EWOWMAIBTYPF Chapter 206

Chapter 206

 

To Allen, Lucio had always been a brother to be proud of, and he respected his intelligent and rational older brother more than anyone.

He knew that Lucio wasn’t as cold-hearted as people often said, but it was true that he could never quite tell what his brother was thinking, given his ever-expressionless face.

But what he had just witnessed…

Was so different from the image he had of Lucio that it left him stunned.

“What the hell…”

Allen roughly tousled his hair and shut his eyes tightly.

The scene he had witnessed in the library replayed in his mind.

In truth, when he saw Lucio with Lia, Allen had wanted to ask, ‘What are you two doing?’ But the words that came out of his mouth were, ‘I’m sorry.’

He didn’t even know what he was apologizing for—it just came out instinctively.

And now, Allen thought he finally understood why he’d said it.

He had sensed it on a primal level.

That just moments ago, he had intruded on an intimate moment between the two of them.

And the moment he realized that, a sharp pain, like being pierced from within, welled up in his chest.

“**** it.”

Allen muttered a curse under his breath and raised his arm to cover his eyes.

Before he knew it, tears were streaming down his cheeks and dripping from his chin.

He wanted so badly to deny it, but in the end, he had no choice but to accept it.

On the day he first realized what his first love was… that love came to an end.

 

***

 

“…Huh?”

I blinked, still dazed.

“Did Sir Allen really just come and go?”

He had vanished so quickly. I was sure we made eye contact, but seeing the tightly closed library door made it feel like it had all been a dream.

Still in disbelief, I turned my head and looked at Lucio.

For some reason, his eyes looked unusually somber.

“What’s wrong?”

“…It’s nothing.”

He shook his head and picked up a macaron.

“Here, try this one too.”

“I don’t want it. I’m done eating.”

I suddenly felt irritated and even set down the sandwich I had been holding.

I hadn’t even digested lunch yet, and now with all the snacks, I felt like I was going to burst.

All I wanted to do was walk through the main library and reminisce about old memories. How did it come to this?

Frowning, I looked at the table so full of food that it was hard to tell whether I was in a library or a parlor.

Just then, Lucio, unwilling to give up, said, “Then how about this one?” as he offered me another dessert. I glared at him sulkily.

But Lucio only smiled softly, as if finding my reaction cute, and reached out to interlock his fingers with mine.

His long, firm fingers completely enveloped mine, and my face turned bright red like a tomato.

“W-What are you doing?”

Embarrassed, I quickly tried to pull my hand away, but Lucio only gripped it tighter.

When I finally gave in and relaxed my hand, he gently traced my fingers with his thumb and said,

“You’re just too thin.”

“…Do I really look that unimpressive to you?”

“Unimpressive?”

Repeating my words with an incredulous look, Lucio leaned in and kissed my earlobe as he whispered,

“If that were true, I wouldn’t be this desperate for you.”

Startled, I quickly pulled my hand away and smacked him on the shoulder.

“What if someone sees?!”

“No one’s around, so it’s fine.”

Left speechless by his shameless reply, I sighed softly and muttered,

“Then why do you keep trying to feed me? Is it because I look too thin and unpleasant to look at?”

“I’m just worried, that’s all. Your bones are so thin, I feel like they’d snap if I squeezed even a little.”

“What am I, some bare winter twig?”

“In my eyes, yeah. Especially your fingers, they’re so skinny.”

Clicking his tongue, he spoke while I unconsciously glanced down at my left hand.

There, on the fourth finger I had stared at absentmindedly all day, was a ring.

⟨I truly love Lia. I will cherish and treasure her more than myself for the rest of my life. I will never let her be hurt or cry because of me, I will make her happy. So please, I ask for your blessing.⟩

This morning, Lucio visited the marquis’ estate carrying a handwritten proposal letter, flowers, and a ring.

Diana, who clearly came just to spectate, accompanied him.

Looking more tense than usual, Lucio politely asked my parents and grandfather for permission to marry me.

And my mother, still fuming from the night before after returning from the imperial palace, said…

⟨Hmph! Your father already shoved the oath in my face yesterday, pressuring me to keep the promise. What’s the point of making a separate proposal now?⟩

She snapped coldly, as if venting all her anger on Lucio.

Who would’ve thought the secret trump card Lucio mentioned was the written vow from her childhood with Duke Elard?

Even the Emperor knew about it now, making it nearly impossible for my parents to reject the marriage.

As they apologized to me, saying they felt sorry for going along with the engagement, I didn’t know how to respond.

⟨That was just brought up as a formality, and since it’s ultimately a matter between our parents, I believed I should naturally ask for your permission separately.⟩

When Lucio lowered his head and calmly asked for forgiveness, it seemed like it finally softened Mother’s heart a little.

In the end, when Mother reluctantly nodded, Lucio immediately knelt in front of me and offered the ring.

