CH 20.2

Lucas disconnected from Michael and let out a final chuckle.

“Believing in fate….”

“What?”

Owen asked, busily flicking through papers.

“Nothing. How’s the capital?”

“Things are going as the Duke wishes.”

“Any problems with the stockpiles?”

“Not likely, given the kind of people the regional leaders are.”

“That’s right. They’re good, which is why I hired them.”

Nodding slightly, Lucas stamped the papers and handed them to Owen.

“So farming’s not so good this year?”

“Not so bad, except for the wheat farming.”

“…Hmm.”

It was an awkward position to be in as a Duke ruling over an estate.

“Are you sure the Senate elders aren’t up to something?”

“We’ve been keeping an eye on them ever since, but nothing has happened.”

“They wouldn’t be the ones to do that.”

“If you’re at the bottom of the barrel, why would you make up a story?”

“That’s the way it goes, people get more distracted.”

They’d been tinkering with Montefeltra’s mines for years. They were not easily swayed by Lucas’s threatening grip on their weaknesses.

“I’ve been looking into the relationship between him and Count Pinatelli.”

“Tell me.”

At Lucas’s permission, Owen stretched his back and pushed up his glasses.

“As the Duke suspected, the apparent affair was a contractual one. The two were childhood friends, and although I don’t know the exact date, I’ve been told that they were in a relationship prior to their marriage.”

“Who told you that?”

“I found out from Countess Pinatelli.”

“It’s about her own husband, was she easy to talk to?”

“It turns out that the Countess’s lover owes us a favour. In exchange for a small cut, I got the information.”

“Well done.”

“Oh, and it has been reported that the Lady Pinatelli is now at the Duke of Frederick’s.”

Lucas, who had risen from his seat to take a short break, gave a cold chuckle at Owen’s comment.

Picking up his hanging jacket, he turned to Owen and replied sullenly.

“Looks like the duke is out of town, hmm… Well, he can’t hurt me.”

It was no bad thing for Heinrich, one of the three men Lila had mentioned, to be distracted by Charlotte.

Carefully checking his cravat, Lucas barked orders at Owen before leaving his office.

“I want the manor house, gardens, and the grounds to be snow-proofed this winter.”

“Yes, Duke. The magicians are hard at work, so please be patient.”

“They’ve already installed them on the Duchess’s private balcony, so that should be fine for now, but we’ll have to make sure they’re everywhere my wife steps on.”

“Yes, Duke.”

With that, Lucas left the room. Now that he had taken care of the urgent business, he was going to join them for a meal.

As he walked briskly up the stairs, Lucas thought again.

‘Fate.’

He’d never really thought about fate, but now he could say he believed in it.

As she said, if it weren’t for fate, they wouldn’t have met.

For example, what if Lila hadn’t worn ugly make-up and Lucas hadn’t heard the rumours and taken an interest?

If one of them hadn’t done something, even a small thing, they might never have met.

In front of the Duchess’s room, which he quickly reached, Lucas paused, then knocked.

“Lucas?”

His lips curled into a smile at the crisp voice that opened the door.

“Wife.”

Lila, who had been sitting on the couch watching something, stood up, looking pleased.

“I thought you were busy?”

She couldn’t help but smile at the man she hadn’t seen except in bed when he’s sleeping.

“Good to see you?”

Lucas asked gruffly, wrinkling the bridge of his nose. Familiar with his playful demeanour, Lila wrinkled her nose in response.

“Very much so.”

“Well, that’s great, why don’t you give me the tea break today?”

“Hmph, if that’s what you want, there’s nothing I can’t give you.”

Putting his arm around Lila’s waist as she shrugged lightly, Lucas looked flattered.

“I am honoured that you would take the time to see me. I have a small gift for you, and I’d be even more honoured if you could spare me some time.”

“A gift?”

“Well, a small gift, if you will, because I found something that most closely resembles the colour of my wife’s eyes, and it has just arrived.”

At his words, curiosity coloured Lila’s cobalt eyes.

She always said it like it was no big deal, but Lucas’s gifts were always her favourite.

She’d always found his taste to be exceptional, so she looked forward to this one.

He took her hand and led her to the balcony. The balcony railings were lined with harnesses, some different from the ones she’d seen in the summer.

The daytime breeze had been chilly in the north lately. The sun was shining, but the wind was cold, perfect for catching a cold.

However, since the installation of the device that protects her from the chilly northern winds, Lila often goes out on the balcony to drink tea.

Vincent, whom she had warned about, arrived with a trolley.

“Oh my…”

Lila marvelled at the set of tea cups Vincent was setting down: dark blue teacups and teapots that matched her cobalt eyes, and plates of delicate desserts, all nicely arranged on the table.

“I’ve never seen a set of teacups this colour before.”

“Do you know how surprised I was when I first saw these teacups? They were said to be the finest porcelain in the Duchy of Charlesworth, and only one set was allowed into the Empire.”

Lila knew of the porcelain from the Duchy of Charlesworth. If she was dull to rumours, she was familiar with its reputation.

