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Even though he wasn’t usually a long talker, the atmosphere right now was a little different. It was strange that he didn’t say anything, so I also bit my lips. As I rolled my eyes here and there, I peeked at Lucian, and our eyes met.
It seemed that he was gazing at me this whole time. Feeling bashful, I just let out a bashful smile.
“Whoo…”
Taking a deep breath, Lucian rested his face on my shoulder. Though he didn’t just lean on me, he twisted his body slightly and wrapped one arm around mine.
“Brother.”
“Lucian.”
“…Brother Lucian?”
“….”
In any case, if he didn’t like it, I have to correct the disregard. What to do if I kept calling him by name and made a mistake at an important place…? That’s right.
After a small sigh, I was forced to put his name in my mouth.
“Lucian, are you mad?”
“…Yes.”
Oh, he was really angry. When I was young, he didn’t even get angry…
Thinking back on the old days, I could feel that he was quite different from the original.
Because of that, I was happy.
I was indescribably happy that he wasn’t like a doll who didn’t show any emotions, but that he was able to get angry like a human and honestly talk about his feelings.
After a small smile, Lucian, with his face buried in my shoulder, turned his head slightly and glanced up at me.
I could see the languid black eyelashes moving slowly. I stared at the scene as if possessed. Every time he took a breath, it reached the nape of my neck. The touch of the hot breath was unfamiliar, but it reassured me.
Ah, the tear spot…
I stared at the spot in his eyes right in front of me. I didn’t know because I’m used to it, though his tear spot felt so lewd…
I stared closely at his handsome face again.
How come he had such a high nose? The tip of the eyebrows were slightly raised, making it look like a cat. Why was his lips so lined up again? To be honest, he looked prettier than me.
Lucian whispered as I was fully absorbed in his virtues. His voice was more murky than usual, as if his emotions had not yet subsided.
“Why did the two of you meet?”
His lips were right next to the nape of my neck, so the hot breath touched me in an instant. It was different from the sensation I had felt in the parlor earlier, but this time, it was as if my body were all standing on edge.
I was a little embarrassed by his rebuke. I didn’t know if it was because he had never once rebuked me.
“Because he is brother’s friend. And, I took Oscar and Damian with me?”
“Lucian.”
…Ah, really. I can’t win.
If he liked to be called by that name, I’ll say it out loud because I’d rather call him Lucian, too.
I got upset for no reason, so I wanted to counterattack… I wanted to surprise him by calling him a nickname like that. Would he be surprised? Would he be happy? Or, would he think I crossed the line? I looked at him, wiggling my hand for nothing.
When I turned my eyes at him, I met his eyes right away as if he was waiting. Then, I whispered softly without averting his gaze.
“Lucy.”
It was a nickname I had wanted to call for a long time. When he was young, he had a prettier face than most girls, so I used to vaguely imagine that the nickname Lucy would suit him.
Of course, now he was a perfect extrovert, but who cares?
‘Lucy’ had already become a nickname in my mind. If he didn’t like it, I don’t have to call him anymore.
However, his expression was strange.
He seemed absent-minded, and he seemed stunned. Soon, my shoulders felt lightened as he lifted his face. Still, his arms were wrapped around my body. I was dragged away as it was, and I was trapped in his arms.
To be precise, it became a posture that I sat on his thigh.
“Lucian?”
“Lucy.”
Oh, we were just going round and round, what was he doing? Was he forcing a nickname this time?
“Lucy, I’m choking.”
“…Are you choking a lot?”
Huh…? What kind of question was this?
“A, a little?”
Lucian relaxed at my words. Like a drop in the bucket?
“….”
“Are you okay now?”
I don’t think there was any difference at all… Oh well.
“Yes.”
What if he showed such a happy expression with just one nickname? My mind was getting strange.
I closed my eyes with my cheek resting on his chest. His heart, beating like crazy, was transmitted to my cheeks. I couldn’t tell him, who expressed joy with his whole body, that I was still choking. If I could give even my breath to my bias, I would gladly do so.
