Lucia - Chapter 29

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Chapter 29

< — Ducal couple — > (17)

TN: Dunno if I’ve mentioned this but thank you all soo much for constantly commenting! Huuuge motivator for me . Enjoy! Also:

“Her Grace came to this unfamiliar northern region alone, not knowing anybody, yet she never complained about her situation being difficult or uncomfortable . If your Grace were ignore her Grace, then shle truly would be alone . ”

Hugo actually began to suspect just where Jerome came out from today to have such a completely different temperament but when he thought about it, there was no denying that Jerome was Fabian’s blood brother .

To speak without any fear was Fabian’s trademark .

Hugo’s red eyes glowed even redder .

“These days, her Grace…”

“Shut up . ”

“Your Grace . ”

“I dare you to say one more word…”

Feeling the murderous gaze on him, Jerome shut his mouth and lowered his gaze .

The Duke was not a master that needlessly picked on someone’s faults but he was a master that would never tolerate challenges to his authority .

The criteria depended on if someone were getting above themselves . Jerome did not have the authority to butt into the ducal couple’s private relationship .

It wasn’t because Jerome was a steward . No one in Roam had such authority . Hugo was extremely displeased with the situation .

He wondered if she had sent him as she had enough reason to do so . But this was Jerome .

The Jerome that did not unnecessarily interfere with his usual work, and could distinguish between the things Hugo alone could to do and the things Jerome could deal with himself .

Therefore, Jerome’s unusual behavior got on his nerves . Hugo already knew that Jerome took care of her more than the usual .

He did not doubt Jerome’s loyalty as a steward but he was strangely irritated .

“Impressive . Did she ask you to come annoy me?”

Even though he knew that there was no way she had, he felt extremely twisted inside .

“No, Your Grace! Her Grace would never—!”

Crash!

A teacup flew past Jerome’s face and shattered to pieces on the floor as soon as Jerome opened his mouth .

“I told you to shut up . ”

Hugo swiftly got up and walked out of the office while Jerome sat down with a paling face .

He made a mistake . A terrible result of his needless interference . If Fabian were here, he definitely would have told him that their relationship wasn’t one he should interfere with .

‘I’ve let down her Grace’s honor . ’*

His first rebellion against his master ended with his tail completely trampled . He unnecessarily intervened and even created a misunderstanding .

Jerome sighed and began to sweep the pieces of the tea cup that was scattered everywhere .

The fact that the cup did not fly at his forehead meant that his master was already pretty tolerant .

‘I’ll ask Fabian for some advice when he comes . ’

Useless mouth! And so he began to sharply berate himself .

***

Lucia returned home early from her outing with Kate, using the excuse that she wasn’t feeling well .

She didn’t feel like talking or going horseback riding . Right after she returned from seeing Kate, the doctor scarily came to visit .

“Your Grace . ”

Anna looked at loss for what to do and she couldn’t meet Lucia’s eyes, seemingly nervous .

That day, he had left after saying that she could do as she pleased but from the next day onwards, he continuously sent Anna .

“Your Grace, the Duke calls me every evening and asks me how the treatment is going . ”

Anna said with an expression that read ‘please save me’ . When the Duke called Anna, he didn’t say any other thing .

He would just asked how the treatment was going but that alone gave Anna enormous pressure .

“Please, honestly tell me the symptoms that you know about . ”

Because of this, in just a few days, the anger in Lucia’s heart steadily increased . She felt like she was deceived by him and couldn’t break free .

She felt like going to his office immediately and giving him a slap .

‘Alright . I’ll do what you want me to do . ’

Lucia opened her mouth and began to explain her symptoms . She explained it exactly how she explained it to the doctors she searched for in her dream .

Yes, she already knew a cure for it but she had no intention of using it . However, if Anna found another cure, she didn’t plan on refusing treatment .

But the chances of that happening were close to none . She’d met countless doctors in her dream numerous times, but none of them could cure her .

It was an amazing coincidence and luck that she was able to get a treatment method from that wandering doctor .

She didn’t think such coincidence and luck would happen a second time .

And as expected, Anna looked confused after hearing her explanation . She looked bewildered by the fact that Lucia took mugwort herb and cause her menstruation to stop . She didn’t seem to know anything about it .

