Chapter 89
“Luckily, I’m not late.”
Bern hurriedly stepped out of the carriage and rushed into the café. With only five days left until the Summer Festival, his ongoing business projects were reaching their final stages. His days had been so overwhelmingly busy that he had only managed to catch his breath yesterday, finally setting a meeting with Lucia for today.
This was an appointment he had postponed repeatedly because of work, so he couldn’t afford to be even slightly late.
After finding a seat, Bern checked the time. Fortunately, he still had about fifteen minutes until the scheduled meeting.
Relieved that he wouldn’t keep Lucia waiting, Bern straightened his disheveled attire and waited, only to feel a presence beside him. He turned his head and saw a familiar, friendly face.
“You’re… here?”
Bern’s lips slowly drooped. He looked at the woman standing in front of him with a flustered expression.
“Bern, I see everything here?”
Celine peered down at Bern with an excited expression. Since she had always trailed behind him, Bern frowned, wondering if this was another one of her habitual followings.
“Don’t tell me… you followed me again? I told you to stop doing that.”
“I didn’t follow you. You haven’t appeared around me in the past few days anyway.”
Celine shook her head as if to protest. It was true; he hadn’t seen her for nearly a week.
“This is really a coincidence. I didn’t expect to see you at a café I came to after a while. I guess today is my lucky day?”
With a shy smile, Celine’s words eased the tension from Bern’s face without him realizing it. Her pure, unpretentious smile made his heart flutter slightly. His fickle heart, it seemed, had its own mind just for Celine.
“Since it’s fate that we met here, would you like to hang out with me today if you have time?”
“Sorry, I can’t. I have an appointment.”
“What appointment? When does it end? I can wait until it’s over.”
“Even when it ends, I can’t. We’re not that kind of relationship.”
Celine pouted briefly at his firm refusal. Yet seeing Bern cautiously watching her, she relaxed slightly.
“Alright, then I guess it can’t be helped. But at least after your appointment, we can talk a bit, right?”
“Celine…”
“Talking is something you can do even with someone you just met. If you avoid me that much, I’d be hurt.”
At the mention of being hurt, Bern reflexively closed his mouth. Still, he turned his head and looked away from her.
“I’ll wait until your appointment is over. When do you think it will end? Who is it with?”
“Well…”
As Bern hesitated, flustered, the sound of heels clicking against the floor reached them. The noise grew closer, and both Bern and Celine turned their heads.
Their eyes widened gradually.
“Countess Remario?”
“…Lady Agnes.”
“Oh, should I call you Lady Jenson now?”
Lucia approached with a bright smile, stopping just in front of them. She looked at Celine with a smile and then slowly turned to Bern.
From the moment she entered the café, Lucia had noticed them talking. Bern, upon seeing her, instinctively rose from his seat.
“Lucia. I didn’t do anything that could be misunderstood.”
“What did I ever say?”
Lucia spoke as if it were no big deal, but Bern couldn’t help watching her reaction. Whether intentional or not, he had been meeting Celine frequently, and his conscience pricked him.
Celine gradually wiped her smile away and looked at Lucia with a stiff expression.
Why hadn’t she thought Bern came to meet Lucia?
‘Even though you knew they were engaged…’
Caught up in meeting Bern, she had completely forgotten that he was engaged to Lucia.
“You two seem to have been enjoying your conversation. What were you talking about?”
“Lucia, it’s not like that…”
“It’s been such a long time since we met that I couldn’t help speaking first. If it offended you, I apologize, Lady Agnes.”
Before Bern could explain, Celine lowered her head and revealed the truth, hiding only the essential parts.
Lucia glanced at Celine for a moment and nodded.
“I see.”
“Are you two here on a date today?”
“Date? Well, I suppose you could call it that. The Summer Festival is just a few days away. We came to discuss the festival schedule and the upcoming engagement ceremony.”
“Engagement ceremony…”
“Yes, so we need to have some important talks now. Could you please give us some privacy?”
Lucia’s tone, though gentle, carried no trace of pretension. Celine, unable to resist, stepped back quietly.
“…Enjoy your time together.”
Celine left with a sullen expression. Watching her, Lucia thought to herself that Celine’s emotions were as plainly visible as her own.
Lucia sat down, adjusted her clothes, and looked up to see Bern tense and nervous. She smirked slightly.
“Why do you look like that? As if you’ve done something wrong.”
“…I’m sorry, Lucia.”
“Why are you apologizing?”
Seeing no anger, jealousy, or other emotions in her expression, Bern spoke hesitantly.
“Even if nothing happened… you saw me talking with my ex. I thought you might feel upset.”
Upset. Honestly, Lucia wasn’t completely surprised, but she wasn’t angry either. She had no feelings for Bern and had her own history with Herwin, so she couldn’t react harshly.
She simply empathized, guessing what might have happened between the two.
Lucia suddenly thought about Bern with Celine and spoke.
“But you seemed quite familiar with Lady Jenson. Have you met recently?”
“Pff! Cough, cough…”
As soon as she finished, Bern coughed painfully. Lucia’s eyes widened, and she said flatly,
“I was just asking, but it seems it’s true.”
“Kuh… I wasn’t trying to meet secretly. It just happened a few times by chance.”
“Hmm, I see.”
