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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 66
Chapter Title: An Awkward Dinner
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“This won’t do!”
Lumina declared boldly.
“You’re having a proper dinner with me tonight. Olivia, the most capable aide on the continent. You can clear Father’s schedule for this evening, can’t you?”
“Of course, Little Madame.”
Olivia replied without hesitation.
“Father, did you hear that? That was Olivia, a brilliant, beautiful, and highly capable individual.”
*Puff!*
Olivia’s shoulders squared instinctively.
In a way entirely different from Karayan, Lumina was taking the ducal residence by storm.
Like the chirping of birds that flooded in with the morning sun, the girl's cheerful nagging wasn't unpleasant to Lucius's ears.
“It’s a promise!”
So he readily nodded.
***
“The chef took extra care with dinner tonight. Aren’t you excited? I think I can already smell something delicious!”
“Where do you hear these things?”
When it was time for dinner, Lumina went down to the dining hall with Karayan.
It was their usual time.
“From the maids! Everyone who works here is as kind as you are, Karayan. They always listen to whatever I have to say.”
“…Of course they have to.”
Karayan, having just returned from turning the training grounds upside down, had just finished washing up and smelled faintly of soap.
He listened intently to Lumina, his hair still slightly damp as if he'd dried it in a hurry.
His guard completely down, Karayan arrived at the dining hall with Lumina.
And there, his eyes met with someone he never expected to see.
It was Lucius, already seated at the head of the table.
“…”
“…”
After staring at each other for a second, the two men simultaneously looked away.
Karayan immediately tried to turn and leave, while Lucius started to rise from his seat.
*I knew it.*
Just as she'd expected, Lumina spoke up.
“Did you hear that?”
The two men paused and looked at Lumina, their expressions asking what she meant.
With all eyes on her, Lumina continued.
“That was my stomach…”
Lumina's stomach, however, was not so cooperative.
It showed no sign of rumbling in such a critical situation.
It was all because she'd diligently eaten her fill of tea and snacks in the office that afternoon.
In the end, Lumina lowered her head.
Swallowing her pride, she had no choice but to make a small sound with her mouth.
“*Grumble.*”
It was a tiny sound, her best attempt at imitating a rumbling stomach.
But to the sharp-eared Legions, it might as well have been a clap of thunder.
Karayan, who had been about to flee, swept Lumina up into his arms.
And Lucius rose from his seat and pulled out the chair beside him.
It all happened in an instant.
Held like a parcel in Karayan's arms, Lumina found herself placed in the chair before she knew it.
“…?”
No matter how many times she experienced it, she could never get used to the Legions' monstrous strength.
“The child's stomach is screaming in hunger, and you're all just standing around?”
“Her stomach just made a huge noise. Have you all just been standing by, watching her waste away?!”
Lucius spoke in a chilling tone, and Karayan immediately chimed in, his voice even sharper.
As the servants scrambled into action, Karayan quickly took the seat next to Lumina.
“Karayan.”
“What is it? Are you about to collapse from hunger?”
“No…”
Karayan was making a fuss, even though he had to know the *grumble* had come from her mouth.
Swallowing her embarrassment, Lumina pointed to the seat across from her.
“You should sit there.”
Lucius was at the head of the table, with Lumina seated beside him, and Karayan next to her.
The seat Lumina indicated was across from her, right next to Lucius.
“Why?”
Karayan frowned slightly.
He really seemed to hate the idea of being even an inch closer to his father.
It wasn't that Lumina particularly wanted to play matchmaker for the father and son.
*They keep making me walk on eggshells.*
She hadn't noticed it when she was with just one of them, but the longer the two of them spent under the same roof, the more she could feel the awkward distance between them.
They were constantly tiptoeing around each other.
And Lumina, stuck in the middle, was the one feeling the stress.
*I have to get along with both of them, but if I get close to one, the other gets upset or wary. And they absolutely despise being in the same room together.*
That was why Lucius had been skipping meals—to deliberately avoid any chance of running into Karayan.
And Karayan, for his part, stubbornly moved about only at times he knew his father wouldn't be around.
Lumina, who had resolved not to interfere in the personal affairs of the Heart father and son, finally had to change her plan.
As a third party, there was nothing she could do about their long-festering feelings for each other.
But she could at least try to bring about a small change.
*I can't live in this suffocating atmosphere for the next five years.*
And so, Lumina made her decision.
“If you sit there, it'll be harder to reach the delicious food on that side.”
“My arms are long. I'll be fine.”
He was like a stone wall.
Seeing she was getting nowhere with Karayan, Lumina immediately turned to Lucius.
