101-81

Chapter 81

Herwin blinked slowly. His vision was slightly blurred from his fevered excitement, but he could immediately recognize the person in front of him.

“It’s a dream.”

Lucia’s cheeks were flushed red, and she was looking at him with a worried expression. There was no doubt—this had to be a dream. She couldn’t possibly be in his room right now.

Even knowing it was a dream, Herwin wanted to touch her, even just a little. He tightly held Lucia’s hand.

He already knew she was small, but her hand was really tiny. The sensation was like touching a doll, and a laugh escaped him unconsciously.

“…Have you already imagined us married? What would you do if I married someone else?”

At that moment, Lucia, who had been silent for a while, finally spoke.

Herwin wrinkled his nose. Even in a dream, it wasn’t a particularly pleasant question.

“Then I’ll do whatever it takes to bring you to me.”

“And if I don’t come to you?”

“Then… I’ll wait until you turn your heart toward me.”

Herwin, momentarily wearing a melancholic expression, brought the hand holding Lucia to his face.

“Lucia has waited for me for over ten years. Now it’s my turn.”

His sincerity left no room for lies. He knew that given everything that had happened, Lucia wouldn’t come to him immediately.

So, he would wait patiently, giving her the time to accept his feelings. That was the conclusion he had come to after a week of drinking and self-recrimination.

Even in a dream, the sensation of her soft hand on his nose was vivid. Herwin gently kissed the back of her hand.

Her small hand seemed to shiver slightly.

“I… I don’t understand why you’re acting this way now. If you’re mistaking friendship for love, then I’ll just end up abandoned by you again. I don’t want that.”

At her trembling voice, Herwin opened his eyes. A transparent tear fell from Lucia’s lowered face.

Herwin, momentarily speechless, stood and embraced her.

Lucia pressed her face weakly into his shoulder. Feeling the soft strands of her hair brush against his cheek, Herwin tightly embraced her slender waist.

“I don’t want to kiss a friend.”

Then he slowly stepped back to see her face. Her eyes were reddened.

The tears precariously lingering there made him ache. Herwin slowly kissed the corner of her eye.

“He-Herwin…?”

Lucia stammered in embarrassment, but Herwin held her firmly with his strong arms.

Starting at the corner of her eye, his warm and rough sensations spread across her face.

Every time Herwin’s breath touched her, her heart raced uncontrollably, and heat surged to her fingertips.

Before long, his lips reached her exposed neck along her jawline.

At the unfamiliar sensation, Lucia instinctively flinched.

“Haah…”

His fevered breath tickled her neck.

“Do you still think this is friendship?”

Meeting his beastly, glowing red eyes and the voice that scratched his throat as if restraining something, Lucia swallowed hard without realizing it.

“…When you kissed the marquis, I felt like I might go mad.”

Embarrassed, Lucia averted her gaze but shivered as she looked at him.

“How… did you know?”

There was no one around, so how could Herwin possibly know?

Seeing her violet eyes waver, Herwin scowled.

Could it be… she was thinking of Bern?

He wanted to drive that thought out of her little mind.

Herwin traced her face with his hands and gradually moved toward her small lips.

“These lips…”

He was furious that another man had touched them. These lips couldn’t be given to anyone else.

These lips—

“Are mine.”

Herwin gently pressed his lips to hers.

Even for a dream, the sensation was incredibly vivid. He couldn’t control the heat that rose naturally.

“I’m thirsty.”

Even though he had longed for this moment, the burning thirst inside him wasn’t quenched.

It was their first kiss, and he didn’t know what to do—simply pressing their soft lips together was all he could manage.

Feeling Herwin’s teasingly moving lips, Lucia closed her eyes tightly.

Unlike the skilled Bern, he was clumsy, but the thrill she felt far surpassed anything she had experienced with Bern.

She could hear his heartbeat clearly in her ears and felt as if the world around them was slowly disconnecting.

This was far more intoxicating than when she had imagined Bern in Herwin’s place.

“I shouldn’t…”

Grasping at her slipping reason, she tried to push him away.

Anyone could see that their relationship was inappropriate.

She was Bern’s fiancée—her own choice to become engaged—and yet she was kissing another man.

She had to stop immediately. But no matter how her trembling hands tried to push him away, Herwin did not relent.

He only hugged her tighter, refusing to let go.

“Haah, Lucia.”

Finally, their lips separated. Lucia barely lifted her trembling eyelids.

Herwin gazed at her with feverish eyes, the red of his irises filled with deep desire.

They stared into each other’s eyes for a moment before Herwin moved closer again. Lucia closed her eyes tightly.

But instead of his hot breath, a heavy weight pressed down on her. As her labored breathing continued, she opened her eyes.

Herwin had fallen asleep.

Lucia, staring blankly at him, blushed and covered her face with both hands.

