Chapter 73
“It seems best to strengthen the Lady’s security from now on.”
This time, Lucas looked at Shan as he spoke.
“What? What do you mean by that?”
“I saw suspicious people loitering around Pablo’s trading company and near Count Rayford’s estate. Unfortunately, they got away before I could uncover who was behind them, but they were asking around for the Lady.”
“M-me? They were looking for me?”
At Lucas’s words, Shan’s expression also grew grave.
“Do you have any idea who they might be?”
Lucy shook her head.
No one else noticed, but Dino, who had been quietly listening, turned his head with a slightly unsettled expression.
“…I’ve delivered the letter and passed along the word about your research, so I’ll take my leave now.”
Lucas rose slowly to his feet. The other two men’s eyes followed him.
“Thank you, and sorry to trouble you. I’ll return soon, so from now on I’ll keep you updated directly so you won’t have to worry!”
“…Very well.”
With that ambiguous reply, Lucas offered a brief farewell and walked unhurriedly toward the door.
At the doorway, he leaned closer and quietly asked Lucy, who had come to see him off:
“How did you come to know that man? He seems… dangerous.”
“He was the one who saved me when I was in danger…”
Of course, if she hadn’t met Dino in the first place, she might never have faced such danger at all.
But the truth is, he did save us.
Lucy shivered as she imagined what might have happened when she was abducted by Count Sinom, if Dino hadn’t come for her.
“Anna, I’ll write you!”
The next day, Lucy tearfully bid farewell to Anna.
“Should I just go with you, my lady?”
“Anna, what are you saying? You’ve got more customers now! I’ll be back soon.”
This time, it was Lucy shaking her head at Anna, who wanted to follow her.
“But all the customers come to see you and Shan, my lady. If you’re gone, business will slow again!”
“Then it’s your job to keep it up now, Anna. I’ll stay in touch. Don’t fight with the customers, and please try not to curse so much…”
Lucy forced a bright smile to comfort Anna, who was on the verge of tears.
It was sad and painful to part ways with Anna again so soon after reuniting, but it was an unavoidable separation for the sake of their better futures.
“I suppose this is farewell for me too. Our destinations differ.”
At the harbor, Lucy also had to say goodbye to Dino.
“We’ll meet again soon. I’ll keep in touch. And…”
Just before boarding the ship bound for Tyran, Dino leaned close and whispered for Lucy’s ears alone:
“You don’t need to worry about those suspicious people the Grand Duke mentioned. They were my men.”
“W-what!”
Lucy’s startled cry made him press a finger to his lips with a mischievous smile, as if sharing a secret.
Then, with a polite nod toward Shan and Lucy, he boarded the ship without hesitation.
Lucy watched Dino’s ship set sail before continuing on her journey with Shan.
“Lucy! How could you just send a letter and make me worry like that?”
“Sorry, Harry. I was so caught up meeting old friends…”
Once home, Hayris immediately began scolding her.
“Um… I know it’s a bit much to say right after coming back, but…”
After his long lecture, Lucy lowered her voice timidly.
“I think I’ll need to take another extended leave. There’s something I need to do in the capital…”
“You just got back, and now you want to leave again?”
“Well, the truth is…”
Lucy began explaining about Professor Bruno Allan, whom she had kept secret until now, and how she had accepted investment from Lucas.
“Sorry for acting on my own. I planned to tell you once it succeeded, but the new fabric was completed much faster than I expected.”
Hayris looked shocked at first, then quickly composed himself like the seasoned businessman he was.
“But why the capital? Isn’t that Professor Allan in Collin?”
“Yes, but he recently resigned from his professorship and set up a small research lab in the capital. So I want to meet him there.”
“When are you planning to leave?”
Knowing Lucy’s stubbornness, Hayris sighed in resignation.
“Tomorrow morning!”
“What?”
Hayris let out a disbelieving laugh but readily granted her leave.
The next afternoon, Lucy set off once more with Shan for the capital to meet Bruno.
I must save as much money as possible!
She couldn’t squander the money Anna had pressed into her hands when she left Urt.
“Shan, like I said before we left, I’ll be camping from tonight onward. That’s fine, right?”
They had been told it would take at least a full day’s ride to reach the port, where they could catch a ship south toward the capital.
But Lucy was determined to avoid inns and carriages as much as possible this time.
“As I mentioned earlier, it doesn’t matter to me. But camping won’t be easy for you, my lady.”
Indeed, camping was not easy.
When the trading company traveled to Collin, they had tents and cots, but now they had to travel light and cut costs, so the best they could do was spread a cloth on the ground in a safe spot.
The summer heat made the swarms of insects unbearable, and going days without a proper wash was uncomfortable to the point of misery.
In novels and movies, people just bathe in streams or lakes…
Reality was far less romantic.
They could only splash water on their faces and fill their flasks when they came across a stream.
At least the two days aboard the ship provided some rest, but once they reached the south, the grueling pace resumed. Riding almost nonstop, they reached the outskirts of the capital by dawn of the second day.
They decided to take a room at a modest inn and rest until morning.
“Ahh… this is heaven!”
As soon as they arrived, Lucy demanded a bath.
Even in summer, sinking into warm water made her sigh with relief.
So this is what adults mean when they say hot baths feel refreshing!
Relaxed, she began nodding off without realizing it.
“…Si… Lucy…! Answer…”
BANG!
A deafening crash jolted her awake. She had dozed off in the bath.
“What on earth…”
As she stood to reach for a towel—
“Lucy!”
The door burst open, and Shan came rushing in. Their eyes met.
“Kyaaah!”
“M-my apologies!”
“Get out right now!”
The brief chaos ended only after Lucy dressed and Shan waited outside, both awkwardly apologizing.
Early the next morning, they compensated the innkeeper for the broken door and left.
It was Shan who broke the tense silence first.
“I truly am sorry. You didn’t answer no matter how much I called, so I feared something had happened…”
“I get it, just stop talking about it!”
“Don’t worry. I didn’t see anything.”
“Will you please be quiet!”
Lucy turned her flushed face away, mortified.
After the incident, they left earlier than planned and headed straight for Bruno’s lab.
The capital of the Fujis Empire, Magnus, was as grand as its name suggested.
“If the address is right… it should be over there!”
Lucy pointed at a large, newly built, pristine white two-story building.
Excited, she skipped ahead to knock on the door—only for Shan to step in her way.