“I’m sorry, Lucia. I wasn’t trying to hide it…”
Watching Bern stumble and babble nervously, Lucia asked, a beat later,
“…Have you not let go of your feelings yet?”
“What? Ah, no. Of course not.”
Bern hurriedly denied it. Still, Lucia couldn’t forget the look in his eyes when he glanced at Celine.
It was unmistakably the lingering gaze of someone whose love remained.
“I’m not blaming you. I just wish you’d tell me if you still have feelings. Honestly, I was worried that my suggestion might cause Bern to miss the chance to be with the one he truly loves.”
Seeing Lucia smile awkwardly, Bern clenched his fists.
Lucia had worried that her suggestion might be a burden, but he had accepted it willingly.
As Lucia said, it wasn’t easy to say he had completely let go of his feelings for Celine. But he had decided to move forward toward a new future.
“I’m fine. But are you really okay, Lucia? Don’t you have someone you care about?”
Thinking of Herwin, Lucia looked down. Bern didn’t know that Herwin had confessed to her. But he knew how much she liked him, and he worried she might give up everything to marry someone she didn’t truly love.
“…I’ve already made my decision. Haha, well, I wasn’t really in a position to say anything to Bern anyway. But what I said was sincere. If you truly don’t want to let Lady Jenson go, just speak freely. No need to watch my reaction.”
“…Thank you.”
Bern smiled faintly. Breaking the awkward tension, they continued the conversation they had been unable to have until now. Their discussion soon turned to the Summer Festival, which was approaching quickly.
“Oh, have you heard the news?”
“Huh? What news?”
“Recently, there have been rumors of monsters appearing near the capital.”
Lucia’s face stiffened as she thought of Herwin.
“Yes, I’ve heard roughly the same. We need to catch them as soon as possible…”
“Exactly. Unfortunately, the last sighting was near the royal forest. There’s a chance we could encounter a monster during the festival.”
“Does that mean the hunting festival will be canceled?”
“It might be safer to cancel, but no official notice has come yet. Since the hunting festival only happens twice a year, it probably won’t be canceled easily.”
“Indeed. Bern, even if you don’t bring a hunting gift, please be careful.”
“Yes, I will.”
After discussing the festival and finalizing some engagement ceremony schedules, the two left the café.
As they stepped out, Lucia glanced at the spot where Celine had been. Someone else was now sitting there.
“Shall we wait a bit until the carriage arrives?”
Bern’s voice came from beside her. Lucia turned quickly and nodded with a smile.
Soon, the carriage arrived. Escorted by Bern, Lucia stepped inside.
“See you at the Summer Festival, then.”
“Yes. And don’t forget what I said—you’ll have to wear green.”
“Of course. See you then.”
As the carriage moved, Lucia waved to Bern through the window, then leaned back and sighed.
“I’m exhausted.”
Attending an important event with her fiancé for the first time required so much preparation. Still, most things were settled, and now she only needed to finalize her dress for the festival and finish the handkerchief for Bern.
Thinking of the handkerchief, she recalled Herwin.
‘Then I should make him one too.’
It had become almost a stubborn wish. She had threatened never to do it, but secretly, every night, she had been making a handkerchief for Herwin.
It wasn’t as fancy or elaborate as the one for Bern, but it existed.
“I shouldn’t even be making this…”
Why make something she couldn’t give? Thinking of Herwin made her heart feel tangled. Since their chance encounter, he had occasionally sent gifts with letters, each word carefully written, showing his feelings for her were genuine.
She had to admit it.
‘Herwin likes me.’
Having liked him for over thirteen years, she was thrilled to know he returned her feelings. Her heart often raced with excitement.
Yet, there was also a sense of emptiness. Their timing never seemed to align, as if fate was playing a trick.
“Maybe this isn’t something I should tell Bern.”
Saying she could return to Celine anytime she wished. It wasn’t a half-hearted courtesy, but perhaps it was a promise to herself as well.
‘What do I really want?’
Did she want to compromise with reality and live an ordinary happy life with Bern, or experience the happiness she longed for with Herwin’s love?
She still didn’t have the answer.
Lucia closed her eyes and leaned against the rocking carriage, knowing more thought would only complicate her heart.
Finally, the carriage arrived at the mansion. Rubbing her neck from fatigue, Lucia entered her room. Just then, Sein, tidying the room, greeted her.
“Welcome back, Miss.”
“Yeah… I’m tired. Can you help me change?”
“Of course. Ah, before that, a gift has arrived. Would you like to see it?”
“A gift?”
As she set down her gloves and bag on the sofa, she turned to see Sein holding a large box.
“It was sent by Prince Peneus.”
“Again? What could it be this time?”
Unlike the small gifts sent before, this box was unusually large, leaving her puzzled.
Opening it, she found a beautiful dress tinged with pale pink.
“This is…”
“Oh my, it’s truly beautiful.”
Sein marveled at the dress, which seemed perfect for Lucia. She hesitated slightly, then picked up the accompanying card.
‘I thought it would suit you well. You’ll look truly beautiful in this at the Summer Festival.’
Short but meaningful.
“The Summer Festival… If you wear this, you’ll definitely be the star of the event. Miss, why don’t you wear this? …Miss?”
Noticing the quiet beside her, Sein turned to see Lucia bowing her head. Through strands of disheveled brown hair, her face glowed red.
