thought to themselves that if their friend, Chris were here, he probably won't be able to stand it.

The Marchioness was a very typical noble madam. She liked gossiping, bluffing moderately and worldly things. Chris didn't like that side of his mother.

[It would be so good if my mom resembled half of the Duchess.]

Chris had once said lamentfully.

"What brings you gentlemen here?"

"I came to buy a cake for my mother."

"Oh my, as expected. The Duchess must be so happy to have such a reliable and filial son."

Damian and Bruno were being courteous towards their friend's mother, so they quietly went along with the Marchioness' long chat.

After they managed to free themselves, Damian stood in front of the shop's counter to buy the cake they came for.

"Can you please write down the name of the cake you would like to buy on the order sheet in front of you?"

Damian was very relieved to hear what the staff said. He was glad he didn't need to say the embarrassing name of the cake. As he positioned to write the cake's name on the slightly yellowish paper like the employee said, he glanced at the note his father gave him. Damian alternated glances between the note in his hand and the bakery order sheet, comparing them. Both papers had the same size and material. He put down the pen and handed the note he was given over to the employee.

"Your order has been received. Please wait while your product is packaged."

Damian came to the conclusion that his father had come here at least once. He wasn't shifting the responsibility over to his son. It looks like as long as his mother was concerned, his father wouldn't care about entering a pink looking bakery to buy a cake for her.

Damian took in the entire view of the bakery and tried to imagine his father coming inside here, alone. But he couldn't imagine it at all. Damian really respected his father, in various ways.

In the carriage heading home, Bruno glanced at Damian's expression. And as usual, Bruno's eyes looked upset for some reason.

"Why don't you just get people to go search?"(Bruno)

"Are we still talking about Chris?"(Damian)

"Not Chris. I mean, Ted. Although her real name is probably not Ted. Do you know her name?"

"…I do."

"I said this before but, it is at times like this you're supposed to use your power as heir to the Duke."

"…"

"Our Ixium's youngest Shyta is really talented, huh. Even gets to date in the Academy teeming with dudes. Since we're on this topic, when did you find out Ted was a girl?"

"At the beginning of the school year."

"What. So you knew not long after Ted came to school. That said, I don't think Ted went to you and told you she was a girl herself. How did you find out?"

Damian chuckled instead of answering. Who would have thought that a girl would dress up as a man and come to the Academy? If not for an unexpected event, Damian wouldn't have known, and he wouldn't have paid attention to the one girl among the numerous newly enrolled students.

"Anyways, when I think about that time, I really…When I thought you were romancing a man, I was unexpectedly scared. Chris, that guy didn't even give me a hint even though he knew."

"…"

"Look for her. Instead of being heart-broken here."

When they returned to the Academy after summer vacation, Ted had withdrawn from school and disappeared.

"…I only know her name."

"You don't know which family's daughter she is? Or her home country?"

"No idea."

Bruno looked at his book-smart friend and clicked his tongue.

"Well, since she enrolled into the Academy, there should be a clue there, somewhere. If you dig, it'll show up."

Seeing that Damian wasn't replying, Bruno didn't say anything more.

Ted had disappeared after leaving one letter with Damian. Bruno didn't know what was written inside but his friend, who seems like he was going to toss everything aside and rush out to look for her, merely locked himself up inside his dorm room for one day, then

returned to his daily life like nothing had happened.

But sometimes, Bruno could sense it. Damian hadn't forgotten Ted, he was just pressing down his emotions and enduring for now.

* * *

Lucia's face was full of smiles as she read the letter from Norman. She opened the book that was delivered alongside the letter and read the quote on the first page over and over.

<< I dedicate this book to my dear friend and sister, Lucia. >>

It was a novel written by Norman, who had picked up her pen again after a long time. She hadn't been writing novels since she got married.

Norman had become the mother of two children, and she was enjoying a life of happiness with the little things. Norman's letters were packed with events where she sometimes got annoyed with her husband, or whined about her two troublemaking sons, and she made little things sound extraordinary, so her letters were as interesting as novels. Her letters were one of the ones Lucia anticipated the most.

There was another letter Lucia was happy to see today. It was a letter from Kate in the north. Kate was also already married and the mother of two children.

Initially, Lucia only exchanged New Year greeting letters with Kate. But after she went to the north three years ago due to hearing the news of Madam Michelle's passing, the both of them began to exchange letters more frequently. Kate was very grateful to Lucia for taking the lengthy carriage journey down to the north.

After she was done reading all her personal letters, Lucia began to organize the invitations. There was still an enormous amount of invitations sent to her, but there was a difference from the past. Majority of the invitations weren't aiming for Lucia but wanted to invite Damian and Bruno, so they intended to conquer Lucia.

There were also letters from girls who were inquiring after Lucia's wellbeing, out of nowhere. It was very obvious to Lucia that the girls had a crush on either Damian or Bruno so they were asking even though they weren't curious at all and after reading such letters, she couldn't help but laugh for a while.

With the invitations organized, there were various other letters left. Among them was advertisement letters from designers. Although people thought Antoine was the Duchess' exclusive designer, Lucia didn't have an exclusive contract with Antoine. She just couldn't find a design she liked better than Antoine's. She had already thought about commissioning another designer if she found a better design. Hence why she was always interested in looking at the advertisement letters that designers constantly sent to her.

It wasn't only cloth designers that sent advertisements, jewelers did the same. As Lucia was looking through, she caught sight of a letter from some jeweler and her eyes open wide with surprise.

HAPPILY EVER AFTER(8)

<< This is the design for His Grace the Duke's brooch. If Your Grace is satisfied with the attached design, please make a commission to our jeweler. >>

The attached design depicted a lion's head with two red gems as its eyes. Like the letter stated, it was a design for the Duke of Taran who represented the Taran family.

Lucia's heart pounded in her chest as she stared at the familiar brooch design. It brought memories from her dream for the first time in a long while.

Lucia had lived with the mentally unsound old woman for half a year, then her identity became the old woman's daughter, Lucy, around when she held the old lady's funeral. A long time had passed since the old woman's daughter was reported missing, so her daughter's records were erased due to it being ruled as a death.

When Lucia reported the old woman's death, she also notified them to withdraw the ruling of the daughter's death. And at the same time, she requested that an altercation be made to her name because it was recorded incorrectly. The similarity between the names, Lucy and Lucia, allowed for the name change to proceed smoothly.

Using the excuse that her hair had turned white due to an illness, Lucia was given permission to dye her hair black. And so, she succeeded in remaking her identity into a new Lucia, with amber eyes and dark hair.

In order to make a living, she had to work. Lucia didn't want to spend the rest of her life in the old lady's old and isolated home. Even as she feared that someone might be tracking her down, she got a job in a small workshop. And perhaps the workshop's old mistress noticed Lucia working diligently because half a year later, she said to her:

[I plan on scraping this workshop and moving eastward. Do you have any money saved? I'm thinking of handing it over to you.]

So for the first time in a long while, Lucia visited the cemetery that led to the secret tunnel of the Count Matin residence. She went at dawn, and she made sure there was no one was in sight, several times. It had been a long time, but fortunately, the jewelry box she'd hidden was just as she had left it.

After returning to her place, Lucia checked the jewelry box to verify its contents and discovered an ornament that she was seeing for the first time. It was a man's brooch in the shape of a lion's head. She thought about it, over and over again but she couldn't figure out the source of the item. So eventually, Lucia sold everything in the jewelry box, but she couldn't sell the brooch.

'Are the designs the same?'

She couldn't be sure because the one in her hand was just a design pattern. Lucia stared at the design for a while, seized with a strange feeling, then she drew up a letter of commission.

* * *

"Milady. The young Miss' guests are about to leave."

"Oh, is that so? It's already gotten so late."

Lucia stood up, leaving the organization that she was doing alone for the time being. There weren't that many letters left anyway. As Evangeline got older, she grew more interested in playing with her friends than being with her mom, so Lucia's days were relatively relaxed.

