Chapter 5 (2/2)

“It’s the first time a woman has asked me such a question and I just found it interesting. I don’t hate it. Usually, women hope for their love to be returned. I am unable to do so, thus I told them not to love me.”

What painful memory? He was just egotistical to the bones. If the women didn’t expect their love to be returned, then that meant it would be okay to love him one-sidedly. He should try and suffer a love that would make him cry out in blood.

To her regret, she did not have such skills. It seemed impossible to change his way of thinking. He was a man who had the whole world in his hands.

“I thought of something.”

“There’s a blank document you may use to write the conditions for this marriage.”

“That’s fine. I don’t need documentation. All I need is your promise with the Duke’s honor on the line.

He feigned a laugh.

“The Duke’s honor, you say? That’s a level higher than something like documentation. So what are your conditions?”

“There are only two conditions. First, please promise me you will not abuse me physically or mentally. I am not saying this to insult Your Grace at all, please don’t misunderstand.”

Because of the memories inside her dream, Lucia wanted a safety wall to protect herself.

His facial expression as he had been looking at Lucia all this time, turned a great degree uglier. Did she believe that he was a man who would physically hurt and insult his own woman? It felt a bit unpleasant, but she stated she wasn’t trying to insult him, so he decided to believe her. It was a simple condition of the contract after all.

“How about the second?”

“Secondly… I will do my best. However, sometimes humans are unable to control their hearts. Maybe it is easy for Your Grace. If you believe that I am unable to control my heart, please give me a rose.”

What in the world… It was impossible to know what this woman was thinking. Hugo thought once more that he really wanted to pry open her mind to see what was inside. He could understand that she had never formed a contract with another party before.

This was clearly a contract intended to benefit both parties. Up until now, he had only agreed to contracts that were beneficial to himself. It had always been that way. He had the upper hand in this contract. But it was not because of his negotiating skills, but because the person in front of him was too immature to notice this.

It would be her own fault if she signed a contract that would be beneficial unilaterally. He had no reason to become her adviser nor a morally righteous person. It was not anyone’s obligation to be morally right. He had thought so his whole life.

But he had at least a little bit of conscience while dealing with her. He decided to advise her on this unilaterally beneficial contract.

“Why don’t you decide on some more realistic conditions? Princess, you’re not aware of the price of these documents.”

Usually, when a man asked his wife to sign a parental custody waiver and a family registry agreement, a grand amount of money would need to change hands.

“I am aware. These two documents are expected to be priced very high.”

“…That is so.”

“I will be the Duke’s wife, so all my life necessities will be taken care of. Other than life necessities, I have no need for other things.”

For the words ‘life necessities’ to come out of a princess’s mouth was refreshing but shocking.

“The first condition…fine. But what is the purpose of the second condition?”

“To me, there is a purpose. In life, there are many times when things you cannot touch become much more important than any materialistic things. Though that doesn’t mean I dislike materialistic things; I’m not taking money lightly. Money, of course it is important. We all need money. Without money, living becomes very hard. But as long as one has enough money to get by, there is no difference between the people that have a little more and those that have less.”

He feigned a laugh.

“You talk like you’ve already lived a lifetime. Princess, this is my conjecture based on your age and experience, but that’s not possible, so where did you learn this rubbish philosophy?”

Lucia jumped upon hearing, ‘like you’ve already lived a lifetime’.

“It’s fine to call it rubbish philosophy. Anyway, these are my conditions. I believe these are not too difficult.”

Not too difficult? They were ridiculously simple. No matter from which angle, this contract was unilaterally beneficial.

“…Fine. I understand Princess’ conditions and I agree to them.”

Lucia had been nervous and had held her breath. She let out a long sigh of relief. She immediately signed the two documents in front of her and slid them back to him. He looked over them quickly and put them away.

“With this, our engagement has been completed. If you wish an authorized…”

“No. I don’t need them. Um, I got it. I will assume that we are now engaged.”

The word ‘engagement’ seemed too grand. Lucia felt strange.

‘Then…now I am… Duke Hugo Taran’s fiancée.’

It was not like they were married yet, but it was doubtful that he would break the engagement. She had made it through to the end, although the success rate was very low. Her deeply moved emotions showed plainly on her face. Hugo, who had been watching her, wondered, ‘Is she the type to obsess over honor?’

