Chapter 11 – Troubled Hearts (I)

Outside, Lucius stares at the closed door and inhales deeply. Alone in the hallway, he begins to relax, allowing himself to feel. With a sigh and a troubled heart, he curls up his slightly trembling hand and mutters a little. “I was nervous. I couldn’t have made a mistake with the Duke.”

He looked pathetic with sorrow etched across his face. Visiting the Duke of Celeste after a long time, he had been nervous even before entering the living room. It has been a while since he spoke with him.

When he heard about Tiana’s condition, he was hit with anxiety, but he knew he had to see the Duke before getting to her. He was to be his father-in-law. He could not afford to come off as disrespectful.

Lucius rids himself of his nervousness and leans against the wall very close to the door for a moment. He feels a little warmth as if the tree swaying by the window represented his mind.

“You put off the wedding…” he murmurs.

He pretended to be fine, but when the Duke said he wanted to postpone the wedding, his heart was pounding. It was a one-sided arrangement between the maternal grandparents, but he did not oppose it. No, Lucius was rather happy because it was Tiana, not anyone else.

There was trouble between both of them, but it was good apart from that because he’s been waiting so long.

When he saw Tiana after the marriage was decided, she coldly rejected him.

“I am to get married to you?”

“Your grandfather has decided. I heard that the Duke approved it.”

“Really? I don’t like any of this. I’m especially sick of you.”

He vividly remembers her cold glare. It was the first lengthy conversation they had had, but he was not moved by her contempt. He watches petals and leaves flying in the wind. The breeze is gentle. He straightens his body against the wall, smoothens his slightly rumpled clothes, and walks regally towards the entrance.

Lucius puts on a hard face when he is greeted by his driver just outside the mansion. Although the Grand Duke was himself a knight, he was shy of strangers, and could not help but look stiff.

When will I get over this timidity?

Earlier, he failed to respond properly to the courtesy of the polite peasant personnel. He was going to say hello first to the Duke of Celeste, but he had been beaten to it. It was pathetic that he couldn’t act properly as Grand Duke. Sighing, he looks around before climbing onto the carriage.

He is suddenly moved towards the scenery then asks the coachman to stop.

“Please wait.”

“Yes, your Majesty.”

Turning as it was, Lucius walks to the left of the mansion along the trees swaying along with the rhythm of the wind. It is not until the driver and the coachman are out of sight that he relaxes his face. Passing through the splendid and tidy structure, he turns at the left corner and enters the back of the mansion, where he can see trees planted and a wide garden.

Colorful flowers are blooming and he seems intoxicated by the scent that fills his nostrils. A place he has visited countless times to meet her. It’s been three years since he got to know her. Lucius had met Tiana and together they crafted unforgettable memories.

They have not met in the past two years, but he still holds dear all the time he has spent with her. She was the only one who truly knew him, around whom he could be himself.

He still hasn’t forgotten the moment when he first met Tiana.

How much strength he received from her tender smile. How happy he was when he found out that their hearts were connected.

“But from that day on…”

A little over a year after their first meeting, Tiana collapsed and was unconscious for a week. When she woke up, she had changed into an entirely different person. Her words, her actions, and her memories were different. She had forgotten all about him, and her friendly smile was gone as if it had never been.

He was affected by it more than anyone else. He was frustrated that he could no longer see her affectionate, but he couldn’t leave her. He couldn’t give up.