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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 24
Chapter Title: A Warning
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“Your Highness!”
Eva called out to Arabelle in desperation. But Arabelle didn't even twitch an eyebrow.
‘Even if she felt like she was at the edge of a cliff, she shouldn't have said those last words.’
It might have looked like she was cutting her losses and running for now, but Arabelle could have helped her later.
This was the duke's mansion, not the imperial palace, after all.
It wasn't a place where she could run wild, so she likely would have taken a step back.
But by accusing the princess, Eva had destroyed any chance of making a comeback.
She had thoroughly gotten on Princess Arabelle's bad side.
“Get out of this house. And don't ever come back.”
After Eva was thrown out, Karayan spoke to the princess.
“This only happened because you keep putting off your decision, Young Master. If you had just accepted my proposal right away, would I have had to go to all this trouble?”
Hmph.
Princess Arabelle put on a prim expression. Karayan's reaction was nothing but cold.
“The answer to your proposal is always no. I will never marry someone like you.”
“What a funny joke. How could that be, when your prospective bride is none other than me, Arabelle Piajet Epagonizomai Philoneikia von Rembrana?”
Such incredible self-confidence.
Karayan didn't bother to hide his disgust.
Lumina found herself sympathizing, thinking she would have reacted the same way if she were Karayan.
“To be honest, I came today to have a nice, long talk with you, Young Master. About topics like our future plans.”
Karayan's expression grew more and more wretched. Unfazed, Arabelle continued.
“But it seems the Duke of Heart has brought something interesting into his home.”
Arabelle's gaze landed on Lumina.
Brilliant silver hair.
Eyes slanted like a prim cat's.
Violet eyes mixed with hostility and interest.
As if boasting of her noble bloodline, there wasn't a single part of her that didn't draw the eye.
For such a person to be staring so intently at her was an ominous sign for Lumina.
Just then, Karayan stepped in front of Lumina, blocking her from view.
“The duke will be back soon. Do you think he'll be pleased when he finds out you caused such a scene?”
“Hmm. You're right, today doesn't seem like a good day for a conversation.”
Arabelle showed a hint of unease.
Reading Arabelle's agitation, Karayan abruptly grabbed Lumina's hand and pulled her along.
“Let's go.”
He seemed to be trying to escape, but given Lumina's limited mobility, it was hard for her to keep up with his pace.
Frowning in displeasure, Karayan looked back at Lumina.
“Why are you so much trouble?”
I never asked for his help...?
He was the one who insisted on helping when he didn't have to, yet he was the one complaining.
‘Huh?’
Lumina's body was suddenly lifted off the ground.
Bewildered, she found herself being held by Karayan in a princess carry.
Unable to deal with Arabelle, Karayan simply ran.
He was so fast that she could feel the strong wind against her wet cheek.
“She may be reckless, but after what she's done, she won't follow us this far.”
Karayan's pace gradually slowed.
When he reached the front of Lumina's assigned room, he showed his meticulous side by carefully checking behind them.
“You can put me down now.”
“Ah.”
He had been so anxious about Arabelle following them that he seemed to have forgotten he was carrying Lumina, and he looked slightly flustered.
In a flurry, he hastily set Lumina down.
Pat, pat.
Finally back on the ground, Lumina smoothed out her wrinkled clothes.
Karayan, who had been staring at the perfectly composed Lumina in bewilderment, opened his mouth.
“You.”
Karayan looked like he had a lot to say.
But upon meeting her clear eyes, which didn't avoid his gaze, he let out a sigh.
“Never mind. Just go wash up. You'll catch a cold like that.”
‘A cold from just this?’
It wasn't the middle of winter; he was exaggerating.
However, she did feel sticky from having tea spilled on her, so she obediently went to wash up.
She was only planning to wash up quickly, so she didn't need any help with her bath. But Karayan had already pulled the bell cord.
Maids came right away to prepare a bath.
‘That's strange. I don't see Olivia.’
As the maid in charge of Lumina, there was no way Olivia would miss something like this.
But ever since she'd left to find Karayan, she was nowhere to be seen, as if they had missed each other.
“I don't see Olivia. Have any of you seen her?”
“You mean Lady Olivia?”
“Lady Olivia?”
Was Olivia a high-ranking maid? She hadn't given that impression.
No one had explained it, so she hadn't known.
When Lumina asked back in surprise, one of the maids subtly nudged her colleague in the side.
“We'll go look for her.”
“Please do.”
Something was up.
Sensing something suspicious, Lumina washed up and changed her clothes.
“Where is the young master?”
“I saw him waiting outside the door earlier.”
“He was probably too shy to wait inside while you were bathing, my lady.”
With his personality? Shy? No way.
Not trusting the maids' words, Lumina opened the door and peeked her head out.
She had taken quite a while to wash up and get ready, so she assumed he would have already left.
But Karayan was still there, leaning against the wall in a defiant posture.
Sensing her presence, Karayan turned his head first.
