Lucia

(14)

TN: (๑ơ ₃ ơ)♥

Lucia entered the central tower and checked behind her. The Damian who said he would be following shortly was nowhere to be found.

She asked a maid to fetch him and went into the receiving room. She sat down, placed her head on the sofa and closed her eyes. Her head was hurting.

‘I was too complacent. To think it would be a party-break.’

She thought too lightly of the women’s stubborn pride that wouldn’t break even if their neck was snapped. She let her guard down at the fact that the atmosphere here was distinctly different from the one in the capital’s social circles.

She also might have been conceited about the fact that she was a Duchess without even realizing it. Even though she knew that in the high society, one’s reputation and personal connection accumulated over the years was much more important that status, she had foolishly overlooked it.

‘From the first time I saw that woman, I didn’t really like her.’

Lucia was deeply impressed by the character of Countess Corzan, the godmother of the northern high society so she had high expectations before meeting the Countess of Wales, whose influence was much greater. However, her expectations quickly turned into disappointment.

In Lucia’s eyes, the countess of Wales that was invited to her tea party a couple of times was like a snake in human skin.

It was mistake to just smile in the past because she wanted to avoid unnecessary confrontation. Because now, the countess took her to be a joke and led this kind of thing.

‘Although I knew it wouldn’t be easy.’

Which is why she’d asked Kate to definitely bring the Countess of Corzan if possible. She wanted to have a safety shield. There was no way the countess wouldn’t know how to build up a frontal confrontation when faced with a party break. Her mistake of not being careful was painful.

‘Is Countess Wales wrathful because of her extramarital issues?’ It would be too shallow to just see it as a crafty high society greeting. If she particularly wanted to humiliate Lucia using the party-break, she had a lot more to lose than to gain from it.

Even if one’s status was not absolute in the high society, status could never be ignored. Moreover, the Duke of Taran’s absolute influence in the north was not inferior to that of the King’s in the capital.

The Countess of Wales wouldn’t have thought to do such a thing if she hadn’t assumed what was in Lucia’s mind and calculated off of that.

One villain recognizes another. No matter how much Lucia observed the behavior of groups in the high society, she did not have a mind twisted enough to grasp the psychology of the people who were capable of scheming and conspiring.

‘A person’s actions can’t be judged with only rationality.’

It was unprecedented that an illegitimate child entered into the family was selected as a candidate. Lucia began to mull over the problem a bit more seriously.

‘If the northern atmosphere is like this then the capital’s must be formidable as well.’

She wondered if he had any idea on how to resolve this issue. Seeing as he didn’t think bringing Damian to social party was a big deal, he may not have any ideas.

‘Damian taking over the title may the beginning of a different flow in the future. That’s probably why people are resistant.’

She was too hasty. She didn’t want to miss this chance since Damian might soon be going back to the Academy. She introduced Damian at the horse riding field and took it lightly because the garden party could not be Damian’s formal social debut.

She opened her eyes and checked around but Damian was still nowhere to be found.

‘Hasn’t it been a while since I asked the maid to get him?’

The headache was making her irritated. She called for another maid.

“Why is it taking so long to fetch the young lord?”

The maid immediately left in haste then returned after a while.

“Milady, the young master did not answer when asked to come in. The one who receive Milady’s order first is by the young master’s side not knowing what to do.”

“What is Damian doing outside?”

“Nothing…just looking at people.”

“…Alright.”

What could the child be thinking as he watched those people? She had to ask him when he came in.

Lucia closed her eyes again.

“Lucia.”

At some point, Kate had entered and was sitting next to Lucia, holding her hand. Lucia opened her eyes and seeing Kate, she gave her a smile.

“Thank you for today, Kate.”

“No, I was of no help at all. Don’t be too upset. By all means, just think of it as a rite of passage.”

Kate was worried that Lucia would be overcome with shame because of her broken pride. However, Lucia did not care about things like an organizer’s pride. Even though it was in her dream, she had worked as a nursing maid for a noblewoman. This type of thing wasn’t enough for her pride to feel humiliated.

“It’s okay. And I’m sorry Kate but do you mind going back for today? I have a lot to think about.”

Kate replied that she understood, spoke a few more words of warmth and comfort then left.

Lucia called Jerome who was continuously lingering around.

“Is he in the office?”

“No. An urgent message arrived and master had to head out. There was no definitive reply as to whether master would return today.”

Lucia felt both slightly sad and relieved at the same time.

“I will inform him of today’s matter so don’t tell him directly.”

“Yes, Milady”

“Also, will you call Anna for me?”

The headache was getting worse so she thought to have some medicine. After Jerome went out, Lucia sent all the maids away.

She looked at Damian who had come in some moments ago and beckoned him over.

“Damian, come here.”

Damian approached and went on his knees before Lucia. Lucia sprang up in surprise.

“I’m sorry. Because of me…” (Damian)

The boy did not care how others looked at him. No matter how intense the unfriendly gazes were, they did not cause any direct harm. However, he didn’t want them to send such gazes to Lucia.

