072. Awakening (4)
“…a cabinet?”
“Yes… One day, His Grace suddenly ordered the butler to buy a cabinet.”
A cabinet, and a room with a cabinet.
And it was filled with the things she had gifted…
“You mean they were stored there?”
“It seems to imply that. It could be for display purposes, but anyway, they seemed to be treasured greatly.”
Jade provided information without being asked.
With a surprised mind, Lucia listened to the story until the end and immediately opened the study door.
As Jade had said, Owen was conversing with Logan.
“Oh, Lucia. Have you finished choosing your clothes?”
“Yes. I was going to buy them, but you had already signed for them.”
Lucia approached Owen, who was looking at her without hesitation.
Then, Logan bowed and took a step back after greeting.
Jade also stayed a few steps away without coming closer.
“Don’t you like it?”
“It’s not that. But I’m not particularly fond of just receiving.”
“Oh.”
“That’s why I also brought gifts.”
Lucia placed two gift boxes on the desk.
“Cufflinks and a tie pin.”
“Looks like I’m receiving again.”
“You bought all those clothes. But…”
While Owen was fiddling with the box, Lucia swiftly changed the subject.
“Jade said something to you, right?”
“Jade?”
As Jade’s name left her lips, a slight flinch was felt from behind.
Though not a knight, she could intuitively tell.
Yet Lucia, with a smile, directed her words towards Owen, who was looking at her curiously.
“You mentioned collecting my gifts. Correct?”
“….”
“….”
“….”
After a bright smile, silence filled the study.
Ending the silence was the butler, Logan.
“Sir, what on earth have you done.”
A faint scolding voice from Logan towards Jade was heard in the background.
“No, I didn’t do anything… I just spoke the truth.”
Jade’s voice sounded indignant.
Despite his words, Jade had only spoken the truth.
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The problem was that it was a story floating only within the Duke of Verdin’s estate.
“…Did the Grandmaster relay such a message to you?”
After a long silence, Owen asked with a smile.
While his tone was warm, he sent a cold gaze towards Jade.
Perhaps Jade was internally anticipating that tomorrow’s training would be very challenging.
“He said there’s a room. A room with a wardrobe. He said it’s full of what I sent you?”
Lucia pretended not to know Jade’s ordeal.
It was Jade who first opened his mouth, and though it was a public secret, he was the one who brought it up.
So, she considered this also a kind of his responsibility.
And above all…
“I’m curious. Can you show me?”
More than anything, she was curious about how the room looked.
As Lucia twinkled her eyes, Owen hesitated.
Being caught red-handed was embarrassing, as his ears were already turning red.
Logan and Jade watched Owen, who was at a loss, with a familiar gaze.
‘It’s going to be interesting to see how this plays out.’
‘Your Highness, with that expression…’
Logan, at best, thought of Owen as a man a couple of years older than him, yet he seemed like an old man, and Jade looked almost shocked.
The arduous training that would come tomorrow seemed to have vanished from his mind.
“…If you wish, then yes.”
After much contemplation, Owen’s answer came out.
Logan and Jade had even more surprised eyes, while Lucia smiled as if she had anticipated it.
“Come here.”
Owen got up from his seat and took Lucia’s hand.
He gestured with his eyes to Logan and Jade.
Logan quickly understood the meaning of the gesture and followed with the gift boxes.
Jade discreetly followed behind Logan.
Exiting the study, Owen headed towards the adjacent room to his bedroom.
“This is… right next to your bedroom.”
“Correct.”
Upon opening the door, a familiar sight unfolded.
It was a space familiar only to Owen, Logan, and Jade.
“Ah.”
Lucia took a deep breath as she looked at the large cabinets and neatly arranged gifts inside.
“Can I take a look?”
“Of course.”
With Owen’s permission, Lucia walked straight to the cabinet and opened the door.
There, she saw dozens of gifts she had given.
From the rose-patterned cufflinks bought at Rodel Auction House to the gloves gifted for the hunting competition, delicately dried flower bouquet made of roses, a wine-colored tie she had sent earlier…
Not only that, but the long cabinet also held suits and evening gowns she had gifted, riding attire, and shirts neatly hung on hangers.
The cravats and teacups she had recently gifted were also beautifully displayed.
Just by looking around, Lucia realized.
Owen had been taking care of this place with affection.
He had carefully preserved and cherished the gifts she had given.
While I had thought she simply liked using the gifts I gave her, maybe she only used them when I was around.
Perhaps she valued them so much that she didn’t want to damage them.
“This is…”
Lucia opened the last drawer of the cabinet.