When their eyes met, Karayan made a strange expression before quickly turning his head away.
‘...What's with him?’
Is he actually shy?
The Young Duke of Heart, who's been nothing but a jerk since the moment we met?
It was ridiculous.
“You have something to say to me, don't you? Please, come in.”
Karayan obediently came inside.
Worried that Karayan might feel uncomfortable, Lumina dismissed the maids.
The two were left completely alone. Karayan seemed to have something to say but didn't speak up right away.
“I didn't get a chance to say it in all the chaos, but thank you for your help earlier.”
“It was nothing. More importantly, it's been bothering me—what's with your leg?”
Karayan pointed out, having belatedly noticed Lumina's difficulty walking.
“I was in a minor accident recently. Don't worry about it. I heal faster than most people, so I'll probably be able to run in a few days.”
Lumina gave a light shrug.
‘Come to think of it...’
She and Karayan would be seeing a lot of each other from now on.
Just as with the Duke of Heart, it would be far more advantageous to get on his good side.
‘If I earn Karayan's favor, the duke's trust in me will naturally increase as well. Killing two birds with one stone.’
The boy hated his father, but the father, in fact, cherished his son more than anyone.
Lumina smiled sweetly and asked.
“Were you worried about me?”
“Wh-what? Of course not!”
“Really?”
Lumina slowly crept closer to Karayan.
Having just bathed, Lumina was fresh and smelled nice.
On top of that, when she flashed a lovely smile with that innocent face of hers, Karayan, who had zero immunity to such things, didn't know what to do.
“Anyway! That's not what I wanted to talk about.”
His cheeks slightly flushed, Karayan changed the subject.
His golden eyes, which had been filled with a mix of excitement and bewilderment, grew calm.
“Let me give you a piece of advice. If you want to live a peaceful life, don't get involved with this family.”
“But I'm already the duke's ward.”
“Did you not just hear me? Cancel that ward nonsense and get the hell out of here as soon as you're healed.”
It couldn't be canceled just like that.
And there was one thing Karayan was misunderstanding.
It wasn't Lucius who approached her, but Lumina who had approached him with a purpose.
Her life was already far from peaceful, which was why Lumina was the one trying to get deeply involved.
So Karayan's concern was unnecessary. But she played dumb.
“Why? I'm not stupid enough to just say 'yes, sir' and leave without any reason.”
Looking frustrated, Karayan lowered his voice as if to share a secret.
“I don't know for what purpose you've volunteered to be my father's lackey, but I'll tell you this much.”
“...”
“Don't trust the Duke of Heart.”
Setting aside the fact that he was calling his own father so coldly, he was telling her not to trust him.
Those weren't words that would come from an ordinary child.
“Do you know why my mother died?”
“No.”
Lumina shook her head.
Karayan's gaze turned chillingly cold.
“My father killed her.”
“...What?”
“On the day he massacred the Legion. That devil didn't just kill the Legion.”
But the Lucius she had seen was still abstaining from smoking because his wife had hated the smell of cigarette smoke.
A man like that killed his wife?
“It's the truth, whether you believe it or not. I saw it with my own eyes.”
Perhaps her thoughts were written all over her face, because Karayan spoke firmly.
And with that, he stood up as if he had nothing more to say.
***
“Olivia, where have you been? I was looking all over for you.”
Olivia returned a long while after Karayan had left.
“Something came up, so it took me a while. More importantly, I sent the young master to you. Did you meet him?”
Lumina nodded.
“Thanks to the young master, perhaps, the princess left sooner than I expected. She's so unpredictable, I don't know when she might show up again, but things should be fine.”
Lumina hoped so, too.
The princess, with her breathtakingly long full name, was too much for Lumina to handle.
After that, time passed without any major incidents.
“I'm so glad you've recovered quickly. You should be able to walk on your own without support now.”
Olivia said, examining Lumina's leg.
“You said you'd be returning home as soon as your leg was healed, right?”
Lumina nodded.
Because she had slept for four days, it felt like she hadn't been at the mansion for long, but the time to return home was slowly approaching.
During that time, Lucius must have been busy, as he didn't summon Lumina or interact with her separately.
‘I even wandered around the mansion on the pretext of taking a walk, but I never ran into him.’
It was probably because it hadn't been long since she'd treated Karayan, so there was no further business between them.
It was, for all intents and purposes, the life of a rich, idle layabout.
But Lumina wasn't satisfied.
‘They're pretending otherwise, but they haven't let down their suspicion and guard against me yet.’
The maids of the ducal household were kind.
It was clear they were trying their best to treat her well, so any 'suspicion' or 'wariness' was nowhere to be found.
But the quick-witted Lumina could tell.
They were deliberately acting that way to make her lower her guard. They were just waiting for her to show an opening.
“Olivia.”
“Yes?”
Lumina beamed at Olivia.
“Now that my leg is better, I want to go out.”
If the other party was just going to put up a wall and watch her, then all she had to do was approach them first.