"Jerome, how is Roxy doing?"

Lucia asked about Jerome's daughter, whose one year old birthday had recently passed. The girl had suddenly gotten a fever last night, so the doctor came to see her several times throughout the night.

"When I saw her around lunch, her fever looked like it had gone down a lot."

"Haven't you gone since you saw her at lunch?"

Seeing that Jerome wasn't replying, Lucia clicked her tongue. Even after marriage, Jerome's inflexible nature remained the same. The place wasn't even far. The building right next door was Jerome's newlywed home. Even though it had been a while, Lucia was still amazed by the fact that Jerome dated somebody and got married.

Jerome's wife, Olga, used to be a newly hired maid in the ducal residence. And she was a woman whom Lucia had a connection with in her dream. When Lucia ran the workshop, Olga was a very sincere and sociable worker she had.

Jerome had been receiving employment applications constantly because of the maids who kept quitting and when Lucia made a short visit to his office, she found a familiar face on one of the applications. So Lucia recommended Olga. And about a year after Olga was hired, Jerome and Olga came together to see her and told her they would be getting married.

Lucia had absolutely no idea that the two of them were even dating, so she was surprised to hear that Olga was pregnant and when she saw Jerome standing with his head bowed, she had burst into laughter.

The empty outbuilding was completely clean and revamped into a home for the two of them to live in. And nowadays, Olga was ridiculously busy with raising her two children, so she rarely came to the main house.

"Jerome, it will be very hard on Olga to take care of two children when one of them is even sick. Stop here today and go home."

"Yes, Milady."

Lucia left the receiving room to see her daughter's guest off.

* * *

"I shall be returning as of now. I appreciate your kindness in accommodating me again today."

Prince Ethan, who gave his goodbyes in a mature manner.

"Today was fun. See you tomorrow."

And the mischievous Jude, whose cheekiness was just like his brother, Chris.

"Thank you for your kind consideration, Duchess."

Seeing the proud and prim young princess Selena, Lucia smiled pleasantly. They were all lovely children.

"Lady Eve, let's play together again tomorrow."

"Oh my, Lady Selena. I wanted to say that first."

"Like I thought, we definitely have something connecting us."

"It's because we're cultured ladies."

Even though they were imitating noblewomen, the two girl's unique childish voices were unnatural, making it obvious that their conversation was imitating something they had heard somewhere.

Lucia desperately tried to hold back her laughter so she wouldn't hurt the two girls' feelings. Lately, the two girls were very fascinated by acting as noblewomen, so they would have odd conversations with a weird tone.

The way Ethan looked at his sister made it clear he found her acting ridiculous and his snort was quite loud. Selena glared fiercely at Ethan. Then she hmphed and whispered loudly in Evangeline's ear.

"Lady Eve. A cultured lady should be most careful of idiots like this one."

"What? Hey! Selena!"

"Look at that. How uncultured."

Ethan fumed but held back when Evangeline's gaze fell on him. If they were at the palace, he would have grabbed his naughty sister's hair. Ever since Selena began to speak well, Ethan was slowly realizing that he could never out-speak his sister.

As she watched Ethan sulk with an offended expression, Evangeline smiled sweetly.

"Lady Selena, Sir. Ethan is not an idiot. He is the elder brother of the cultured Lady Selena, is he not? Lady Selena's elder brother can't be someone like that."

Ethan's expression was awkward as his ears flushed red.

Selena knew that her elder brother was the type to torment her once they got back to the palace because he was angry, so she was in favor of making him feel better and replied primly.

"Hnn, well, that's true."

"Hooh. What of me? How am I?"

Jude butted in. Seeing Jude's eyes filled with expectation, Evangeline thought for a moment then she said:

"Jude is a good person. You're nice."

"Hehe. Then, will you marry me later, Eve?"

Lucia's eyes opened wide and she watched the children's conversation with rabid interest. Evangeline tilted her head and fell into thought. Lucia, the other children, and even the surround servants, held their breaths as they waited for the girl's answer.

"The two young masters have returned."

When a maid came in and reported this, Evangeline screamed 'Elder brother!' and ran out, her face gleaming with happiness. Selena, who had been acting like a noble lady, tossed that aside and ran after her at full speed.

HAPPILY EVER AFTER(9)

"Elder brother!"

As Damian came down from the carriage, he smiled at the girl running towards him with her golden blonde hair fluttering in the wind. Damian caught his sister as she ran towards him with all her might then he hugged her tightly, lifted her into the air and placed her down.

The sound of the girl's boisterous laughter spread in the air. Damian's heart felt full every time he heard his sister's clear laughter.

"Pretty big brother!"

Evangeline hugged Bruno tight too and greeted him. Evangeline had three big brothers, so she called them in a different way. For Damian, it was simply 'elder brother', for Chris, it was 'Jude's big brother', and when Evangeline first saw Bruno, she shouted.

[It's a pretty big brother!]

And since then, Bruno's name became pretty big brother. Bruno sighed as he stroked his cute little sister's head.

"Eve. Can't you change the way you call me? You can just call me big brother. Or call me by my name rather."

"Okay, pretty big brother."

"…"

Bruno suspected she was doing this on purpose since she was definitely at an age where she could understand his meaning now. She had a wide smile on her face and her expression was full of mischief. Bruno chuckled as if saying it was his loss.

Selena had run over like Evangeline but couldn't hug them like Eve did, so she stood some distance away with envy in her eyes. Selena also had elder brothers of similar age like that of the two in the ducal residence, but there weren't many chances to come out and greet them.

She felt very envious to see Eve's elder brother look at Eve with a gaze full of affection, hug her and indulge her. And above all, Eve's brother, Damian was far cooler and awesome-r than Selena's older brother. To Selena, he was a prince dreamy beyond words.

"It has been a long time, Princess."

When Damian greeted her, Selena hesitantly approached them, picked her skirt slightly and returned the greeting.

"It has been a while, Sir. Damian. Lady Eve, I believe it's time to say my regretful goodbyes."

"Lady Selena, goodbyes are really regretful. I'll see you tomorrow."

Damian and Bruno glanced at each other with a strange look in their eyes then they turned away and tried their best not to laugh.

* * *

After watching the carriage leave with the children that came to visit, the three siblings turned around. The fox, Asha, who had at some point, noticed that her owner was home, came to rub her head at Damian's feet.

Damian picked Asha up and hugged her. She was now quite old, and her movements were not as fast as before. Asha closed her eyes, enjoying the feeling of Damian caressing the back of her neck.

"Ah, right. Elder brother, what is marriage?"

"Marriage is…uh…when a man and a woman come together to make a family. Like mother and father. Father and mother got married and so Eve, you were born."

"Hmm, I see. So if I marry, my little sibling will be born?"

"That's not how it wo…wait, Eve. Why are you suddenly curious about this?"

"Jude asked me to marry him. Can I?"

"No!"

Damian and Bruno shouted at the same time.

* * *

Hugo's discussion with the king took longer than he expected. After managing to reject the King's invite to dinner, Hugo returned home later than usual. As soon as he entered the mansion, he approached his wife who came to greet him like usual.

"You're late."(Lucia)

"What of Eve?"(Hugo)

"She's asleep. She played hide-and-seek with her friends for quite a while so she must be tired. You're hungry, right?"

He was hungry indeed, but he wasn't sure which hunger it was. Hugo decided to deal with the urgent one first. He wrapped an arm around her waist, pulled her to his chest and covered her lips as her eyes widened in surprise. He sucked her soft lips and breathed in the sweet air around her. Her scent tickled his nose. His thirst for her could never be satisfied.

When she wriggled hard in his embrace, Hugo was a little unhappy. It was still not enough. He pressed her with a fiery kiss. She smacked his chest and pushed against him with all her strength.

Hugo didn't removed his firm hand on her waist, but he had no choice but to loosen his embrace and take his lips away. When he saw the angry amber eyes that met his, he found it really cute. He seriously considered just taking her to the bedroom like this.