“I’m sorry, your Grace . To be frank, my abili so I do not know how to treat you . But I will definitely figure out a way . ”

Anna resolutely assured her . Lucia sat absent-mindedly for a little while then went out into the garden .

***

Hugo left his office extremely displeased and thoughtlessly walked till he stepped outside .

The rain had stopped but there was no sign of the sun .

‘I guess the day is ending like this . ’

When he realized it, he was already in the garden . He quickly turned around and tried to leave but before he could do that he discovered her .

She was bent over in a bow, looking at an almost blossoming flower bud . He stood still for a while, then his feet turned towards her .

Lucia straightened her waist and turned to see him approaching her, instantly, she found herself falling into a fantasy as the air around her changed .

Everything around her blurred and all she could see was him . Lucia knew she had experienced something like this before .

‘When I was in the capital…the day of the Knight’s parade…’

It was the day that she saw him for the first time in reality, not in her dreams .

She was angry with him . Her condition was terrible because she could not sleep properly as every night, she stared at the bedroom door that never opened .

And just a while ago, she wanted to slap him if she ever saw him . But once she saw him, all the anger that had piled up, instantly melted away like salt dissolved in the water .

‘I am such an idiot…’

She knew that he was unattainable and thought she had locked down her feelings but her heart seemed to slip through the crevices .

While her heart bubbled over, it also hurt .

‘I love him . ’

She didn’t know what to do . Just like his countless past lovers, she couldn’t keep her heart to herself .

‘He must not find out . ’

If he took one step closer to her, she would take two steps backwards . She didn’t want to be sent a rose .

Note: I am crashing immediately after this upload . New comments will be approved once I wake up .

< — Ducal couple — > (17)

TN: WE REACHED THE GOAL ON PATRON! Huge thanks! So here is the extra release! Regular release is still coming tmrw . Also: . For those curious:

Reaching the end of her breathtaking realizations, Lucia turned towards him and smiled .

‘Ah…’

Hugo felt the annoyance and irritation that had been bothering him dissipate the instant he saw her smile .

It was as refreshing as waking up in the morning after a good night’s sleep . Hugo finally woke up from his folly .

What he was afraid of wasn’t her existence, it was his wavering . Simply imagining never seeing her smile again made him feel like he couldn’t breathe .

‘I told you so’, his heart seemed to mock him .

“Look at this, won’t the flower be blooming soon? I think it will bloom fully in a few days . ”

Hugo was momentarily tongue-tied when she began to speak to him as though nothing had happened .

“…I see . ”

Her refreshed expression made him feel miserable . Unlike his fretful self, she had her usual peaceful expression .

“I heard you’ve been busy . Did you come out to get some air?”

“Mmm… the busy stuff is almost done but something came up so I will have to leave for a while . ”

“Ah . ”

Lucia’s face changed for an instant then she gave another sweet smile .

“How long will it take? Will you be gone for a long time?”

“I don’t know the exact details so it could be a while . Why are you alone? What of your maid?”

“I sent her on an errand . Since the rain was over, I thought of having a cup of tea here . If it’s okay, would you like to join me?”
“…Sure . ”

He just had some tea a while ago but he didn’t refuse her .

After a while, a couple of maids came, bringing a folding table and a tea basket . The table was placed at a suitable place and the two of them sat facing each other .

“I was worried since it’s rarely dry nowadays, but I am glad that the rain stopped mid-day . ”

“What have you been doing?”

“Just the same stuff as usual . Take care of the garden and then reading books . That’s strange . You are talking to me as though we haven’t seen each other in a long time . It was just a few days . ”

Was it just a few days? He felt like it was a very long time but to her, it was just a few days .

He found her spiritedness admirable and felt remorseful . He reached out and caressed her soft cheek . Her soft skin gave him the illusion that he would leave marks if he exerted even a little more strength .

She was weak . Yet this frail existence threatened him so strongly .

“…That day, I made a mistake and I want to apologize to you . It wasn’t my intention to treat you as an unfaithful woman . ”

“…”

“What I meant was…offsprings are rare in the Taran family . Getting pregnant will be difficult… and I didn’t want you to get disappointed after hoping for a child . ”

His excuse did not really touch Lucia’s heart . After all, if offsprings were rare then it would be more convincing for his attitude to be supporting her pregnancy rather than rejecting it .

