Chapter 141

Chapter 141

It was a trip that she courageously asked for them to travel together, but as Lucius warned, it was grueling.

This was especially true in the beginning, as the speed of the carriage and the luggage she brought with her made them move slower than expected. Most of all, the thought that she had disrupted an urgent and official mission bothered her to no end.

On the morning of departure, how much regret she felt when he saw her carriage caught in the midst of countless drivers. Even Lucius, who had come to pick her up, was wearing a knight’s uniform, and thanks to that outfit, he looked ghastly and grown-up alone.

“No matter how I think about it, I should not have come,” Deatrice said. It was because she realized anew how childish her request was to go with him.

“Why did I do that?” It was already hassling enough if they turned back around, but she thought it was better if they didn’t go anyways as she would only burden them. She had been inconsiderate, “I won’t go with you. I’m sorry.”

At first, Lucius thought it was a joke, but his face hardened when he saw her desperately clutching a nearby piece of furniture.

“Your luggage is already outside, but you won’t go?”

“Yes.”

“Why are you holding onto that desk? You think I’m going to force you?”

“It’s not that—”

Her words didn’t even come out. It was because Lucius, who had magically appeared by her side, carried her on his broad shoulders and stepped out of the door.

“Ah, Lucius!”

Losing her grip on the desk she had tightly clung onto, Deatrice struggled as hard as she could as her body practically became a drape over his body. But even so, she couldn’t get away from Lucius.

“Master!”

“M’lady!”

The servants, including Rosalynn, shouted in unison and were a little shy by Lucius’ unrestrained behavior and tried to stop him, but to no avail.

No matter how much Deatrice pinched him, he only let her go when she got to her carriage. Embarrassed, she clung to his back, but she could feel the panicked atmosphere of the knights.

“Are you in your right mind?”

With a face flushed with blood and intense emotion, Deatrice shouted at Lucius. However, he only looked at her lovingly and kissed her on the cheek.

“Now that everyone knows it was me who kidnapped you, they won’t say anything.”

“What?”

“You don’t have to mind what they think. It’s not at all uncommon for couples to move in together.”

She figured that was reasonable too, but now the servants have seen the lord carrying his wife around like a sack of potatoes. She was usually one to mind how others perceive her, but today?

Ah, what is dignity?

She had none of it now anyways.

In fact, because of her unconventional appearance, at the beginning of the trip, Deatrice could not bear to be in front of the knights without blushing in embarrassment. On days when she had to face them, she still couldn’t stand it even while they bowed their heads to honor the commander’s wife. She could clearly even feel the corners of their mouths rise slightly in mirth.

“I became a laughingstock because of you!”

When she said it while strangling Lucius as he was preparing their lodging for the night, he burst into laughter and hugged her.

“What are you talking about? Everyone feels very sorry for the kidnapped lady. If you go outside and pretend to be in a little bit of trouble, everyone will come scampering at your feet to help you.”

“Apologize right now. I mean,” she suddenly thought of something and cleared her throat, “you should make an embarrassing scene in front of others too.”

“For example?”

“Take off your clothes and go outside.”

He frowned and asked. “You don’t mind even that I might be seen by other women?”

“Of course. Revenge is most important to me.”

Upon a clear answer, Lucius reached out and grabbed her cheek, closing the distance between them. “You really have no jealousy. Just like when you casually mentioned Berry Spirt back then.”

“Well, you said you did not date her.”

“But it’s true that she was pretty sweet to me.”

“Why would I pay attention to that?”

“What if I truly wanted to marry her? With both money and beauty, she’s not that bad.”

She didn’t say anything for a while and Lucius felt immediate regret when he saw her downcast expression.

“Deatrice, I mean—”

But she got up and walked away.

Because of the untouchable aura emanating from her, Lucius had been watching her with a bit of distance for quite some time. In the end, after several days of earnest apology, she went back to normal.

But if he was honest, those few days were akin to being submerged in cold hell for him.

After arriving in Rondini, Lucius was so busy that they didn’t have enough time to be together. During the day, Deatrice would spend time at Rondini’s castle with the Baroness’ companions, embroiderers, and the like with the older ladies and their daughters.

At first, everyone was worried about monsters, but later they all unanimously agreed to solve their curiosity about the somewhat elusive newlyweds, Lucius and Deatrice.

Most of the questions directed at her were difficult to answer, so she evaded those such as the ones about children or portraits that had not yet been drawn. After such a day, Deatrice’s mind almost became mush.