"What are you doing? The kids are here."

Lucia whispered through clenched teeth. It was only then that Hugo lifted his gaze and took notice of the two boys who were standing with their heads lowered. When he saw the boys, he remembered what he had asked them to do.

"Did you get the cake?"

Lucia glared at him, prudishly. She couldn't help but be moved by her husband's consideration of her. He had asked his son to bring the cake because he felt he would be late. The anger and embarrassment she felt because the children had witnessed that shameful sight, lessened slightly.

"I got it. It was delicious. Thanks, honey."

Lucia pecked him on the cheek. Just before Hugo could go after her lips again, Lucia covered his lips with her palm and shook her head minutely. Tch, he grumbled inwardly and gave the tactless disturbers a fierce look.

"If you finished the errand I sent you on, then you're done. You don't have to report to me."

"They came out to greet you."

"Hm? No need. Next time, you don't need to come out. Since you've greeted me, go up."

The three men usually came back together, but when Damian and Bruno came back first, they would normally come out to greet Hugo with their mother. He was just being unreasonable. Lucia knew he was simply grumpy because their kiss was interrupted.

"Where should they go? The kids haven't had dinner yet."

His plan to eat dinner alone with his wife on the second floor fell apart. Hugo frowned.

"Why haven't you guys eaten yet?"

"Geez, I'm embarrassed to face the kids. Just come here."

Lucia quickly pulled Hugo's arm and headed for the dining room. Hugo followed like he was helpless while grumbling.

"Next time, let them eat first."

"Alright."

The two young men's expressions were very weird as they watched the two go to the dining hall. They felt both taken aback and in disbelief. The same person who said he would hear the report of the meeting when he got home seemed to have now forgotten about it.

The two looked at each other and burst into laughter.

"Why aren't you coming in?"

Lucia's voice calling them could be heard from the dining hall.

"Yes, we're coming."

Damian and Bruno replied in a loud voice and walked to the dining hall.

Side Story 3.8

HAPPILY EVER AFTER(10)

Jerome, who was usually there to oversee their meal, was nowhere to be found. Her husband didn't outright asked where he was, but his eyes were obviously looking for him, so Lucia said.

"I told the butler to go back early today. He seemed worried about his sick child."

"Is it very serious? Was the doctor called?"

"Yes, a while ago. According to the doctor, her fever has gone down a lot, so it's not very dangerous. It looks like babies have fevers for no particular reason. Eve was also like that; it surprised me many times."

"True. You were crying and weeping that Eve is going to die."

Lucia was embarrassed and cleared her throat. Even when she thought about it now, back then, she had thoroughly lost her reason. She screamed and cried at her husband to make her better somehow, even though her husband wasn't a doctor. But it was thanks to him keeping his composure and consoling her that she was able to come back to her senses and not be devastated.

"Does Princess Selena still come here frequently?"

"It's almost every day. She gets along with Eve very well."

"Mother. The princess isn't an issue but as for Jude and Prince Ethan, shouldn't we stop them from coming at this point?"

"Stop them? Why?"

"I think it's past time for them to keep playing together like they did as children."

"Past time? I think it's still okay."

Damian felt his mother was going to just pass over his serious suggestion, so he decided to ask his father for support. When it came to Eve, his father's thinking was far more rigid than Damian's.

"Father. Eve told me Jude asked her to marry him. That is, she received a marriage proposal."

"What?"

How dare that cocky little midget—!

Hugo immediately turned to his wife and spoke with a grim aura around him.

"His entry is forbidden. Right away, starting tomorrow."

Knowing that whatever she said right now would go in one ear and out the other, Lucia obediently replied.

"Okay, I'll do that."

Looking at the father and son who were now focusing on their meal as if they were finally satisfied, Lucia gave a wry smile.

"Why did His Majesty suddenly want to speak with you?"

"The discussion was long, but the conclusion was simple. His Majesty wants an engagement. Between Selena and Damian."

"Yes?"

At the same time Lucia exclaimed in surprise, Damian dropped the knife he was holding, and it fell on his plate with a clatter.

Lucia glanced at Damian's flustered figure and a playful smile crept onto her lips.

"Her Royal Highness did mention such a thing to me a while back."

"Is that so? Then I suppose the offer wasn't made on an impulse."

"What do you think?"

"It's not a bad offer. The dowry doesn't have to be too much either, just enough to keep up appearances. Damian, if you want, I'll let you marry."

"Father!"

Damian made a long face. Princess Selena was only eight years old. She was just a year older than Eve. Sure, in ten years, the children would grow into beautiful ladies but that was still in the distant future. If there was an eighteen year old who saw an eight year old as a marriage partner, then that person was honestly crazy.

Bruno was doing his utmost best not to burst into laughter. Images of the tiny princess he saw earlier spun through his mind. The little girl that was playing pretend noblewoman and speaking in a manner that didn't suit her. When he imagined her becoming Damian's fiancé and standing beside Damian, he felt like he was about to howl with laughter. His hand holding his fork trembled so he placed the fork down and picked up a glass of water.

"That is absurd. Think about how old Princess Selena is."

Hugo looked indifferent as he received Damian's objection.

"Who said it had to be done now? You can get engaged and then marry when the princess gets older."

Lucia supplemented from the side.

"As a matter of fact, Damian met the princess earlier, on her way back to the Royal Palace. I suppose there would be no need to set up an introductory meeting."

"Mother!"

Damian's face, which was changing between pale and red, turned dark. It was natural for children to marry according to the arrangements made by their parents. A union between the ducal house and the royal family was obvious a perfect stratagem.

As Damian's expression stiffened gravely, Bruno's face also sank even though he had been grinning endlessly. Bruno looked at Damian and inwardly clicked his tongue.

'If you don't like it, just say so. This foolish guy.'

The Damian that Bruno knew would never oppose his parents. When you saw him dealing with things as the Shyta of the Academy, you would think he was very stubborn, but before his parents, he was a very obedient son. Even if he collapsed inside, as long as his parents wanted it, he would not only marry Princess Selena but do more than that without any complaints.

'They aren't the type of people to push their son into something he doesn't want because of greed.'

Should he expose his friend's dating issue? While Bruno considered what to do to pull his friend out of the mire, Lucia spoke first.

"Damian, since you're taking this so seriously, I can't tease you anymore."

Lucia spoke warmly to her somber son.

"I do not plan on forcing you into something you don't want. How can we decide something like marriage that concerns your life?"

Damian looked at Lucia with an expression like he had come back from death's door. Seeing Damian looking at her like she was some kind of savior, Lucia found it so adorable and smiled. Her big son still had some traces from his childhood left.

Lucia felt happy as she looked at the black lion who was still keeping his position as king even though he'd grown older, and then at the young black lion who was no longer a cub but still had much left to grow. Two of her most beloved men were just as lovable as ever.

"Your father is also of the same thought. Isn't that right? You originally didn't want to have a marriage with the royal family."

Hugo snorted when he saw Damian looking at his mother eagerly. His wife was too overindulgent with Damian. A child should listen to their parents. However, Hugo didn't reveal what he was thinking inside and wrapped his words up in a pretty package.

"I won't force him into a marriage he doesn't want."

"What did you say to His Majesty?"

"I suspended it because it wasn't the right time to discuss it. I said if the boy doesn't have a woman by the time the princess makes her debut at fifteen, I'll think about it."

"Why make such a promise…"

"Damian, you have no confidence in getting a woman in seven years?"

"…"

Damian couldn't give a reply.

Hugo decided to act like he knew nothing when he saw his son feigning ignorance. He already knew that his son had a woman from the reports of those planted in the academy.

"That isn't something that can be solved with time."

Lucia took to her son's defense.

"By the way, why are we only talking about Damian's engagement? How about our Eve. There are three princes to pair her with."

"Not a chance."

"That can't happen, Mother."

"It's too early, Mother."

Lucia laughed incredulously when she saw the three men uttering similar words at almost the exact same time. In this ducal residence, there were three men who became idiots when it came to Evangeline.

