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Chapter 43
“It’s not like that… They were slightly injured only because we had no choice but to subdue them when they resisted arrest. Torture? That never happens within the guards,” Lucas said with a small snort, roughly tossing the investigation files onto the table.
“They resisted arrest? The report I received from the time of the arrest seems slightly different from what you’re saying. I’ll make sure to address this! The investigation will start again from scratch.”
The captain of the guard’s face turned pale at Lucas’s words.
“Your Highness! That’s not it… I don’t quite remember… Please, p-please forgive me, Your Highness!”
The captain clung to Lucas, belatedly begging for forgiveness, but the Cretaine knights pulled him away.
Within a few hours, Lucas had uncovered the full circumstances surrounding the arrest of Count Raeford and how Heyris ended up imprisoned after protesting.
“They not only indiscriminately beat someone who came to protest, but they even imprisoned them? For such things to happen in my territory… This is utterly shameful for a duke’s reputation!”
Lucas immediately ordered the provisional release of Count Raeford and his family.
The next day, he dispatched an inspector to oversee the investigation, during which the guard captain’s previous misconduct was exposed, and he was removed from his position.
Lucas instructed Zenon to report the progress of the investigation to Lucy.
“If it’s the Parsus Guild, it’s a relatively new and growing merchant group. Even if the investigation proceeds, Parsus will likely cover it up, so severe punishment can be avoided.”
It seemed that the leadership of the emerging Parsus Guild was somehow behind this, but Lucas had no grounds to intervene directly.
“Count Raeford will surely retaliate properly for this incident. But…,” Lucas sighed as he stared at the sheet of paper on which he hadn’t written a single word.
The next day.
“Zenon, when you meet Lady D’Arlo to report the investigation’s progress, deliver this letter. Make sure it’s given naturally, without making her feel burdened.”
Lucas handed the letter he had carefully written the previous day to Zenon.
“Huh?”
Zenon accepted the letter with a puzzled expression.
“Ah! And absolutely do not urge her for a reply. Just tell her it’s okay to take her time and respond when she’s ready.”
Hearing this, Zenon twitched his lips, trying to stifle a smile.
‘Finally, a spring breeze has blown into our lord’s heart!’
Lucas, leaving work for a while, headed to the training grounds where his knights were practicing.
As he arrived, the knights lined up in unison and saluted him.
“Continue your training. Nova, come here for a moment.”
Nova was a knight known for his handsome face and playful personality, making him popular among women.
He approached Lucas with a tense expression.
“Is the training going well?”
“Uh? Yes… it’s fine, since it’s what we always do.”
“I see….”
“Do you have something you want to say to me separately?”
Noticing Lucas seemed unusually hesitant, Nova tactfully asked first.
“Well… if there’s a woman you want to get close to, how would you approach her?”
“A woman I want to get close to? Why… suddenly ask that? Could it be…! Do you have someone in mind?”
Nova reacted with surprise and excitement. Lucas cleared his throat and turned away.
“It’s not that. I’m asking because there’s someone who’s overly cautious around me. Don’t overthink it!”
“Of course, she’s an unmarried woman, right?”
When Nova returned with a serious expression, Lucas quietly nodded.
“Then there’s nothing to worry about. Even if she were married, it wouldn’t be a problem if it’s you, my lord.”
Lucas’s face showed confusion.
“What do you mean by that?”
Seeing his puzzled look, Nova sighed and shook his head.
“Ha… just smiling brightly at her once will be enough to ease her guard.”
Lucas became even more perplexed.
“Just respond to her words and keep smiling! As brightly as possible!”
“Like this?”
Lucas lifted one corner of his mouth and grinned.
“No, that looks like mocking her!”
He tried again, adjusting his smile.
“No! Not like that silly grin!”
Nova patted his chest in exasperation.
Lucas, who usually smiled easily in front of Lucy, found himself awkwardly forcing a smile in front of Nova.
The day of the promise with Lucas.
“Darling! You’re meeting your friend today, right? It’s been a while since you went out—dress nicely!”
Mrs. Meriel excitedly entered Lucy’s room in the morning and rummaged through her wardrobe.
“Oh dear, you have so few clothes! I haven’t been taking proper care of you,” Mrs. Meriel lamented, as if it were her own problem.
“Mother, it’s fine. You’ve given me so many pretty dresses already. I can’t even wear them all each day,” Lucy said.
Most of the clothes in Lucy’s wardrobe had belonged to Valensia when she was alive. Lucy often wore those that Valensia herself liked. And today, she planned to wear one of those.
‘It’s the most luxurious and beautiful one.’
“At least wear the most extravagant jewelry. I’ll lend you mine!”
Reluctantly, Lucy wore the clunky necklaces and jewels Mrs. Meriel handed her, frowning.
A maid who came in to clean the room giggled quietly at Lucy’s appearance.
“Miss, your neck will break!”
Lucy whispered to the maid to stop Mrs. Meriel, but the maid just laughed, clearly enjoying the scene.
In the end, Lucy secretly removed the jewelry and left it with the steward, escaping the mansion.
Outside, the carriage had arrived, long before the appointed time.
Seeing the crest on the carriage, Lucy immediately recognized it as belonging to the ducal family.
As she stepped toward it, the carriage door swung open.
“Lucy! Already ready?”
It was Lucas, looking splendid.
“Your Highness?”
“I came to meet you so you wouldn’t feel lonely riding alone,” Lucas said, extending his hand. Lucy lightly took his hand and got into the carriage.
“I wanted to take you to my castle, but it would take about four hours, so I booked a restaurant in a nearby city,” Lucas explained.
Lucy’s eyes widened.
“Four hours? You didn’t ride four hours just to meet me, did you?”
Lucas averted his gaze, clearing his throat. Lucy narrowed her eyes at him.
“No, not exactly… I had some business to wrap up with the local guards and stopped by,” he said.
Though it was roughly a four-hour ride from the Cretaine Duke’s castle to here, he had urged the driver and arrived in three hours. He didn’t intend to tell Lucy that.
“That’s a relief. And thank you for what you did about Count Raeford! I really wanted to say that!”
Lucas’s eyes curved slightly at her words.
“I should be the one thanking you. Thanks to you, we could purge the corrupt officials. I feel ashamed that this happened in my territory.”
Lucy waved her hand.
“Not at all! It’s all thanks to you, Your Highness, for resolving the matter justly.”
He smiled softly, seemingly pleased.
“Thank you for thinking that way. But calling me ‘Your Highness’… it feels distant, which saddens me.”
Lucas suddenly pouted, lowering his eyes. Lucy blinked, confused.
‘Isn’t duke a rank second only to the emperor or royalty? If not “Your Highness,” then what should I call him? Zenon calls him that too…’
“Call me Lucas, please,” he said, as if reading her thoughts.
“Lu-Lucas, Your Highness…?”
“No, just Lucas. Skip the duke title!”
Lucas’s firm expression left Lucy speechless.
“Lucas… sir?”
Finally, Lucas smiled satisfied.
“That’s better. It would be ideal to drop the ‘sir’ too, but that might be difficult, right?”
“It would look strange to others if I dared to call Your Highness by his first name! Calling you Lucas is only when we’re alone!” Lucy said firmly.
