"Welcome, Kate."
Although Kate was visiting without any prior notice, Lucia greeted her with a light hug and welcomed her in happily. The friendship of the two was just as before.
Despite the gap that existed between them as Duchess and daughter of a vassal, both of their personalities were able to destroy those barriers. With Lucia who didn't assert her authority as Duchess and Kate who was straightforward and didn't take advantage of her friendship with the Duchess, they simply treated each other as one person to another.
"Do you feel better now?" (Lucia)
"Yes. I have completely recovered so I came to see you.". (Kate)
Kate had been stuck at home for nearly a month due to a cold fever.
"I wanted to go see you but...I'm sorry."
Lucia was unable to go because Hugo completely refused to allow it. Even when she tried to explain that it was just a short visit so she wouldn't catch a fever in that short amount of time, he acted like he wasn't hearing anything. Rather, using the reason that there was a outbreak of cold fever, he prohibited outings altogether.
"What are you talking about? You did well in not coming."
Kate could only fear for future problems if she had mistakenly passed her sickness onto Lucia. She didn't wish to incur the anger of the Duke.
On the other hand, Kate was itching to tell Lucia about the changes in northern atmosphere these days. Apart from having a tea party twice or thrice a month, the Duchess had no other official activity and had unknowingly became a big shot in the social circles.
However, although she was a leading figure in the circles, she wasn't in the spotlight.
It was similar to how the Duke of Taran ruled over the north but reigned virtually unseen. Lucia met as many as fifteen people at a time and the small scale tea party alone limited the public's understanding of her psychology. Her presence was sought at the center of the northern high society more than she could guess.
Kate saw that the northern circles were on the lookout for news on the Duchess and had clamored to her great aunt about informing Lucia but was told off for being too hasty.
Madam Michelle strictly told her that if the Duchess were to hear such words from others before being conscious of her position, it would be difficult for her gauge her surroundings properly.
"His Grace is inspecting the fief?" (Kate)
"Yes. It usually takes around four to five days so he should be back by tomorrow. How is Madam Michelle?" (Lucia)
"Same as usual. The nagging has increased. I'm tired of hearing I should at least resemble half of the Duchess."
"You know she's just saying that. One knows how beautiful and charming you are Kate."
"I think Lucia is much more charming."
"Thank you."
Looking at Lucia's smile as though thanking her for the lip service, Kate didn't stress that she really thought so. Even if she did, it would just be laughed off as pleasantries.
Every time she saw Lucia, she always felt oddly charmed. Lucia was not a stunning beauty but the more one looked, the more one's eyes got drawn to her. It wasn't a luxurious appearance but she herself was like a scent that drew people in. Like filling an enclosed space with flowers, even after all the flowers are removed, the view remained, resonating in one's memory.
"The weather has gotten warmer so I was thinking of going fox hunting. Let's go together." (Kate)
"Is it okay to do that when you've just recovered?" (Lucia)
"Sure, there's no problem. Although, since you don't have a fox, you can only watch."
"The experience alone is enough for me."
Tuuung...
The sound of a horn was heard.
"His Grace must have returned."
Following those words, Kate began to stand up but was dissuaded by Lucia and sat down again.
"You're a guest so it's fine if you're here. I'll excuse myself for a bit."
Lucia left and Kate was all alone in the receiving room so she relaxed comfortably into the sofa. She recalled watching Lucia's face light up at the sound of the horn and a giggle escaped her mouth. It was an adorable sight.
Did she like her husband that much? While talking to Lucia, Kate often saw her become like a shy maiden when it came to her husband. The rumor that the ducal couple had a pretty good marital relationship was very widespread but people were in doubt as they hadn't seen it personally.
The people who saw the Duchess tilted their head and carefully said that the Duchess was not that beautiful for the Duke to fall hard. However, Kate didn't think one could understand Lucia's charm after just sitting with her for tea one or two times. Kate could fully understand how the Duke fell for Lucia's charms.
Around when the tea in her cup got lukewarm, the door opened. Kate turned to look and her eyes widened. A largely built, dark-haired man strode into the room, holding the Duchess by the hand and pulling her in. As soon as the Duchess stepped in, he pressed her onto the closed door and began to kiss her.
'Wow...'
Unable to even think of turning away from the unexpected situation, Kate stared blankly at the display of affection in front of her. The Duke was conferred his title before Kate made her social debut and during the war, Kate had no chance to see the Duke's face. After the Duke married and returned to the North some time ago, he had never attended a social gathering, so Kate had never seen the Duke personally.
However, the black-haired man holding and kissing the Duchess could only be the Duke.