“What on earth have I done…?”

Though she had thought she shouldn’t, part of her had hoped he would kiss her again.

Hearing his breathing made her feel like she had returned to reality.

Lucia sighed and quietly looked at Herwin. He was sleeping, unaware of her feelings.

At first, she had wondered if he had mistaken her for Arista, but that was too far-fetched.

During the kiss, he had repeatedly called her by her own name, not Arista’s.

Herwin really did like her.

Confronting the truth she had tried to avoid to protect herself from being hurt made her feel strange.

“But… I…”

Knowing the truth didn’t change reality.

Lucia was, after all, officially Bern’s fiancée.

Thinking of Bern, guilt bloomed inside her.

They had promised never to hurt each other, even if they couldn’t love each other—but she had broken that promise.

No matter that Herwin had approached her first, she herself could not resist.

A bitter sense of disgust surged through her. Frowning, she freed Herwin’s hands from her waist. She then helped him lie straight on the bed and looked at him.

“If you had come to me just a little earlier… would things have been different?”

It was already the past. She indulged in vain fantasies, unable to let go.

Lucia closed her eyes tightly.

Herwin, probably thinking it was just a dream in his sleep, wouldn’t remember—so if she ignored it, no one would know what had happened.

Thus, the kiss with Herwin would remain buried here.

“Don’t remember, Herwin. This is all just a dream.”

Whispering as if to convince herself, she got up and left Herwin’s room.

Alone, Herwin muttered her name in his sleep.

“Ugh…”

Herwin groaned and finally lifted his eyelids.

His body felt light. The throbbing in his forehead and his limp, weary body had vanished as if it had never happened.

“What day is it today?”

It felt like he had been asleep for several consecutive days. He vaguely remembered seeing Scarlet and Jerome, but even those memories were hazy.

“Lucia…”

Herwin muttered her name without realizing it.

During his fevered, delirious state, he had dreamed of her almost every day. Usually, the dreams were about him trying to prevent her from leaving, but there had been one dream where he kissed her.

Her petite frame, the violet eyes filled with him, the touch of her lips—all of it was vivid.

Perhaps it was his subconscious rebellion after dreaming of Bern and Lucia kissing.

“…Not bad at all.”

Even if it was just a dream, he didn’t feel disappointed. It motivated him even more to hold onto her.

No one else could take her.

“Goodness, young master, you’re awake?”

Jerome entered as Herwin clenched his fists and silently resolved to himself.

Jerome fussed over him.

“Are you still feeling a headache, or do you have a fever?”

“I’m fine now. Not a single ache.”

“Haah, thank goodness. Please don’t get sick again! When you’re unwell, I can’t help but worry!”

“There’s nothing to worry about. Thank you for taking care of me.”

“If you’re thankful, then from now on, no more alcohol! All your sickness comes from that drink! At least eat something with it—drinking on an empty stomach weakens you!”

Jerome’s scolding continued, and Herwin quickly stood in frustration.

“How long have I been lying here?”

“You collapsed Friday night… so almost three days. Today is Monday.”

“Three days in bed… I just thought it was a mild flu.”

“Do you remember what happened while you were lying down?”

“Only bits and pieces. I know Mother visited.”

“Over the weekend, Henry also came to check on you.”

“Henry? That boy actually did something considerate.”

Even close brothers sometimes acted stiffly with each other. But hadn’t there been chaos before regarding Henry and Lucia?

(Though Henry had left in a huff, throwing a tantrum.)

Recalling the flustered Henry, Herwin snorted.

“I doubt he came because he was worried about me.”

“He said he had something to discuss with you.”

“That figures.”

Herwin had a rough idea of what Henry wanted to say.

Then, suddenly, he felt hungry.

“Have I even eaten all this time?”

“You haven’t eaten well. I’ll have food brought immediately. Is there anything you’d like to eat?”

“Anything is fine, as long as it comes quickly.”

“Very well, I’ll do that.”

After Jerome hurried out, Herwin got out of bed and looked at his body.

Three days of fever had left his clothes soaked with sweat. He removed his shirt to wash away the discomfort.

“Ah, right, young master.”

Just as he was about to enter the bathroom, Jerome returned.

“Not only Henry, but Lady Agnes also visited over the weekend.”

“What?”

Herwin froze at the mention of Lucia’s name.

“I thought you should know this as well.”

“Wait, Lucia came? When? I don’t remember…”

“She came Saturday with Madam. She said she just wanted to see you briefly.”

Unexpected news made his heart race. Why had she come? Was it because she was worried about him being sick? Or…

“Wait, could it be…?”

Herwin recalled the dream in which he had kissed Lucia. It had felt unusually vivid. But what if it hadn’t been a dream… but reality?

Blushing, he covered his face as heat rose again.

Once the corners of his mouth had lifted, they didn’t want to go back down.