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chapter 35
“…On the table! …You! …Gah!”
“Hmm…”
Lucia frowned and tossed in her sleep. For some reason, the surroundings were noisy.
Someone was waking her up.
“Miss Lucia!”
“…Huh?”
She barely opened her eyes and saw a familiar face through the blurry haze.
“…Sein.”
“Miss! Why are you sleeping here?! Good heavens, after eating all this!”
“Ugh!”
As Sein, Lucia’s personal maid, began scolding her, a throbbing started in her head. Lucia held her head, and Sein let out a sigh.
“Did something stressful happen? Suddenly looking for wine in the middle of the night…”
Following Sein, who was muttering, Lucia looked around and remembered what had happened last night.
Yesterday, after being told by her father to attend a matchmaking meeting, she couldn’t sleep and had drunk wine while reading her diary.
It seemed she had dozed off on the terrace.
“I can’t handle this. Even though summer is near, it’s still chilly at night. I’m worried you might catch a cold.”
Sein immediately left to prepare a bath. Lucia, staring blankly around the room, coughed.
“Cough, cough… Ha… what am I even doing, feeling so pathetic?”
Looking at her diary brought back memories, perhaps, or maybe it was just the hangover making her stomach churn.
Lucia suppressed the nausea and followed Sein into the bathroom. Sein and the other maids were filling the tub with water.
“Miss, it’s not quite ready yet…”
“Sein, I’m cold.”
“That’s because you slept on the terrace. It’s almost ready, so get in quickly.”
Lucia let the maids help her undress and step into the tub. The warmth of the water slightly eased the tremors in her body.
“Are you feeling okay? I prepared honey water for you.”
“Thanks. I’m glad you’re here, Sein.”
“Focus on getting your body back to normal before saying that.”
Sein glanced at her and began massaging her. The strong yet gentle grip loosened the muscles tensed from curling up outside.
Seeing Lucia, exhausted and eyes closed, Sein asked,
“Miss, really… nothing happened?”
“Nothing happened. Sometimes, you just feel like drinking alone.”
“That’s true, but…”
“You don’t need to massage me anymore. You can go now. I’ll call if I need you.”
“…Yes, call me if anything comes up.”
After Sein left, a faint smile crossed Lucia’s face, which soon faded as she surveyed the steamy bathroom.
She remembered Sein’s worried gaze.
They had grown up together. Though there was a master-servant relationship, they were like childhood friends, close in a way different from her closeness with Herwin.
Sein knew almost everything about her, except that she liked Herwin. But now, after the Bianca incident, she realized how dangerous revealing her true feelings could be.
Sometimes, when Sein seemed disappointed, Lucia felt guilty, but her defense mechanisms always made her act indifferent.
Splash—
As her stomach churned again, Lucia splashed water on her face to clear her thoughts.
“What matters now isn’t that.”
She only had one chance left to confess to Herwin.
Even if her father was willing to wait, there wouldn’t be much time.
How could she make Herwin feel the same way she did?
After 13 years, she hadn’t been able to sway his heart. Could she really make it happen in just one chance?
Her optimism faded as she faced reality.
“Maybe it would’ve been better if my father had forced a meeting.”
Lucia muttered this and was shocked at herself, smacking her cheeks.
“I can’t be weak now.”
The last person she asked for this chance was herself. There was no turning back.
She sank fully into the bathtub, letting the water clear her tangled thoughts.
“Miss, Prince Feneus is here to see you.”
“…Herwin?”
Just emerging from her hangover, Lucia turned to Aaron in shock.
“I saw him yesterday… what’s the matter?”
“Shall I let him in?”
“Oh? Of course. Show him to the parlor; I’ll be there shortly.”
Aaron bowed and stepped aside. Lucia hurried to assess her appearance.
Her reflection looked exhausted and pale, showing the lingering effects of her hangover.
Herwin must have arrived at the parlor by now, and she had little time to prepare.
“What should I do…”
“Miss, sit down first. We’ll get you ready quickly.”
The maids, aware of Lucia’s feelings for Herwin, hurried to prepare her. They moved busily in front of the vanity mirror.
“A simple makeup to hide fatigue and some color on your lips. Is this okay?”
Before long, their work was done. She looked much better than before.
“Thanks. What would I have done without you?”
“It’s nothing. Now, put this on quickly.”