(t/n: Hugo had been talking in polite form all this time. Suddenly at this point, he drops any polite forms of speech)

“The sun is down, you should return. You didn’t obtain a two day permission slip, did you?”

Was it her own imagination? His speech pattern…

“Slipping out by pretending to be a maid. Don’t think of doing something as cute in the future.”

…It was not her imagination.

“Why are you suddenly…”

‘…Talking down to me?’ was too straightforward. Then how about ‘talking so rudely’? He seemed to have read her mind before she spoke out, and relaxed his back on the sofa.

“With my woman, I don’t speak formally nor with honorifics.”

Lucia’s face flushed.

“…When did I ever become Your Grace’s…woman?”

“Ever since you were promoted as my fiancée.”

“But we haven’t married yet! Before marriage, anything could happen!”

“Don’t you understand the definition of an engagement? In the Taran family’s tradition there is no such thing as a divorce. Of course, that means there is no such thing as a broken engagement, either.”

If his retainers were around to hear this conversation, they would have wondered whether there was such a tradition.

“E…even so. How come you can’t speak to your fiancée with honorifics? Why not? Is that your Taran family’s tradition as well?”

“I will not.”

“…”

There was no way for her to understand that man. At first, she thought he was a scary man. She thought he was a playboy who liked playing around with women’s hearts. Then, she believed he was a man with basic manners. She wondered whether he could be a more honorable man than her first impression. After meeting him today, she saw that he was very logical and didn’t let his emotions run over his decisions. But now, she had…no idea.

“I’ve said you’re not allowed to leave the royal palace with a maid’s permission slip. Why aren’t you listening?”

“…What if I still leave? What will you do?”

“If you’re curious why don’t you try?”

“…”

Yes. There was nothing more accurate than a first impression. Threatening other people was his life motto. She wondered why she had believed in this man to marry him. The amazement from before had turned into unease. Whether she had hit the jackpot or hit a landmine, her gamble results were still a mystery.

“…This is so sudden… Can’t I meet just one person one last time?”

Rather than ignoring his request, she asked for his permission. She had decided it was the best way to go about this.

“What is your plan after meeting her? That female author doesn’t know that my dear is a princess.”

Lucia was shocked twice in a row. First, because he knew of Norman. Second, because he had called her ‘dear’ so naturally.

“Still… I want to say my last goodbye.”

“I’m not asking you to leave her forever. Our engagement has yet to be announced. Before everything is official, I don’t want to deal with any unnecessary rumors floating around.”

“Then is it okay to go meet her after our wedding?”

Lucia looked up at him with sparkling eyes, causing him to flinch.

“…Yes. It’s fine later on. But don’t spill a word about today’s contract, ever.”

“Of course, I never had such intentions. Your Grace, you are much more understanding than I originally thought.”

“…Last time you thought of me as a promiscuous man and this time it’s understanding? How pitiful of a human being am I inside that head of yours?

“…Sorry. That wasn’t my intention.”

Hugo watched Lucia, who had been hesitating all this time, with eyes of wonder. After spending time with her, he understood why he had felt incompatible with others before. In general, people feared and shrank away from him. Whether they were female or not didn’t matter. The women he dated would act coquettishly on the outside, but they remained distant in their hearts. This girl however, conversed with him with much ease.

However, nothing was definite yet. Maybe it was because she was unfamiliar with him. He thought she’d never heard of his rumors before. If she’d heard even a little fraction of his rumors, the way she looked at him would change. People considered him a monster. But most of all, he had no thoughts of refuting those rumors.

***

Please do not take out the translations outside of Sleepy Korean Translations. I choose not to accept donations or profit for a reason. Thank you for your understanding.

Five days after her return to the Royal Palace, Lucia found out an amazing fact.

‘He hasn’t stated whether the wedding would be six months or a whole year later. Until I get married, I won’t be able to go visit nor talk to Norman… She will be so worried about me.’

After a lot of contemplation, she decided to write a letter.

‘I’ll ask him to deliver the letter for me. He could read it over before delivering it. He would probably agree with these conditions.’

– Norman. I’m sorry to send you my message of goodbye through a letter like this. Please don’t worry about me. I’m living a very healthy and good life. However, due to some important issues in my life, I won’t be able to contact you. Please don’t try to find me, and wait for me. We will be able to meet again one day for sure. I promise it won’t be for too long. We’ve shared a friendship that will last our whole lifetime together.