To her surprise, it was filled with letters and invitations she had sent.
“You really…”
Lucia trailed off as she flipped through the letters, checking the dates, feeling like she might cry.
In Lucia’s voice, filled with a mix of tears, Owen’s pupils shook.
He quickly grabbed a gift box, motioned to Logan and Jade, and closed the door of the room.
Then he went straight to Lucia and embraced her.
“Are you disappointed in me? Why the sudden tears?”
Owen asked, comforting her.
In response to his soothing gesture, Lucia shook her head.
“Not disappointed. What are you talking about?”
It wasn’t disappointment.
It was just that she had realized…
“I’ve come to realize that you love me so much. That’s why I wanted to ask.”
Since the day she realized Owen loved her, she discovered it anew every single day.
His love was tender, sincere, and overwhelmingly vast.
Even though she realized it every time, he continued to show more.
“Why do you love me so much…?”
Owen had loved her since some time ago.
No, maybe it was back then.
On a spring day in April when cherry blossoms were falling softly.
Spending time with her at the garden party, and being together at the Verdin Manor.
Around that time, he started showing interest in her.
As his emotions grew, his actions seemed strangely intense, and eventually –
– It seems I like you.
He confessed.
Love can suddenly come one day.
Because it’s a fickle and selfish emotion.
Yes, that’s true.
“Am I someone worth loving?”
Isn’t he too good of a person to love me?
Instead of diminishing himself, it was the truth.
Lucia knew she was beautiful and glamorous.
She wouldn’t fall behind anyone in terms of appearance, would have a strong position in social circles, and had many connections she could utilize.
With a solid background as the Countess of Edelt, she was a suitable match for marriage.
But that was it.
– That child is a flower without fragrance. Without the Edelt name, she’s worthless.
Lucia had once heard those words.
It was something her father had said without her knowing.
– What’s left of you without the social circles and people? Probably nothing but that face.
Even the Countess of Edelt herself, supported by evil, had said something like that.
When she heard those words, Lucia wasn’t hurt.
Because they were all true.
So she just smiled and treated them the same way.
I don’t understand why Owen loves me so tenderly and blindly.
Even if it might be suitable for family ties or as a marriage partner, is there any corner of me worth loving?
I was happy that he loved me, but perhaps I continued to cling to him without knowing why.
Because I don’t understand why he loves me.
That’s why he remained incomprehensible to me.
“You deserve to be loved. Just as you are.”
Owen replied.
Without hesitation, as if it were obvious.
“You shine without anyone’s help, you are confident. I love you for being you.”
He easily listed Lucia’s virtues.
It was touching that he only picked things Lucia had done with her own hands.
“You see talented people well. You give them what they need.”
“I just…”
She tried to answer that it was what she wanted.
But Owen covered her lips.
It was a brief kiss.
“Lucia, you need to get to know yourself better.”
His lips moved to her forehead.
The tender and affectionate feelings were encapsulated in the light kiss.
“You may not realize it, but you value your people greatly. You prioritize talent and ability, but you don’t treat others lightly.”
“That’s common sense.”
“There are those who act in an unconventional way. Like your former fiancé.”
Lucia sighed at the mention of Viscount Seled.
He was truly a dreadful person, she had to admit.
“Lucia, you know how to draw attention to people, how to lead them.”
“Does that become a reason to be loved?”
“Then, what other reason is needed to be worthy of love.”
Lucia fell silent at his calm response.
That’s right.
A reason to be loved.
In truth, there was none.
She just thought she wasn’t the kind of person worthy of that.
If it was selfish love, it could be attributed to her appearance and glamorous demeanor, but this tender and giving love…
It must require something more special.
“I said it at the hunting competition. There doesn’t need to be a big reason to like something.”
“Ah.”
She recalled belatedly what he had said then.
“Because, Lucia. There doesn’t need to be a big reason to like something. Good parts emerge over time, and we just name them as reasons.”
That’s right.
Owen had already said it.
There doesn’t need to be a big reason to like something.
We just think of good parts as reasons, just because they are good.
“I just love you. That’s a fact that won’t change. Lucia, you know that.”
“…Yes.”
“So, there’s no need to search for a reason. In a way, you yourself are the reason.”
Even in such moments, Owen was tender.
Clueless, anxious, and bewildered, even when I pushed him away abruptly.
“Everyone inherently has a reason to be loved.”
“You think so?”
“Yeah. Most people, even non-humans, are the same. They deserve to be loved for being born, as long as they don’t commit extreme sins.”
“You’re just too tender.”
So Lucia ended up saying that.
Owen was indeed tender.