HAPPILY EVER AFTER(11)

Sometime after dinner was over, Fabian came to the ducal residence. While he was waiting for his master, the mistress, and the young masters to finish their meal, Fabian had gone to visit Jerome and his family in the outbuilding.

After Jerome got married, Fabian felt like a heavy burden had been lifted off his back. He didn't say anything, but he had been worried to see Jerome only caring about taking care of the ducal house and not thinking about marriage, even when he was past thirty.

Now, Fabian was both happy and envious to see Jerome happy as the head of a decent family.

'Lucky brat.'

It was already envious enough that Jerome got to marry a young woman despite their big age difference, but she was also extremely beautiful. After Fabian relentlessly pestered them to tell him about their love story, Olga answered him with a blush.

[I fell for him and chased after him.]

Fabian couldn't understand. Why in the world? What part of him did she fall for? It was the biggest mystery of his life.

When he saw Jerome and his wife acting coy and bashful even after having two kids, he felt like something was crawling on his skin, so he quickly left for the main house.

Hugo told Damian and Bruno that the report of the observations from today's meeting would be pushed to tomorrow then he went to his office with Fabian. Fabian turned in his report and verbally reported the most essential thing.

"News of Philip's death came."

Hugo, who was about to open the report, paused. He looked at the death certificate attached to the first page of the report for a while.

'What a tenacious old turd.'

Seven years ago, Hugo ordered for Philip to be dragged to the dungeon in the north after his tongue was cut off and his ankle tendon severed. He left him in charge of treating vicious criminals in the underground prison where no sunlight ever came in. According to the occasional news he got, the old man silently devoted himself to treating prisoners. Hugo wondered how long he could endure in that grim underground dungeon despite his old age, and he finally died after seven years.

While he was searching for Philip's family records, he also found the training camp for women to continue the Taran bloodline. It was actually in the capital. It was disguised as an orphanage and the women who were fed the mugwort(ssamyupsuk) herb were isolated and cared for as if they had a special illness.

Hugo wanted to kill them all, but he thought of his daughter and endured it. He didn't want to stain his daughter's birth with the spilling of blood and resentment.

The women didn't know why their bodies became like that or for what purpose it was made like it. They were all given the cure and only after their menstruation came back and it was confirmed that they were normal again, were they released. This work actually took quite some time and only finished some years ago.

"How is a prisoner's corpse dealt with?"

"If their family doesn't collect their bodies then in the summer, every day, because the bodies rot easily, and in the winter, every few days. The bodies are all cremated at once."

Philip had no family to hold his funeral. At this rate, he would be cremated with the corpses of other criminals and eventually, not even a chip of his bones would be found.

"There's a burial ground for the family doctor. Take steps to have him buried there. No need to take care of a separate funeral."

"Yes, Your Grace."

His resentment towards Philip hadn't disappeared. Philip's death didn't make his crime go away. He was obsessed with a fruitless pretext, schemed, and threatened his master. Even if his body was torn to pieces while he was alive, his crime was deserving of it.

When he learned from Philip's records that Philip had put a woman in his bedroom, he couldn't believe it. He was so angry that he felt like steam was rising from his head. The reason why Hugo left Philip alive was because of his cold-hearted desire for Philip to be tormented for a long time instead of suffering a short death.

However, Philip saved his brother's life. He brought Damian who resembled his brother to Hugo. And it was also because of his scheme that Hugo got his daughter, Evangeline.

Not all the results of Philip's actions were bad. Strictly speaking, Philip didn't do all that to gratify his self-interest. Philip was also a victim of his family's shackles and he could never get free.

'I have changed indeed.'

Just like Philip told him a long time ago, Hugo thought that he had changed. To think he was feeling pity for a criminal who deserved his death. If it were the past him, he would have dragged out even the old man's corpse, ordered them to chop it to pieces and fed him to beasts.

However, despite feeling this change in himself, Hugo was happy. He felt like he wasn't just the Hugo imitating his late brother, but actually his own person.

With Philip's death, everything was now over. No one outside the family knew his family's secret. He thought it would be relaxing to know but he merely felt strange. The heavy weight on his body was still there. But this weight was not the terrible type he wanted to escape from, but a responsibility he ought to bear.

He realized that unless he tossed everything aside and ran away, he had to share his fate with the Taran family until he died. And for him now, abandoning his family was no longer an option.

The Taran house would protect his family, and he would protect the Taran house.

Philip's death served as a force to free Hugo from being trapped in his late brother's shadow. Henceforth, Hugo acknowledged that both Hue and Hugo were the same person. The young Hue who was mercenary slave and the lord of the north, Hugo Taran, were both himself.

"The other news that came from the north is about Sir. Krotin."

Irritation flashed across Hugo's eyes. Who knew where the guy had dug himself, not even his shadow could be found. So much manpower and time had been spent on trying to find him. Some time ago, he even ordered his knights that if Roy was found, he should be bound like a prisoner and dragged over here.

Two years ago, the Duke of Ramis passed away and his son, Robin, succeeded him. And about a year ago, Hugo negotiated with the king and the new Duke Ramis about reinstating Roy and succeeded.

Roy was no longer a heinous criminal. Since he had already been 'killed' as a death row prisoner, it would be difficult to have him conspicuously in the capital, but he could be reinstated into the northern knights with no issue at all.

The problem was Roy's whereabouts. Shortly after he went to the north disguised as a death row prisoner, Roy could not be found and the last news of him was from a witness who saw him going into the barbarian territory. Hugo thought Roy would return soon but when nearly a year passed with no news from Roy, his knights entered the barbarian land to search for Roy. Dean had participated in the search party back then and was able to meet Roy in the span of a few days.

[I prefer going unnoticed, anyway. It's comfortable here. You know I'm not the kind of guy to die easily, right? Don't worry about me and don't look for me. I'll be staying here for a while.]

When Hugo heard of this, he told them to leave him alone. Roy was like a wild horse anyways, he couldn't be reined. However, when Roy was reinstated a year ago, Hugo ordered them to call him in, but he couldn't be found.

The barbarian land was very large. But because he couldn't exactly gather a huge search party for Roy due to circumstances, it had been a year since only a handful of people began to search for Roy.

"Did you find him?"

Hugo ground his teeth. If the guy was brought before him, he would definitely beat him up first before talking.

"Rather than finding him…we got news from him."

Fabian nervously continued speaking.

"A boy appeared before the knights and gave them a letter from Sir. Krotin. And…according to the letter, the boy is Sir. Krotin's son. It's at the back of the report."

Hugo immediately turned to the back of the letter.

<< My lord. My son said he'll pay the debts I owe you. He wants to be a knight so I taught him and if he's useful, give him something to do, otherwise, you can chase him out. But you know, I taught the brat personally so he's pretty good. I hear you've been trying to find me lately? I'll come and see you when I want later, my lord. For now, I'll live like this. >>

"Son?"

Hugo was speechless and forced a laugh. Even in the past, it was impossible to know what this guy would do but this time, he really struck him in the back of the head.

"His name is Khali. He's eight years old this year."

"Eight?"

Hugo felt like he was about to have a headache and massaged his temples. If the boy was eight years old then it meant that Roy had caused an accident a few months after he was sent to the north.

"And from the looks of it, the child's mother is very likely a barbarian."

"…he's doing all sorts of things."

As far as Hugo knew, Roy didn't treat barbarians like people of the same species. They were preys to be hunted.

In addition, although Roy didn't really kill the women and children, he didn't think like a knight, but as a true hunter looking for strong prey; in other words, he was a crazy bastard. If there was a reason to kill a woman, he would; he didn't do things that would lead to future troubles.

Now they were saying that such a Roy had a child with a barbarian woman. Before Hugo could even be surprised about, he found it hard to believe.

"Are you sure it's Roy's child?"

"According to Sir. Heba…they are very similar."

Hugo flipped to the report before Roy's letter and found the attachment written by Dean. As he read Dean's report, Hugo's expression gradually grew askew.

