LUCIA

Chapter 10 Northern Territory (1)

She could see the grand garden just outside the balcony. The place was humongous, she mumbled to herself when she discovered something running toward the mansion at a fast pace.

'Roy Krotin...?'

He was running like a wild boar that was being hunted. Had something happened this morning? In one look, she could tell it was something important.

"Where is His Grace now?"

"He has already gone to the Northern territory early this morning."

"...He's not here?"

"Concerning this, Madam, the head butler is waiting to inform you of the contents right now."

"You should have let him into the room then."

"He is not allowed to enter this place..."

"Ah..."

As long as her husband wasn't with her, other than females, nobody was allowed to enter her bedroom. Xenon was very flexible when it came to laws on adultery, but it was extremely taboo to let a random male inside the master's bedroom chambers.

They wouldn't be able to deny a request for divorce without the slightest compensation. It would be alright outside in the gardens, but it was forbidden inside the bedroom chambers. It was a laughable custom since the old times.

There was a different country before the war, who pointed their finger at Xenon, claiming that Xenon was in disorder. Xenon had sent a letter saying they were insulting the country's royal family, and had managed to receive an apology... But still, Lucia didn't doubt their words.

"What about the plans to depart this morning?"

"His Grace has ordered for everything to be pushed for tomorrow."

"Then it must not be anything too urgent. I will talk with the butler later. I wish to rest awhile longer."

Lucia requested for a cup of honey water and went back to sleep. Roy's desperate expression from a while ago kept glimmering in Lucia's thoughts. The Duke had already left early in the morning, so what did Roy need? Thinking about that was too troublesome, so she fell asleep.

***

"How could this happen? How?"

Roy was fuming in anger under the shining morning sun. His red hair looked like burning flames at that moment. It was a common sight and nobody seemed interested to watch.

"What about the Crown Prince? Why are you here?"

"Who cares? I didn't agree to do it!" (Roy)

The Crown Prince had agreed to let Hugo leave the capital as long as he left an assuring guard here; Roy being the selected candidate for the deal. It was impossible to predict in which direction Roy would go, but there wasn't anyone who could beat Roy when it came to skill. The only person who could beat Roy into a pulp was Hugo.

Nobody cared about Roy's opinions. Hugo had commanded in his usual style, 'because I said so', while ignoring any of Roy's objections. Two nights ago, Roy had thrown a tantrum, refusing to become Kwiz' guard, and Hugo had given him a bad beating, turning his face black and blue and forcing him into the job.

This morning, the Duke had sent a message to Kwiz by post. Roy had also read the letter while looking over the Crown Prince's shoulder. It was a brief letter explaining that something had happened in the North, so he would be departing to his Northern territories. The moment Roy read the letter, he had run to the mansion as fast as he could, but the Duke was already gone.

"The Lord has already given you your task. It will be better for you to return, it's not good to leave your post empty."

"Ain't nobody got time for that! Things are going bad in the North! How can he leave me out of something so fun?" Dean looked at Roy like he was pathetic.