Chapter 32
“Ah, that?”
Unlike Lumina, who looked completely at ease, Endymion appeared fairly anxious.
For someone who always maintained his composure, he now looked as though he might grab Lumina by the shoulders at any moment.
‘Well… marriage at this age. It’s far too early. And usually it’s not something one chooses for oneself.’
With one major incident after another crashing down, Endymion must have been confused as well.
Lumina realized that when she had brought it up before, she hadn’t had enough time to explain properly.
“Who did you marry? Surely our relatives didn’t force you—”
“Do you really think that’s possible?”
“No.”
They were all people Lumina had personally driven away. There was no way they could force her into marriage.
“Let’s get in the carriage first. We’ll talk on the way home.”
Even if the entire capital already knew the news, it wasn’t something to discuss carelessly outside.
At Lumina’s urging, Endymion suppressed his immediate curiosity and climbed into the carriage.
“It’s the Hart heir.”
The carriage began to move.
Lumina glanced sideways at Ash, who was melting chocolate in his mouth beside her, and added:
“That’s who I married.”
“Were you already acquainted with the Hart heir?”
“No. You know I never left the estate all that time.”
“Then did the Hart heir confess that he loved you madly? That he would split his heart in half and give it to you?”
“Huh? No. Not at all. I’ve never received a confession like that.”
If anything, the Karayan side had mistakenly assumed that Lumina was the one who loved him that passionately.
“Then why on earth did you marry him?”
Endymion stared at her, utterly unable to understand.
“…Because the Duke took a liking to me?”
It wasn’t entirely wrong.
But saying it out loud made the reason sound rather absurd.
As expected, Endymion did not look convinced.
“From what I can see, I believe you’ve been scammed. According to imperial law, Marriage Act Article 73, Clause 11: A minor may annul a marriage if it was conducted without guardian consent, and if coercion was involved during the process—”
“Endymion!”
He recited the legal code fluently without even looking at a book.
Lumina hurriedly cut him off.
“I chose it.”
“You did? Are you sure you weren’t threatened and are merely convincing yourself you chose it?”
“Endymion, I have at least that much judgment.”
Lumina said firmly.
But wasn’t it true that people who were crazy rarely realized they were crazy?
Endymion was looking at her with exactly that kind of suspicion.
Lumina had no choice but to use drastic measures.
“I didn’t want to say this, but… I actually fell for Lord Karayan at first sight.”
“…What?”
She murmured in a dreamy tone.
Not only Endymion but even Ash seemed startled.
“Well, you know how I stayed at the ducal estate for a while? That’s when I first ran into Lord Karayan!”
“……”
“He trapped me in his arms and asked my name—do you know how much my heart fluttered? Hair as black as night! Golden eyes that looked like they held all the sunlight in the world! Colors that seemed to contain both night and day at once!”
“……”
“And a sharp face like a lone wolf!”
Despite her passionate exclamations, her toes were curling uncontrollably inside her shoes.
She wanted to clench her fingers tightly as well, but she feared it would give away that she was acting.
Every word she spoke felt mortifying.
“He was my ideal type, and I didn’t even know it! I fell in love at first sight—and do you know what happened during our second meeting? The young lord lifted me up like a princess and—”
“I do not wish to hear my sister’s romantic history in such detail.”
Endymion, who had been listening quietly, finally cut in with visible discomfort.
Very much like a sensitive ten-year-old.
‘I feel like I’ve burned myself to ashes.’
Lumina wiggled her still-curled toes.
If Endymion had listened quietly for one more minute, she might have shriveled up entirely from embarrassment.
‘I don’t have the creativity to invent things from scratch, so I had to romanticize real events as much as possible. That was exhausting.’
If she had truly liked him, it would have been one thing. But since that wasn’t the case, it had been genuinely difficult.
If Endymion hadn’t looked ready to storm off to confront the Duke of Hart, she never would have resorted to this method.
“If Sister likes him that much, then I suppose there’s nothing I can do. It is your life, after all, and I have no right to interfere.”
It seemed as though the “lone wolf strategy” had worked.
But that was Lumina’s mistake.
“However, Sister, you cannot judge a man after meeting him once or twice.”
“Uh, right?”
It felt strange hearing such words about men from someone who looked like he’d just learned about marriage through playing house.
What could a child possibly know?
“I’ve heard that dating and marriage are different matters. You are still a minor, so you can reverse your decision at any time. If the Hart heir turns out to have severe character flaws beneath his appearance, please tell me.”
With cheeks still round with baby fat, Endymion spoke seriously.
“No matter how decent his face may be, his insides might be complete trash. It’s best to discard unrecyclable waste as quickly as possible.”
The harsh words piled up as though he had personally fought with Karayan.
At that moment—
“That is not the case.”
Ash, who had been quietly crunching chocolate while listening, finally spoke up.
Even standing before someone several times his size, Endymion coolly asked:
“You’re from the ducal household, so you must know him well. What kind of person is the Hart heir?”
“…He is ordinary.”
Acceptable, not acceptable, ordinary.
Of those three, “ordinary” was the only word Ash felt appropriate.
Objectively speaking, Karayan did not deserve to be called garbage.
But if asked whether he was ideal husband material… even as a friend, that was questionable.
Ash could not lie.
“Ordinary? That is hardly a glowing evaluation.”
Endymion seemed displeased.
Judging by his tone alone, one would think he was a mother-in-law.
If this continued, only negative remarks about Karayan would pile up.
Lumina quickly changed the subject.
“Did your exam go well?”
“Yes.”
“Were there any questions you didn’t know?”
“There were none.”
His answers were clean and concise.
Endymion wasn’t the type to exaggerate or embellish, so she could believe him.
‘With how hard my head hit earlier, I wondered if I’d damaged my brain—but it seems there’s no problem. That’s a relief.’
Lumina sighed inwardly in relief. Then she suddenly remembered something and widened her eyes.
“Right! While you were taking your exam, I bought you a present. I had everything wrapped, so let’s open them one by one when we get home.”
“A present?”
“You worked hard on the exam, and you’re entering the academy in a few days! It’s a commemorative gift!”
“May I ask what it is?”
“Well… there are quite a lot.”
Her anger toward Jack had awakened the Lumina of desire.
The other Lumina—the one who might have tried to stop her—had been completely silenced.
She had spent money freely for the first time in a long while.
‘Maybe I lost control even more because it wasn’t for myself.’
Everything was for Endymion and Ash.
For herself, she had bought only one cinnamon candy.
Even that she had hesitated over, squeezing her eyes shut before purchasing.
“How much did you buy?”
“About your size.”
“….”
“No, maybe my size.”
“….”
“Actually… maybe Sir Ash’s size?”
The estimated volume kept increasing.
Sensing the seriousness of the situation, Endymion said flatly, “I will see for myself.”
And when they returned home and he saw the reality—
“If we must compare… it seems to be about the size of the Duke of Hart.”
Endymion had to tilt his head all the way back to look at the mountain of gift bundles stacked high.
