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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 25
Chapter Title: An Unexpected Proposal
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***
The ducal estate was incomparably larger than the Lanshuss mansion. It felt like exploring a castle.
The mansion's layout was just as complex, but Lumina quickly learned her way around.
*‘All thanks to my short yet long idle life.’*
The lavish mansion failed to impress Lumina in the slightest.
Nevertheless, she wandered around diligently with Olivia, pretending to be fascinated and amazed.
And she was doing so now.
Lumina, who had been darting about the mansion as if letting her feet carry her wherever they pleased, came to a halt.
“Oh? This place looks rather familiar.”
“It's the Duke's office.”
“The Duke's?”
Lumina feigned surprise.
An office.
She had truly found the right place.
“If the Duke is inside, could I perhaps see him for a moment?”
After a moment's hesitation, Olivia nodded. Then she knocked on the office door.
*‘I timed my visit on purpose, so I was worried I might not find his office. What a relief that I got it right.’*
In truth, when Lumina first stood before the office, she hadn't been certain it was really Lucius's.
For some reason, the office door looked like it had been recently replaced.
*‘It's only been a few days since I was last here. Don't tell me.’*
Had someone broken the door in that short time?
“My lady. You may go in.”
Permission was granted.
Lumina trotted into the office. Lucius, who was in the middle of reviewing documents, spoke indifferently.
“What is it?”
“I wanted to see you, Your Grace!”
Lumina replied cheerfully.
The response, however, was silence.
For some reason, a tense atmosphere filled the space between Lumina and Lucius.
*‘As expected, these tricks don't work on Duke Heart at all!’*
If he had fallen for such a shallow ploy, he wouldn't have earned his formidable reputation.
Since he was a difficult person to build trust with, Lumina immediately changed her approach.
“I just happened to be passing by. I plan to return home soon, so I thought I'd stop in while I was in the area.”
The atmosphere eased a little.
It seemed this was the correct answer.
“Speaking of which, letters arrived.”
“Letters?”
“From a Joseph Melkan, was it?”
Her maternal uncle.
This time, it was Lumina's expression that soured.
“I didn't think you'd be pleased to see them, so I've kept them aside. You may read them if you wish.”
At a gesture from Lucius, a servant brought over a stack of envelopes.
They were piled high, about a handspan thick.
Surprised by the thickness for only a moment, Lumina casually took the top letter and unfolded it.
*‘The contents are just as I expected.’*
It was just pathetic whining about when she would return to the mansion.
It was the kind of clinginess you'd expect from a drunk ex-lover.
“I gave him a suitable excuse for why you needed to stay here, but he's persistent. He sends a letter every single day.”
“My uncle tends to be particularly fond of me.”
His plan to fill the Lanshuss mansion with his own people had been shattered, so he must be quite anxious.
*‘If they were incompetent, I could use that as an excuse to kick them out. But it seems he hasn't found even a minor fault.’*
As expected of those guaranteed by Duke Heart—they were swift, tight-lipped, and swept away every last speck of dust.
“And your reply?”
“You already said you replied to my uncle, Your Grace. So I don't think it's necessary.”
Lucius knew the details of the Lanshuss family's situation.
He fully understood why Lumina was avoiding Joseph.
“Did any other messages arrive?”
“None. Are you expecting something?”
“I was wondering if my brother might have sent a letter. My aunt and uncle are staying at the house, but it's not the same as hearing from your immediate family, you know.”
Lumina was worried about Endymion. And her concern was genuine.
Unlike Lumina, who was eating, sleeping, and living well at the ducal estate, Endymion was still stuck like a sandwich between their relatives.
“As it happens, my brother was thinking of attending the academy.”
“...”
“The academy has dormitories, so if he leaves, we won't see each other often. It would be best to return home as soon as possible, I suppose.”
“The academy?”
He took the bait.
The moment Lucius showed a hint of interest, Lumina began to chatter away as if she'd been waiting for this.
“Yes! My brother is very smart. I guarantee he'll be at the top of his class if he goes to the academy. I'm not just saying that because he's my brother, it's true!”
“...”
“So it seems he wants to go to the academy to broaden his horizons. And with the atmosphere at home so unsettled, it's probably better for him to be away.”
Lucius seemed to quickly realize that Lumina was trying to get Endymion out of the house.
