🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 67
Helen flinched when he suddenly smiled, but she quickly moved closer to Lucas.
She peeked at the bucket list he had written.
‘There’s only one thing?’
To make Faye happy and, once he became an adult, to hand over the dukedom to him.
Nothing else was written below it.
‘Is writing a bucket list really that difficult?’
Helen pulled a chair and sat beside him.
“Don’t overthink it. Just start by saying whatever comes to mind—things you wanted to do while raising Faye.”
The quill rolled between his fingers before coming to a stop.
“…Going on a proper trip somewhere like a villa together wouldn’t be bad.”
“Write it down!”
“This kind of thing too?”
“Yes. That’s exactly what a bucket list is.”
Helen smiled and tapped the table with her fingers.
“Lucas, imagine one more thing. What will you do after Faye becomes an adult?”
It had been his goal from the time he took responsibility for raising Faye.
In The Secret Night, Lucas had waited until Faye became an adult and could safely inherit the dukedom before passing away. Despite suffering for a long time, it seemed the reason he endured wasn’t just because of that goal.
‘I have to give him a reason to keep living even after he becomes an adult.’
His red eyes sparkled with determination.
“Living a leisurely life somewhere quiet wouldn’t be bad either.”
Lucas seemed to ponder for a moment before speaking again.
His gaze shifted from the paper to Helen.
“Do you prefer living closer to water or near the forest?”
Helen’s eyes widened. By then, it seemed Lucas had made up his mind.
“There’s no need to choose. We can live somewhere with both.”
Seeing him smile as if satisfied, Helen closed her mouth.
‘Why does his tone sound so… strange?’
…As if they were choosing a place to live together.
Helen shook her head.
‘He’s probably just asking for advice! My ears must be imagining things.’
She quickly moved on, afraid she would continue overthinking his words.
“Wouldn’t you like to see Faye get married and have children later?”
A smile tugged at Helen’s lips. Faye’s child—it was something she looked forward to. Even if she eventually left the duke’s estate, seeing the face of Faye’s child would fulfill her wish. She’d be willing to bless them.
“I’d like to see it.”
“Imagine that child calling you ‘Grandfather’ one day. How adorable would that be! And it’s Faye’s child!”
“Indeed.”
Lucas twitched his nose and smiled faintly.
“Plus, imagine how cute it would be when that child grows up, gets married, and has a child of their own.”
Helen was increasingly satisfied with the additions to his bucket list.
Everything was going according to plan.
Lucas had finished handling all the documents on his desk. He had a little free time before Grego arrived. He leaned back, pressing the bridge of his nose, and opened the top drawer.
Inside was a small, blue ring case. Lucas propped his chin and opened it.
Like the first time he met Helen, he had been indifferent during the process of preparing the ring.
Just take care of it.
Even though his instructions had lacked enthusiasm, the artisans under the name of the Igaluk family had spent months cooperating. From design to the gems themselves, the ring was flawless. It was the one and only in the world, made exclusively for the two of them, and had been handed to him just yesterday.
‘Should I give it to her today?’
Every time he saw her bare finger, he wanted to slip the ring on, but he hesitated.
In the past, he had given a wedding ring carelessly without special meaning. But now, having become aware of his own feelings, the significance of the ring had changed.
‘Even if the preparation was indifferent, I can’t remain indifferent until the end.’
He suppressed the urge to put the ring on her finger and instead pondered the best way to give it to her.
Just then, Grego entered the office.
“These are the matters that need to be handled by today.”
Seeing Grego smile brightly as if it were sunshine made no difference to Lucas, whose lashes did not even twitch as he toyed with the ring case.
“Duke?”
When Grego called again, Lucas raised his chin.
“You’re competent, so you probably know—when and where do women like receiving rings?”
The word “competent” made Grego straighten his back immediately.
“Ahem! The ring… well…”
With zero experience in romance, Grego’s mind went blank. He stammered, recalling romance novels he had been forced to read by his sister.
Since humans created it, reality must be similar.
Grego smiled confidently.
“First, there’s a public event in front of many people. Or sharing the ring in a beautiful private location is good too. Aside from that…”
When he could no longer remember, he stopped talking.
Lucas nodded slowly, committing Grego’s words to memory.
“I’ll keep it in mind.”
Grego felt proud, thinking he had shown off his competence. He had no idea he had set a trap with some of his suggestions.
The next day, Helen rubbed her dry eyes constantly.
She barely held back sleep while getting up, but she was so tired it was maddening.
‘This is the best time to have a private conversation.’
She knew how hard Lucas worked to find time to be with Faye. Sometimes he even took a day off, having worked late several days before. Recently, with party preparations overlapping, his workload had been extreme.
She couldn’t ask the duke for extra time, and meal times were spent with Faye, so she decided to observe Lucas during his wake-up time.
Helen quickly got ready.
When she went into the corridor and waited for his bedroom door to open, the person she had been waiting for finally appeared.
“Good morning, Lucas. Did you sleep well? How’s your condition?”
“Isn’t that something I should be asking you?”
His expression twisted, his thick eyebrows shooting up.
Her face, showing signs of sleeplessness and fatigue, was smeared like a muddy wall.
Helen gave an awkward smile.
“I’m fine too.”
Since possessing him, she had been waking up earlier than usual, starting unfamiliar tasks, and adjusting to work, so her body was tired. But it was manageable.
She thought pushing herself was fine to adapt quickly.
At that moment, his shoe brushed against the hem of her skirt. The space between their faces closed, revealing Lucas’s darkened expression clearly.
“Excuse me.”
Lucas lifted her up.
“Lu—Lucas? Put me down!”
Flustered, she struggled, but Lucas ignored her and walked back into the bedroom.
He carefully laid her on the bed as if she were glass.
“Just lie down.”
“But…”
There were still tasks to be done. She needed to start working to finish everything properly!
“If you get up again, I’ll just put you down like this on the bed again.”
Lucas said quietly, as if refusing to listen to excuses.
“Or if you insist on working, you could even do it here.”
Declaring he would openly monitor her, he looked down at her, half-sitting.
“Don’t worry.”
Her fingers, trying to push herself up, bent.
‘Trying to relieve my worries while causing someone else to worry.’
Helen felt embarrassed at herself. In the end, she accepted it and lay down under the covers.
Only then did Lucas’s previously stern expression soften. He sat by her bedside.
“Why do you push yourself to wake up so early every morning?”
He hadn’t questioned it much before, since he enjoyed seeing her early. But if it put her body under strain, it was a different matter.
“…It’s the best time to have a private conversation without taking Lucas’s time away,” she mumbled, avoiding his gaze.
“Private conversation… I see why it’s necessary.”
Before he could question why it was necessary, a voice reached her, making her eyes widen.
Had Lucas now reached the point where he considered private conversation time necessary to be a ‘good guardian’? Helen wondered whether she should feel happy about it.
Then Lucas’s lips moved.
“But wouldn’t there be a way for us to have private conversations without forcing yourself to wake up early?”
“What way?”
Helen leaned in, curious about his answer.
“We could sleep together at night.”
