049. Summer Lake (3)
Lucia looked at Owen’s cold face with surprised eyes.
She had never seen him like this since they met at the garden party.
No, he hadn’t been this icy before.
He had been annoying and indifferent.
“It’s not that, it’s just that I couldn’t bear to see you with the Duke…”
Louis’s voice trembled as he trailed off.
Lucia let out a wry laugh at her stepbrother’s attitude.
“Look at this.”
Her eyebrows twitched.
It was a mocking expression.
It was hard not to have such thoughts.
He could easily mock her in front of her, but he couldn’t say a word properly in front of Owen.
“Go inside.”
Lucia stood up and said.
Putting on the shoes she had neatly placed next to the mat, she walked towards her stepbrother.
Seeing him with his forehead down, it seemed he had sneaked in through the back door.
“To criticize someone who sneaked in. He really is young.”
The naive and immature stepbrother still didn’t understand the situation.
Being able to read minds and understand everything was something he didn’t really want to know, but it occasionally became a problem.
Simply dismissing it as cute and trivial sometimes made him feel bad.
“Do you want me to inform Father personally?”
If it came to sneaking in like this, it was too much.
There wasn’t much for a young boy around his age to sneak out for, and Lucia wasn’t stupid enough not to know what the transparent Louis was up to secretly.
“You met your lover secretly and came back. Seems like you’re a nobleman’s son.”
She whispered in his ear.
It was obvious that he would run away if she shouted loudly.
If she even raised her voice a bit, it would surely become troublesome.
Getting caught by Louis in a picnic scene would end at an annoying level, but it would be different when caught by the eyes of Viscount Edel.
Then, he would surely bring up the engagement.
Even though it was a story that would be known through the servants anyway, meeting Father at this moment was a different story.
“How did you…?”
Louis’ brown eyes trembled slightly.
His face, startled and suddenly scared, was quite amusing.
Turning pale, even the color was draining away.
Lucia looked at him like that and let out a snicker.
“Be careful. You’re standing out too much.”
Even flashing a dazzling smile, Louis’ forehead crumpled mercilessly.
Seeing that it was quite satisfying, Lucia decided to stop provoking him at this point.
Tapping Louis’ shoulder with her hand, Lucia finished speaking.
“Go in now. You might get caught.”
The sound of his steps could be heard.
He smiled broadly and even bid farewell, then he swiftly turned his head.
“…Have a good time, sir.”
With that, he specifically greeted Owen and left.
“You seem to greatly admire him. Isn’t it fascinating…, Owen?”
Spitting out the words with a hint of sarcasm, she turned around.
She couldn’t help but change her words abruptly at the sight she faced.
“Why that expression again?”
Owen’s gaze was vacant.
Not only that, his eyes were filled with emotions.
It was, in other words…, an expression of endearment and fondness he couldn’t bear.
Unable to pinpoint where the emotions surged more, Lucia pondered.
“Just…”
After calmly choosing his words, Owen raised his head again.
The uproar subsided in an instant.
Lucia was impressed once again.
The man in front of her seemed adept at concealing and swallowing emotions.
“You, just…”
“Me?”
“Act like yourself.”
“….”
Goodness.
Lucia couldn’t respond and just closed her mouth.
It seemed that this man was determined to surprise her dozens of times in the future.
After the garden party, it was rare for Owen not to surprise her.
It was astonishing for her to make such an expression for behaving as herself.
“What is being ‘me’ to you?”
She became curious as to why he liked her being herself.
His endless affection towards her was truly puzzling.
“Confident, assertive, knowing how to manipulate the other person.”
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“….”
She was speechless.
Lucia gazed at Owen without saying a word.
What he described as “me” clearly matched her.
She never lost confidence anywhere, was assertive, had high self-esteem, and skillfully manipulated others to make things go her way.
But hardly anyone describes a person so positively.
“Of course, I like all aspects of you, Lucia, but that’s the one I see most often in you.”
Owen added with a smile.
His words made her heart pound inexplicably, thumping loudly.
Perhaps this was the sensation of anticipation.
Enveloped in the warmth and affection given by the person before her, deeply immersed in his altruism.
Hence, an uncontrollable surge of anticipation.
“Do you like everything about me?”
“Yes.”
She asked with her racing heart, and he cheerfully replied with a smile.
His smile, which was unimaginable just a few months ago, was radiant.
Unrealistically beautiful, this person was surprisingly having a picnic by the Edelt Lake near the Edelt Manor.
He even looked up at her and said, “I love everything about you.”
He cherished every part of her without reservation.
The phrase “people who love like the sea” naturally came to mind.
It might have been from a novel, a poem, or perhaps lyrics from an opera.
But there was definitely such a passage.
[There are people who love like the sea.]
In the work, the deep, sea-like love was compared to a parent’s heart.
At first, she couldn’t relate to it at all.
A parent’s heart being like the sea.
It would probably be a dried-up, withered sea.
Because her father, Count Edelt, was such a person.
“…Owen.”
She used to think of love as a selfish human emotion.
Otherwise, how could humans willingly love?
Yes, that’s how she had always thought.
