Chapter 61
The four got off and entered in pairs.
Pedro was spotless as he usually was, unlike how haggard he was when I saw him last. And Camilla was also beautifully dressed.
After glancing at the married couple only once, Lucian thereafter paid attention only to Rachel.
He no longer needed to keep his father in check, and it felt like he was over the moon because he and Rachel wouldn’t be disturbed anymore.
And more than that, Rachel was wearing the jewelry he had given her, and tonight, she was the most beautiful woman in the world.
When he was picking out the accessories, he decided on them while dressing up the fashion doll she gave him.
He called the jewelry company that’s said to be the most famous one in the capital and chose the design and color that would suit the doll the most.
When the various accessories were hung on the doll that looked very much like Rachel, he imagined Rachel herself wearing them.
And exactly as he pictured, Rachel wore the accessories and smiled next to him.
Seeing the banquet hall that was decorated with flowers to match the theme of spring, Rachel exclaimed in admiration.
Lucian held her hand tightly as she appreciated the view, then they walked forward together.
“Brother, this is my first time attending a spring banquet. I didn’t imagine it would look like this.”
“There’s also an order for each family to present a flower-themed tapestry later.”
“Then will the Duchess of Leon do that?”
“Yes. And you’ll have to do it, too, when the time comes.”
Lucian smiled brightly as he imagined the near future. And as he smiled, he didn’t miss how her cheeks turned red just then.
“But isn’t that what the Duchess should do? Is it okay if I do it?”
At her innocent question, Lucian’s mood plummeted to the ground at once.
He recalled the time when she called him by his name the first time.
That was when everything was bleak because of his father, and only her voice rang in his ears.
[ Lucian! ]
The pleasant voice still seemed to echo in his ears.
He gently rubbed his ear and looked at her sideways.
As she looked at these things that were new to her, her eyes sparkled beautifully.
Her mesmerizing dark blue eyes were like the sun as it would fill up the dark night sky with light as the day would start, but whenever those eyes were to capture something other than Lucian, his stomach would twist in discomfort.
Lucian tapped Rachel on the back of her hand. Then, he saw those dark blue eyes focus back on him.
The dark blue eyes that reflected only him were captivating. He could feel goosebumps rising all over his body. He couldn’t hide his joy as he smiled.
“Look over there, Brother.”
At the mention of the word ‘brother’ again, he carefully brought it up.
“Can you call me by my name?”
“Huh?”
Rachel, who was in the middle of admiring the banquet hall’s decorations, asked back. She thought she heard him wrong.
“Why don’t you call me by my name? You called me Lucian last time.”
Rachel could recall at once when that time was.
“It’s just that I was surprised back then…”
“Will you call me by my name only when you’re surprised?”
“It’s…”
“Then should I surprise you?”
He said it as a joke, but Rachel’s expression changed subtly. Lucian no longer saw her as a younger sister.
Rather, because he wanted her by his side, he confronted his father fiercely.
Until he met Rachel again, all he wanted was to be with her.
Without knowing where that desire originated, from the moment he opened his eyes in the morning and closed them again at night, he just knew that he wanted to be with her.
Now, he knew what he wanted.
And he knew the origin of that thirst.
“Pfft…”
After hearing his words, Rachel burst into laughter. She looked adorable as she covered her lips with her hand, her shoulders moving up and down.
Lucian eagerly observed her every action so as not to miss anything about her.
Her mirth-filled blue eyes looked up at Lucian. Holding his arm tightly, Rachel went on her tip toes.
Then, covering her lips with one hand, she whispered.
“How are you going to surprise me, Brother?”
He didn’t like that she still called him brother, but just by the warm breath that touched his ear, he became dizzy.
Lucian’s heart was beating violently. His heart, which was usually quiet like a calm sea, stirred mercilessly when the wind that blew was her.
Even a weak wind such as this caused rough waves to stir within him, dominating the sea of his heart as it pounded.
The corners of his lips quietly went up. He went closer to her side, and what he saw reflected in her eyes was only him.
Oh, this was how it felt.
Being with someone you love—it could make you this happy.
For the first time, Lucian felt sorry for his father, who had to part with his loved one.