'The ducal couple's relationship is pretty good?'
The rumor was wrong.
'I don't think this counts as just pretty good.'
Kate's face gradually reddened. It wasn't a short and refreshing kiss to share the joy of reunion. It was a kiss filled with hot passion and explicit desire to fling off one's clothes and entangle one's body with another.
The sofa Kate sat on faced the entrance in a slightly diagonal direction so she could see the face of Lucia leaning on the door. When her eyes widened, her gaze met with Lucia's and as she watched Lucia's face turn bright red, her face flushed red too. In spite of herself, a small laugh escaped her lips and she turned away.
Lucia had forgotten about Kate for a moment and after meeting Kate's gaze, she could only feel intense embarrassment. She knocked on Hugo's chest as hard as she could and Hugo feeling the fierce rebellion, withdrew his tongue from her mouth. He sucked on her lips, kissed the side of her mouth then moved away.
"What?" (Hugo)
"Guest...There's a guest..." (Lucia)
Her amber eyes were filled with embarrassment. Looking at her wet lashes that made it seem like she would tear up, Hugo really wanted to have her on the spot.
'Can't we just do it here? I can't endure till evening.'
He wasn't able to have her for a few days and his body was going crazy with want. She liked cleanliness so it was rare for her to allow him to have her without washing up and preparing first. She also disliked any location other than the bedroom.
Any attempt to send all the servants away and try it in the hallway or garden was met with rejection. Even when he was working in the office, he didn't know how many times he'd suppressed to urge to carry her to his table and have his way with her. He certainly wanted to do it someday.
"A guest?"
Hugo repeated after her and turned his head sideways to find a woman sitting on the sofa with her head lowered. But there was no change in his expression. His hand holding Lucia's waist and hugging her remained as it was.
"Lady Milton..." (Lucia)
"Ah."
The famous one.
Hugo walked towards the sofa, his hand still on Lucia's waist and Kate quickly stood up to give a deep bow.
"Greetings to Your Grace the Duke. I am Kate, daughter of Count Milton."
"Pleased to meet you, Lady Milton. I seem to have interrupted your refreshments."
He gave Lucia a light kiss.
"Have a nice time."
He let go of the waist he'd been holding and left the receiving room. He was like a storm that blew in and disappeared as fast as it came. What was left was up to the people inside.
Lucia couldn't be as shameless as Hugo and act like nothing had happened. She couldn't hide her embarrassment and stayed silent, sipping the cold tea. Like that, the two of them sat there, not saying anything for a while.
"You...you were talking about hunting. When is this?" (Lucia)
"In...five days. I hope you can come."
Their conversation continued clumsily and somewhat out of place.
****
As soon as Jerome heard the meeting was dismissed, he went into the conference room. Hugo sat at the head of the table, looking through documents.
To those new to this, it was a tense atmosphere but to those who busying around their day, it was as always. They all knew that the Duke had the habit of looking through the content of the meetings for around 30 minutes after it was over.
"Your Grace." (Jerome)
"Mm."
Hugo responded with a lift of the hand, signaling he didn't want tea.
"Fabian is here." (Jerome)
"Tell him to come in." (Hugo)
A while later, Fabian came in and turned in his report. Hugo glanced at Fabian and acknowledged him with a nod then took the report. As he was looking through it, he frowned. Why was the Countess of Falcon suddenly approaching his wife's acquaintance, the novelist?
"...What the hell is this?"
Fabian tensed up at the Duke's fierce reaction.
"It hasn't been just once or twice since you've come here, yet you only bring this now?"
Fabian swallowed hard. If he didn't bring it now, he would really be in big trouble.
"I apologize. It was a lapse in judgement."
Knowing the nature of his lord, Fabian readily admitted his fault. Several times, he'd witnessed the scene of other people making numerous excuses and having something fly at their head.
Hugo continued reading the report and his expression grew more and more vicious. The additional report included that the Countess of Falcon had done a background check on Princess Vivian.
Due to lack of time, it was still under investigation as to how the Countess of Falcon tracked down the relationship between the female novelist and Princess Vivian.
"A background check?"
Hearing the Duke's tone laced with threat, Fabian broke out in cold sweat.
"Who is in charge of investments? Send him in."
A while later, Ashin came in. Ashin wasn't the person in charge to be exact but he was in a position to understand the flow of investments and bookkeeping so he came in on behalf of the person who was absent today.
"Have we invested in any high market or business owned by Count Falcon?"