“I will be a person greater than you imagine.”
How could this man so easily shatter all his assumptions and beliefs?
And in the most affectionate and upright manner.
Rather than shattering expectations to disappoint and resign, he unexpectedly provided new hope from unexpected places, making her keep anticipating anew.
“I am greedy. I want a lot of things.”
“I know.”
“I hate sharing what’s mine with others.”
“I know that as well.”
He was nonchalant.
His smiling face remained gentle and calm.
Pure and bright.
A person like the sea, like the moon.
“I might become possessive. I might get jealous. I already felt that way even before you said you love me.”
Lucia suddenly realized.
Owen was a fundamentally different person from her.
She was someone who would confine and protect her own, even if it meant suppressing them, but he—.
“Yes. That’s why I said I already know.”
“….”
“Don’t worry. No matter who you are, I will never abandon you.”
He was someone who gave according to the will of his beloved.
He trusted and sought to instill trust in the other person.
If someone hurt or caused pain to his beloved, he would not hesitate to reveal his blade.
He was honest and resolute.
“What I love is the person Lucia herself. Not just a part of you, nor false fantasies.”
His upright and sincere gaze still met hers.
He loved with such generosity that it brought to mind the phrase “love like the sea,” giving immense love without mercy, like a tidal wave.
Thus, Lucia was swept away, unable to do anything.
“Lucia.”
Contrary to what was described in romance novels or operas, his love was not passionate.
It wasn’t scorching like a flame, nor did it seem like it would melt away.
“I love you.”
His love was like the tranquil sea.
Vast, dark, and deep, its size unimaginable, yet not a single wave disturbed its surface.
With a single realization, he had affirmed his feelings, and thereafter, there was no hint of wavering.
It was truly frightening.
The fear was just starting to settle in.
Jumping into the calm sea felt like there was no way back out.
It seemed like I would forget how to breathe, locked in that depth, unable to resurface.
“…Yeah.”
Lucia answered belatedly.
In response, he smiled.
As if not expecting more than that answer.
His untouched appearance left a mark on my heart.
Because it meant not even hoping for it, it was etched even more vividly.
“Come sit here.”
Owen reached out his hand.
Lucia didn’t shy away from his reaching hand.
He gently pulled her, and Lucia found herself back on the mat.
Then, Owen cautiously took off her shoes, gesturing towards the unwrapped food.
“Shall we eat now?”
“…Okay.”
He astutely understood my thoughts and feelings and acted upon them.
Even her family, who had watched her all her life, didn’t know her well, which was quite remarkable.
Silently nodding her head, Lucia took a bite of the sandwich after unwrapping it.
The smoked salmon sandwich meticulously crafted by the mansion’s chef had a fresh and sophisticated taste.
With smoked salmon, fresh vegetables, and even tartar sauce, it left nothing to be desired.
“How about seeing the gardens at Verdun Mansion next time?”
As Lucia took a few bites of her sandwich, Owen posed the question.
Only after swallowing the sandwich in her mouth did she respond.
“I’m fine with that. Shall we see the gardens together?”
“You said you liked the gardens.”
“Yeah. They were incredibly beautiful.”
“Alright then. Let’s do that.”
The two casually made plans for their next meeting.
The appointed day was the following midweek afternoon.
Recalling the upcoming date while eating her sandwich, Lucia took another bite.
Seeing Owen enjoying his food as well, she couldn’t help but notice.
“You mentioned you like strawberries.”
As she finished her sandwich and picked up the pudding, Owen suddenly brought up the topic.
Seeing Lucia’s puzzled expression, he added an explanation.
“It was circulating in the society.”
“Ah.”
It seemed to be because of her appearance with a strawberry tart at a previous picnic.
“Right.”
Since it was true, Lucia nodded.
“Indeed.”
Upon which Owen responded seriously.
As if he had just realized some significant fact.
“Why, thinking of starting a strawberry business?”
At his demeanor, which somehow made her want to tease him, she jokingly tossed a remark.
In response, Owen blinked and answered.
“I thought of importing them as a new product. That could be good.”
“Uh… Have you not reduced the number of businesses recently?”
Surprised by the unexpected conclusion, Lucia inquired, to which Owen nodded.
“I felt the need for some organization due to the high number of businesses.”
In reality, it was because he didn’t want to work, but this excuse seemed much more plausible.
As Owen smoothly told a lie, Lucia naturally fell for it.
“It seemed that way.”
“So, starting one or two more businesses shouldn’t be a problem.”
Owen had cut down on half of his existing businesses as a Viscount.
Either passing them on to others, giving them to seemingly talented individuals, or selling them off.
This way, he could indeed reduce his working hours and have a bit more time to spend with Lucia.
He could even find time to shop for her gifts.
“Since there aren’t any proper fruit businesses in the Empire, a fruit business wouldn’t be a bad idea.”
However, if it’s related to something Lucia likes, the situation is different even if it’s the same thing.
Because now she can embrace the things she likes anytime.
Already, she was looking into auctions, jewelry, and boutique-related matters.
And then, a fruit business.
With its rarity, it seemed like a good opportunity.