Damian didn’t know the high society very well, neither did he know what a party-break was but he knew the earlier situation had humiliated Lucia.

Anger. He felt anger at his weakness. The situation would have turned out completely different if his father was there.

“No, Damian. Why do you have to apologize?”

Lucia felt tears threaten to break out and reach out to lift Damian, taking him into her embrace. Damian said he didn’t like it from the beginning, she was the one that persuaded him and eventually the result was such.

‘I should have gone about it a different way. It would have been okay to introduce him just about when the party was finishing but I was too greedy.’

“I’m sorry, Damian. I didn’t think of you. I didn’t think that you could be hurt and only thought of myself.”

As he liked the nice fragrance and soft feeling of the embrace, Damian was holding his breath and doing his best to stay still. He thought if he moved even a little bit, Lucia would be surprised and move away.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” (Lucia)

“I…It’s all right.”

Damian was really fine. He had completely forgotten about the meaningless gazes of those women that didn’t know anything the moment Lucia said, ‘my son,’ earlier. The words were still replaying in the boy’s head and touched his heart.

“It’s not your fault, Damian. What people do is not your fault. Adults are not all wise.”

Lucia’s voice grew shaky at the end. At the sound of small sobbing, Damian stiffened.

‘Don’t cry because of me,’ the words in head were stuck in his throat, refusing to come out. Little by little, he carefully inched forward, placing his forehead on Lucia’s shoulders.

It was the first time someone cried for the sake of the boy. His throat felt as though it was hot and constricted, and his eyes felt flushed.

It was just a little. But the boy’s eyes were wet.

Translator’s Corner

*extramarital= out-of-wedlock. Think concubine’s child except not a concubine. Most of you guys know this but still.

(14)

What ended up happening was different from what Hugo was worried about. It was not a mass epidemic but a mass food poisoning. In this weather, whether it was an epidemic or food poisoning, both of these weren’t common occurrences but the Duke didn’t have to come in person.

The expression of the village lord that sent the report and hence wasted the Duke’s time was dark.

“A poisonous mushroom?” (Hugo)

“Yes, your Grace. This mushroom looks edible on the outside but once eaten, it cases stomachache, diarrhea, vomiting and red spots all over the body.”

As soon as the doctor familiar with poisonous herbs and poisonous mushrooms was brought in, he looked at some patients, asked a few questions then found the mushroom in the remaining food reserves. In a short moment, the problem was instantly resolved.

The villagers who were shaken by the fear of an epidemic were frightened out of their wits by the sudden appearance of the big-shot Duke however when the issue was resolved within a couple hours of the Duke’s arrival, their expression changed to that of wonder.

Their gazes were full of awe as they looked at the Duke inwardly saying to themselves, ‘as expected, that’s our Duke.’

“If the mushroom is from around here, there’s no way the people wouldn’t know about it.”

“Yes, Your Grace. This mushroom is not one to inhabit this area. You have to go a bit more to the north with colder climate to find it.”

“How did this happen?” (Hugo)

“Speak truthfully.” (Village Lord)

In response to Hugo’s question, the village lord urged an old man that was tied up with a rope and prostrated on the floor. The old man was a shop owner who ran a food store in the village and was the one to supply the mushrooms.

“Yes..yes…Uh…a few days ago, I bought a large quantity of food stuff through the upper channels but I don’t know what happened…”

“Enough. You made this situation happen, did you not? What feelings in the world did you have to unleash poisonous mushrooms on your people?”

“Ai! I’m innocent, my lord. This one would never do such a thing on purpose.”

As the Duke watched the situation unfold, with the old man tearfully expressing his innocence with a runny nose, an official came to report to him.

“I think the upper channels will have to be placed under watch and tracked. The mushrooms cannot be distinguished properly hence one cannot tell if the supply is indiscriminate.”

“Dispatch and track immediately. Investigate along the upper levels to see if they have suffered any similar damage. The doctor will remain behind and treat the patients. Collect all the mushrooms discovered in the village and dispose of them.”

“Yessir!”

Responses came from all over the place.

“Your Grace, I made a mistake judging the situation and have caused you unnecessary trouble.”

The village lord apologized somberly.

“No, the quick reaction was excellent.”

The expression of the lord that had readied himself to receive the Duke’s wrath brightened considerably.

“Deal with the rest of this.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

There was nothing else to see in the village. Although their horse riding for three hours straight ended up in vain, the situation here was much better than an epidemic occurring.

Hugo and his Knights left for Roam, leaving a few people to handle the remaining affairs. The day was getting darker. When they weren’t too far from Roam, Hugo and his knights gathered around a small fountain to quench the thirst of both horse and man.

Hugo took a guess at what time it was and by his estimate, by the time they reached Roam, it would be quite dark. It was likely that dinner time would be adjusted or it would be a little later than usual.