The maids handed her a shawl. Wrapped in it, Lucia, encouraged by their support, headed to the parlor where Herwin waited.
As always, her heart pounded wildly before meeting him. Especially knowing there were only a few days left to openly harbor her feelings made it worse.
She bit her lower lip, took a deep breath, and put on her usual smile as she opened the door.
“Herwin.”
“You’re here?”
Herwin sat comfortably, legs crossed, sipping tea as if at home. Somehow, he seemed even more handsome than yesterday, making her heart pound uncontrollably.
Lucia approached him, keeping her emotions hidden.
“Am I too late?”
“No. I came without notifying you.”
“Right. What’s the matter? We’ve only been apart for a day.”
Lucia smiled as she sat across from him, and his red eyes scanned her.
“I forgot to tell you something yesterday.”
“What is it?”
“I’ll be staying in the north for about a month.”
Lucia’s blue eyes trembled. Herwin calmly sipped his tea.
“I should have told everyone yesterday, but I forgot. I could have sent a letter, but I wanted to tell you in person.”
His casual tone unsettled her. Perhaps unconsciously, it made her feel special compared to others.
Lucia thought of Arista and asked,
“Did you tell Arista?”
“Yes, right before we parted yesterday. The others had left, so I couldn’t tell them.”
“…I see.”
Special compared to Arista? Of course not. She pushed down her fleeting hope.
“Why are you going to the north?”
“I need to start taking over some duties, and you know the number of monsters there has been rising, right?”
“Yes, you mentioned it before.”
“Exactly. The rate is unusual. It seems like a monster wave is forming again, moving in groups like when I was younger.”
The monster wave was from a time barely remembered, serious enough that Herwin’s family had to rely on Agnes for over a year.
“My father sent a letter about discovering the monster settlements. I’ll help him with extermination.”
This was more serious than she imagined. The thought of Herwin going to such a dangerous place made her tense.
She wanted to tell him not to go, but she wasn’t a child anymore.
Suppressing her anxiety, she clenched her fists.
“When do you leave?”
“In a week.”
Only a week. Lucia’s carefully maintained smile faltered at the thought that there were just seven days left.
Herwin paused, noticing her pained expression.
“Don’t worry too much. I’ll return safely.”
Her red eyes softened, his kindness evident, almost bringing her to tears.
But Lucia bit her cheek and stayed composed.
“Since it’s an extermination operation, you might not return within a month?”
“That’s true… but I’ll come back on time.”
Words aside, reality often has its own plans.
It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Herwin, but if he left now, her chance to confess would vanish. At least a month would be lost. Would her father patiently wait?
‘How did things get to this point?’
Not even half a day had passed since she asked Johan for time, and suddenly the seven-day limit appeared. It felt as if fate was testing her.
Her gaze fell to Herwin’s wrist.
There was something very familiar there.
“You’re still wearing that?”
“Huh? Oh, this?”
Lucia’s mutter made Herwin glance at his sleeve.
“I feel a bit empty without it now.”
“But it’s so worn…”
She meant the cufflinks. The red cufflinks she had given him on the worst day of her 16th year.
Five years had passed, and despite scratches and fading, he still wore them carefully.
“Yes, worn, but still usable. You gave them to me.”
Herwin chuckled, a glimpse of his younger self appearing in her mind. Despite the painful memories, he treated it with such care. It was both touching and endearing.
Lucia bit her lip and bowed her head.
“You seem different today. Are you unwell?”
Noticing her mood, Herwin reached out, but before he could touch her, she spoke.
“Herwin.”
“Huh?”
“Before you leave… can you give me one day? Just one day?”
Before he could fully understand, she lifted her head, eyes resolute and firm.
The usually delicate Lucia seemed different today.
“It’s fine… one whole day?”
Lucia nodded. Herwin thought over his schedule. Nothing significant was planned.
“Alright, I don’t mind. When do you want?”
“Today’s Sunday, so next Friday?”
“Okay. Let’s do that.”
He accepted easily, unaware that it was a date request. He probably thought it was just spending time with a childhood friend before going north.
Lucia’s heart was bitter, but she didn’t want to dampen Herwin’s mood.
She went along, acting like their usual playful, childhood friendship.
‘This really is the last time.’
Her private resolve quietly faded into stillness.
