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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 28
Chapter Title: Get Out
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***
Olivia, who had been wearing a maid’s uniform to deceive Lumina, changed back into her original uniform and tied her red hair neatly into a single ponytail.
When she put on her glasses as a final touch, she had returned to being Olivia Munez, the very picture of a capable aide.
Click, clack.
Her heels clicking, she came to a stop before the Duke of Heart's office.
Knock, knock—.
“Your Grace. It is Olivia.”
Permission to enter came from within. Olivia pulled on the doorknob.
Perhaps because the door had been recently replaced, it opened lightly and without a sound.
“So, Olivia. You’ve been by her side all day, watching her. What was she like?”
Lucius got straight to the point. He must have been dying to ask that question.
“Do you want my honest opinion?”
“Yes.”
A cold and bleak atmosphere settled over them.
With a blank expression, Olivia spoke in a business-like tone…
“She was just so, so, so cute!”
…or so she seemed about to, before doing a complete one-eighty and exclaiming with delight.
“Seeing her chattering away nonstop made me wish I’d had a daughter instead of a son, you know?”
“…”
“Of course, it's not that I have any complaints about Ash. He's a cute enough son. But I don't know who he takes after; he's so quiet, which is a bit of a shame.”
For a “cute son,” he was bigger than other kids his age, and his strength was nothing to scoff at.
He was the complete opposite of Lumina in many ways, yet she naturally put them in the same category.
“Olivia.”
“You saw it earlier, didn't you? How she hugged me tightly, telling me not to forget her. She was like a fluffy ball of cotton candy.”
“…”
“When I hugged her back, she felt so light compared to Ash, so 'cotton candy' really fits! Cotton candy melts in your mouth, after all.”
“Olivia!”
Slam!
Unable to listen anymore, Lucius slammed his hand on the desk. For a moment, it looked as if a crack had formed on the mahogany wood.
Not wanting to lose a perfectly good desk, Olivia snapped back to her senses.
“Yes, yes, Your Grace.”
“She knew the alias ‘Calvados.’ And yet you say there was nothing suspicious? You spoke with her, so you must have noticed something different from the information we gathered.”
“Hmm… She was lovely.”
“Olivia.”
At this point, he wondered if he should revoke her title as a competent aide.
But Olivia shook her head.
“It’s not that. She's a child who was clearly neglected by her parents, yet she was impossibly sweet.”
As if she knew no darkness.
“It made me feel for her, seeing how she seemed to be trying not to show any pain. Come to think of it, she acted like nothing was wrong even when her leg was hurting.”
“Olivia. That's overly sentimental, and not like you.”
“Unlike you, Your Grace, who lacks humanity, I am human.”
Olivia shrugged.
Then, as if a switch had been flipped, she continued excitedly.
“No, but listen. A child who always insisted she was fine and tried to stand on her own finally showed her vulnerable side when it was time to part. It just pulls at your heartstrings, doesn't it?”
If she hadn't known her past, she would have just thought Lumina got a bit more lonely than she let on.
But she knew that her biological mother hadn't particularly liked Lumina, and that she had been neglected by her father and stepmother for years.
To see her so cheerful and unmarred despite never having been properly cared for made it impossible to dislike her.
“But she only hugged you.”
“Yes, she did. Isn't she just so precious for it?”
Unlike the excited Olivia, Lucius was lost in thought with a serious expression.
“Why did she pass me by?”
*Are you jealous, perhaps?*
The one telling her not to be sentimental was being even more so.
“In any case, I didn't find anything suspicious. There was no one she was secretly contacting behind our backs, either. If anything, the problem is that she's too cute.”
“You're not even a Legion, but your reaction is similar to Brandon's.”
He thought Olivia, being an ordinary human and not a Legion, would be a little different.
But for some reason, she seemed even more smitten than Brandon.
He could understand the Legions being helpless due to their ability, but he couldn't fathom how on earth Olivia had fallen for it.
“Speaking of which, Your Grace, you're the one treasuring the iris the young lady of Lanshuss gave you.”
“Watch your mouth.”
*Did he finally snap after holding it in for so long?*
His tone was so cold that even Olivia flinched.
“She is no longer a Lanshuss.”
“…Was that the problem?”
She was completely missing the point.
“Yes, yes. From now on, I'll call her the young mistress, not the young lady of Lanshuss.”
Since the marriage certificate had been submitted, Lumina was now legally a member of House Heart as of today.
Princess Arabelle would surely cause a scene, but she wouldn't be able to stop this marriage on her own.