From beginning to end, Dean was pouring compliments on Roy's young son. In conclusion, Dean was saying he was a very talented boy who might very well bring the knights' name to new heights, so he wanted to take him in and cultivate him as a knight.

'If the boy is left to Dean and taught from a young age, he won't act as recklessly as his father. Well, certainly if he's Roy's son, he will be talented.'

If his skills were as good as Dean claimed, he might consider bringing the boy to the capital later. A skilled knight was needed for when Evangeline grew up and debuted in the social circle, so this was a good opportunity.

"Tell the search team looking for Roy to withdraw, and have Dean be in charge of teaching Roy's son."

"Yes, Your Grace."

Afterwards was just minor reports.

HAPPILY EVER AFTER(12)

By the time he arrived at Roam after a few days journey on his horse without sleep, the entire situation was already over and waiting for him. As soon as he entered the walls of Roam, he could feel a gloomy aura in the air. The people that came out to see him gave their greetings with utmost respect. Their attitude wasn't that of meeting the young master but that of greeting a new master.

He slowly got down from the horse. He couldn't take a step forward; it was as if his two feet were rooted to the floor. Someone approached him and said something to him but it went unheard.

"…Where?"

"Pardon? The two bodies are insi…"

"Not that!"

"Th—the west tower…"

"All of you…withdraw. Do not come until I call for you. If I catch you in my sight, I will cut off your head."

His voice started off calmly but ended in a tone oozing with blood. He swept a cold glance over the wavering and unmoving figures of the people around him then thick bloodthirst burst forth from him. He was suppressing his desire to rip out the necks of everyone here and slaughter them.

Several weak-minded people held other people for support as they sank to their knees and dispersed with pale complexions. His cold red eyes gazed at them then he headed for the west tower.

As soon as he reached the top of the stairs and opened the door, he was swarmed with the smell of blood. A smell he had never found repulsive before made him feel nauseous. The stone floor was smeared with a large black blood stain.

The vassals were shocked by the fact that the culprit who murdered the ducal couple, was the spitting image of the young master so they couldn't bear to move the body and left it there. All they did was take a wooden coffin and put the corpse inside.

He dragged his feet to the wooden coffin. As he looked at the closed coffin, he took in a deep breath like he had just ran a race. He slowly bent down and got on his knees, then he pushed the lid of the coffin aside with trembling hands.

A young man with a grey complexion, like that never seen on a living being, lay inside with his eyes closed. The cracked wounds on his neck were spotted with dried blood stains. The expression on the dead body was serene. The stench of the corpse that was beginning to decay pierced his nose.

As he looked at the face of the young man, which was just like him, extreme emotions swirled in his eyes. It felt like his blood was flowing backwards. Grief, and anger that seemed to drive him mad burst forth from within.

"AAARGGHH!!"

~

Hugo opened his eyes with a start. The warmth of the body next to him quickly dragged him back to reality.

A dream. Hugo heaved a sigh.

As he stared into space, he felt the own unstable pounding of his heart.

'That damned guy.'

Even though he left like that, why was his first appearance in his dream that of the last time he saw him? Hugo inwardly spewed curses at his brother. He sighed heavily and carefully removed his hand that was wrapped around his wife's back because he didn't want to wake her up. He sat down motionlessly on the bed for a bit, then he came down from the bed.

Quite a long time passed after Hugo left the bedroom. The world was immersed in the deepest darkness that occurred just before dawn.

Lucia turned on the bed, wanting to feel his warmth but only felt a vacant, cold space. She woke up halfway and opened her eyes to realize that the space next to her was completely empty. Although her husband was the type to get up early, that didn't mean in the dead of the night.

Lucia got down from bed to search for him. As she looked around, she noticed a small light coming from the door crevice of the receiving room. She approached quietly, opened the door and poked her head inside. The first thing she noticed was the three or so uncorked wine bottles lying on the table.

She frowned slightly. He was definitely not that much of a wine lover that he would go drink a few bottles of wine, alone, at this time of the night. She looked for her husband, and when she saw his rearview by the window, her heart throbbed. He seemed strange, as he stood there with the moonlight falling on him through the window.

For some reason, she felt lonely as she once again realized that no matter how much they loved each other, they could only be separate people.

Lucia wondered what it could be. Perhaps this wasn't the first time he had come out here in thought and she had never seen it so she didn't know.

Should she go comfort him? Or would it be better for her not to disturb him? She didn't know what to choose, so she didn't approach, and just stood holding the doorknob. She couldn't even turn around and go back to the bedroom like she hadn't seen anything.

'Hugh.'

She merely called him inside, but like magic, he turned around. Then he smiled faintly and gestured to her, as if telling her to come here. Lucia walked up to him as fast as she could, almost like she was running.

She threw her arms around him and buried her head in his chest. His arms reliably wrapped around her waist. As his large hand stroked her hair, she lifted her face and he kissed her forehead.

"Did you have a bad dream?"

"You weren't there so it felt empty and I woke up. What about you? Did you have a bad dream?"

"Yeah. Even though I've never had one before."

Hugo smiled wryly. He had never even had dreams before. Perhaps he might have had a dream while he slept but he never remembered when he woke up. This was his first time waking up from a bad dream and being unable to go back to sleep because his mind was disturbed.

"A dream is just a dream, Hugh. You don't have a pendant, after all."

Hugo leaned on her shoulder and chuckled.

"The guy who made a mess out of your workshop in your dream. You really won't tell me who it is?"

The fact that Count Matin got off so easy still annoyed him. So he tried to blow off steam with the other guy, but she completely refused to say anything.

"It didn't happen in reality. He might be living a diligent life now, so I don't want to blame him for a crime he didn't commit."

"I doubt he's being diligent. I can assure you, people's nature don't change that easily."

"Still, there's no need for you to know."

"But you told me about Count Matin."

"Well, I couldn't explain well without mentioning Count Matin, so it couldn't be helped. Let's stop talking about this. I'm never telling."

"Tsk. Stubborn."

Hugo swept her into his arms then he walked to the sofa and sat down. He sat her on his knees and hugged her soft body tight. As he breathed in her smell, Hugo felt his subsided feeling gradually rising again.

Lucia gently stroked his hair without asking anything. Although she wanted to know everything about him, she could understand if there was something he couldn't tell her.

"Philip is dead."

"…I feel complicated."

"It's just as you say. I wonder why I don't feel lighthearted."

"Because Philip was there for a huge part of your life."

A long time after Lucia gave birth to Evangeline, Hugo gave her the full story of what Philip had done. Her heart ached when she finally realized how hard it was for her husband at the time. She felt sorry for not being able to share his pain.

However, she didn't hate Philip that much. She simply felt that the life of the man called Philip was pitiful. Her connection to him in her dream was also part of it, and if it wasn't for Philip, she wouldn't have gotten Evangeline in the end. After all, Lucia wouldn't have ever taken the medicine to treat herself, personally.

In addition, whether she hated him or not, Philip was a remnant of her husband's lonely childhood. Her husband might disagree, but Lucia thought so.

"If you really want, you can take a visit to the north. Perhaps you need a break."

"Shall we go together?"

"If you go with me, what kind of break will it be? We'll just spend the time traveling in a carriage."

"True. It'll trouble you."

"I didn't mean I don't want to go because it's troublesome. If you want to go, I'll prepare for it."

"No, it's fine."

"Then, later. When the children are all grown up, let's go to the north. I know I went a year ago, but I miss it more as time goes by. I think we should go back someday."

"Yeah. Let's do that…"

They hugged each other for a while, not saying anything.

10 years of marriage. They had reached a point of tranquility where simply being together was enough, and it was never awkward no matter how long the silence was. Perhaps this peace of mind was more precious than a hot and intense love.

Lucia caress his head like she was comforting him as he held her tight with his face buried in her soft chest.