I worry when you stay up too late writing your novels. It’s not good for your health for your days and nights to be inversed. Please be wary of your health.

With eternal friendship.

Even if someone other than Norman happened to read this, they wouldn’t be able to obtain any new or important information. Norman could recognize Lucia’s handwriting, so she would feel relieved after receiving this letter.

After she finished writing, she looked out her window to the blue sky; there wasn’t a single cloud in sight.

“It seems like a good day for laundry.”

***

Lucia was drenched in sweat from working all morning. She removed all the beddings and curtains from her palace for cleaning. She carried large wooden basins and filled them with soapy water at the front of her detached palace. She placed all the blankets and curtains in various basins, stepping on them to rinse out all the impurities. She busied herself all morning with manual labor and she was feeling quite refreshed. Lucia was stomping on the laundry while humming a tune through her nose.

“Are you a child working here?”

Lucia lifted her head upon a strange woman’s voice. She looked like a palace maid judging by her uniform. Labor maids and palace maids wore different colored uniforms, though their overall design was the same.

‘What is a palace maid doing here?’

Lucia stared at the palace maid with shocked eyes, not knowing what to do, while the palace maid spoke with a cold interrogating tone.

“Why aren’t you answering? It seems you are a child that works here, but this is the first time I’ve seen you. Is the Princess inside?

‘She’s looking for me…? Why? Actually, what am I supposed to say in this situation?’

Almost nobody knew of Princess Vivian’s real face. In her current state, the palace maid would never believe that Lucia was the princess.

“Alright. Hurry up and answer. Are you unable to speak? We have an honored guest here who wishes to meet with the princess.

‘Honored guest? A guest for me?’

It was the first time a guest had come to visit the detached palace.

“I never knew that laundry was one of the requirements for a refined lady.”

It was a familiar low-pitched tone from somewhere. There was no way it could be that person, so Lucia froze in place. She craned her neck up with much struggle. It felt like all her bones had suddenly rusted in place. A person who shouldn’t have been here, was standing right there. Raven black hair and scarlet red eyes. He wore a black coat over a blue shirt that complimented his black hair. He gazed at her without much of an expression.

Lucia’s soul had left her body at the moment.

“How terrible that a servant is unable to recognize a princess. It’s because you have such a strange hobby, Princess.”

When the truth dawned on all the palace maids present, their faces turned into a black ashen tone. Lucia saw and was sure she looked just like them at the moment.

“H…hello… What are you…doing here…?”

“First, let’s talk after you get out of there.”

Lucia was shocked senseless. In the process of trying to rush out, she slipped and flopped onto the floor. She didn’t fall in an unsightly matter nor did it hurt, but she was seriously embarrassed.

Her face felt hot; she looked up with a wary heart. He was staring down at her with his arms crossed. He remained emotionless as usual, but she couldn’t help thinking how pathetic she seemed to him.

As he drew closer, Lucia froze from his sudden presence. He stood next to the wooden basin and offered a helping hand. She stared at his hand with a confused expression and looked up at his face. She had to crane her neck very far to see his face. He was already tall to begin with; at the moment, he felt like a giant. He was very tall with a large frame, but it didn’t affect his quick reflexes.

He wondered why she wasn’t accepting his hand and wrinkled his brows with a scolding expression. Lucia grabbed his hand quickly in the spur of the moment. His hand was huge. Her hand looked like a child’s inside his palm. He easily hoisted her up with one sweeping pull.

Lucia escaped the wooden basin, but now she was barefoot. All this time, his gaze was stuck to her feet. Lucia followed his gaze down to her own feet, her ears going red with embarrassment.

“Aah!”

When her body rose in the air, Lucia screamed in shock.

“You’ll get soapy water onto your clothes!”

She yelled in fear that his expensive clothes would be dirtied, but he acted like he hadn’t heard her at all as he headed inside her palace. Lucia didn’t struggle in his hold and meekly left her body in his care. Hugo glanced down at her, who looked like she wanted to cry, and a slight smile spread upon his lips. But it disappeared the same moment.

(end)

(1) It’s okay to pour a cup of water and curse him away. – I’m assuming these actions are referring to witch craft.

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