Adrienne was in the study with Lukas after finishing dinner with him.
[“You mean to Tehevia?”]
She quickly signed in surprise, having read Lukas’s lips.
“What did you say? Could you write it down for me?”
Lukas lightly furrowed his brows and tapped a piece of parchment.
— I’m sorry, Your Highness. I just wasn’t expecting that…
“It was decided at the meeting earlier. Tessa will leave for Castle Tereze early tomorrow.”
— I see.
“So if you have something to pass on to Lord Claudius, you can send it through Tessa. Or leave a letter.”
Adrienne had nothing in particular to say to her father. He probably wasn’t interested in her circumstances, anyway.
But still…
— Then… may I write a letter to my nanny instead?
“To your nanny? Not Lord Claudius?”
Lukas looked puzzled as he read what she had written.
— Yes. I want to let Denis know that I’m doing well, so she doesn’t worry.
“She was Yuria’s mother, wasn’t she?”
— That’s right.
“She must’ve meant a great deal to you.”
— Very much so.
A soft smile briefly touched Adrienne’s face.
“Hmph.”
Lukas, who had been quietly staring at her, cleared his throat and frowned.
“Still nothing in particular you want to say to Lord Claudius?”
— Should there be something I need to say?
“No. I don’t feel the need for you to echo my words.”
Maybe he thought he had something to say on her behalf. But that wasn’t the case. Lukas answered stiffly, his tone cool.
I…
“As I suspected, your relationship with the Duke doesn’t seem to be very good.”
Adrienne’s expression hardened. “Not good” didn’t even begin to describe it. It was far more complicated than that.
Her mother’s death, her illness, the tangled political calculations…
All of it had happened out of necessity. Amidst those events, her father had simply made a choice.
To say she didn’t resent him would’ve been a lie. But she didn’t live her life blaming him either. She told herself she understood him—but really, there wasn’t any other option but to try to understand.
There were times, though… when she found herself wondering:
What if I hadn’t been born into royalty?
The thought came up again and again, circling back to one conclusion—
If only I hadn’t been born a Claudius.
“What are you thinking about?”
Lukas asked, watching her zone out. His obsidian eyes seemed to pierce straight through her.
— Your Highness, I didn’t catch what you just said…
Adrienne’s hand halted mid-sentence on the parchment as Lukas gently stopped her. She stared down at the ink smudging across the page, startled—then slowly lifted her head.
Those eyes.
The same ones from the night before—depthless, inescapable.
Lukas, now closer, held her chin as he looked into her face.
“Close your eyes.”
His large hand came up to shield her vision. She couldn’t see. Couldn’t hear. All she could feel was his warm breath, scattering over her face and raising her temperature.
…!
Adrienne instinctively closed her eyes, unsure of what to do. And in that moment, Lukas’s lips met hers in a soft kiss.
Her heart dropped with a thud.
She’d felt this trembling before—but even now, she still didn’t know how to steady herself against it.
The kiss, which began gently, deepened slowly. Adrienne, though aware her breath was slipping away, clung to him. Again and again.
“……”
Suddenly, Lukas pulled away. Adrienne looked up at him in confusion, startled by the sudden separation.
“Ahem.”
Lukas cleared his throat, irritation barely hidden in his expression. But his gaze wasn’t on her—it was fixed elsewhere.
Adrienne followed his line of sight and immediately flushed scarlet.
Oh no…
It was Jeord. And standing behind him… was Tessa.
“I didn’t tell you to come in.”
Lukas’s tone was icy as Adrienne spun around, her back to them. Jeord glanced at her, unfazed, and smirked slightly.
“I knocked, as always.”
No one really waited for Lukas’s permission to enter the study. That wasn’t new.
Unbelievable.
Lukas’s eyes narrowed ever so slightly. Jeord, noticing, grinned.
“What is it?”
Lukas clenched his jaw and motioned toward him with his chin.
“You told me to come for the letters after dinner, didn’t you?”
That was true. Lukas had prepared the letter to Duke Claudius before dinner. But then he’d wondered—
Maybe Adrienne had something she wanted to say, too.
“Did you forget?”
Jeord blinked innocently, his wrinkled lids fluttering in mock confusion.
“Me? No. I was simply waiting for Adrienne’s letter to include with it.”
Lukas’s brow twitched upward.
“Ah, I see. I didn’t think of that. I meant to get it before you returned to your chambers, but…”
“She hasn’t written it yet. So wait.”
Lukas’s voice turned firm, leaving no room for argument. Tessa’s face stiffened.
“Adrienne. Write the letter to your nanny.”
Lukas turned to Adrienne and gently held her shoulders, looking into her eyes. His tone had softened again—completely different from the cold order he’d just issued.
Tessa’s expression hardened even further, but Adrienne nodded after reading Lucas’s lips.
Her cheeks were still flushed as she dipped her head.
____________𔒝 ࿆ ꫂ ၴႅၴ __________
Tessa walked briskly down the long corridor, Lukas’s letter and Adrienne’s in hand. Jeord walked beside him in silence.
“It’s a relief, really. Don’t you think?”
“What is?”
Tessa turned toward him, startled by the sudden remark.
“Their Highnesses. They seem to be getting closer with each passing day.”
“Ah… yes, I suppose they do.”
“You’re not pleased?”
“Of course I am. Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Exactly. Why wouldn’t you be.”
Jeord stopped walking and looked him straight in the eyes.
“You’re still young.”
“What are you trying to say?”
“Easy to shake when something beautiful is in front of you.”
“Jeord.”
“But I believe in you. That you’ll devote yourself to magic training, and to protecting our Rantschka.”
“Of course I will!”
Though startled by his piercing stare, Tessa responded sharply. Jeord smiled and lightly patted her shoulder.
“Do you still not trust me?”
A few steps later, Tessa asked without looking at him.
“Why do you think that?”
“Because you just said it—that you believe I’ll devote myself and prove useful.”
“Isn’t that a sign that I do trust you?”
“You don’t need to say things like that to someone you really trust.”
“…I see.”
“….”
“It’s not that I don’t trust you. You’ve shown plenty already. But…”
Jeord paused.
“Your innocence worries me a little.”
“I…”
“The Grand Duke tends to obsess a bit over protecting what’s his.”
“I know. I know what you’re saying.”
Lukas still carried the regret of failing to protect his mother—deep in his bones. And Adrienne… she wasn’t like the knights bound to Lukas by loyalty. She was the first person he could truly call his own.
She was warm. Intelligent. Just because she couldn’t speak or hear didn’t change that.
And Tessa knew—Lukas would come to love her.
It was only a matter of time.
He remembered the sharp flash in Lukas’s eyes whenever he looked at Adrienne too long—like a blade.
Damn it.
He had seen through him. That must be why his normally detached gaze had turned so cold.
“It’s a relief.”
“I’ll see you after I return, Jeord.”
At the end of the hall, Tessa gave him a curt nod before turning to go.
“Tessa.”
“…Yes?”
“Be careful.”
At his quiet, sincere concern, Tessa let out a faint laugh.
“Giving me medicine after poisoning me?”
“That wasn’t my intention.”
Jeord looked mildly annoyed. Tessa shook his head with a sigh.
“I’ll be back safely.”
“You’d better.”
He smiled again, a faint one—but real.
