Aeplin prepared herself perfectly to have breakfast with Lucent.
Laurel had carefully done her hair at her side, and Aeplin wore a pearl necklace and earrings that matched her attire.
But the morning at the villa was not entirely pleasant.
The eventful night before had begun to weigh on her in earnest.
In particular, she was curious about the condition of the Crown Prince, who had been bitten by the dog.
“You are up early?”
Entering the dining room, Aeplin greeted Lucent, who had arrived first and was reading the newspaper.
“Aeplin.”
Lucent folded the newspaper and set it on the table, then warmly received Aeplin.
Soon the servants laid breakfast on the table.
Aeplin could not take her eyes off the food made from ingredients produced only in Haven.
“It looks delicious.”
“Try it.”
The two enjoyed their meal affectionately.
In the middle of it, Lucent quietly called his wife.
“Aeplin.”
“Yes.”
“I have been thinking about the things my wife said to the Crown Prince.”
“……?!”
He meant the words she had spoken—that she had married him for love, and that she would charge the Crown Prince with defamation.
Aeplin had not expected him to bring it up again, so she was surprised, but she quickly regained her composure.
“What I said about marrying for love was not sincere feeling—it was a vow.”
“A vow?”
“I intend to respect and love you as my husband. I want to prove that our choice was the right one.”
“To whom do you want to prove it?”
“To you and to me.”
It was an unexpected answer.
Since it was a marriage that had overcome differences in status, it had sounded like she meant to show it to the world…….
At least, Lucent had a strong desire to prove it to people.
But what Aeplin said next surprised him even more.
“Lucent, please respect and love me as your wife.”
His gaze fixed on Aeplin.
More than the incident of Ricky biting the Crown Prince’s leg, Aeplin’s single gentle word surprised him more.
Her eyes were resolute yet trembling.
It was a sight quite different from when she had proposed the contract to him.
It was, so to speak, a desperate appeal full of humanity.
But Lucent knew how to respect—he did not know how to love a woman.
“What kind of respect and love does Aeplin want?”
His mother and sister had always been satisfied with money.
He wondered whether making it possible for Aeplin to indulge in luxury as much as she liked would be enough, or whether she wanted something more.
Soon, an unfamiliar yet peculiar warmth bloomed on Aeplin’s fair face.
She wet her throat with water, then gazed at Lucent and answered.
“Please cherish me.”
He had not expected such a simple answer to come back.
“I want to become someone precious to you, Lucent. Of course, I will make an effort too.”
For a while, the two simply looked at each other without a word.
Understanding and surprise.
Perhaps the empathy they felt for the first time bound them firmly together.
In truth, Lucent had considered it sufficient to appear perfect in others’ eyes.
A successful businessman, a wife of distinguished noble bloodline, a beautiful love story.
He had thought that much made him a success in his own way, but Aeplin wanted to fill not just the glossy exterior but the interior as well.
‘She is greedier than I am.’
Lucent answered by smiling at Aeplin.
She was a woman with a bold plan to cultivate her entire life beautifully.
It was, perhaps, the pride of a true noble.
She wanted to constantly develop and enrich her own choice.
Then he suddenly became curious whether the one-month period Aeplin had set was also part of her grand ambition.
“Then how should we go about the one-month courtship?”
Lucent asked, looking at the love bite on Aeplin’s neck.
Startled for a moment, Aeplin rolled her eyes frantically.
She had spoken boldly, but in truth she had never properly dated anyone.
“Would it not be enough to spend a lot of time together?”
“Doing what?”
“Um……. That is, well…….”
Aeplin had not thought through the details either.
Because Serge had suddenly appeared and caused a scene, she had no leisure to dream of what to do at the villa.
“We could go to the beach, collect seashells.”
“And?”
“I think we can spend time getting to know each other through many conversations.”
“That is severely wholesome.”
At her words, Lucent nodded as if he agreed.
After all, the reality was that there would not be many chances to be together like this once they returned to Lount.
* * *
It was the first time Lucent had spent an entire day with a woman.