Hugo called for Dean.

“Go ahead and tell them not to blow the horns when I arrive.”

It would be good if he could arrive before the meal began but if he was a little late, he didn’t want her come out and meet him during her meal. Dean received his orders and departed earlier. After a while, Hugo and his Knight took their horses and began heading back en masse.

They ran without rest and arrived at Roam. Hugo rode his horse all the way inside the castle before stopping. One of the servants was surprised to see Hugo coming down from his horse and quickly ran inside. After a while, Jerome came running out.

“Your Grace arrived the castle yet there was no announcement…”

“I told them not to make a fuss.”

Hugo immediately started heading to his office followed by Jerome. After a while, the three siblings dedicated to serving the Duke came into the office with a change of clothes. They waited on Hugo as he changed out of his dusty clothes.

“What about dinner?” (Hugo)

“It’s almost ready.” (Jerome)

“I didn’t come late then.”

Hugo went straight to his desk and sat down. There were several documents laid out for him to look through. There were also documents in the corner, marked red for urgency.

‘No time to breathe,’ he muttered to himself as he picked up a document and opened it.

“Did the garden party go well?”

Because of the party, the atmosphere in the castle was gloomy all day. Remembering the words of the madam telling him not to say anything directly, Jerome replied:

“Yes.”

“Call me when dinner is ready.”

Hugo leaned halfway across his desk, his butt sitting halfway on his chair and began to read through the document.

* * *

Lucia slept off after taking the medicine for headache and when she woke up, she continued to remain lying on the sofa. Even though she had taken some medicine before sleeping, the headache still hadn’t eased up.

Her throbbing head was irritating and she didn’t feel well so Lucia lay sniveling and unmoving on the bedroom sofa.

Around when dinner was almost ready, her headache had settled down so she began to move and a maid came in to tell her that the Duke had returned.

“What? He’s back?”

Lucia thought he wouldn’t be returning today. She asked the maid to bring a mirror and as expected, her eyes were swollen. If she knew it would be like this, she would have placed a pack on her eyes.

“Bring me a cold towel.”

Lucia could only use this as a temporary measure. However, there was not a lot of time. It was announced that dinner would be out very soon.

“How is it? Do my eyes look very bad?”

“It has settled down a lot better than before. At first glance, one cannot tell.”

If he didn’t notice during dinner, then it was fine. After dinner, he would be going back to his office; after all, he usually got busier when he returned from an outing. Lucia kept the cold towel on for a bit longer, hoping that her eyes would settle down a bit more. She didn’t want him to know that she had cried for nothing.

When she went down to the dining hall, Damian was already there. Hugo came in a little later and sat down. Hugo picked up his spoon and his gaze naturally fell on her. His forehead wrinkled and his hand froze.

As soon as he placed the spoon down loudly on the table, the atmosphere in the dining hall froze over. He swiftly got up and approached her figure that was looking rather embarrassed.

His hand clutched the table while his other hand held her jaw to face him. Her reddened eyes were clearly revealed to him. His gaze deepened and his eyes looked like they would burst into flames.

“What happened?” (Hugo)

Lucia was conscious of the surrounding gazes on her and naturally turned her head, dropping her gaze. She didn’t know he would react like this. She thought that even if he noticed something, he would ask her questions later. She was deeply embarrassed because the servants as well as Damian were in the room.

“Let’s eat first…”

He firmly grabbed her chin again and lifted her head backward to look over more carefully. Her clear amber eyes were heavily red. Did she cry? Why?

“Jerome!”

The always ready butler, Jerome, gave his master the answer he wanted.

“At the garden party, the ladies performed a party-break.”

“Party break?”

“It is an act of artificially ending a party where many of the attendees keep silent.”

“Reason.”

“…Young Master Damian.”

Hugo didn’t need to hear any more, he could roughly grasp the situation.

“What did they do to you?”

There was violence within his soft voice.

“Nothi…didn’t do anything…”

They merely rejected the party with blank expressions and silence but didn’t do anything to her directly. She didn’t feel displeased at all and it wasn’t enough to make her cry. It was just that she felt sorry to Damian and was crying because she was upset. She had also already cried to her heart’s content.

However the moment he asked her what happened, her nose got sore. It was the same principle as tears coming to one’s eyes when seeing someone else tear up. She was going to calmly explain to him the events that transpired when he came back, but his words were bringing her to tears.

Hugo’s expression stiffened as he watched tears begin to fill her eyes. He lifted her from her seat and took her into his arms. Like carrying a child, one of his arms supported her thighs while his other arm was wrapped around her back so her head could be buried in his chest.

“Move our dinner to the second floor. Damian, eat and go to your room.”

“Yes.”

Damian looked on worriedly as the Duke carried Lucia out of the dining hall in his embrace. He was worried about Lucia because she hadn’t come out of her room almost all day and his heart felt uncomfortable all day long.

Damian hoped to see his mother smiling just as usual when tomorrow comes.