Attending the academy would free him from their relatives. And from Lucius, as well.
It was a shallow ploy. But for now, it was the only way Lumina could protect Endymion.
“Not a bad idea.”
“Right?”
“I'll look into the procedures for you.”
Lucius said nonchalantly.
“You really don't have to help...”
She was not fine at all.
But Lumina deliberately took a step back.
It wouldn't do to seem overly pleased from the start, as that would reveal her intentions.
“These are things adults are supposed to handle. But since you have no one else to do it for you, I will.”
Jumping to her feet,
Lumina rose from her seat and scampered over to Lucius.
And she threw her arms around him in a hug.
“Thank you so much!”
“...”
Lucius froze completely.
“You're the best, Your Grace!”
Beaming, Lumina tilted her head up slightly.
She couldn't see his eyes because of his sunglasses, but the firm, straight line of his mouth suggested he was displeased.
*‘Ah, so these shallow tricks don't work on him.’*
It seemed they only worked on Joseph.
She grew anxious, worrying that he might get annoyed and retract his offer to help with the academy matter.
Her face fell, and just as she was about to lower her arms and step back,
“I am merely fulfilling my duty as your guardian. If I didn't step in, you'd just go running around on your own.”
His tone was harsh and stiff.
It was a threatening way of speaking, enough to instill fear in the listener.
But it wasn't as if this was the first or second time he'd been like this.
If she were the type to be scared off by something like this, she never would have approached him in the first place.
Her eyes wide, Lumina replied boldly, “Yes! Thank you!”
“There's no need to thank me. You, too, have done your part properly.”
“My part?”
Lumina tilted her head.
“You treated Karayan well.”
For a moment, a rare, pleased smile touched Lucius's lips.
“And for some reason, Karayan hasn't left the estate. The knight order has been complaining for days that he's been tearing up the training grounds.”
“Is that so?”
“It's unusual. Since Iris passed away, the number of days he spends at home in a year could be counted on one hand.”
A sense of fondness colored his voice when he pronounced the name ‘Iris’.
Iris von Heart.
She was the Duchess of House Heart, who had passed away long ago.
*‘According to Karayan, the Duke killed his own wife.’*
But could someone really kill the person they still loved? Unless he was a complete psychopath, it seemed impossible.
If that look was an act, then he must be a genius born to perform.
“Karayan even came to my office. He opened the door so forcefully that it broke.”
...He was a Legion, after all.
Her feeling that the door had been replaced was no illusion.
The things Legions did were beyond imagination.
“I'm glad you seem to have grown closer to your son.”
Recalling her last conversation with Karayan, their father-son relationship hadn't grown closer at all.
But Lucius seemed to feel that it was fine if every door in the mansion were broken for Karayan's sake, so she said it anyway.
“Ah. That's right.”
Lumina, who had been smiling at Lucius, clapped her hands as if she'd just remembered something.
She then rummaged through a palm-sized bag with her small, delicate hands.
This was the bag Olivia had given her, telling her to take out the candies he had given her last time and eat them one by one.
But now, it contained more than just candy.
Lumina took ‘it’ out and held it out to Lucius.
“What is this?”
He asked in a wary tone, as if she were pointing poison or a sharp blade at him.
But what Lumina offered was by no means something that could harm a person.
Knowing he wasn't asking because he was genuinely curious about its identity, Lumina answered softly.
“I was walking through the garden, and the irises were blooming beautifully.”
“...”
“Thanks to the many flowers you gifted me last time, my room is filled with their scent, but I couldn't help but notice that there was nothing in your office, Your Grace.”
A single, beautifully bloomed iris was held in Lumina's hand.
“I thought it would be nice to put it in a vase as a decoration. Was I being presumptuous?”
Lucius gazed silently at the iris.
When there was no immediate reaction, she began to feel as though she had done something wrong.
*‘Did I get it wrong this time, too? Duke Heart, as expected. He's not easy.’*
She debated whether she should put the iris back down.
While she was caught in her indecision, Lucius finally tore his gaze from the flower and looked at her.
As if on cue, Lumina gave him a shy, sweet smile.
Whether she was happy, embarrassed, or had made a mistake, her first response had to be a smile.
Surely, even the infamous Duke Heart wouldn't spit on a smiling face.
Just as she was thinking this, he dropped a bombshell.
“It would be best for you to marry Karayan after all.”