But when she saw how he was carefully contemplating his words, a laugh escaped from her mouth .

“Okay . ”

She tried to laugh but tears fell down from her eyes . The wounds she had received at that time no longer hurt . She had already forgiven him .

His tender words and gentle caresses made her heart ache with happiness .

Looking at the tears flowing down her cheeks, he wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do and stood up .

He took a step around the tea table towards her and wrapped his arms around her .

“I’m sorry . I was wrong . ”

His embrace and scent that she’d been missing made her feel like she had gone from hell to heaven in an instant .

‘We can go back… to how we were before . ’

To how they were the last few months . It was fine even if their relationship was a castle of sand and no one knew when it would collapse .

When one couldn’t see the waves, they would assume it was all okay . Nothing was resolved, but it was fine to think about later things, later .

Her heart felt like it had overcome the heavens and was rather calm . Once she accepted her changing heart and wasn’t anxious about it, she felt at peace .

Her heaven and hell depended on how she made up her mind .

‘He…at the very least, he treats me with love . ’

She was unsure as to how he treated his past lovers but she decided to think that she was a little more special .

It was not conceit but she had to plant that much confidence in herself so she could stand firmly and love him .

‘Also, I have an advantage . ’

She was his legitimate wife . It was a justification that none of his past lovers ever had .

‘I won’t cling to you . I also won’t subdue myself to please you . ’

She wouldn’t have such a miserable love .

She won’t beg for his love .
She won’t play the virtuous wife, obeying everything he says unconditionally .

She would only do as much as she could, loving him with all of her might but only just enough that she wouldn’t start hating him .

It made her wonder if he had ever received love from a woman that did not cling to him .

The thought that maybe she could make him flustered was amusing .

‘It is fine even if it takes a lifetime . If someday, you tell me that you love me, I won’t feel like my life has been in vain . ’

If she lived like this for one year, five years, even ten years, perhaps she could slowly influence him . Even a little drizzle can become something scary .

Lucia lifted her head a little from within his embrace .

“You said you were wrong, right?”

“Huh? Yea . ”

“I’ll forgive you but I have two conditions . ”

“Conditions? What are they?”

He had an expression that said he didn’t like the word itself .

“The first is… a kiss of reconciliation . ”

His eyes widened slightly then curved . As Hugo’s face drew closer, she closed her eyes .

Their lips touched lightly at first, then met again, with his lips sucking hers in this time .

He suckled and swallowed her tender lips countless times in his mouth . His tongue slipped through the cracks of her mouth, gently and carefully stroking the innards of her mouth then pushed it deeper, stimulating her .

The long and sweet kiss that was neither light nor heated but breathtaking finally came to an end .

He spoke with his lips almost touching hers .

“The second is?”

Because it seemed like he would kiss her again as he drew closer, she held him back and turned her head slightly .

“I am modifying the contract . No matter how I think about the freedom in your private life part, it makes me feel bad . That is practically telling me you’re going to be cheating . Please don’t go making lovers elsewhere . ”

He was taken aback and couldn’t help but stare at her for a bit then spoke in a slightly crestfallen voice .

“…I won’t make any . ”

He felt a little offended . After he married, he hadn’t even looked at other women but unfortunately, he couldn’t refute his track record of being a malicious playboy .

“Additionally, if you get disgusted or tired of me and you want to leave me for another woman, please tell me first . I do not wish to hear it from another person’s mouth . ”

He stared at her for a while then muttered bitterly .

“I forgot for a moment . In your head, I am a pretty terrible guy . ”

It was a mysterious feeling to be marked as a bad guy rather than a nice guy by the woman he loved but again, he couldn’t refute this .

“I can’t give any excuses . ”

He mumbled then grabbed her hand, kissing it .

“As you wish . ”

He straightened his upper body and spoke to the maid that had been fretfully standing at the side for a while .

“What is it?”

“Sir Elliot has asked me to pass on his words; he is ready and waiting for the order to depart . ”

Hugo had finally realized his feelings towards her but nothing could change right now . He still could not promise her anything .

There were also many things that he couldn’t reveal to her . He needed more time to decide what to and what not to show to her .

The hunt this time should give him the time he needed .