However, this appreciation ended very briefly after this as he was forced to turn his eyes to the emperor, who announced the beginning of the spring banquet.
He still didn’t know why the bastard who kidnapped Rachel became a prince and why he kept approaching her.
He asked his father, but Pedro didn’t seem to know either.
That bastard was someone powerful enough to slip through the information of the Duke of Leon. Either that, or he had other tricks up his sleeve.
Would Rachel know who he was? She seemed to know that he was her kidnapper, but why didn’t she bring it up with Lucian?
Just the thought that he didn’t know one thing about her made him anxious.
As though he felt the helplessness of losing her like in the past, Lucian glared at the prince with malice.
At that moment, he made eye contact with the prince. Those violet eyes had a mysteriousness to them that felt overwhelming.
Time had passed for the matriarch of each family to step up as representatives to present the tapestries they had prepared.
Rachel still shed her exclamations. While capturing her innocent appearance with his eyes, he kept the men around him in check.
Since her debut, he explicitly felt more eyes heading towards Rachel.
It somehow felt that she, who he held dear and precious, was like a white rabbit that had fallen into a wolf’s den.
She was his entire world, and yet these detestable eyes were looking at her as a prospective marriage partner.
He wanted to dig out those eyes and feed them to beasts.
Grinding his teeth, he noticed the eyes of the young noblemen on Rachel again. He was barely holding himself back.
“Brother?”
When she heard the small sound, Rachel looked up at him. Every time she did this, his heart fluttered.
“It’s nothing.”
“But your teeth will hurt later. You’re okay, right?”
“Yes, Ray.”
She was still worried, so she reached up to his chin, her touch as light as a feather.
With just this slight action, his heart pounded loudly once again.
Lucian kept wanting her all to himself. He thought he could finally have her without anyone interfering, but there were still so many people keeping him away from her.
“Lucian, good evening.”
Noah approached the two. Lucian felt Rachel staring at Noah, who was wearing bright clothes, with her eyes wide open.
There were times when she would look at Noah persistently, and it was the same today. When Lucian saw her staring at him like this, he felt a bitter taste in his mouth.
Why was she so interested in Noah. He couldn’t understand at all.
“Lady Leon, good evening.”
Noah didn’t forget what Lucian had warned him about before.
“Brother Noah, you look good in your outfit tonight.”
“The Lady looks lovely as well.”
Lucian then looked Noah up and down. He was wearing a white suit with a pink dress shirt.
It was a spring banquet, but men didn’t like to wear the color pink.
“Pink is definitely manly. I like men who look good in pink.”
And at the same time, the young men furtively glancing at Rachel looked down and checked their attires.
One side of Lucian’s lips went up. His twisted heart seemed to want to express itself freely through his lips.
“Haha, thank you for the compliment. Both the Lady’s and Lucian’s outfits look really good as well. I think I’ll need to try harder…”
At Noah’s ensuing words, Lucian’s forehead became wrinkled. He disliked Noah.
It was unpleasant enough that Noah approached him in a friendly manner as though he knew him well.
So he tried to distance himself from Noah, but every time, Noah would cleverly pick up on this and move towards Rachel.
During those times, Lucian couldn’t act as he pleased whenever Rachel was involved. Even if it was an act to wrench away the other man.
Of course, not much had changed until now.
Rachel replied more enthusiastically to Noah’s praise.
“I knew it, Brother Noah has very good eyes. With Brother Lucian’s emerald shirt, pumpkin-colored amber brooch and dark brown suit make him look dashing in a tree’s colors? I was really surprised by my brother’s sense of fashion. His outfit contrasts my simple light green dress.”
As Lucian listened to how she bragged about him with a bright smile on her face, Lucian’s expression was frozen for a moment, but it loosened gently.
Whenever she did that, he had a difficult time because he would feel a tingling sensation from his toes to the crown of his head.
With courage, he tried to wrap an arm around Rachel’s shoulder. He wanted to let everyone know—the seat next to Rachel had already been filled.
However, he missed the timing again by a short margin. It had been like this as well with her first dance at the debutante.
“Since I came to propose to you, you’ve become so elegant, Lady Leon.”
With Elliot’s bold remarks, Lucian’s eyebrows crumpled mercilessly.