*Help me, help me!*
*Father! You want to get along with your son, don't you? Say something!*
Her telepathic plea seemed to get through.
Lucius nodded.
Then he smoothly rose from his seat, slid his hands under Lumina's arms, and lifted her up.
Suspended in the air, Lumina was promptly placed at the head of the table.
After moving Lumina, Lucius took the seat she had just vacated.
“…?”
While Lumina was still bewildered, Karayan, startled, practically fled to the seat she had pointed out earlier.
“Am I allowed to sit here?”
“You may.”
“You may.”
For a father and son who didn't get along, they were strangely in sync at times like this.
With Lumina between them like a peacekeeping buffer, they both seemed more or less satisfied.
The process had been strange, but the result wasn't bad. The father and son were now dining face-to-face.
After some twists and turns, the servants quickly brought out the food.
There was an onion soup with a deep flavor from slow-cooked chicken broth, grilled sea bass with a lime sherbet, and a veal cutlet stuffed with thin ham and cheese, coated in breadcrumbs, and baked to perfection.
An impressive spread of delicacies filled the table.
But in contrast to the lavish meal, the atmosphere was utterly bleak.
*Munch, munch.*
The only sound was Lumina diligently munching on her food.
Taking a bite of this and that without being greedy, Lumina witnessed a strange sight.
The food seemed to be moving toward her as if it had a will of its own.
*Eat me! Eat me!*
It was as if the dishes were crying out to her.
She soon discovered the dark hands responsible for the phenomenon, which was causing the evenly distributed dishes to slowly congregate around her.
Lumina looked at the owners of the hands.
If it had been just one of them, she would have let it slide. He had a record, after all.
But there were two culprits.
*Clink.*
Lumina set down her fork and knife and finally took drastic measures.
“Father. I think Karayan is enjoying the grilled lamb chops.”
*Take care of your son, not me!*
Lumina’s eyebrows twitched as she desperately gestured with her eyes toward the grilled lamb chops surrounded by bell peppers.
“…Enjoy your meal.”
“…Yes, sir.”
Since deciding to stay at the mansion, Karayan didn't call Lucius 'Father', but he still made an effort to speak to him formally.
Now that he had decided to live as a Young Master of House Heart, he seemed conscious of maintaining a certain level of decorum.
An awkward silence followed the stilted exchange. But Lumina wasn't satisfied yet.
“Karayan. I think Father would like some of the grilled duck breast.”
The grilled duck breast happened to be in front of Karayan.
It was close enough that Lucius could have easily reached it himself with his long arms.
But the point was for Karayan to pass it to him, not for Lucius to get it himself.
And whether Lucius actually wanted the grilled duck breast, decorated with flower-shaped carrots, was unimportant.
“…Please, have some.”
“…Thank you.”
The two awkwardly exchanged plates.
Now that the food was in front of them, they had a mission: to eat it.
They might have considered not eating, but Lumina was watching them with wide eyes.
In the end, Karayan subtly pushed aside the bell peppers, and Lucius the carrots, as they began to eat.
Lumina was satisfied that the food was no longer migrating toward her.
“Tutors will begin visiting tomorrow.”
Lucius said in the middle of the meal.
Continuing her studies was something they had already agreed upon.
Karayan listened half-heartedly, poking at an innocent bell pepper with his fork.
“Lumina. I will arrange for a tutor for you as well, so you may continue any studies you are lacking in.”
“Wow, thank you.”
Lumina thought back on what she had learned in the past.
Under her stepmother’s supervision, she had learned how to greet people according to etiquette, how to pour tea, and how to do embroidery.
It was all knowledge that would raise her value on the marriage market.
*She must have been planning to marry me off for a high price.*
And find fault with her while teaching her, of course.
Lumina chewed and swallowed the unpleasant memory along with a small, bite-sized piece of veal.
After they had eaten their fill, the long-awaited dessert arrived.
With two children at the table, the ducal family's energized pâtissier had prepared a grand array of sugary desserts.
There was a warm apple tart with stewed apples arranged in the shape of a rose; cream puffs filled with rich cream and drizzled with a thick layer of chocolate; and a meringue cake with a crisp meringue base, topped with soft whipped cream and a generous amount of luscious strawberries and blueberries.
The sweet aroma filled the air.
With every breath, she felt as if she might turn into sugar herself.
Already overwhelmed, Lumina decided to just pretend to eat and took a sip of her tea.
Then, she let out a small laugh.
*They even have the same tastes.*
The Heart father and son were steadily working their way through the desserts, their expressions as cold and aloof as ever.
It was a completely different attitude from how they had treated the bell peppers and carrots.
