(3)">Chapter 60 [part 2] - (3) (1/2)

Chapter 60 [part 2]

(3)

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It had been a few days since Lucia’s entourage arrived at the Capital but no rumors of their arrival had spread. Hugo asked Lucia to rest and stay out of the society’s gaze for a little while longer. So, Lucia spent these couple of days in very relaxed manner.

She knew this break wouldn’t last long so she was enjoying it as much as she could. She had her lunch, looked around the mansion and went for a walk in the yard.

There was a fairly large plain of land between the gates and the entrance to the mansion. Instead of a garden, numerous trees were planted to obstruct one’s vision from seeing the inside of the mansion. And since there was a small pathway in between, it was nice for taking a walk.

“Ooh!”

The sudden loud voice made Lucia jump in surprise. When an eye-catching man unexpectedly appeared in front of her, Lucia plopped down on the spot.

“Ah, Did I surprise you? It’s me. Me. We haven’t seen in a long time, yes?”

The eye-catching man was Roy Krotin. Lucia grabbed his outstretched hand and stood up. To Lucia, Roy was special connection. She hadn’t known at the time but if it wasn’t for Roy back then, she wouldn’t have been able to meet Hugo.

It was Jerome’s role to manage the guests and with Jerome’s shrewd personality, there was no way he would have let her meet Hugo until she was judged to be a proper guest. Back then, Jerome was absent just in time and Roy acted as he pleased, allowing Lucia to meet with Hugo.

At that time, if Lucia had been unable to meet Hugo and was turned away, she wouldn’t have had courage to visit again. It was the help of the heavens and at the same time, it was Roy’s help.

“Since you’re the Duchess now, should I be little different? But I don’t really know that stuff.”

There was no malice in Roy’s grinning expression. Lucia grinned back.

“It’s fine. Do what you’re comfortable with. It’s a pleasure to meet you like this after a long time. I have been wanting to give you my thanks.”

“Thanks? For what?”

“If not for Sir Krotin, how could I have met his Grace the Duke? It is thanks to Sir that I became the Duchess.”

“What…I didn’t…really do anything…”

Roy sheepishly scratched his chin. Actually, the fact that he burst into laughter when Lucia proposed to Hugo always weighed on Roy’s mind. He never intended to ridicule her. It was just that the situation itself was very funny but people usually tended to perceive the opposite of his words and actions.

But when he heard her thankfulness instead, he felt a little awkward and happy.

‘Why does this man have such a bad reputation?’

In Lucia’s dream, Roy Krotin was famous as the mad dog and Lucia had no exact line of contact with Roy so she could only know him from the rumors. But after personally meeting Roy, she realized he was very far from the notorious individual described.

He was cheerful and blunt and if one treated him with good will, he was sure to return the favor.

‘There is little to be trusted in these rumors huh.’

According to the rumors surrounding the Taran Duke, he was a ruthless monster without blood or tears. And now the rumors surrounding her were completely groundless.

In her dream, Lucia got a lot of information concerning the social circles from the rumors but now that she thought about it, most of them were probably lies.

Lucia made a small commitment to herself to not listen to rumors in the future unless she had personally met the individual concerned.

“I hear you have been the escort of His Highness the Crown Prince. Is it okay to be here at this time?”

“Okay or not, I won’t do it anymore. Even if it is Lord’s orders, I won’t! Do you know how hard it is to not go anywhere and just escort for more than a year? Even if it was fun to kill assassins from time to time, I want to quit right now.”

“…Ah, I see. It must have been hard.”

“But, what of my Lord?”

“He’s not in. He went out.”

“Darn. I ran over to have a round with my Lord cuz it’s been a while.”

“…A round? Do you mean fighting His Grace the Duke?”

“Mm? Hahaha! It’s right to call it a fight. A duel is a fight too.”

“Ah…a duel. Isn’t that dangerous?”

“There is no danger. We aren’t amateurs either. It’s only dangerous to those that swing the sword carelessly. Haven’t you ever watched a duel?”

“I haven’t. But His Grace might get hurt…”

‘Puhahaha!’ Roy burst into loud laughter.

“Hurt? Ah, even saying that is absurd. There is no one in the world that can hurt even the fingers of my Lord.”

‘Is he really such a great Knight?’

Hugo’s physique overwhelmed that of a knight’s. But maybe because Lucia had never actually seen him wield a sword, it didn’t feel real to her. She ran a workshop in her dream so she knew a little bit about those that were called Knights.

While they were uncompromising and simple, sometimes their temper exploded and then they were like an angry bisons, ignoring what was in front of them.

‘He isn’t like a knight at all.’