“If she is hiding something and deceiving us, then she's a remarkable child. Because there was no sign of it at all.”
Lucius nodded.
“I think our Ash needs to be a little more cunning like a fox, but all he knows is eating and swords.”
It was unclear which parent he took after, but Ash was terrible at lying and acting.
That's why Olivia deliberately avoided Ash while she was disguised as an ordinary maid.
She was afraid that even a small slip-up might expose her to Lumina.
If Lucius had heard the question, ‘Who on earth does Ash take after?’, he would have answered that it was the surprisingly careless Olivia.
And for good reason, as Olivia's husband was a master of disguise.
“There's been no word from Brandon. Did he say anything to you?”
“Nothing.”
Lucius currently had two aides he trusted with his work.
One was Olivia, and the other was Brandon.
If Olivia operated in the light for the ducal family, Brandon moved secretly in the shadows.
Because of this, people knew neither of Brandon's existence nor his abilities.
“He'll probably return in a few days as if nothing happened. If he comes back with nothing again this time, then the young mistress really did come to you on her own, Your Grace.”
Lucius's gaze fixed on the iris sitting on a corner of his desk.
It had been well-cared for and was as fresh as when he first received it.
“I miss my husband.”
Those weren't Lucius's words.
As Lucius stared at the flower for a long time, Olivia, who had similarly become lost in her own thoughts, had muttered this.
Olivia looked down at the wedding ring on her left hand.
Brought back to his senses by this, Lucius spoke coldly.
“Olivia. Next item on the agenda.”
“Yes, sir.”
Olivia and Brandon.
They were a happily married couple.
***
“Young Lady. You've returned.”
As soon as Lumina stepped out of the carriage, she was greeted by the disciplined servants.
“My apologies for the late introduction. I am Harold, the butler who will be managing the Lanshuss estate from now on.”
The butler, whose hair was streaked with white, introduced himself.
His demeanor was impeccable and concise.
“I am hesitant to bring this up, but I heard that you had an accident where you fell from a railing before our arrival, Young Lady.”
Walking inside alongside the butler, Harold, Lumina nodded.
“It was a shocking incident, so we have taken great care to ensure nothing similar happens again.”
“…”
“We have renovated the entire estate while you were away, so please take a look around at your convenience.”
*He passed.*
He was polite to Lumina, who was much younger than him. Just as expected of personnel sent by Lucius.
And…
‘He really didn't leave a single one of them behind.’
Not a speck of dust could be found in the mansion. It had always been clean, but now it seemed to shine.
Lumina received a report from Harold about what had happened at the estate during her absence.
As she was touring the estate with him, feeling satisfied, she heard a voice calling her from a distance.
“Lumina—!”
It was Joseph.
He ran toward Lumina.
“You're finally back! I was waiting so long I thought my neck would fall off. No, but listen to this. Suddenly, a bunch of servants stormed in, saying it was an order from the Duke of Heart!”
Joseph grabbed Lumina and complained. It was as if he didn't even see Harold standing beside her.
“I know he's your guardian, but isn't this excessive meddling? Do you think this makes any sense?”
“I asked him to.”
Lumina answered curtly.
“I can't tell you how grateful I am that he so readily offered to help. The estate is spotless, too. I'm very pleased.”
“But…”
“Gasp. Surely you don't mistrust the Duke, do you?”
Goodness, gracious.
How could this be!
Her eyes wide, Lumina looked at Joseph as if he were a traitor.
“That's not what I meant…”
“Then it shouldn't be a problem. If there's nothing else, let's talk later. I'm busy right now.”
Cutting Joseph off mid-sentence, Lumina whipped her head around to look at Harold.
“So, Harold. What were we talking about earlier?”
“Ah, yes, Young Lady.”
Lumina cut Joseph off and walked past him.
His pride seemingly wounded by being openly ignored by a child, Joseph trembled with rage.
Glancing at him, Lumina continued her conversation with Harold as she returned to her room.
“Where's Endymion?”
“He is in his room. It seemed he was hesitant to move, worried you might be tired, Young Lady.”
Just like a precocious child.
“Hmm. Not just my uncle, but my aunt is still staying at this estate, correct?”
“Yes, that is correct.”
“Call them both here first.”
Before long, Teresa and Joseph entered at the same time.
It seemed they were still in a cold war during Lumina's absence, as they immediately began glaring at each other the moment they saw one another.
“I called you both here because I have something to say to you.”
The corners of Lumina's lips, which were always turned up in a bright smile, fell.
Lumina looked them straight in the eyes and spoke.
“Get out of this house.”
“…”
“Right now.”