I said quietly, resting my face on his chest.
“Lucy, don’t be angry. Well, did I meet him because I wanted to meet him? I couldn’t help it because he came to me.”
“From now on, refuse.”
“Aren’t you two close?”
I was really curious.
He was close with Noah, wasn’t he? No, then why was he and Noah together like that while he hardly ever talks to anyone else?
Since I kept seeing it like that, I wondered if I got confused, seriously…
Lucian answered my question right away.
“I want to be close only to you, and am only close to you.”
“…Brother.”
When I habitually called him ‘brother,’ I was more out of breath than before and tapped his shoulder with my hand.
“No, Lucy.”
Wow, the habit was scary in many ways.
“What if I’m your only friend? Don’t you have close friends? Why are you going to the salon…?”
Lucian’s body trembled as I asked questions in a bewildered way.
I think he was laughing, right?
As I felt his body shake without a sound, I recalled my old memories.
“You’ve been like this before, but how come you don’t make a sound even when you’re laughing? I can’t even hear you when you’re walking… Unless, there is a separate mute button…”
Although I continued to mutter, Lucian’s body did not stop. He was still shaking body showed that he was laughing.
I just sighed a little, relaxed my body and leaned back comfortably. A human body could be so comfortable. I first found out that it made me feel quite drowsy and that it makes me want to take a nap like this.
Come to think of it, is Amber bringing iced tea or not?
Oh, I’m thirsty…
***
Noah, no, Kylus got into the carriage and took a deep breath.
“Why is this idiot getting beaten up?”
Kylus felt a chill down his spine. It was the first fear he felt after dying.
“That bastard… he really meant to kill.”
Feeling a hand gripping the nape of his neck while being crushed, he had a foreboding that his host would die if he left it like this, so Kylus hurriedly intervened and ran away from the Duke’s house.
Even though Noah’s body was very weak, he was able to escape by luck because the skills he had learned as a knight did not disappear.
“Strange… It’s really strange.”
He murmured as he relaxed comfortably.
No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t understand it. How could his own foresight be so deviated?
Although there was some probable error, he had never been completely wrong.
…Why did the Lord of the Leon family not like Noah, and why was the Lady of the Leon family so polite?
Obviously, in the future he saw, the Princess was no less than an innocent woman. Because of that, he thought she would get angry if he was rude. It was good to coax when the other person was not rational.
He knew death. How could one know when the other was about to die?
After enticing them with those words, he tried to invite them to the funeral. If you’re curious, come and listen. If he does that, people will see him.
The Duchy’s Lady only came to the Baron’s funeral… People would want to know the reason, and they would have come up with a reason and spread the word.
“In all likelihood, I didn’t expect Lucian to come back then. If he had spoken properly, she would have fallen for it.”
Kylus had a voice of regret, he mumbled.
In the first place, if the Lord of the Leon family had fallen in love with this guy, things could not have gone so far.
“Well, she’s a pretty Princess, so I’m afraid I got greedy for seeing her again?”
He felt goosebumps in Lucian’s eyes that he had seen before. To give a ghost a chill… In a way, he really was bad news.
As he murmured and returned to the Barony, the carriage suddenly shook violently.
Kylus, who had been wallowing in the wind, got up in annoyance.
“How the hell do you drive a horse!”
It wasn’t the coachman who responded to the roaring voice. Elliot, who was sitting across from him, answered with a smile.
“Sorry. Was it too harsh for the Lord?”
Seeing Elliot entering the carriage without a sound, Kylus was startled and swallowed a breath. At the silver hair, he stared at him with trembling eyes.
Elliot laughed out loud.
“If you see me as the Prince, kneel.”
Kylus fell to his knees at the cold words that he couldn’t even resist.
“Greetings to the little lion, the Prince.”
Elliot took his greetings and brought him up to the point.
“Are you short on money these days?”