Chapter 95 (1/2)

(6)

Hugo and Lucia sat holding each other for a long time without saying anything. They both needed time to sort out their feelings which had surged up to the limit.

Lucia recalled the contents of a romance novel that Norman had written. The protagonist was thrown onto the path of tribulation from the moment she confirmed her love. No matter the adversity, the protagonist always prevailed. Lucia thought it was only possible because it was novel; reality was incomparably harsh. Which is why she felt that the sweet reality placed in front of her right now was miraculous.

“I was going to talk to you about our contract today.”

His low voice reverberated through her body. Lucia pulled away slightly from his embrace and lifted her head to look at him.

“You already gave me the consent form for the family register and Damian had been entered into the register. The terms of the contract have already been met and I know that calling it ‘termination’ is meaningless. So, I wanted to hear your thoughts.”

“The contract was meaningless already.”

Lucia calmly shook her head.

“Even if it wasn’t a term in the contract, I would have gladly taken Damian as my son. He’s a lovely child that deserves to be loved. And, you’ve already promised me that you would be a faithful husband. Ah. There is one last condition left. If I confessed my love to you, you would give me a rose.”

Seeing him scowling, Lucia smiled.

“But you’re not going to give me a rose, are you?”

“…You’re going to keep tormenting me with that, aren’t you?”

“I won’t.”

Lucia chuckled. His face was filled with dissatisfaction and his expression was saying he felt wronged and frustrated but couldn’t say anything.

“Since when did you love me?” (Lucia)

His expression turned awkward.

“I don’t know.” (Hugo)

Lucia began to ask a little about specific events from the past, questioning, ‘was it then?’ and Hugo replied with ‘I think it was further than that…?’

“Then, what about when Damian came back?” (Lucia)

“Probably around then?” (Hugo)

“That long ago?”

“I thought I was going to run out of breath because you were so dense.”

So says the man who timidly kept everything to himself and suffered inwardly. If it was around the time when Damian came back, it had almost been a year. Lucia looked at him with a new gaze. So, he had been troubled on his own for almost a year. She felt sorry and also felt like laughing. Lucia spoke prudishly.

“You’re something else as well. I was much earlier than you, you know?”1

After a momentary pause, he yelled, ‘What?!’ and grabbed her shoulders with both hands.

“Ah really, you’re so cruel. And even with that, you declared you would never love me?”

Lucia retraced that particular memory and went, ‘Ah…’

“I didn’t know that incident bothered you.” (Lucia)2

Hugo gave a dispirited sigh. He wondered if his internal struggles this whole time had all been for nothing.

“Do you know how much I…” (Hugo)

He felt choked up for no reason and couldn’t continue speaking. Lucia patted his shoulders to comfort him. Seeing his annoyed expression, a small laugh escaped her mouth.

‘We were both so scared of each other.’

Lucia felt like she knew why the both of them took such a long time to get here.

“…You didn’t even tell me your name.” (Hugo)

“My name?” (Lucia)

“I’m talking about your childhood name.”

“Childhood name?”

“…Lucia.”

Lucia took a sharp breath. The moment her name came out of his mouth, she felt a sense of thrill. She didn’t think of the name her mother gave to her as a childhood name. ‘Lucia’ was simply just her name.

When Lucia looked at him without saying anything, Hugo began to grumble: Damian knows, even the butler knows but I don’t know.

“Hugh.”

Lucia laughed and stretched out her hands to cup his face.

“To me, the name ‘Lucia’ was special. Because it was the name my mother gave to me.”

The name ‘Lucia’ was her identity. In her dream, it was the pillar that kept her from collapsing, no matter what she went through.

“Princess Vivian was like another person that wasn’t me. It’s not that I tried to hide it from you, but because your wife is Vivian, I thought I should live as Vivian.

“You were uncomfortable with the name from the beginning.”

“Yes. I was. I thought ‘Vivian’ was a shell hiding my true self ‘Lucia’. Hugh. I found out that a name has meaning when someone is calling it. Every time you call me Vivian, the fake Vivian starts to become real. I am your Vivian. Only you can call me Vivian.”

Lucia acknowledged that Vivian was also herself. Rather, she was happy that she was able to live as his wife, Vivian. ‘Lucia’ was a weed and a wildflower. ‘Vivian’ was a beautiful flower. She wanted to be with him as Vivian.