050. Summer Lake (4)
“….”
Lucia suddenly stared silently at Owen, who was getting excited about a strawberry business.
It seemed quite serious.
Whether he realized his emotions once and for all, there was no hesitation now; he was being completely honest.
The problem was, she didn’t mind that at all.
It was nice to hear him say he loves, to see him openly showing his love.
To make the feeling of being loved sink into his skin.
Owen made her realize what it meant to be cherished and cared for by someone.
“Have some pudding.”
Silently watching him, Lucia soon offered him a bowl of pudding.
Owen accepted the bowl and quietly scooped the pudding with a spoon.
The fresh and sweet taste of the fruity pudding didn’t seem to be his preference, as the spoon mechanically moved.
‘It seems he doesn’t really like sweet things.’
Come to think of it, Owen didn’t seem to prefer sweet foods.
He would only eat sweet desserts out of courtesy, often cooking dishes without sweetness.
On the contrary, he seemed to enjoy sharp or bitter tastes, flavors beyond tanginess.
Although he didn’t handle spicy foods well in general, occasionally he would eat spicy foods or strongly spiced dishes.
‘…I should remember that.’
Lucia thought to herself as she sipped her strawberry lemonade.
The two of them gradually finished the remaining food one by one.
Except for a few types left uneaten due to being full, they cleared everything and then rose from their spot.
Unlike when they had crossed over on a raft, this time they walked back along the path.
Leaving the picnic blanket, basket, and remaining food for the fairies to clean up, they left them as they were.
“Owen.”
Fortunately, there was a well-maintained walking path along the lakeside, so the two of them walked without difficulty.
As they walked on the well-laid gravel path, Lucia spoke up.
“Why did you speak so firmly to Louis earlier?”
With a curious expression, Owen’s gaze shifted towards her with genuine curiosity gleaming in his red eyes.
For her, it seemed intriguing.
“Because he was being rude to you.”
It might be hard for Lucia to understand.
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Owen probably thought she didn’t know much about his family background.
But he knew what was written in ＜The Flower of the Empire＞.
Louis wasn’t just tormenting Lucia.
He also played a part in leading her towards death.
‘…It’s not just Louis’s fault.’
Of course, it was Owen who directly drove her to death.
‘Not me… No, not me, but Owen.’
Following this thought, Owen shook his head and corrected his thinking.
Lately, he had been getting confused quite often.
Was he really trapped in his own body like in a fairy tale?
There were times when he started to think of himself as the original Owen.
“Louis is still young and naive.”
Perhaps not noticing Owen’s slight surprise at his own words, Lucia continued.
Owen naturally responded to her words, leading the conversation on.
“It seems so.”
“He’s still really young. Not even an adult. He’s 19.”
Thanks to this, Lucia started various conversations again.
While Owen listened attentively to the stories she brought up, he couldn’t shake off thoughts about his current state these days.
It was inevitable.
The panoramic remnants that had started appearing since the hunting competition were becoming increasingly intense.
-Please open up. Open up, Mother….
The voice echoed in her ears.
This was a trace I had seen before.
It’s probably Owen’s memory as well.
-Please….
When did it come to mind?
Come to think of it, I remembered it after seeing the door in this memory.
-I was wrong. I won’t do it again. I’ll listen to everything, Mother and Father.
The room was cold and narrow, a small attic.
Owen’s parents imposed harsh punishments whenever the child went against their will.
They didn’t hesitate to hit the child, and not stopping there, they would lock the child up and starve them all day.
Faced with violence and neglect, the child didn’t have many choices.
“Owen.”
The voice of reality reached him.
Owen’s blurry focus sharpened once more.
“Your complexion doesn’t look good, are you okay?”
Lucia, with a worried expression, appeared.
Owen smiled naturally as he looked at her.
“It was just something that crossed my mind briefly.”
“Really?”
Lucia nodded in puzzlement but with concern.
As Owen turned his head back to face her, he reached out and held her hand.
Lucia clenched his hand with her fingers.
“Yes.”
He felt sorry for keeping a secret from Lucia, but there was no other choice.
He couldn’t tell her the truth as she wished.
The Owen she longed for wasn’t here.
So he had to solve this issue on his own.
If the problem was the lack of a proper solution, then it was a problem.
‘What could be the reason?’
Moreover, he still didn’t know the reason behind this phenomenon.
So sometimes, he got scared.
Scared that he might get swept away by Owen’s memories and start believing he was Owen.
Fortunately, his original memories were as vivid as the emerging memories of Owen, so that hadn’t happened often yet, but as time passed, it could.
He almost subconsciously thought that way even now.
“Ah.”
Lost in thought, Owen listened to Lucia’s words as they walked towards the mansion’s main entrance.
Lucia ended up meeting someone she hoped to avoid.
“Viscount Verdin had visited.”
Count Edelt.
He was her father.
“Yes, Lucia invited him over.”
“I see. That’s fortunate. I had something to inquire about.”
And Lucia’s expectations were right on point.
Count Edelt immediately brought up the topic of engagement without any hesitation.
“Goodness.”