Chapter 61
The four got off and entered in pairs.
Pedro was spotless as he usually was, unlike how haggard he was when I saw him last. And Camilla was also beautifully dressed.
After glancing at the married couple only once, Lucian thereafter paid attention only to Rachel.
He no longer needed to keep his father in check, and it felt like he was over the moon because he and Rachel wouldn’t be disturbed anymore.
And more than that, Rachel was wearing the jewelry he had given her, and tonight, she was the most beautiful woman in the world.
When he was picking out the accessories, he decided on them while dressing up the fashion doll she gave him.
He called the jewelry company that’s said to be the most famous one in the capital and chose the design and color that would suit the doll the most.
When the various accessories were hung on the doll that looked very much like Rachel, he imagined Rachel herself wearing them.
And exactly as he pictured, Rachel wore the accessories and smiled next to him.
Seeing the banquet hall that was decorated with flowers to match the theme of spring, Rachel exclaimed in admiration.
Lucian held her hand tightly as she appreciated the view, then they walked forward together.
“Brother, this is my first time attending a spring banquet. I didn’t imagine it would look like this.”
“There’s also an order for each family to present a flower-themed tapestry later.”
“Then will the Duchess of Leon do that?”
“Yes. And you’ll have to do it, too, when the time comes.”
Lucian smiled brightly as he imagined the near future. And as he smiled, he didn’t miss how her cheeks turned red just then.
“But isn’t that what the Duchess should do? Is it okay if I do it?”
At her innocent question, Lucian’s mood plummeted to the ground at once.
He recalled the time when she called him by his name the first time.
That was when everything was bleak because of his father, and only her voice rang in his ears.
[ Lucian! ]
The pleasant voice still seemed to echo in his ears.
He gently rubbed his ear and looked at her sideways.
As she looked at these things that were new to her, her eyes sparkled beautifully.
Her mesmerizing dark blue eyes were like the sun as it would fill up the dark night sky with light as the day would start, but whenever those eyes were to capture something other than Lucian, his stomach would twist in discomfort.
Lucian tapped Rachel on the back of her hand. Then, he saw those dark blue eyes focus back on him.
The dark blue eyes that reflected only him were captivating. He could feel goosebumps rising all over his body. He couldn’t hide his joy as he smiled.
“Look over there, Brother.”
At the mention of the word ‘brother’ again, he carefully brought it up.
“Can you call me by my name?”
“Huh?”
Rachel, who was in the middle of admiring the banquet hall’s decorations, asked back. She thought she heard him wrong.
“Why don’t you call me by my name? You called me Lucian last time.”
Rachel could recall at once when that time was.
“It’s just that I was surprised back then…”
“Will you call me by my name only when you’re surprised?”
“It’s…”
“Then should I surprise you?”
He said it as a joke, but Rachel’s expression changed subtly. Lucian no longer saw her as a younger sister.
Rather, because he wanted her by his side, he confronted his father fiercely.
Until he met Rachel again, all he wanted was to be with her.
Without knowing where that desire originated, from the moment he opened his eyes in the morning and closed them again at night, he just knew that he wanted to be with her.
Now, he knew what he wanted.
And he knew the origin of that thirst.
“Pfft…”
After hearing his words, Rachel burst into laughter. She looked adorable as she covered her lips with her hand, her shoulders moving up and down.
Lucian eagerly observed her every action so as not to miss anything about her.
Her mirth-filled blue eyes looked up at Lucian. Holding his arm tightly, Rachel went on her tip toes.
Then, covering her lips with one hand, she whispered.
“How are you going to surprise me, Brother?”
He didn’t like that she still called him brother, but just by the warm breath that touched his ear, he became dizzy.
Lucian’s heart was beating violently. His heart, which was usually quiet like a calm sea, stirred mercilessly when the wind that blew was her.
Even a weak wind such as this caused rough waves to stir within him, dominating the sea of his heart as it pounded.
The corners of his lips quietly went up. He went closer to her side, and what he saw reflected in her eyes was only him.
Oh, this was how it felt.
Being with someone you love—it could make you this happy.
For the first time, Lucian felt sorry for his father, who had to part with his loved one.