"…It feels strange to see Damian the same age as his father when he died."(Hugo)

His brother had died at eighteen years old. At the time, Hugo thought his brother was an adult. He thought that when Damian was eighteen years old, he would be able to comfortably entrust everything to Damian like Damian had received the title.

However, when he looked at Damian, he realized it was a very young age. Even though he acted like an adult, the expressions he clumsily revealed without even realizing it showed Hugo that he was still a child.

"It's because you pamper him so much." (Hugo)

"What's this all of a sudden?"(Lucia)

"I'm talking about Damian. He's still a kid. I wasn't like that at his age."

"Since you're saying this, I have something to say too. You also pamper Eve too much. She's like a spoiled five year old."

"What do you mean? Eve is young. She's only seven now."

Lucia glared at him. Her husband's standards were way too different for their son and daughter.

"You sent Damian to boarding school at six. I thought you said that at six, your child should be able to survive even if they were thrown into a desert?"[1]

"That…! Who was it? Who told you? Damian? Jerome?"

"I'm definitely not telling you."

"You think I don't have another way if you don't tell me? I'll just grill the two of them…"

"Hugh!"

When Lucia's eyes slanted, Hugo shut his mouth. Then as he grumbled, he buried his lifted head back into her chest.

Lucia hugged his head and giggled. Her husband got more adorable as he got older. Sometimes, when she saw him acting like a stern father in front of his son or acting cold and indifferent in front of other people, she inwardly burst out laughing.

"It's because you're looking at Damian with the eyes of a father. In the eyes of parents, no matter how old their child is, their child is young. When Eve grows up to twenty or thirty, do you think she'll look like an adult in your eyes?"

"…"

"Damian is all grown up. He might be young in your eyes and mine, but to others, he's an adult. Even if you tell him about his birth father, I believe he can understand now."

"…Can he really understand?"

"Of course. He's a very considerate child. How much are you willing to tell him?"

"I was planning to burn down the secret room in Roam. I mean, I was going to secretly take him to my brother's grave."

"You've changed your mind?"

"I think Damian should know too. It's up to him to accept it or not."

Even now, Hugo occasionally flipped through the records from Philip's hideout. The medical knowledge accumulated by Philip's family from generation to generation was capable of saving the life of a dying person.

In addition, there were experimental records about whether a Taran female could have a child with a normal man. Fortunately, according to the records, Evangeline could marry an ordinary person, have a child, and live a normal life.

The couple of times that Evangeline was sick, Hugo was helped by the records. He realized how precious the medical knowledge in them was as he smoothed down his chest in relief after his daughter's high fever quickly subsided. The knowledge gathered by a family for hundreds of years was a treasure. Of course, he also realized that the knowledge in the secret room was a treasure.

"I think you've made a good choice. If Damian were to take over from you without knowing anything, it's like only inheriting half."

"Do you want to come along when we go to Roam?"

"No. Do not make exceptions. That way, in the future, it will remain that only the head of Taran can enter than room."

Hugo kissed her lips then he stood up with her in his arms.

"I don't know about anything else, but Damian won't get a better wife than mine."

Lucia smacked his chest as she laughed.

"What are you saying? Damian will have a wife much prettier and wiser than me."

"That's impossible."

"Don't try to compete with Damian in strange areas. Our Eve too, will get a husband more wonderful than you."

"It looks like our daughter won't get married."

"What?"

"No such man exists."

"Oh you, seriously."

Hugo entered the bedroom, kissing his laughing wife's lips. As Lucia lay on the bed, snuggling in his embrace, she said:

"Hugh, I have a present for your coming birthday. You can look forward to it."

"What is it that you're so confident about it? I will look forward to it."

The completion date of the brooch commission would roughly match the date of his birthday. Lucia wanted to give him the brooch and also tell him the story from her dream. What could be the identity of the brooch from her dream? She felt like it would be fun for both of them to put their heads together and solve the mystery.

DAILY LIFE OF THE DUCAL COUPLE(1)

"So, there was a party break at Countess Dieter's tea party a few days ago."

While they were discussing various things, Katherine brought up the newest hot topic.

"Oh no."

Lucia clicked her tongue. A party break wasn't something that happened often. It was close to something of a last resort when the leader of the party break was completely resolved to becoming enemies with the host of the party.

Because a party break was not a common occurrence, it was always at the center of gossip in the social circle when it happened. Lucia's mind flew back to the party break that happened at her tea party in Roam. It was already 10 years since that incident happened.

"Apparently, Countess Dieter was thoroughly humiliated."(Katherine)

"Who was the leader?"(T/N: of the party break)

"Countess Ophil."

Lucia cocked her head to the side. She was familiar with the name Countess Dieter, but she couldn't recall ever hearing about a Countess Ophil. In other words, Countess Dieter was someone quite famous in the social circle, but the party break instigator was someone in a relatively inferior position. There were very few cases like this.

"It seems no one sided with Countess Dieter. What mistake did the Countess make?"(Lucia)

"Mistake?"

"실수?"

Katherine smiled coldly.

"The person Count Ophil had affair with, was Countess Dieter. What's more, Count Ophil actually brought Countess Dieter to his mansion and they were caught by Countess Ophil while they were rolling in the sheets. Apparently, Countess Dieter was in such a rush to run away that she forgot her own underwear. Countess Ophil threw the underwear down on the table, on the day of the tea party."

"…"

Lucia sighed bitterly. Even though she wasn't at the event, she could see the pandemonium that took place. Since it wasn't their problem, the noblewomen would have watched the spectacle with excitement, happy for the change of pace, then they would cheerfully spread rumors all over the place.

Although Countess Dieter brought it on herself, and Countess Ophil was argumentatively, the victim, it was a shameful situation. The reason why many affairs in the high society never surfaced, wasn't because the spouse wasn't aware of their husband/wife being in an improper relationship. It was because people felt it was very embarrassing to have people know that their spouse was cheating.

Lucia felt really bad when she thought about miserable Countess Ophil must have felt, to the point where she couldn't bear it unless she exposed Countess Dieter publicly, despite the trend of hiding affairs in the social circle.

'It's so terrible.'

Lucia didn't want to ever imagine herself in Countess Ophil's shoes.

"Why did Countess Dieter invite Countess Ophil to her tea party? Or is it that Countess Ophil went to the party without being invited?"

"Countess Dieter must have been confident that Countess Ophil wouldn't do such a thing. Afterall, Countess Dieter's name is much more highly known, and Countess Ophil is usually the type of quiet person that sort of disappears into the background."

"When a quiet person gets angry, it's usually scarier."

"That's true. Like you, for example."

Lucia was taken aback when the topic of conversation suddenly turned to her.

"Me? Why?"

"You're just like that, Vivian. I have no doubt it will be frightening when you get angry. I know I've never seen it before, but I know Taran Gong must have experienced it, right? Otherwise, there's no way he'd live in captivity like that."

"…What do you mean 'live in captivity'. There's nothing of the sort."

"Nothing? Yeah, right. Everyone knows the Taran men listen to everything the Taran Lady of the House says. Do you know what people say to me? They ask how in the world does the Duchess hold onto her son and husband like that, they want to know the secret. They even hint for me to ask you."

"…There's no secret."

Lucia couldn't think of any appropriate way to explain so she could give a tiny smile with an awkward expression.

The captured and the capturer. Her relationship with her husband wasn't one defined by such superiority in position. If you were to compare, Lucia was the one in a thoroughly weaker position. She was a physically weak woman and all the power she had was based on her position as a Duchess which she gained thanks to her husband.

Nevertheless, she truly respected and loved her husband, who was always respectful to her despite that. However, other people analyzed them using their own standards, and interpreted it as they wished.

"You must feel good, my dear younger sister. Your husband hasn't changed even though you've been married for more than ten years."

"Geez, elder sister."

Wait, could it be…?

When Lucia looked at her with uneasiness in her eyes, Katherine smiled and shook her head.(1)

"No. It's just, things aren't like before. In the past, just seeing his face made my heart tickle. Nowadays though, sometimes I'd prefer for him to come back late, I guess? Or, there are times when it's more fun to play with the children. Is it not like that for you? Isn't Eve much more lovely and prettier than your husband?"

