Chapter 25
The ducal estate was incomparably larger than the Langschus residence. It felt almost like touring a castle.
The structure was just as complex, but Lumina quickly memorized the layout.
‘All thanks to my short yet long life as an unemployed wanderer.’
The splendid mansion stirred no particular emotion in her.
Still, she pretended to be impressed and amazed, diligently exploring with Olivia.
She was doing the same now.
Wandering through the estate as if following wherever her feet led her, Lumina suddenly stopped.
“Oh? This place feels strangely familiar.”
“It’s His Grace’s study.”
“The Duke?”
Lumina feigned surprise.
The study.
She had truly found the right place.
“If the Duke is inside, may I see him for a moment?”
After hesitating, Olivia nodded and knocked on the door.
‘I even timed this on purpose. I was worried it might not be his study, so I’m glad I came to the right place.’
In truth, when Lumina first stood before the door, she hadn’t been entirely certain it was truly Lucius’s study.
For some reason, the door looked newly replaced.
‘It’s only been a few days since I was here. Surely not.’
Had someone broken the door in the meantime?
“My lady, you may enter.”
Permission was granted.
Lumina hurried inside. Lucius, who had been reviewing documents, spoke indifferently.
“What is it?”
“I missed you, Your Grace!”
Lumina replied brightly.
The response she received was silence.
For some reason, a grim tension filled the space between her and Lucius.
‘As expected, tricks like this won’t work on Duke Hart!’
If he were the type to fall for something so shallow, he wouldn’t have the reputation he held today.
Since he was not an easy man to build trust with, Lumina immediately changed tactics.
“I happened to be passing nearby. I’ll be returning home soon, so I stopped by while I had the chance.”
The atmosphere eased slightly.
That seemed to be the correct answer.
“As it happens, a letter arrived.”
“A letter?”
“From Joseph Melkan, was it?”
Her uncle.
This time, Lumina’s expression turned grim.
“I set it aside, thinking you wouldn’t be pleased to see it. You may read it if you wish.”
At Lucius’s gesture, a servant brought over a stack of envelopes.
They were piled high—nearly a handspan thick.
Momentarily startled by the thickness, Lumina casually pulled out the top letter and unfolded it.
‘Just as expected.’
It contained nothing but clingy pleas asking when she would return to the estate.
It was like a drunken lover desperately trying to contact an ex.
“I gave him an appropriate excuse for why you must remain here, but he’s persistent. He sends a letter every single day.”
“My uncle is particularly fond of me.”
Since his plan to fill the Langschus estate with his own people had collapsed, he must be desperate.
‘If I failed at my duties, he’d use that as an excuse to drive me out. Seems he hasn’t found even the smallest fault.’
As expected of Duke Hart’s people—quick-handed, tight-lipped, and capable of sweeping away even a speck of dust without leaving a trace.
“Shall we send a reply?”
“You already sent one to my uncle, didn’t you? So I don’t think it’s necessary.”
Lucius was well aware of the Langschus family’s situation.
He fully understood why Lumina avoided Joseph.
“Have there been any other messages?”
“No. Are you expecting one?”
“I wondered whether my younger brother might have written. My aunt and uncle are staying at the house, but it’s different from being with close blood relatives.”
Lumina worried about Endymion. In truth, she was genuinely concerned.
Unlike her, who was eating well, sleeping well, and living comfortably at the ducal estate, Endymion was still stuck among relatives like the filling in a sandwich.
“As it happens, my brother has been considering attending the Academy.”
“……”
“The Academy has a dormitory system, so once he leaves, we won’t see each other often. Perhaps it would be better for me to return home as soon as possible.”
“The Academy?”
He took the bait.
Seeing a flicker of interest in Lucius’s expression, Lumina eagerly continued.
“Yes! My brother is very intelligent. I guarantee he won’t miss the top rank at the Academy. I’m not saying that just because he’s my brother—I truly mean it!”
“……”
“So he wants to broaden his horizons there. And since things at home are unsettled, it might be better for him to stay away for a while.”
Lucius seemed to quickly realize that Lumina was trying to move Endymion out.
If Endymion went to the Academy, he would be free from their relatives—and from Lucius as well.
