LUCIA

Chapter 22 The Ducal Couple

Cushioned on the finely detailed muscles of a man's body, there laid a woman's body. Leaning her head on his shoulders and placing her cheek on his upper chest, Lucia enjoyed the feeling of his hands gently caressing her naked back. His chest was under her palm and she felt fascinated by the firmness of his skin so she poked his skin a little firmly.

"Starting tomorrow, I will be away from Roam for a few days." (Hugo)

"Where are you going?"

"Fiefdom inspection. I plan to look around once or twice a month from now on."

Although he had fallen for the sweet dream called the newlywed's life, he had not forgotten what he needed to do.

"Does a Lord need to do that?"

"Of course. I need to maintain order."

Those people were the type to look for another place to go if they did not see their master and so before that happened, he had to tighten their leash.

Although it was enjoyable to observe and pick out the fools who tried to look for other places and warn or deal with them, he refrained from making such a coarse expression in front of her.

'Inspection of the fief...this is something he's originally been doing.'

Her husband in her dreams, Count Martin, had never once visited his fiefdom and as expected, Lucia had never been there either.

However from time to time, she would see people coming from the fief with tax reports and have the report flung on their face and screamed at.

"Will it take long?"

"About three or four days. If it's a long visit, it can take a few more days."

'He won't be here for a few days.' Lucia felt somewhat strange.

Even though she'd come to Roam right after they had gotten married and had stayed alone for nearly a month, at some point, it had become natural for her to be near him.

She wondered if he would get annoyed if she were to say, 'Please come back soon'.

"Your next tea party is in two days, right?"

Lucia's second tea party was to be held two days later. It was almost half a month since her last tea party.

Because of the success of the first tea party, Lucia was looking forward to the second one, however when she thought about how he wouldn't be around, her enthusiasm suddenly diminished.

"Yes."

"I have something to give you. It should arrive tomorrow or the day after."

"What is it?"

"A gift. I feel that the last tea party's present was lacking a bit."

He was speaking in a calm voice but Lucia's heart began to throb. His unexpected and sudden gift made her heart flutter.

"Can I ask what the gift is?"

"A necklace."

As his voice was so bland, Lucia's heart that was throbbing in expectation cooled down slightly. It was simply a formal gift but here she was, having high expectations alone.

Lucia had yet to grasp his simple personality that had never given a gift on his own before or teased someone about a gift.

"Do you perhaps hate jewelry?"

"Is there anyone who does not like jewelry?"

"Then that's good. Do you have any special plans for when I'm away?"