"…"

Of course, Evangeline was lovely. Lucia loved her daughter so much that she could even give her life for her. But her love for her husband was different.

The love she felt for both of them were two different kinds and they couldn't be compared. Her love for Eve made her want to embrace and protect Eve, and her love for him made her want to run into his arms and hold him. She still felt excited and nervous when she was with him and her heart still raced when she heard his voice. When she was nestled in his wide chest, she felt happy.

'Wow, they're really such a rare intimate couple.'

Katherine grinned as she watched Lucia turned red in a flash, probably thinking about her husband. It wasn't like there weren't any other famous lovebirds in the social circle but there were never any as famous as the Taran couple.

At least to Katherine's knowledge. Katherine found Lucia's pureness fascinating every time she saw her. It wasn't immaturity from being clueless about the world but cleanliness, unstained by dirt. When she met Lucia after being around jaded noblewomen, she felt refreshed, like she was standing on clear water.

Katherine thought to herself that it was difficult for a woman in her late twenties to be as adorable as a young maiden. At the same time, she was suspicious about the Duke of Taran's ability to protect his wife's innocence. Katherine sometimes wondered if they even had a proper sex life but she couldn't ask about the couple's private life.

Translator's Corner:

1. If you didn't get this, Lucia is worried that Katherine might be having issues with her husband.

DAILY LIFE OF THE DUCAL COUPLE(2)

Katherine was buried in her imagination for a bit, then suddenly, she exclaimed and stood up.

"Wait a minute. I have something to give you."

Katherine left for a while then she returned with a small box in her hand.

"This is something I bought a while back, but I never wore it."

Lucia took the box Katherine gave to her and opened it. Inside, was a bunch of white lace that appeared to be lingerie at first glance.

Lucia tilted her head then she carefully lifted out the contents to check what it was. Her face gradually turned red and she hurriedly dropped the contents with fright and slammed the box shut.

"Wh…What is this?"

"I bought it for a once-in-a-lifetime experience but when I got home after going through with the purchase, I found it wasn't actually to my taste."

"You want me to wear this? This kind of thing…"

"Thinking that only prostitutes wear this, is a stereotype. There are very few noble women who don't own an underwear like this."

"No way…"

It was hard for Lucia to believe that most of the noblewomen who liked to act lofty, actually owned something so indecent.

"I knew it'd be like this."

Katherine clicked her tongue. The fact that Lucia had been married for over 10 years and never even seen an underwear like this was a problem.

"Younger sister. How many years have you been married? The times when fire is ignited once your eyes meet has passed. In a relationship, both sides should put in effort."

"…What does this have to do with effort?"

"Of course it had something to do with effort! Do you know what the scariest this is in a marriage? It is marital weariness[1]. That kind of thing has no sign. You don't even know when it'll come. By the time you come to your senses, you're already in that state. It's at times like this, that the man cheats. Their wife is no longer something new, so their eyes turns to another fresh woman."

"…"

"That's why a stimulation is necessary. Show him a fresh, new charm. Men are originally visually weak creatures."

Katherine tried her best to persuade Lucia, who was still hesitating.

"The lingerie is definitely not something abnormal or strange. I have a few myself. Plus, for your information, the designer of that lingerie is Antoine."

"An…toine?"

"I might not like Antoine's dresses but there's something different about the lingerie she makes. They're very popular too."

Lucia had no idea. Antoine had never brought up such a topic to Lucia.

Antoine already had a headache from trying to design a dress that adhered to the Duke of Taran's standard of a 'decent dress'. She was afraid of saying something useless to the Duchess and getting on the Duke's blacklist, so she didn't even think of mentioning underwear to the Duchess.

* * *

'Marital weariness?'

Lucia felt oddly uneasy.

'Now that I think about it, it's already been years since we got married.'

Enough time had flown by for the world to change. It had already been some time since the freshness she had at 20 disappeared. Soon, another 10 years would go by in a flash, and she would get wrinkles around her eyes.

However, even when she imagined her husband 10 years later, he was still splendid. On the contrary, because he had grown more stylish and imposing, the noblewomen were busy stealing glances at him at official occasions. For some reason, she got angry.

'He comes back late a lot lately too.'

Lucia looked at the empty space beside her on the bed. He came back late yesterday as well. Even though she knew this time was usually the busiest time of the year, Lucia blamed him as if he was fully responsible for coming back late.

She lay down to sleep, but her mind became even clearer and she kept breathing hard. Then she felt a twinge of pain in her lower abdomen and caressed her stomach. It seemed quite strange, so she went to the bathroom and found a blood smear on her underwear, signifying that her menstruation had begun.

She went back to bed, lay down and chuckled. So this was probably why her feelings were sensitive. After finding out the cause, her mind which was suddenly itself into a rage settled down. Since her mind was at ease, she readily began to feel sleepy.

Lucia sank into a languid state of sleep then she sensed something and woke up. Her husband's movements as he lay down beside her, had caused the bed to move a little.

"…Did you just come back…?"

"…You're not sleeping?"

"I was but…"

Before she could say she woke up because she felt movement next to her, he sat up and climbed over. Lucia absentmindedly watched as he kissed her jawline and wove his hands into her nightwear. She blinked her eyes, chasing away her sleepiness. Somehow, seeing him look so excited made her giggle.

Unfortunately, she had no choice but to say something that would disappoint him.

"We can't. I started today."

"What…"

He soon understood what she meant and was greatly disappointed. Seeing his blatant disappointment, Lucia chuckled.

"It's two days early this month, isn't it?"

Lucia looked at her husband who was more knowledgeable about her menstrual cycle than herself.

"It can a few days early or late."

"No. You're almost always regular. Get the doctor to look at you."

"Why call the doctor for something like this?"

Since he kept urging her, Lucia gave up and agreed to see the doctor tomorrow.

Lucia's mood soared and she was filled with happiness as she leaned into her husband's chest, with his strong arms around her back. Marital weariness? It seems she didn't need to worry about that yet.

It was hard for Hugo to fall asleep as he listened to his wife's even breathing. It was going to take some time for his heated body to cool down.

'Dammit.'

Hugo was very annoyed by the thing called menstruation which was experienced by every normal, healthy woman, once a month.

Lucia's menstruation began about four months after she gave birth. It was a sign that all the effects of the mugwort was gone, and that she was returned to having a normal body.

However, Hugo felt like things had actually gotten worse. When it was around the beginning of her periods, his wife complained of stomachache, and she got on edge. Worst of all, was that he couldn't touch her for four to five days in a month. If you added the days he came back late and the once-every-five-days exclusion period, it meant he had to live in solitude for more than ten days in a month.

Why?! Why does a woman have to suffer such symptoms for several days in a month?!* He grumbled inwardly till he fell asleep.

* * *

"…The Madam is asleep."

Today again? At such a time? It's still early in the evening!

Hugo glared fiercely at his innocent butler.

He had waited four days for his wife's period to end, then the next day, he unavoidably came back very late so that day was skipped. Moreover, both yesterday and the day before yesterday, his wife was asleep when he came back, even though it wasn't that late. According to the butler, the dates of the social gatherings his wife had to attend overlapped, so she had been moving from place to place all day. She had to move around and satisfy her schedule.

"My wife's schedule was packed today as well?"

"Yes, Your Grace. And it seems the busyness has caused her tiredness to accumulate over the past few days."

Dammit! Hugo spun around. He was at his limit and about to explode. But despite that, as he watched her sleep sweetly, he couldn't bear to wake her up to satisfy his greed.

Translator's Corner:

[1] Marital weariness: Can also be called boredom in marriage.

*I think…this is the first time I'm relating to Hugo. For completely different reason though XD

DAILY LIFE OF THE DUCAL COUPLE(3)

T/N: Warning: From now on, 90% of this side-story is smut. I apologize in advance if you cringe. As always, I have tried my best to make it 'flow' as smoothly as possible.

