LUCIA

Chapter 3 Shall We Marry? (1)

She didn't intend on eavesdropping, at first. She had busily followed after him in the same direction until he stopped.

'How in the world do I start this conversation?'

Her mind felt like it was stuck in a black hole as she imagined a dark future. She had neglected to prepare for this moment because she had been so fervently trying to simply meet him in person. However, her feet were already moving in his direction. When she discovered him, Lucia paused her steps and hesitated. Just then, she had lost her chance to another woman.

She was already much too close to leave. She was afraid of being discovered, so she crouched down behind a tall clump of grass. She didn't want to listen to their conversation, but she couldn't help hearing them due to such a close proximity.

'Lady Lawrence...? Is she... Sofia Lawrence...?'

Sofia was famous inside of Lucia's dream. Lucia didn't have any friendly ties with her, but Lucia had seen her a handful of times. There were many beauties in high society, but Sofia had reached the pinnacle among them all. If one were to use a comparison to nature's food chain, she would be among the top predators.

'Sofia Lawrence... was his ex-lover?'

Lucia was already aware he had numerous lovers. To make it worse, he switched partners frequently without hesitation. Every partner of his had breasts as big as watermelons, waists as thin as ants, wrapped up with a glamorous face. If one had to pick out a common trait among them all, it had to be that they were all beautiful morons. All the females had been nearly identical to one another, so Lucia had assumed this was his own preference when it came to women.

But Sofia Lawrence was different. Sofia was like a bouquet of white lilies. She had a grand beauty that stood out, even when she was among many other beauties. Her father, a baron, took importance in educating his children, so she was known to be a refined and modest young miss.

'She's not modest at all. She's a wolf in disguise.'

A marquis had fallen in love with her beauty and Sofia had already been married by the time Lucia was actively going around attending parties of high society. The marquis was a widower, but as a daughter of a baron, it would be a suitable marriage. In the distant future, Sofia would die giving birth to a stillborn. Lucia felt odd for some reason.

'She's clinging to him so desperately.'

Sofia, a glamorous young miss, had thrown away all her pride and begged. Listening to her words, Lucia felt such pity.

He's not the only man in this world, you know? Lucia wanted to tell her. But if Sofia insisted that there was only one 'Hugo Taran' in this world, Lucia would be helpless and could only keep quiet.

Lucia would never have guessed that she would be able to witness his dating style in such plain view. To top it off, at the worst moment possible.

'Haa... but still. To think he would be a man who would threaten death to an ex-lover...'

If Lucia was in Sofia's shoes, she would faint on the spot.

'This really... far surpasses what I imagined...'

Lucia knew many things about this man, but they were all rumors she had picked up here and there. She didn't personally know Hugo Taran at all. Inside her dream, she had only greeted him a single time. She had always viewed him from afar. She had drawn an image of him while watching many people surround him during the ball, but all that had shattered into many small pieces. He was far crueler than what she predicted, and most of all, he had no sympathy whatsoever.

'Contracted marriage...? What if he gets mad at me for proposing such a preposterous thing?'

If she made him mad, would he kill her as well?