It was a shallow scheme. But at present, it was the only way Lumina could protect him.
“Not a bad idea.”
“Right?”
“I’ll look into the procedures myself.”
Lucius spoke indifferently.
“You don’t have to go out of your way to help…”
She absolutely did.
But Lumina deliberately took a step back.
It wouldn’t do to appear too pleased from the start, as if everything had gone exactly according to her plan.
“This is something adults are meant to handle. And since you have no one else to do it for you, I will.”
Thump!
Lumina sprang to her feet and ran toward Lucius.
Then she suddenly hugged him.
“Thank you so much!”
“……”
Lucius froze completely.
“You’re the best, Your Grace!”
Beaming, Lumina tilted her head slightly upward.
She couldn’t see his eyes behind the sunglasses, but judging from his tightly pressed lips, he seemed displeased.
‘Ah, so cheap tricks won’t work here either.’
They might have worked on Joseph.
She grew anxious that he might withdraw his offer to help with the Academy matter.
Looking dejected, Lumina lowered her arms and was about to step back when—
“I am merely fulfilling my duty as your guardian. If I do not step in, you would simply wander about on your own.”
His tone was harsh and stiff.
It sounded threatening enough to intimidate most people.
But he had always been like this.
If she were frightened by such things, she never would have approached him in the first place.
Opening her eyes wide, Lumina replied boldly, “Yes! Thank you!”
“There is no need for gratitude. You, too, have properly fulfilled your role.”
“My role?”
Lumina tilted her head.
“You treated Karayan well.”
For a fleeting moment, a rare, satisfied smile touched Lucius’s lips.
“And for some reason, Karayan hasn’t left the house. The knights have been complaining for days that he’s been stirring up the training grounds.”
“Is that so?”
“It’s unusual. Since Iris passed away, the number of days he stayed home in a year could be counted on one hand.”
When he spoke the name “Iris,” there was unmistakable affection in his voice.
Iris von Hart.
She had long ago passed away—the former Duchess of the Hart family.
‘According to Karayan, the Duke killed his own wife.’
But could a man who still spoke her name so tenderly truly have killed the woman he loved?
Unless he were an extraordinary psychopath, it seemed impossible.
And if this was an act, then he must have been born a genius destined to perform for a lifetime.
“Karayan even came to my study. He opened the door so violently that it broke.”
…So it had been a Legion.
She hadn’t imagined the door had been replaced. The Legions truly behaved beyond expectation.
“I’m glad I’ve grown closer to your son.”
Recalling her last conversation with Karayan, father and son were anything but close.
But Lucius seemed the type who would not mind if every door in the estate were destroyed, so long as it was for Karayan’s sake.
“Oh, right.”
Smiling at Lucius, Lumina suddenly clapped her hands as if remembering something.
She rummaged through a small palm-sized bag with her tiny hands.
It was the bag Olivia had prepared for her, filled with candies Lucius had given her before.
It no longer contained only candy.
Lumina pulled something out and held it toward Lucius.
“What is this?”
He asked cautiously, as though she were pointing poison or a blade at him.
But what Lumina offered would never harm anyone.
Knowing he wasn’t truly asking out of curiosity, she answered gently.
“I was walking in the garden, and the irises were blooming beautifully.”
“……”
“Thanks to the many flowers you gifted me last time, my room is filled with fragrance. But I kept noticing that your study had nothing at all.”
A single iris, modestly in bloom, rested in her hand.
“I thought it would be nice to place it in a vase and decorate the room. Was I being presumptuous?”
Lucius stared quietly at the iris.
There was no immediate response, and she felt as though she had made a mistake.
‘Was this wrong too? As expected of Duke Hart. Not easy at all.’
She debated whether to withdraw the flower.
While she hesitated, Lucius finally tore his gaze from the bloom and looked at her.
Lumina smiled sweetly, as if she had been waiting.
She smiled when she was happy, smiled when she was embarrassed, and smiled when things went wrong.
Surely even the great Duke Hart would not spit on a smiling face.
Just as she was thinking that, he dropped a bombshell.
“Perhaps it would be best to hold a ceremony with Karayan after all.”
