TFAR 17

chapter 17

Chapter 17 – Past and Present
Lucas, showing every bit of his impatience, had already taken a seat in the reception room before the appointed time and was on his second cup of tea.

“…So, when will the lady arrive?”

It was a question he had asked several times already.

“She’ll be here shortly.”

Lucas’ face twisted with irritation at hearing the same answer again. It would have made sense if he’d suggested meeting in the afternoon, but now it just felt like he was being teased.

“Here comes Lady Serena Astel, Acting Duke of Astel.”

Finally.

Before Lucas could even finish his thoughts, the servant’s loud voice echoed through the corridor.

“Acting Duke of Astel, Lady Serena Astel, pays her respects to His Highness, the Crown Prince.”

The moment the door opened, Serena appeared in a dress completely different from what she had worn yesterday.

Her movements were graceful and restrained, her manners flawless, and even the fan she held in her hand added to her elegance—everything about her caught Lucas’ attention at once.

“Please, sit.”

Lucas had intended to scold her for being late, but the sight of Serena’s refined presence left his mind blank.

“Your Highness.”

The head servant served tea before taking his leave, leaving only the two of them in the reception room. Though Serena might assert otherwise, her status as his fiancée made this possible.

“What brings you to see me?”

Lucas let out a small, short sigh as he gazed at her.

“I had a few things to ask. But more than that… you seem… different today.”

“I think it’s funny too,” Serena said dryly, and Lucas immediately waved his hand.

“I… meant it in a good way. I think this look suits you very well.”

Lucas’ words were so unexpected that Serena gave him a suspicious glance, then forced a half-smile. Anna had drilled into her ears that a lady must smile when receiving compliments, though this twisted, begrudging smile was certainly not what Anna had meant.

“You’ve grown, and your perspective and outlook have changed.”

During the engagement ceremony, he had barely had the chance to see her dress or her poise. At that time, he had been too embarrassed and angry at his own smaller stature compared to his fiancée.

“Especially you.”

“Yes?”

Now that he had a slightly higher vantage point than Serena, he could sense the distinct aura of a young woman emanating from her. Once, she had just seemed big and strong, but now her tall, slender frame and lively presence exuded a confident beauty.

“I don’t understand why you’re saying this,” Serena said cautiously. Six years had passed, and though Lucas had changed a lot, the liveliness in his face was the only difference.

“I didn’t have time to properly look at you at the engagement, and when we met again, you were so free in your attire that I didn’t notice.”

“So… what exactly do you mean?”

Serena’s fingers gripped her fan tightly.

“Seeing you now, fully embodying the lady you’ve become, I thought no woman on this continent could rival you.”

Pfft. Serena nearly spat her tea out. Luckily, Anna had handed her a handkerchief, allowing her to regain composure.

“Your Highness, I truly don’t understand why you’re acting like this.”

Her blue eyes were serious yet wronged.

“The engagement is technically invalid, and yet you act this way—this puts me in a difficult position.”

Had he shown his interest from the start, she wouldn’t feel this strange mix of emotions.

“Even if it weren’t invalid…”

Lucas’ intentions were impossible to read. She had been living peacefully, so why, why now, suddenly appearing and speaking so shamelessly?

“At the engagement, I wanted to keep up with you, but now, that’s not enough. I still want you. That’s the only reward I ever sought.”

Do all royals speak so stubbornly? Serena gritted her teeth, wondering if she could strike him with her fan.

“After the engagement, your behavior showed complete indifference. That’s why I decided to abandon my fiancée.”

“What?”

Lucas stared at her in utter disbelief. Even though she was formidable, he could never have imagined that she would dare abandon a royal fiancé.

“After that, I came to the Astel estate and spent each day fulfilling and happy—until you arrived.”

Her resentment was clear in her words, and even slow-witted Lucas could see the fire in her blue eyes.

“I spent last night thinking about why our conversation keeps going in circles.”

Of course, he excels at doing things she never asked for. Serena sighed halfway, taking a sip of her tea.

“The conclusion is simple: our views on the engagement were too different.”

“That is true,” she agreed. In this world, leaving a fiancée unattended for six years would be cruel, even for non-royals. For commoners, it could block their marriage prospects entirely.

“I think the engagement was wrong from the start. My father and the Emperor made a trivial bet on the battlefield, and I became a fiancée because His Majesty lost.”

The Emperor had been famously free-spirited and bold, often showing off his close friendship with the Duke of Astel in battlefields and hunting grounds.

“In other words, I was a punishment. And of course, Your Highness never wanted the engagement either.”

They couldn’t deny it; they had openly resisted each other at the ceremony.

“Now it’s different. What matters is the present.”

“The present is built on the past.”

Neither of them would back down. Though they smiled politely, the atmosphere remained tense.

“The fact that this was an unwanted engagement, and that Your Highness neglected your fiancée for six years, are unchangeable pasts. That past shapes the present.”

Serena’s clear, bell-like voice spoke each word firmly. Her platinum hair shimmered in the sunlight through the window, and her blue eyes met Lucas’ gaze directly, without fear or reverence—simply honest and unflinching.

“Even the reward you mentioned—I never promised it.”

Serena lightly tapped her palm with her fan, her restrained temper still simmering.

“And to treat me, living my own life, as a reward is offensive.”

“That’s not what I meant,” Lucas said hurriedly, forgetting decorum.

“I always held you as my goal during my training. If I’m precise, the reward I seek is marriage with you.”

His dark eyes were serious, his tone steady. He was just twenty, still four years younger than Serena, but the age difference was no longer noticeable.

“I already told you, there’s no bond between us as husband and wife.”

Her hostility toward him softened slightly. In the light, his face, eyes, and lips all spoke sincerity. Seeing his strong frame up close, she could also gauge how rigorous his training must have been.

“I don’t think that way. Soon, I’ll prove it.”

She could roughly guess his intention.

“Where did you send the messenger pigeons?”

Lucas smirked mischievously.

“Delaying the fun is fine. You’ll find out soon enough.”

“I’m not sure it will be fun for me,” Serena said firmly.

“I never abandoned you. Not for a single moment.”

“But I… No. I abandoned you, my fiancée.”

After months of receiving no letters following the disastrous engagement, she had made her decision. If she was to be abandoned, she would abandon first.

“I have no regrets about that decision.”

Serena had immediately returned to the Astel estate, starting her life independently—even without the nominal presence of a fiancé.

It had been a perfect life, at least until Lucas appeared.

“We’ll discuss that again once the messenger pigeons return.”

According to the head servant, Lucas had sent three pigeons. One likely went to the palace, one to the papacy, and where the third went was a mystery.

“It will take a few days, so I want to see how you rule Astel in the meantime.”

“What?”

“Since the Crown Prince visits this prosperous duchy, it’s natural to observe the lord and learn its secrets.”

Seeing Lucas suddenly become so audacious again, Serena gripped her fan tightly. If only she could smack his irritating mouth with it right now.

“I apologize, but the current Duke, my father, is away traveling.”

“That’s fine. You are Acting Duke, after all.”

Lucas smiled, a dazzling expression fitting his handsome face.

“I’m already looking forward to touring Astel with you.”

Unfortunately, he wasn’t wrong. Astel was under imperial rule, so defying the Crown Prince was impossible.

“Shall we start with lunch?”

The arrogant proposal left Serena even more determined in her grip on the fan. Anna’s complaint about breaking one of the ribs of her carefully made fan would come later.