The bundle of letters in the tray that Jerome brought in was thinner than usual. Suspicious, Lucia asked:

"Jerome, is this all?"

"Yes, Milady. These are the ones that arrived this morning."

"What about yesterday's? There was none that came yesterday?"

"The ones from yesterday…"

Jerome dragged out his sentence as he remembered the events from yesterday.

After receiving a sudden summon from his master, Jerome went to his master's office and was given an order from his master.

[The invitations for my wife. Bring them all to me.]

Since none of the mail that came yesterday was a personal letter for the Madam, Jerome didn't see any need to worry and took everything to his master's office. When he entered inside, he found his master standing by the blazing fireplace even though the weather wasn't that cold.

His master held out his hand, as if asking him to bring it over. Somehow, Jerome felt like he could see the fate of the mails and hesitated. Once he handed over the mails, his master poured all of them into the fireplace with no hesitation.

Jerome blankly watched as the letters became triggers for the fire and turned into black ashes. For a while, he stood like his spirit had left his body then he glanced at his master, but his master's expression was so scary that he withdrew without saying anything.

"Master has burned them."

"I'm sorry, what?"

Jerome cleared his throat softly and advised his Madam.

"Milady, it seems Master is a little upset. Lately, Milady has been continuously going to sleep first so…"

Lucia's face flared with heat.

This husband of hers, seriously! She felt too embarrassed to look at the butler's face.

"Milady, it seems you've had a lot of outdoor events for several days now. What do you think about taking a rest today?"

"The appointments I've already made…"

"An appointment can be broken in the event of an inevitability."

As the butler of this house, it was Jerome's duty to keep the peace of the house.

"…All right. I'll leave it to you to your discretion."

"Yes, Milady."

Lucia was speechless because her husband's actions were so childish. She laughed in disbelief a few times to herself, then later, she chuckled because he was cute.

'I suppose a little relaxing will be good?'

As she wondered how to pacify him, she suddenly remembered the gift she had gotten from Katherine. She had taken it but was too embarrassed afterwards, so she didn't take another look at it. She brought out the box that she had shoved deep inside her drawer.

Lucia stared at the box then she opened the cover in a very careful manner. As soon as she saw the white lingerie in the box, she frowned and carefully examined it, then she brought it out and flipped it back and forth.

Lucia looked around the room to check despite it being empty. She felt anxious and locked the door, even though no one would dare come in without her permission. Then she took off all her clothes and stood in front of the mirror, wearing only the indecent underwear.

'My god.'

Her face flushed bright red. She couldn't bear to open her eyes in front of the mirror. But interestingly enough, humans had great adaptability. Lucia looked at herself in the mirror, mumbling about its indecency but after a while, she was looking at the fit of the underwear.

'I think it's a little big.'

It was an underwear made to fit Katherine's body type, so it wasn't exactly Lucia's size. A slightly smaller size would suit perfectly and look lovely.

She thought it over, then took it off and changed back into her clothes. The underwear was put back into the box and shoved deep inside her dresser drawer again. And she prepared to go out. Her destination: Antoine's boutique.

* * *

As he came out of the bathroom, Hugo found his bedroom door wide open from the receiving room. His bedroom door was always closed because he usually never went there. Usually, when he finished his bath, he went straight from the receiving room to his wife's bedroom.

Feeling puzzled, Hugo went into his bedroom and immediately sensed that there was a person on the bed. Faced with his wife, who was wrapped up in rolls of the blanket with only her head sticking out and a faint smile on her face, he couldn't help but also smile. He immediately went up to the bed, sat down and neatened his wife's hair which was scattered as she lay on the sheet.

"And here I thought you were sleeping."

"Why are you so late?"

Lucia grumbled. He was much later than he said he would be today. She pretended to be asleep and didn't go out to meet him. And while he was washing up, she snuck into his bedroom.

"Something suddenly came up."

His fingers paused for a moment before sweeping away the baby hair that fell on her forehead. The sight of his wife's round forehead was so cute that he unknowingly smiled. Seeing her wrapped up tight in the blanket, he asked:

"Are you cold?"

"…I think it's a little chilly here."

"It's because I don't really use this place."

But it's your bedroom.

But even if it was, he didn't use it. Because he slept in Lucia's bedroom. As she realized that, Lucia's face reddened slightly. He came to her bedroom every time, but it was her first time coming to his bedroom.

Should I just quit now with shame? No, I've already come to this point and it's too late.

While she fought a fierce battle in her heart, he continued to watch her.

He quietly met her gaze and said nothing. Sometimes, he seemed like a stormy downpour and at other times, he seemed like a boundless sea without a single wave. Even just looking at him like this made her feel good. Her heart pounded in her chest."

"I went to Antoine's boutique today."

"You? Personally?"

"Yes, during the day."

"What wind blew in today?"[1]

"I uhh…Well, I bought something recommended to me there…and I want to show you."

"You must have liked it."

"They said you would like it."

"Me?"

"Wanna see?"

"Sure. I'll come back early tomorrow so show me then."

"No. I mean now."

"Now?"

"I'm wearing it, you see."

His eyes narrowed and he briefly glanced over Lucia who was wrapped up in the blanket like a caterpillar.

"I'm sure the dress will wrinkle if you stay like that."

"…it's not a dress."

"…"

He looked at Lucia with an expression that made it impossible to tell what he was thinking. The sensitive herbivore, Lucia instinctively sensed a subtle danger. Something didn't seem right. She held the blanket tight and quietly snuck backwards. His hand held her back as she moved, as if blocking her movement.

She hadn't done anything wrong nor was he angry in any way. But somehow, Lucia felt nervous as she looked into his red eyes. When he grabbed the blanket around her, a gasp unwittingly left her mouth.

"You said you'd show me."(Hugo)

"Uhh…Mmm. You…you can see it later." (Lucia)

"Weren't you going to show me now? You said I would like it."

"I'm not sure. She talked big about refunding me if you didn't like it so…"

In addition, Antoine added that no one had ever asked for a refund before.

"Such great confidence, huh. Then we should verify it."

Lucia gripped the blanket tight in resistance as he tugged on it. Even so, if he used enough force, she wouldn't be able to win but it looked like he didn't have such thought as he only used the amount of strength that Lucia could fight against. Lucia gave up on playing cat and mouse with him. Anyway, she hid in his bedroom in the first place because she intended to show him so hiding her body now seemed sort of ridiculous.

"…Move aside for a bit. I'll show you."

Once he moved his arm aside, Lucia slipped away. She came down from the bed, still wrapped up in the backed and turned away from him. Meanwhile, he stared at her from his seat on the bed.

Lucia recalled what Antoine said earlier.

[The atmosphere. The atmosphere is the key! Like you're trying to seduce. Get it?]

Antoine laughed and said it would be fine to just act like usual, but Lucia couldn't answer and just smiled. She didn't know how to act like she was 'trying to seduce'.

Lucia hesitated for a while, then with her back facing him, she let go of the blanket she was holding. The blanket softly fell to her feet and felt the cold air of the chilly bedroom. She slowly turned her face and body to face him, half-way. He was staring at her, without the slightest movement. Lucia's momentary state of calm fled her, and she felt rather embarrassed.

Suddenly, he approached her in a flash, pushed her onto the bed, climbed over her and pounced on her lips. His flesh parted her lips and greedily invaded her mouth, ravaging inside. His hand supported the back of her neck, deepening their kiss.

Lucia shut her eyes tight and lost herself in his kiss, which was caressing every corner of her mouth. She felt a thrill rising from her back. He took his lips away for a split second before covering her lips again. He repeated this over and over again. As she barely followed to catch her breath, Lucia felt like it was her whole body being eaten up, not her lips. It was only when her head grew dizzy that his lips moved away. As she looked at him through hazy eyes, Lucia mumbled:

"I guess…I don't need a refund."

Translator's Corner:

[1] What wind blew in today: a saying when someone does something unexpected.