005. Invitation (2)
“Roses, huh.”
It was a somewhat unexpected answer.
Any flower name from his lips would have been considered unexpected.
He was a beautiful man, but seemed distant from flowers.
“Roses come in various colors. Do you have a favorite color among them?”
But she couldn’t afford to show any surprise in front of him.
As usual, Lucia smiled brightly as she spoke.
“Red seems to be the most captivating.”
Owen looked at Lucia’s red eyes as if to devour them, his lips twitching.
“…So you like red roses.”
Lucia, meeting his persistent gaze, couldn’t help but notice his intense look.
She tried to figure out what was hidden in his black pupils as she responded.
“They’re pretty, aren’t they?”
“…Yes.”
It felt like she was talking to herself, so Lucia looked away.
Even though she knew it couldn’t be true, she couldn’t help feeling that way.
“Here we are.”
After a few more minutes of walking.
The two finally stopped their steps.
“Welcome to the Verdin Marquis’s sponsored event, my lady.”
Spread out in front of the two was a very large garden.
A very large, grand, and beautiful garden.
Among the blooming flowers, Lucia opened her mouth in astonishment.
“Truly, it’s a beautiful place.”
“Is it?”
“Yes. I understand now why Your Highness wanted to show me this place.”
Lucia spoke with her eyes sparkling.
She was straightforward in her desires.
Things she liked, things she wanted.
She easily showed them and took them into her mouth.
And eventually possessed them.
Except for Owen.
“I didn’t know the Princess would like it this much.”
“I just love beautiful things.”
“Is that so.”
“And this place is sufficiently, no, overflowing with beauty. To the point of wanting to possess it.”
Lucia expressed her honest feelings.
The original Owen would probably have been disgusted by such things.
But that Owen was no longer there.
“Do you want to possess this place?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Owen asked, seemingly just curious.
There was no hint of sarcasm or reprimand in his words.
Simply curious about her thoughts.
That was all.
“Well, because it’s beautiful. It’s only natural to want to possess beautiful things, isn’t it?”
Lucia said, as if it were obvious.
With her characteristic dazzling smile.
Owen liked her for that.
He thought it was because she was just a character in a novel, not taking it seriously.
In reality, a person with such values would be somewhat awkward.
Wanting to possess beautiful things is natural, indeed.
It felt like veering off a dangerous path towards committing a crime.
“…Indeed.”
Yet, for some reason.
Even now that it had become reality, he still liked her.
Whether it was just a fan’s admiration or not, he still wasn’t sure, but one thing was certain: it wasn’t just about her appearance.
He liked even this non-idealistic side of her.
His instincts warned him that this wasn’t a good thing.
If he easily accepted this fact and crossed that line, a sense of ominous foreboding crept up on him.
“Your Highness seems to understand.”
“Naturally.”
It was a warning not to be ignored, but he brushed it aside.
It felt like he had crossed a dangerous river, but there was no turning back.
He liked her.
It meant he liked not just a part but all of her.
The concept of ‘all’ included even these unique aspects.
To deny that would be too dreadful.
“Isn’t it strange? It’s instinctual.”
So, this was inevitable.
“Yes, instinctual indeed.”
As Owen spoke these words, Lucia was finally delighted to have found someone who understood her.
With an excited expression, she asked Owen.
“Do you have something you want to possess as well, Your Highness?”
At Lucia’s question, Owen fell into deep thought.
Something he wanted.
Something he wanted, indeed.
“Well.”
‘Owen’ and himself.
They weren’t the kind of people who particularly wanted something.
Oh, no.
‘Owen’ wants to have Bella.
But that was after Bella appeared.
It was a future that would no longer exist.
Then, not Owen.
Lost in thought, Owen shifted his gaze.
His chestnut hair fluttered in the breeze.
He liked Lucia.
Whether it was infatuation or whatever, he liked her.
But he didn’t want to have her.
Rather than possessing her –
Rather, he wanted to give her what she desired in her hands.
“You seem to have everything already.”
With an unassuming look, Lucia drew her own conclusion.
“Well, because you are the Duke of Verdun.”
She nodded as if understanding.
As she said, Owen was a man who lacked nothing.
The number of businesses he was running was in the hundreds, and the money he made from those ventures exceeded the level where he could indulge endlessly.
There was nothing he couldn’t obtain.
Except for someone’s heart.
“…That’s true.”
Since there was no lie, Owen nodded.
“You’re someone who can get what you want, aren’t you?”
With that, he quickly changed the subject.
As if trying to get away from this conversation.
“…Mostly.”
Lucia replied honestly.
“Except for one thing.”
Owen immediately caught on to what that one thing was that she mentioned.
It was something that anyone who had read ＜The Flower of the Empire＞ at least once would know.