It was right in front of the entire family—my grandfather and father with somber expressions, Ascart, and even Diana, who was watching with sparkling eyes.

Though I felt sorry for my parents, I reached out my hand with a joyful heart, and Lucio smiled brightly as he slipped the ring onto my finger.

The platinum ring, encrusted with tightly set pink diamonds, was so thin and light that it could be worn every day.

But looking at it now, Lucio seemed worried even this ring might be too much for my finger.

Shaking my head, I looked fondly at the perfectly sized ring, neither too loose nor too tight, and asked,

“Did my brother not tell you my ring size?”

Half-teasing him for having gotten information about me through Ascart, Lucio burst into laughter.

“Even if it’s Ascart, don’t you think he would’ve noticed right away if I asked him something like that?”

True—Dad and Ascart usually lacked awareness, but when it came to me, they were so sharp it often surprised Mom.

I chuckled to myself, and Lucio gently bumped his forehead against mine and asked,

“So, are you really not going to eat anymore?”

“I’m honestly full now…”

“Not even chocolate?”

With a suggestive look, Lucio spoke, and I stared at him in disbelief.

As if I didn’t know he was planning to kiss me after feeding me chocolate under the pretense of sharing a taste?

Determined not to fall for his tricks again after his earlier surprise move, I firmly declined. Then he asked,

“Why? I thought you liked it too?”

“What, what did you just say?”

“I meant chocolate. You’re the one being cheeky now.”

I was left speechless, my mouth hanging open.

‘Did he really just call me cheeky?’

How exhausting it was having him clinging to me and teasing me every chance he got!

I hadn’t realized Lucio was the type to be so bold.

Or that he was such a playful man, always looking to tease me!

Feeling an odd sense of betrayal, I glared at him fiercely—but Lucio only smiled and leaned in closer, unaffected.

As he wrapped an arm around my waist and leaned in to kiss my cheek…

“Freeze!”

The door suddenly burst open, and Ascart shouted.

“Get away from her, you sly ******!”

Lucio and I jumped apart like we’d been caught doing something wrong.

Storming in with the force of a thunderclap, Ascart pushed Lucio away and separated us.

“Adriana! Are you okay? Nothing happened, right? I told you to have lunch with Diana so why are you with Lucio?”

“Th-that’s because we just happened to run into each other at the library after lunch!”

Well, considering Diana had casually suggested we drop by the library to relive old memories and then conveniently disappeared to talk with Jane, while Lucio had already prepared a whole tea spread as if he knew we were coming…it was probably a planned setup.

Still, I had done nothing wrong, so I responded confidently.

Ascart turned his fiery eyes toward Lucio.

He glared like a kitten baring its teeth, fierce and protective.

“Lucio! Did you already forget my warning?”

“I told you not to knock her out, not to approach her.”

“Now you’re doing the same thing!”

“Ascart, I already got your approval. Lia is my fiancée now.”

“T-that’s…!”

Lucio’s words made Ascart look frustrated.

But only for a moment, then a sly smile formed, clearly signaling he’d thought of something.

Unlike his usual innocent grin, this one had the air of a mischievous villain.

“Lucio, did you know? We may proceed with the engagement, but we’re going to delay the wedding as much as possible! Let’s see how long you can wait!”

At that moment, Lucio’s previously relaxed face hardened.

He immediately turned to me, and I quickly shook my head to show I had no idea either.

Now that I thought about it, even after they agreed to the engagement this morning, my family had been oddly gloomy, then suddenly sent me off to have lunch with Diana.

I was bewildered at the time, but now it seemed like they were holding some kind of emergency strategy meeting in the meantime.

“Ascart, are you serious?”

Lucio asked in a grave tone, seemingly unable to believe Ascart’s words since he had thought the promise document was the ace up his sleeve.

Ascart, still smiling devilishly, replied,

“Of course! So don’t get too smug!”

 

***

 

Watching the dumbfounded Lucio and the triumphant Ascart, I quietly slipped out of the library.

Seeing Lucio so dejected made me feel weak, and I almost ended up comforting him in front of Ascart without thinking.

‘Idiot. If I insisted on getting married, my family wouldn’t be able to stop it anyway.’

If it were about anything else, Lucio would have figured that out easily—but he was so disheartened, he didn’t even seem capable of thinking that far.

Or maybe… he wasn’t entirely sure how strongly I felt about him.

I wasn’t sure whether to laugh or not as I began climbing the stairs.

Though it had been brief, I was sure I had seen Allen earlier.

The Rexion knights seemed to have finished their training, so I planned to meet up with Allen and Jack along with Diana.

“Lia.”

Just then, I heard a familiar voice from the bottom of the stairs.

It was Jack’s.

 

That’s it for today. There are more tomorrow though, so look forward to it~