However, this appreciation ended very briefly after this as he was forced to turn his eyes to the emperor, who announced the beginning of the spring banquet.
He still didn’t know why the bastard who kidnapped Rachel became a prince and why he kept approaching her.
He asked his father, but Pedro didn’t seem to know either.
That bastard was someone powerful enough to slip through the information of the Duke of Leon. Either that, or he had other tricks up his sleeve.
Would Rachel know who he was? She seemed to know that he was her kidnapper, but why didn’t she bring it up with Lucian?
Just the thought that he didn’t know one thing about her made him anxious.
As though he felt the helplessness of losing her like in the past, Lucian glared at the prince with malice.
At that moment, he made eye contact with the prince. Those violet eyes had a mysteriousness to them that felt overwhelming.
Time had passed for the matriarch of each family to step up as representatives to present the tapestries they had prepared.
Rachel still shed her exclamations. While capturing her innocent appearance with his eyes, he kept the men around him in check.
Since her debut, he explicitly felt more eyes heading towards Rachel.
It somehow felt that she, who he held dear and precious, was like a white rabbit that had fallen into a wolf’s den.
She was his entire world, and yet these detestable eyes were looking at her as a prospective marriage partner.
He wanted to dig out those eyes and feed them to beasts.
Grinding his teeth, he noticed the eyes of the young noblemen on Rachel again. He was barely holding himself back.
“Brother?”
When she heard the small sound, Rachel looked up at him. Every time she did this, his heart fluttered.
“It’s nothing.”
“But your teeth will hurt later. You’re okay, right?”
“Yes, Ray.”
She was still worried, so she reached up to his chin, her touch as light as a feather.
With just this slight action, his heart pounded loudly once again.
Lucian kept wanting her all to himself. He thought he could finally have her without anyone interfering, but there were still so many people keeping him away from her.
“Lucian, good evening.”
Noah approached the two. Lucian felt Rachel staring at Noah, who was wearing bright clothes, with her eyes wide open.
There were times when she would look at Noah persistently, and it was the same today. When Lucian saw her staring at him like this, he felt a bitter taste in his mouth.
Why was she so interested in Noah. He couldn’t understand at all.
“Lady Leon, good evening.”
Noah didn’t forget what Lucian had warned him about before.
“Brother Noah, you look good in your outfit tonight.”
“The Lady looks lovely as well.”
Lucian then looked Noah up and down. He was wearing a white suit with a pink dress shirt.
It was a spring banquet, but men didn’t like to wear the color pink.
“Pink is definitely manly. I like men who look good in pink.”
And at the same time, the young men furtively glancing at Rachel looked down and checked their attires.
One side of Lucian’s lips went up. His twisted heart seemed to want to express itself freely through his lips.
“Haha, thank you for the compliment. Both the Lady’s and Lucian’s outfits look really good as well. I think I’ll need to try harder…”
At Noah’s ensuing words, Lucian’s forehead became wrinkled. He disliked Noah.
It was unpleasant enough that Noah approached him in a friendly manner as though he knew him well.
So he tried to distance himself from Noah, but every time, Noah would cleverly pick up on this and move towards Rachel.
During those times, Lucian couldn’t act as he pleased whenever Rachel was involved. Even if it was an act to wrench away the other man.
Of course, not much had changed until now.
Rachel replied more enthusiastically to Noah’s praise.
“I knew it, Brother Noah has very good eyes. With Brother Lucian’s emerald shirt, pumpkin-colored amber brooch and dark brown suit make him look dashing in a tree’s colors? I was really surprised by my brother’s sense of fashion. His outfit contrasts my simple light green dress.”
As Lucian listened to how she bragged about him with a bright smile on her face, Lucian’s expression was frozen for a moment, but it loosened gently.
Whenever she did that, he had a difficult time because he would feel a tingling sensation from his toes to the crown of his head.
With courage, he tried to wrap an arm around Rachel’s shoulder. He wanted to let everyone know—the seat next to Rachel had already been filled.
However, he missed the timing again by a short margin. It had been like this as well with her first dance at the debutante.
“Since I came to propose to you, you’ve become so elegant, Lady Leon.”
With Elliot’s bold remarks, Lucian’s eyebrows crumpled mercilessly.
