Chapter 105
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Chapter 105
"For now, keep a close watch on Desman. If he tries anything improper with Amelia, it will be troublesome."
"Understood."
"Is there anything else you need to report?"
"His Majesty has dispatched an investigation team composed of capable scholars and mages to the Monster Forest."
"Scholars?"
"Yes. It appears the resources buried beneath the forest are suspected to be substantial. I believe excavation work may be underway for that purpose."
"Hmm."
Claude rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
An investigation team that included not just scholars, but mages as well.
"It seems something far more significant than I initially thought lies buried beneath that forest."
"Sir?"
"Never mind."
Claude shook his head after muttering to himself for a moment.
"Anything else?"
"Nothing else, sir. I will report immediately as soon as new information arrives."
"Good. You may go now."
The Adjutant bowed respectfully and withdrew from the Study.
Claude turned his gaze from the documents on his desk toward the window.
"I've received her help again."
As I gazed at the clear sky with white clouds drifting past, Lucella's face naturally came to mind.
"How is it that I find myself indebted to her every single day..."
She had saved my life, found Amelia for me, and even brought the seemingly endless war with the monsters to a complete end.
And on top of that, I had received a share of land rich with tremendous resources.
None of this would have been possible without Lucella.
'Thinking about it again, I find myself wanting to see her.'
Lately, I found myself wanting to see her at all hours of the day and night.
It hadn't been like this in the past.
Whenever I ate something delicious, I wanted to share it with her. Whenever I heard beautiful music, I wanted to listen to it with her.
Instead of words, Lucella's face floated across the documents before me. And as if that weren't enough, she had begun appearing in my dreams as well.
'Uncle, why don't you just take her with you?'
'...What do you know of my troubles?'
'You're thinking about Sister Lucella.'
'...'
'It's obvious anyway. Sigh.'
I recalled Amelia, who had sighed as if she had lived through the entire world.
Amelia had been busy lately, disguising her teasing as advice.
The content of her advice was generally consistent.
'Sister is so beautiful and radiant! Do you think the jewel is only beautiful in Uncle's eyes? If you're not careful, someone else will take her away, and I won't care.'
As Amelia said, Lucella was so beautiful that it was becoming a problem.
Claude recalled the Imperial Palace Banquet that had taken place not long ago.
Lucella that day was as beautiful as a rose blooming in a summer garden. Her radiant smile and the shy blush that colored her cheeks were utterly captivating.
Many eyes lingered on such a Lucella. Some men even stared at her with their wits completely scattered.
Throughout the banquet, I had to expend considerable effort brushing away the gazes that clung to Lucella.
The problem was that Lucella herself seemed entirely unaware of it.
'Now that I think about it, there was also that man Gillian.'
At the face that suddenly came to mind, I clenched my fist. Blue veins bulged across my tightened knuckles.
I deeply disliked the way he circled around Lucella's vicinity, pretending to be refined and doing so subtly.
It wasn't a sense of crisis. Lucella showed not the slightest interest in Gillian.
I simply hated the fact that another man, not myself, harbored feelings for Lucella.
Moreover, that man Gillian was the Duke of Bellomen's lapdog, was he not.
'But Miss Rilprey shows no interest in me either....'
Lucella had no interest not only in me, but in every man in this world.
Her attention was directed toward only one person—Lucian.
She behaved as though she were obsessed solely with raising Lucian well. As if the moment she turned her gaze away, he might become twisted.
'If only she would give me some attention.'
Having taken Amelia's advice to heart, I began approaching Lucella more actively than before.
The lukewarm way of expressing myself as I had done previously held no meaning anymore.
If I continued that way, I might lose Lucella to someone else, just as I had feared.
Besides, she was not particularly perceptive in such matters.
If I expressed my affection merely by taking moderate care of her, it might take fifty years for her to notice my feelings.
I actively appealed to myself so that she could clearly recognize my feelings, and so that she would think only of me and no other man.
I spoke without hesitation, telling her she was beautiful and that I had wanted to see her. I even drove the point home firmly so she would not misunderstand my words.
Of course, the most certain method would be to confess my feelings to her directly.... But I was not yet prepared.
Having no romantic experience was secondary.
Since I was going to confess anyway, I wanted to do it properly.
I wanted to thoroughly investigate what kind of romance she harbored in her heart beforehand, and then prepare a proposal that would suit her tastes perfectly.
I wanted to see Lucella's face as she looked up at me with an expression of deep emotion.
'For that, I must first be patient.'
Be patient. And discover what Lucella likes.
Though I consoled myself thus, reality and ideals were always different, as they always were.
"...I can't bear not seeing you."
In the end, unable to restrain myself, I rose from my seat.
* * *
I lay on my bed, gazing blankly up at the ceiling.
"So that's how it was.... I really was attracted to him...."
Ever since I became aware of my feelings, I had been in this state.
Gazing blankly at the ceiling, kicking at my blanket with my feet, and finally burying my face in my pillow and screaming.
The fact that I had come to like someone confused me so much.
'I should have liked someone at some point in my life.'
Falling in love was something I had never experienced across both my past and present lives.
In my previous life, I had been so absorbed in my idol obsession that I kept romance at arm's length, and in this life, I had been consumed by the compulsion to raise Lucian properly, leaving no room for anything else.
It was only natural to feel confused when facing genuine emotions with absolutely no prior experience.
And the fact that these feelings were reciprocated, not one-sided, made it all the more overwhelming.
'Wait. Is this really mutual?'
The sudden thought caused my fist, which had been punching at empty air, to freeze mid-motion.
Everyone was insisting that Claude liked me, and I myself thought he seemed to like me, but...
This was nothing more than speculation.
I had never heard a clear confession from him.
I couldn't be certain of his feelings based solely on others' words and my own intuition.
'But if Claude really does like me... what happens after that?'
I couldn't simply listen to his confession without sharing my own feelings.
And once we confirmed that our feelings were mutual...
'Would we become lovers?!'
I jolted upright from where I'd been sprawled across the bed. Or rather, it would be more accurate to say my body moved of its own accord.
"So Claude and I would... become lovers?!"
Lovers.
Just rolling the word around in my mouth made my tongue tingle, and my body twisted with embarrassment. For some reason, my face was burning hot.
"Ugh!"
I kicked at the innocent blankets. I even pounded the pillow with my fists.
Yet the shame that had risen all the way to my chin showed no signs of fading.
'Being lovers means... doing this and that together, doesn't it?'
Here I was, making a fuss all by myself, when the other person hadn't even given me anything.
"Sigh. Let me calm down first, Lucella."
I repeated deep breaths, trying to settle my racing heart.
Claude hadn't even confessed to me yet, and he still didn't know my feelings. There was nothing to gain from acting hastily.
"Let me just settle down. Once I've calmed my heart, I'll think about what to do going forward..."
"Miss Lucella, are you asleep?"
It was right in the middle of my murmuring to myself.
At the knock that came from beyond the door, I trembled like a child caught misbehaving.
I composed myself and answered, trying to sound casual.
"Oh, no! Why?"
"A message has arrived for you, Miss Lucella."
"A message?"
Tilting my head in confusion, I immediately got out of bed and opened the door.
Standing before the door was a maid with a familiar face.
"But who would be sending me a message?"
There were no social gatherings planned for a while. I had no reason to visit the Temple or the Imperial Capital either.
"Why wouldn't there be anyone to send you one?"
The maid flashed a mischievous smile at my bewildered expression and opened her mouth to speak.
"It's a message sent by Marquis Agris."
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Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
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