He had never even dreamed of it, nor had great expectations, but the time with Aeplin was enjoyable in its own way.
The Haven villa was a place he came to as if fleeing when fatigue had accumulated in Lount, or when his mother and sister’s antics gave him a headache.
So at the villa, he had mostly just slept, but with Aeplin, he could feel the seasons fully.
He came to realize that even the repeating seasons could differ depending on whom one spent them with, and it was rather refreshing.
Now all that remained was to properly conclude the messy affairs.
Hoo— Lucent opened the large office window and blew cigar smoke into the pitch-black void.
The sound of waves crashing and the salt-tinged scent of the sea stung his nose.
The light of the lighthouse far off, blinking at regular intervals, looked endlessly lonely—but at least not tonight.
Just then, there was a presence at the door.
“President.”
His secretary Leon, who had transported Serge to the hospital, had returned after finishing the task.
“The Crown Prince?”
“He was transported to the Imperial Hospital in the capital. Ricky bit precisely only the Achilles tendon, so he will have difficulty moving for some time.”
As expected of a former military dog, it was remarkably intelligent.
Lucent had early on sent Leon to obtain the perfume the Crown Prince used and give it to Ricky, training him to carry out only the exact instructions.
Of course, it was possible because he had predicted Serge would behave like a scoundrel.
Did Serge know?
That this was how he entertained a son of a bitch.
Ah! If Ricky heard that, he would misunderstand.
‘Son of a bitch’ referred to Serge, who did not have a speck of sense.
“This is a draft of the article to run in tomorrow’s morning edition.”
Still, the reporters chasing Serge had not been arranged by Lucent.
He had merely not strengthened the villa’s security.
A peculiar light flickered in Lucent’s eyes as he looked at the article draft Leon handed him.
[ Crown Prince Serge, who has recently shaken the empire, has once again caused a scandal. The Crown Prince, once called the star of the empire, abandoned his betrothed, Lady Aeplin von Hapen, and already caused a scandal once through an improper relationship with a married opera singer. But this time, the Crown Prince has gone beyond personal deviation and committed an outrage that dragged the imperial family’s dignity through the mud. The Crown Prince recently went so far as to visit the villa of Bank President Blackakson. According to witnesses, the Crown Prince not only poured unspeakable abuse at the bank president, but even attempted to forcibly take Lady Aeplin, now a married woman, to the palace. In the process, it is reported that he suffered minor injuries after being mauled by the villa’s pet dog. In addition, the Crown Prince……. ]
“I like it very much.”
Lucent smiled contentedly as he read the article.
At this level, the Crown Prince’s honor would fall to the ground, and his position would be shaken.
Even the palace would be unable to do anything about it.
“This is a draft of another newspaper article.”
The next newspaper article Leon handed him was even more of a sight.
It said that the opera singer Marita Belmon was carrying Serge’s child, and he grew curious how the imperial family would handle this matter.
One thing was certain: the people of the empire would no longer regard Crown Prince Serge as the star of the empire.
“Thrilling.”
Lucent had quietly governed his inner feelings even at the harsh words—lowbred mongrel, vulgar money-peddler, gutter rat, eat the worm-eaten fallen fruit.
“For some time, the Crown Prince will be able to do nothing.”
“Yes. He has already lost the trust of the Emperor and Empress, and there is said to be no royal or noble family that wishes to betroth their daughter to the Crown Prince.”
“Leon, have the Crown Prince’s hospital expenses paid by our side. Send flowers as well…….”
Lucent spoke in a tone laced with cynicism.
He would take this opportunity to let the world know.
Who the true human scum was, and to what extent the height of imperial arrogance could reach.
Rather than being enraged by the misdeeds of the highest authority, it was wiser for the victim to uphold dignity by invoking courtesy and restraint.
Only then could the insolent Crown Prince be brought down in the most dignified way.
“Understood, president.”
As if he knew all matters had been resolved, the butler appeared carrying a large gift box.
“It has arrived.”
On Lucent’s face as he looked at the gift, nothing but unfeigned joy spread.