“Was there something you couldn’t have?”
Nevertheless, Owen pretended not to know.
It seemed like she might realize that he wasn’t really Owen if he made a mistake.
The original Owen was not someone who knew Lucia well, let alone someone who would welcome her obsession.
In such a situation, he couldn’t show familiarity with her or a favorable response to her obsession.
Just accepting her invitation was enough to raise suspicions.
“I’m still working on getting it.”
“You seem determined to get it.”
“I wanted it so badly. I was determined to get it no matter what, and it seems like the opportunity has presented itself.”
Owen understood what Lucia was trying to say.
Probably because he was showing some vulnerability to her lately.
He was still contemplating the reasons behind it.
After a moment of thought, Owen decided.
He needed to meet her more.
He still didn’t fully understand the emotions he had, so he wanted to meet her more to figure it out.
“…No.”
Actually, it was an excuse.
He just wanted to see Lucia more.
He wanted to get closer to her.
It was greedy, but it was an honest feeling.
“You have to seize opportunities. If you let them slip away, you’ll regret it forever.”
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Owen casually fueled her possessiveness.
The fire that was already burning fiercely only grew stronger upon meeting the fuel.
“…Yes, I must seize it.”
Lucia replied with possessive eyes fixed on Owen.
She stared at him for a while, then licked her lips.
“Your Grace. If it’s not too much trouble, may I make one request?”
Owen calmly nodded in response to Lucia’s question.
And then Lucia began to speak.
“I heard there will be a hunting competition in a month.”
“…Right.”
In response to Lucia’s words, Owen slowly formed his reply.
It was sudden, catching him off guard.
A hunting competition.
Although it was a setting that was clearly present in the original work, he had overlooked it, needing to pay attention to many details.
“Can you tie the ribbon I give you to the sword?”
“…”
Owen couldn’t easily answer.
In the hunting competition, there was a special meaning to a knight tying a ribbon to their sword.
It was often done between lovers, married couples, family members, or close friends.
If Lucia’s ribbon were to be tied to Owen’s sword—
It would undoubtedly spread the perception of intimacy between them.
Of course, Owen had no intention of caring about such things.
He even thought it wouldn’t be bad for rumors to spread.
And if that was what Lucia desired.
But…
“The issue is whether I can hunt well.”
While Owen had become somewhat accustomed to wielding a sword during his training, that was the extent of it.
He had never actually used it as a weapon to attack something.
But he couldn’t just go straight into real combat.
“…I need to practice.”
As Owen let out a faint sigh, Lucia nibbled on her lower lip.
She was worried that he might be pushing himself too hard.
She feared he might misunderstand her willingness as rudeness.
“If it’s too much for you, it’s okay to refuse. I might have been too… presumptuous.”
As Lucia began to step back, Owen hastily grabbed her hand.
It was an unconscious act, and he didn’t even consider that she might be taken aback by it.
“That’s not it.”
Lucia stiffened in place again at the warmth that touched her.
As she absentmindedly looked down at the hand he held, he spoke.
“Do as you wish.”
“…”
“At the hunting competition, tie the ribbon to my sword yourself.”
At his words, Lucia’s ears turned pink for a moment.
Whether Owen noticed her reaction or not, he simply adjusted their intertwined hands naturally.
So they could walk hand in hand.
“More importantly, there’s still much to see. Are you tired?”
At Owen’s question, Lucia shook her head faintly.
Confirming her response, Owen soon changed their pace.
Lucia followed suit.
“Let’s walk a bit more. There’s still much I want to show you.”
***
“No. No purpose at all.”
Throughout the stroll, Lucia vividly realized this fact.
“Just momentary whims, that’s all these are.”
Every word that came out of Owen’s mouth, every action he took, proved this, making it easy for her to comprehend.
“…Why?”
That was the real issue.
Why was Owen showing such inexplicable kindness?
She had been by his side for almost three years.
He, who had shown no interest and seemed to dismiss her as bothersome, why was he suddenly seizing these opportunities?
Why was he acting so capriciously, doing things out of character?
While not every human action can be logically explained, at least Owen was someone who could explain everything with logic.
A person for whom everything could be logically explained.
So, why this capriciousness?
This exceptional behavior?
“Milady?”
Caught in her thoughts, was that the reason for her absent gaze?
Owen abruptly stopped walking and turned to face her.
“…I made you push yourself too hard.”
With that, he approached her and placed the back of his hand on her cheek.
“You need to rest.”
“Oh, I’m fine.”
Though surprised by Owen’s hand on her cheek, Lucia thought she was perfectly fine.
“No. You need to rest.”
Owen let out a brief breath while looking at Lucia.
He knew well how this could be seen as a great opportunity not to be missed.
But…
“With such a pale face, how can you be okay?”