Chapter 103
The summer festival, which was supposed to last three days, ended abruptly without reaching its conclusion.
This was because many casualties occurred during the hunting festival, including two deaths.
The royal family wanted to see the annual event through to the end, but with the families of the deceased and many others opposing it, they had no choice but to cancel it entirely.
With the sudden disappearance of the scheduled summer festival, time suddenly felt empty.
However, before Lucia could even take a break, a flood of letters arrived for her.
Most of them were expressions of concern and greetings, but among them, a few had noticed the unusual tension between her and Herwin and subtly asked what was going on between them.
Lucia was about to go through each letter and reply when Julian, standing beside her, vented his frustration, sparing her from dealing with the annoyance.
He vowed that something like this would never happen again, so things would be quiet for the time being.
“Though if news about Herwin and me gets out, it’ll be chaos again…”
She hadn’t told anyone outside of her family that she had broken up with Bern and would be marrying Herwin.
Of course, it was only natural that no one else knew since only a day had passed since the incident.
With the summer festival ending abruptly and the engagement with Bern dissolved in an instant, her previously packed schedule was suddenly empty.
Thanks to that, Lucia was able to enjoy a rare moment of leisure.
“Miss, we have a visitor.”
Just a second ago, she thought she might finally rest.
After tidying up the relentless pile of letters, she now had a visitor. Following Aaron’s instructions, Lucia headed to the parlor where the guest had been received.
The moment she opened the door, a fragrant scent and a soft touch enveloped her.
For a brief moment, confused, she looked up at the familiar voice.
“Christine?”
“Huuh, Lu, Lucia…!”
Christine was crying bitterly, tears streaming down her face. Having only heard that a visitor had come, Lucia didn’t know who it was and was understandably taken aback.
But calming Christine was the priority, so she gently patted her.
“What’s wrong? Did something happen?”
“Y-You… yesterday, Lucia… you…!”
The more Lucia comforted her, the louder Christine’s voice became. When Christine finally broke down sobbing, someone stepped in to separate her from Lucia.
“Brian!”
“I was anxious all day after seeing you dragged off by the orc yesterday. I heard you weren’t seriously hurt, but it seems I couldn’t calm down.”
It was then that Lucia noticed the others in the room. Along with Christine and Brian, Arista and Ethan were also present.
All of them had risen from their seats, watching her with concerned eyes.
Now that she thought about it, she had been puzzled that among all the letters, there were none from her friends.
Lucia gave a small laugh at the thought that they had come just to see her.
“Did everyone come because they were worried about me?”
“Is that even a question?! Do you know how scared we were hearing you’d been captured by an orc?”
Ethan, who had been hunting when the orc incident happened, exclaimed that he had almost fainted upon hearing the news.
“Luckily, Herwin appeared at the right moment. Otherwise, it would’ve been a disaster. I wish I could’ve used Aura too…”
Brian apologized, saying he had been on the scene but couldn’t save her in time.
“I… I really thought I was going to faint. I thought you were… going to die, Lucia…”
Christine clung to Lucia’s arm, shedding more tears like a child.
Lucia, overwhelmed by the concern of her friends, burst into laughter. As she laughed until tears came, she noticed that Arista was unusually quiet.
Turning to her, she saw that Arista’s expression was more serious than anyone else’s.
“Arista?”
“…I’m sorry, Lucia.”
Suddenly, Arista apologized, bowing deeply at the waist. Lucia, surprised, hurriedly helped her up.
“I’m sorry I, a so-called Sword Expert, couldn’t do anything.”
Until Lucia was dragged into the forest by the orc, Arista had been powerless.
All she had done was try to distract the orc’s attention. Arista had been deeply disappointed in her helplessness, even feeling disgusted with herself.
Biting her lower lip until it bled, Arista trembled, and Lucia placed her hand gently on Arista’s face.
Arista flinched, then clenched her fists, narrowing her eyes.
“What do you have to apologize for?”
“……….”
“Thanks to you, I survived. Honestly, if it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t be here right now.”
It wasn’t an empty compliment. Arista’s continuous calls of her name and instructions to stay still had been extremely helpful.
Thanks to that, she had been able to pull herself out of panic and avoid provoking the orc.
Seeing the comforting blue eyes, Arista bowed her head deeply. Her shoulders trembled as tears fell through her pale blonde hair.
Lucia chuckled softly and hugged Arista. Christine, who had been beside them, was included as well.
She was deeply grateful for friends who thought of her as their own, got angry on her behalf, and empathized.
After a round of tears, the sobbing reduced slightly.
Arista, embarrassed by her childish cries, blushed, while Christine’s already small eyes were even puffier, resembling goldfish.
Brian teased the puffed-up Christine, wiping her tears with a handkerchief.
“Thanks, everyone. Honestly, I was a little disappointed that you were the only ones who didn’t send letters.”
“Even if you’re disappointed, isn’t it better to see faces like this?”
“Of course!”
Lucia’s bright smile warmed everyone’s hearts.
“Seeing your faces relieves some of my worries. I didn’t show it, but I was really anxious.”
“Right, even if you were rescued safely, it could have left trauma.”
“I’m… still a little jittery, so it’s hard to say I’m okay.”
