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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 57
Chapter Title: Borrowed Name
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“Do I look like someone who would just take it lying down, Mister?”
“No. Absolutely not.”
From what he had seen, Lumina was the type to hit back twice if struck once; she wasn’t one to simply let things slide.
Still, the reason he couldn’t shake his worry was that her opponent was the infamous princess.
Moreover, only a select few young ladies whom Arabelle approved of were invited to the tea party.
There would be no one on Lumina’s side. Only enemies.
“If you change your mind, just say the word. You haven’t accepted the invitation yet.”
“I appreciate the thought.”
Politely declining, Lumina carefully examined the clothes hanging in the dress room.
She had come in here under the pretext of looking for something to wear to the tea party, so she had to at least pretend to be choosing.
“Why don’t you get a new dress made?”
“What? I already have plenty of clothes.”
Lumina asked back as if to say, *What are you talking about when this room is filled with them?*
Thanks to Lucius recently showering her with new clothes, Lumina’s dress room was full of outfits she hadn’t even tried on yet.
“Young Madame. Princess Arabelle’s tea party is no different from a battlefield. And the imperial palace is the princess’s home turf. Have you ever seen someone go into battle wearing just any old scrap of cloth?”
“No. That would be like asking to be killed.”
“Right! A very accurate analogy. And since your opponent has an army of ten million, you need to prepare even more thoroughly.”
“If the princess has an army of ten million, what about me? How many tens of thousands do I have?”
“At best, maybe a hundred thousand?”
“…”
“So, let’s get you some sturdy armor, if only to close the gap in forces.”
Brandon was extremely serious, as if it were his own affair.
“I don’t think one suit of armor can make up for such a huge difference in forces, but I understand.”
“Good thinking. I’ll mention this to the boss. The boss will pay for it, so leave the rest to me.”
Was it because it wasn’t his own money he was spending? For some reason, Brandon’s tone held a hint of amusement.
“Besides, we have to dress her up as best as possible to boost our kid’s morale.”
Our kid?
“Sir Ash?”
“No. I’m talking about our Young Madame.”
Brandon replied as if it were obvious.
“I’m the boss’s left hand, so I can call the Young Madame our kid. The right hand is, of course, our Livy.”
It was a statement that seemed to recognize Lumina as part of the family. For a moment, Lumina’s heart felt a tickle.
It felt as if someone were teasingly brushing past her with a feather. If it had been a sharp pain, at least the feeling would have been clear.
Hiding her feelings, Lumina changed the subject as naturally as she could.
“Speaking of which, what about Erica? You said she took the flower I coughed up, but has there been any word yet?”
“She’s hard at work researching. It seems she’s onto something, but isn’t sure yet. The kid does nothing but study and research all night.”
“…”
“If I tell her to take a break and take away her books, she hates it. She was born to be a scholar, I tell you.”
Brandon muttered.
As expected of a genius, it wasn’t just innate talent but also hard work that allowed them to achieve something greater.
*The timing is a bit early, but Erica is smart and passionate, so she should be able to handle it.*
Erica already had a track record of creating an antidote.
Lumina was confident that there would be no problem in carrying out her plan right away.
“She must be busy, but please ask Erica to develop a medicine like this.”
Lumina handed him a note.
“What kind of medicine is this?”
“You’ll find out soon. And Mister. There’s a first mission that only you can do.”
He wondered what kind of grand mission she was about to give him, building up the atmosphere like this.
Brandon’s heart beat a little faster with anticipation.
An assassination contract?
Smuggling illegal goods?
Bomb making?
“I need a borrowed name.”
“A borrowed name?”
“Yes. Please find me one that won’t arouse suspicion even if it becomes immensely wealthy in a short period.”
“That’s not difficult, but may I ask why?”
It was a much simpler task than he had expected. His racing heart returned to its normal pace.
“There’s something you’ve overlooked, Mister. I’m still twelve years old.”
A minor!
It was a fact he had momentarily forgotten because Lumina always acted so much older than her age.
“I know. But are you trying to move funds? The boss would easily agree to something like that. Money laundering is his specialty.”
“No. I’m going to earn money myself, separate from the family.”
“You’re married, so age doesn’t matter for economic activities. Besides, the Lanshuss family is technically yours. Do you need more money?”
Lumina nodded firmly.
“I don’t consider the family’s money to be entirely my own. Plus, if I operate under my own name, it will attract public attention.”
In a few years, the Lanshuss family’s money would belong to Endymion.
Claiming to have no attachment to the position of head of the family while siphoning off its funds would be hypocritical.
*If I go around using that money for business while promising to give him the money and title later, I’d be no different from my uncle.*
To walk the same path as someone she despised. The mere thought of it was horrifying.
“What I need is a slush fund that appears completely unrelated to me. I plan to operate under that name from the shadows. Oh, and it must be kept secret from Father!”
“Young Madame. You’re greedier than you look…”
Greedier?
It was a remark sufficient to provoke Lumina, who had resolved to be a person of moderation and integrity.
“What are you talking about? I’m not greedy. You’d be hard-pressed to find someone less greedy than me.”
To be able to lie so shamelessly with a straight face.
Brandon marveled inwardly.
As expected of someone Brandon himself had acknowledged.
“And we can’t keep using your secret stash for my affairs forever, can we? We might get away with it for now, but once things get bigger, Father will notice.”
Currently, Erica’s funding was coming from Brandon’s money.
Until now, he’d been extorting it under the guise of medical expenses, but that couldn’t go on forever.