And it was a name she’d often heard at banquets.

“It’s so beautiful.”

“Do you like it, my lady.”

Lucas reached out and took Lila’s hand. His icy fingers scraped across her palm.

The gesture was so erotic, Lila stiffened.

“Well, have a good time.”

Vincent led the empty trolley away. Lila flushed and grumbled.

“I hope you don’t do that when Vincent or Jessie are around.”

“Do what?”

Lila blushed more and more as he shook his head smugly. She hated it when he did that.

Lucas’s face was not a gentle one, to put it mildly, but if that wasn’t out of character, then it wasn’t.

He was handsome in a strangely villainous way.

‘Villainous?’

Lila raised her teacup, scratching her head at a sudden thought.

‘Come to think of it, I don’t think the original film had a villain at all… I’d forgotten about that, because it wasn’t really connected to the story, and the three male leads seemed to be the more evil ones…’

Lucas looked over at Lila, who was sipping her tea in her new teacup, saying nothing, staring blankly into space, while Lucas watched her expectantly.

‘I think it was mentioned somewhere that the spike in food prices in the capital was caused by the same black screen who was responsible for it before? I wonder if it will happen again this time.’

Sip, the hot tea warmed her stomach.

“Why did you stop talking?”

Lucas asked, lifting his mug as well.

“What?”

Lucas wrinkled his nose again and arched one eyebrow at Lila’s words, who had quickly forgotten her conversation with him.

“About what not to do… Is there anything you don’t want Vincent and Jessie to see me do?”

“Oh, that…”

Lila opened her mouth to reply, only to be silenced again by a flashback from the original.

The only thing that was written in the diary was about the female and male lords, so when something popped into her head like that, she would focus on it.

‘Ah! That’s right. The person who raised objections to the emperor about the pre-marital law was the villain. So, he was in conflict with the three male leads of the original work… If he was in conflict with those three, it means his rank was quite high, right? Who could it be?’

“Are you talking about me? Huh?”

‘Theobald, the crown prince, Heinrich, the duke of the south, and Alfonso, the marquis and the head of the academy. If he’s going to take on those three, he has to be at least…’

Reaching the end of her well-developed thought, her cobalt-coloured eyes travelled over his dark blue teacup to Lucas.

Lucas’s already sarcastic expression was grumpy. Lucas was glowing today, thanks to Lila, who had been applying his make-up every morning lately.

Lila’s trembling eyelids slowly lifted as her gaze drifted to his cobalt-coloured shirt, which he had tailored to show her a rare set of china from the Duchy of Charlesworth.

‘No way… no way…’

“Why won’t you answer me?”

‘My husband…’

“Does this make it more crooked? Huh?”

‘He can’t be the black curtain! With such a handsome face…’

“Hmph…”

Lucas’s mint-coloured eyes glinted fiercely, one corner of his mouth already raised in a pout thanks to Lila’s continued ignoring of his words.

No longer questioning, her cobalt eyes followed him as he stood up silently.

‘No, I know he looks a bit mean, but… no, no, no, no, my husband is a black screen!’

Lucas stepped in front of her and grabbed Lila’s still distracted chin.

He lifted a pink macaron from among the prepared desserts.

Pressing his thumb against her lips, Lucas grinned.

“You want dessert?”

“… What?”

“Who the hell are you thinking of, chewing up all my words? Instead, have a sweet dessert, wife.”

“No, that’s not it!”

Lila finally looked at Lucas properly. Her mint-coloured eyes were already filled with grumpiness.

A macaron slipped between her red lips in surprise.

“Mmm!”

Lila’s eyes widened at the sweetness that exploded in her mouth. Lucas sat down in front of her and leaned his face close.

His eyes were cold, but tears glistened beneath the corners of his tightly closed eyes. Lila moved her mouth steadily, despite her distraction.

“That’s right, you’re eating well.”

Lucas stroked a finger under her chin as if to praise her, then pressed his thumb against her full lips, forcing them apart.

“Now, give me some.”

His lips clung to hers, too afraid to let go. Their tongues darted back and forth between their tightly pressed lips.

Sinking his tongue in deep, Lucas picked at the remains of the macaron, a long string of saliva dangling between his parted lips.

“Mmm, delicious.”

“…Hmm!”

A hiccup burst from between Lila’s startled lips. He’d been so sweet lately that she’d forgotten her first impression of him.

‘That’s a lie…’

“Another thought…”

Never taking his eyes off the cobalt-coloured eyes, Lucas picked up the pickled flat peaches with his fingers this time. Sticky peach juice ran down his fingers.

“Do you want a peach this time?”

When he finished, he stuck out his tongue and placed the peach slice on his tongue. Then he tugged on her chin, slipped his thumb between her lips, and in a flash, he had the peach in her mouth.

The corners of his eyes crinkled as his tongue stuck out and crushed the peach.

“Ah…”

Lila wrapped her arms around him casually, his behaviour familiar. Her eyelids fluttered, and she climbed into his lap.