Without any preamble, Count Edelt went straight to the point, leaving Lucia sighing.
Her reaction wasn’t just her own.
The concern and sighs on the faces of the butler accompanying Count Edelt and the servants following behind were evident.
“Have you asked Lucia about it?”
Despite their worried reactions, Owen remained calm.
Almost nonchalantly, he asked with a sharp tone.
“It’s only natural.”
“Thank goodness. Even if he’s someone who could become a good son-in-law, I had thought of not approving if he didn’t respect my daughter.”
Owen’s lips curled slightly upward.
The crooked smile was quite eerie.
It was clearly a warning veiled as a threat.
“What do you mean by that?”
“Just what I said. So, how did Lucia respond?”
As Count Edelt looked perplexed, Owen continued his questioning.
Lucia looked at the situation with slightly startled eyes.
My father seemed so flustered, and the person who was putting so much pressure on him seemed to be someone he had never seen before.
“…It’s still too early.”
Fortunately, the Earl of Edelt didn’t speak lies.
Owen decided to consider that as the only advantage of the Earl of Edelt.
“But why are you asking me about my intentions?”
Words were exchanged like a battle.
At the end, it was the Earl of Edelt who maintained silence.
Perhaps he recalled his previous conversation with Owen, he couldn’t bring himself to say more and sealed his lips.
After some time, he exhaled deeply and asked, “Do you have intentions?”
“If you still don’t believe it, I see no reason to give an answer.”
“I do not doubt it. There is no reason to postpone the engagement, so I spoke my mind.”
“Regardless of the relationship, mutual consent is necessary. Moreover, isn’t the Earl of Edelt not Lucia’s father? You should consider your daughter’s wishes.”
Even with Owen’s response, the Earl of Edelt furrowed his brow as if not understanding.
However, without saying much, he nodded.
“…I understand the Marquis of Verdin’s intentions. Anyway, since it seems you cherish my daughter, I will consider that there is an intention for engagement and marriage, even if it takes time.”
Owen did not respond to the Earl of Edelt’s words.
He just looked back at Lucia.
When their sudden gazes met, Lucia turned her head.
As their gazes connected, Lucia smiled lightly and nodded.
It was a sign of agreement.
Understanding instantly, Owen smiled back at Lucia and only then responded to the Earl of Edelt.
“Please proceed as you wish.”
After brief farewells, the Earl and Owen turned their backs to each other.
Before leaving, the Earl instructed Lucia to come to the study.
Having a good idea of what might be said, Lucia followed Owen without a second thought.
She was going to bid him farewell.
After exchanging greetings and leaving, it wouldn’t be too late to go to the study.
He would probably just lecture her about today’s events.
“Owen, see you next week.”
As she bid farewell to him as he boarded the carriage, Owen smiled back.
“Sure. See you then.”
“Yeah.”
Lucia watched the departing black carriage until it completely disappeared from sight before turning around.
Stepping into the Edelt mansion, she found Louis standing still on the first floor for some reason.
“You.”
Looking at the displeasure and resentment-filled brown eyes, it seemed that things weren’t going as Louis had wanted.
Honestly, she wanted to ignore him and pass by, but thanks to Owen’s help today, she felt good, so she decided to specially deal with Louis.
“Are you going to call the etiquette teacher again?”
“Why are you suddenly talking nonsense again?”
“Calling someone older than yourself ‘you’ among nobles is something only uncouth people do.”
“Uncouth? Have you finished talking?”
As Louis, who was already hot-tempered, started to retort, Lucia waved her hand impatiently with a bored expression.
“So, what did you want to talk about? Speak up.”
But as soon as she asked, Louis tightly shut his mouth.
Then, with the same obnoxious face she saw by the lake earlier, he stared at her.
“I heard everything because of you.”
“What?”
At the nonsensical statement that cut off the context, Lucia narrowed her brows slightly.
Seeing Lucia’s puzzled expression, Louis spoke up boldly again.
“What you said at the lake.”
“Ah, about meeting the Viscount’s son?”
“…! Why are you making such a big deal out of it?”
His stepbrother jumped up with a loud voice.
Lucia lightly responded to her young, ignorant brother by shaking her head.
“If it’s already out in the open, why panic so much? It’s not like Father heard, right?”
“…Right.”
His voice was rather gloomy.
It was understandable.
Louis had received a fair amount of ‘family affection’ from his mother and father unlike Lucia, but that was only to some extent compared to Lucia.
I exuded a harshness that would make others laugh out loud.
It started with treating a child coldly, urging them to behave as a successor.
Perhaps the fundamental reason why Louis disliked Lucia stemmed from there.
While Lucia seemed to live freely without much thought, unlike him who struggled through successor training and coercion.
“So, you must have told me to break up.”
“Yeah…”
Lucia felt no particular emotion since she had suspected it.
Well, she did feel a bit disappointed.
Though she wanted to see the Edelte Duke and Duchess in a fix over their son, born from a wife who was said to love him so much, marrying into the prestigious Hanmi family.
“So, why are you telling me this?”
That’s one thing.
Louis, who didn’t even like her, was now revealing such matters to her.