Trying to appear fine, Lucia raised her hands as she met the four pairs of eyes staring intently at her.
Even that morning, she had woken up in a cold sweat from a nightmare about the orc.
“With time, it’ll be okay, right?”
Her friends only looked at her with tender, sympathetic eyes. Deciding not to mention yesterday any further, they changed the topic.
“Oh, right. I’m going to have a matchmaking meeting.”
At that, Christine excitedly announced the good news. Only two days ago she had said she wanted to get engaged, and now she was already meeting a potential match.
“Already? You only said you wanted to get engaged two days ago.”
Ethan seemed just as surprised, his eyes wide.
“Although I mentioned it then, I had already discussed it with my parents. And today, a suitable candidate appeared, so they told me to meet him.”
Compared to her previous complaints about parental nagging, her face was bright.
Watching Christine chattering happily, Lucia peeked at Brian.
Clearly, Brian had feelings for Christine, so Lucia was nervous about his reaction.
‘Hmm?’
However, soon Lucia couldn’t help but frown slightly.
Brian was smiling warmly at Christine, looking at her affectionately.
It wasn’t exactly a topic to celebrate, so she wondered why he looked so happy. At that moment, their eyes met.
Brian, slightly embarrassed, quickly looked away. Lucia decided to pretend she hadn’t noticed.
“Lucia! If I have a fiancé later, would you come with me to the park? With Marquis Casper too!”
Lucia groaned at the mention of Bern at the end.
“Well… you see…”
“Yes? What is it?”
“I… broke up with Bern…”
Christine’s swollen eyes widened. So did Ethan’s and Brian’s. Lucia smiled awkwardly.
“B-Broke up?”
Realizing her mistake, Christine paled. Before she could apologize, Lucia spoke first.
“It’s a bit complicated. It wasn’t a bad breakup. We parted on mutual agreement.”
“When did you break up? Just yesterday, you attended the hunting festival together as partners.”
“That’s right, they seemed so close…”
Only a day ago, the two had been cheerful together. Ethan and Brian couldn’t contain their curiosity.
“This might take a while to explain, is that okay?”
“Of course. It’d be frustrating not to explain.”
“What happened exactly? Oh, is this something we shouldn’t hear?”
“No, it’s not that. Um…”
Lucia rolled her eyes, thinking of how to explain.
At that moment, she made eye contact with Arista. She already knew the situation, having heard it from Herwin yesterday.
Seeing Arista nod, indicating it was okay, gave Lucia the courage to begin.
“So, here’s what happened…”
As the story unfolded, her friends’ faces filled with surprise.
Ahem!
Herwin cleared his throat, adjusting his spotless suit.
Wearing a proper suit instead of his usual casual or uniform attire, he rubbed the sweaty palms against the fabric.
Ever since confirming Lucia’s feelings yesterday, he hadn’t slept a wink.
After staying up all night, he spent the morning mobilizing all the servants to choose the outfit that suited him best, groom his hair, and apply the musky perfume Lucia liked.
He also took a pair of aquamarine earrings he had wanted to give her months ago but hadn’t, and stopped by a florist to buy a bouquet that would suit her.
Everything was perfectly prepared.
“Master, you’ve arrived.”
The carriage stopped just then. Herwin jumped down and looked toward the Agnes estate.
Having been childhood friends with Lucia for over ten years, he had almost become family with the Agnes household, but meeting them as her partner’s family made his heart race uncontrollably.
Taking a deep breath to calm himself, he took a step toward the estate and saw Aaron.
“You’ve come for the young lady, sir?”
“Yes… Is Lucia inside?”
“She is, coincidentally talking with her friends. Please, this way.”
Contrary to his nervousness, he did not meet the Agnes family directly.
Walking through familiar corridors guided by Aaron, Herwin cautiously asked:
“Are the rest of the family away?”
“Yes, everyone else has their own schedule. Only the young lady is home.”
A sigh of relief—or disappointment—escaped him. Aaron smiled faintly. Finally, they reached the parlor.
As Herwin prepared to open the door, Aaron spoke:
“I heard what happened yesterday. Congratulations. You two suit each other very well.”
Taken aback by the unexpected courtesy, Herwin brightened with a genuine smile.
“Thank you.”
He thanked Aaron and entered the parlor.
“Lucia—”
Calling her in a voice dripping with sweetness, Herwin faced the friends’ eyes.
Aaron had given them prior notice, so it wasn’t entirely shocking. But—
“…what are those looks?”
His voice was markedly different from when he called Lucia’s name.
Her friends’ gazes were hostile, like they were confronting a villain.
“They say monsters come when you speak of them.”
“Look at that shameless face.”
“Lucia, are you really thinking of marrying Herwin? Think again. There are plenty of good people in the world.”
The critical glances that had been aimed at Herwin soon turned toward Lucia, telling her to break up with him.
Lucia didn’t fully understand the situation, but one thing was clear.
“What are you all saying to Lucia right now?!”
Herwin realized they were trying to drive a wedge between them.
He quickly approached Lucia and pulled her close, returning the glares of the four pairs of eyes.
The room instantly became noisy. Lucia, in Herwin’s embrace, looked at the four confronting them in a daze.
But for a moment, she couldn’t help laughing.
It was the perfect, dreamlike day she had longed for.