Hugo remembered asking the person in charge to review a business plan passed to him by the Countess of Falcon. If the plan was judged to be profitable, the person in charge was responsible for deciding whether to invest. Normally, Hugo left matters concerning investments to the manager and unless there was a loss reported, he didn't get involved.
Ashin quickly combed through the documents he brought in and found the related document.
"Withdraw all investments. Immediately." (Hugo)
"Do you mean...right away? At least a month's notice in advance..." (Ashin)
"Right. Now."
Hugo cracked his knuckles in emphasis and Ashin straightened up.
"Yes, sir. I'll deal with it right away."
After Ashin left the room with careful steps, Hugo commanded the nervous Fabian.
"Send down this warning. If such nonsense is ever repeated, it'll be their head next time."
Withdrawing investments and even sending a threat. For the first time, Fabian found the Countess of Falcon slightly pitiful. The Taran Family invested on quite the huge scale so to suddenly lose such a large amount of money, Count Falcon's businesses would be shaken.
Still, to a woman he once shared intimacy with, it was truly ruthless. The Duke of Taran wasn't one to pursue an investment turnover unless a loss had been suffered so it was Fabian's first time seeing the Duke withdraw an investment for emotional reasons.
'Should I ingratiate myself to the Duchess a little?'
Fabian revised his thoughts that the Duke was just having fun and fascinated with being a newlywed. This wasn't just fascination, it was more like his lord had fallen for his wife.
* * *
After dinner, Lucia asked Hugo to give her some of his time. They went to the receiving room and sat facing each other.
"When you were absent, I was told the Duke's doctor wanted to meet me." (Lucia)
Hugo's expression instantly froze over. He had definitely ordered that she was not to learn of the old man's very existence. This was the first time Jerome hadn't fulfilled his orders.
Feeling his master's gaze on him, Jerome lowered his head with a stiff expression.
"Don't be angry with him. My doctor is the one who disobeyed your orders. It seems my doctor met your doctor while looking for a cure all over and asked him for advice. I hear you called my doctor once a week to ask about the treatment so I think the pressure on her should have been considerable."
Lucia hadn't known he'd been calling Anna to ask about the treatment. She thought he had already forgotten about it and the fact that he'd been constantly asking about it made her feel thankful. But she could also understand how much of a mental burden it could have placed on Anna.
"My doctor, Anna, will be resigning. I hope you don't punish her additionally."
Lucia thought highly of Anna's efforts. The woman went beyond her role as a primary doctor and did her best to treat Lucia. She did all the work Lucia had done in the dream. She found Philip whom Lucia had miraculously met in the dream.
She met the Duke's doctor and after constantly interacting with him, she grasped his personality and medical skills before asking for advice, and then when she received the medicine, she personally tried it on herself. Hence, the cure was found as a result of Anna's efforts.
However, Anna was rash. It was fortunate that Lucia knew what medicine it was or else she would have taken a drug with unknown ingredients. It didn't matter whether the drug was the real cure or not.
Anna seemed unaware of how much of a mistake she'd made. If Jerome knew about this, he would definitely tell her husband and once her husband knew, Anna's life was forfeit.
Anna's arbitrary decision happened because of her heartfelt care so Lucia didn't want the woman to be charged of a crime to that extent and decided to keep the matter between herself and Anna alone.
"Alright." (Hugo)
"My doctor seemed confident that your doctor knows the cure." (Lucia)
"...I see."
Hugo acknowledged that the old man had remarkable medical skill. If it was the old man, it wasn't strange that he knew the cure.
"Could that fellow have used your doctor to try and meet you?" (Hugo)
Putting Philip's medical skill aside, Hugo couldn't believe the man himself.
"No. My doctor said she actively arranged for it. I was told your doctor didn't want to reveal himself until the end."
Anna put on the blame on herself as much as possible and covered for Philip. She didn't want to implicate Philip who was already under surveillance and to Anna, Philip was a teacher close to her heart and a genuinely true person.
"Jerome."
Hugo made an eye gesture, signaling for Jerome to leave and Jerome bowed his head in response and exited the room.
"There is a reason I took action to prevent you from meeting my doctor."
The old man couldn't do anything to her nor was there any reason for him to harm her. What the old man obsessively desired from Hugo was a daughter, that is, a bride for Damian and she couldn't have a child of Taran blood.
Hugo was simply worried about what kind of nonsense the old man might say to her so he kept her away.
"Ah, yes. You wouldn't do it for no reason." (Lucia)
"If you want to meet him, it's okay if you do so while I'm there."
If the three of them met him together, the old man wouldn't be able to say stupid things. Hugo didn't want to see the old man again but if the man knew the cure, it couldn't be helped.