“Erica needs to start working in the open soon, so I need a clean name.”
It meant she intended to formally sponsor Erica through the borrowed name.
“You have a lot of demands, so I’ll have to find a proper one.”
“Of course. I’ll make sure you get a handsome share for your work, so please do your best to ensure no one gets suspicious.”
Lumina smiled sweetly.
Until that moment, Brandon had taken Lumina’s use of the word “handsome” lightly.
***
In the days leading up to Arabelle’s tea party, Lumina was swept up in a storm of activity.
It was all because of the “battle attire” issue.
Brandon seemed determined to arm Lumina to the teeth, as she was heading straight into the enemy’s den.
He was spending Lucius’s money like water.
Meanwhile, she hadn’t seen even a glimpse of the Duke since she started sharing a room with Karayan.
*He must be avoiding me on purpose.*
It was likely a consideration for Karayan, to let him stay at home more comfortably since he disliked the Duke.
A consideration that only Karayan, the person in question, was unaware of.
“Why are you running all over the place these days? You haven’t even fully recovered yet.”
Karayan said, not hiding his displeasure, even though he knew full well why Lumina was so busy.
“It’s because I’ve been choosing a dress for the tea party.”
It would look strange to dally when preparing for a tea party hosted by none other than the princess.
Lumina was actively choosing a dress for the occasion.
Karayan seemed displeased by this.
“Just ignore it.”
“But it’s an invitation from the princess.”
“You’re the Young Duchess, so they can’t say anything even if you refuse. Didn’t *that man* teach you something as basic as that?”
He did.
That was why he’d arranged her marriage to Karayan in the first place—to give her enough power so she wouldn’t be at the princess’s mercy.
*Mister Brandon said he told Father about my attending the tea party along with the invoice for the dress.*
The response, he’d said, was simple.
Do as you please.
Unlike the anxious Karayan, it was a straightforward reaction.
“It’s because I want to go.”
*You want to go, even though you know what kind of person Arabelle is?*
Karayan’s gaze seemed to say as much.
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say his eyes were laced with curses.
Fearing he might try to stop her by force, Lumina said shyly,
“It’s the first time I’ve ever received an invitation from someone my age. The same goes for dressing up and attending a tea party.”
“…”
“So I don’t want to refuse.”
It wasn’t a lie.
However, if she were just ‘Lumina Lanshuss,’ she would have politely declined Arabelle’s invitation.
As the Duke Heart’s ward, she wouldn’t have many opportunities to face royalty.
*But as ‘Lumina von Heart,’ things are different. And if the princess has any sense, she won’t try to pull any unreasonable stunts on me now.*
The marriage was legally irreversible. She was likely just being summoned for a bit of intimidation.
“Why are there so many ‘firsts’ for you?”
“Pardon?”
Her decision had been made after considering the complex situation.
But to Karayan, it looked no different than Lumina willingly offering herself as prey to a beast.
He desperately wanted to stop her, but his resolve weakened whenever he listened to her.
Of all people, why did the first person to invite Lumina have to be Arabelle?
Having never had a good experience when involved with Arabelle, Karayan spoke with some annoyance.
“Putting a wet towel on your head when you’re sick, being invited to a tea party… You said they were all firsts.”
“…”
“Are you really a noble? I heard your family isn’t poor, but sometimes you act like you grew up locked away somewhere.”
“Something like that.”
Lumina nodded readily.
“I had parents, but they were worse than having none. Because of that, I spent my whole life at home and never made any friends.”
Lumina’s face was all smiles. But the usual sparkle in her eyes was gone.
She wasn’t genuinely smiling.
“But I don’t think you really need to know about this, Karayan.”
Lumina, who had always approached Karayan without hesitation, was now drawing a line.
Karayan was feeling a subtle sense of unease.
“Young Madame. Someone from the merchant company is here. I heard they’ve brought the tea leaves. What should I do?”
“Yes, I called for them. I’ll be right there.”
Just then, the maid called for her, and Lumina used it as an excuse to leave.
Left alone, Karayan couldn’t take his eyes off the spot where Lumina had been just a moment ago.
He didn’t know the name of Lumina’s younger sibling.
Nor did he know anything about her family.
*Come to think of it, they’ve been married for a while, but her parents have never once come to visit.*
It was a marriage between two minors.
The wife’s parents could have insisted on at least seeing their son-in-law’s face.
And Karayan knew that this was what normal human parents would do.
Karayan had no idea what kind of life Lumina had lived before she met him.
There was only one thing he knew.
That Lumina liked him.
For that one emotional reason, the two had become legally married and were now sharing a room.
Only then did Karayan realize he knew nothing about Lumina.
They were things he had ignored until now, thinking he didn’t need to know.
But he couldn’t ignore them any longer.
Because the presence of ‘Lumina,’ which had grown too large to ignore, was sparkling dazzlingly.
So much so that he could see it even when he turned his head or closed his eyes.
“What is this?”
As he grew curious about Lumina, a strange emotion took hold of him.
Sparkle, sparkle.
Did something get in his eye? For some reason, it looked as if specks of light had been left behind where Lumina had been standing.
Karayan roughly wiped his face, as if trying to brush away the emotion that consumed him.
But the feelings in his heart weren’t like dust. They couldn’t be brushed away so easily.
His face alone was flushed from his neck to his ears.
“They say the world sparkles when you fall in love. The moment I met you, Karayan, I felt my whole world light up.”
The boy who believed he was alone had, little by little, given a piece of his heart to the small girl.
