“Yep. We dropped by to see Alexandra. We’re on our way back now.”
“Oh, I see.”
“What about you, Lennox? From the looks of your robe, you must be in the middle of working?”
“I just finished an experiment, so I was just in the middle of going to get some fresh air. I’m lucky to have run into you, Sister.”
The bashful smile on his face eased up. In the meantime, they had exchanged letters and spoke, and now he has come to her without hesitation because a lot of the awkwardness had disappeared. Her cute younger brother was the best!
“That robe suits you well. Oh, and thanks for before. Thanks to you, things worked out well.”
“Is that so? That’s a relief. So, Tiana, did you decide on what to do?”
“Yep. It is still a secret, but I’ll let you know when there is some progress. Because I was able to start it thanks to you.”
“I’m glad to help you, sis. I can’t wait to see what it is.”
He was so cute when he smiled, so she reached out and stroked his hair. Seeing her smile at the softness of his curly hair made him blush and take a step back.
“Hey, I’m not a child.”
“Sorry. Your hair is just so soft and fluffy, so cute.”
“Cute… I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that!”
“How come? It is a compliment.”
“It is not…”
Lennox’s face under his wilted head blushed even redder. A little while later he suddenly brought up something serious.
“Now that I think about it, have you seen Father?”
“No. I haven’t. I thought about going to where he works, but ehh… the timing wasn’t right.”
“Oh, I see. He would be in the middle of a meeting around this time…”
He nodded while checking the time on his shiny watch. Hesitating after glancing at Lucius for a second, he guardedly brought up something else.
“If you don’t mind, please come visit. It feels empty without you, sis. And I’m worried about our father; he seems depressed these days.”
“Really? Maybe because of work…?”
“It’s because you’re not there. He always misses you, even if he doesn’t say it. Me too of course.”
She looked at his shy face and smiled.
She normally sent a letter to Edwin whenever she sent one to Lennox, but she hadn’t noticed anything because he was always asking the same thing: “How are you?” Well, with her having spent twenty years of her life there, it was natural for him to miss her. She missed him, too.
Looking at Lucius, Lennox made eye contact with him, smiled gently, and nodded. Lucius said, smiling as a token of gratitude for his asking permission,
“All right. We’ll drop by soon. I’ve been wanting to see your family for a long time, too.”
“Everyone will be happy, sir.”
said Lennox, smiling gladly. They talked for a little longer before Lennox, checking the time, returned. Tiana laughed at him turning around regretfully and confirming that they should come soon.
Lucius and Tiana boarded their carriage and slowly left the palace. Only then did she ask when she saw his face relaxing little by little,
“Earlier your face stiffed up when you saw Lennox. How come?”
“…isn’t he your younger brother? I didn’t even realize how anxious I was…”
Tiana held back a laugh after seeing him rub his chest as he spoke. So, he was nervous. He made the same face whenever he was around Edwin… Does this mean…
“By chance do you feel the same when you’re around with my father?”
“Yes. I feel even more nervous around Duke— I mean, your father.”
The thought of that alone turned his comfortable face into stone.
Oh my, my lovely husband! Why are you nervous in front of your father-in-law and brother-in-law? Keep this up and you’ll develop a fear of speaking in front of them, she thought.
From Lucius’s perspective, they were his wife’s family, and even Tiana was still nervous in front of Marquess Calvino and the empress dowager, so she couldn’t say a thing, but she hoped that he’d eventually calm down around them. Since they were family now, they had to get along happily.
When she looked at him with a worried face, he smiled softly at her, slowly relaxing his face again. Warmly grabbing his hand with both of her hands, they smiled at each other.
***
The next day. Like Alexandra and Lucius said yesterday, they visited the Vernes’ mansion early in the morning. They had thought about visiting in the late evening when there weren’t many people, but they just started early because they didn’t think they could completely hide the fact that they visited the count at whatever time.
Arriving at their destination, they saw a soldier guarding the tightly shut main gate. After seeing the Grand Duke’s carriage and approaching it in a surprised manner, he asked politely,
“Grand Duke, Your Highness, Grand Duchess, Your Highness. Welcome to the Verne family’s mansion. I am sorry, but I never received anything about your visit.”
“We have sent several letters but never got one response, so we just came in person. Can you check if anyone is home?”
“Yes, of course, sir. Please wait a moment.”
The man, quickly running through the gate, was seen picking up a magic stone and talking to someone. Was he using a spell to contact someone inside? Lucius said, keeping his eyes on him,
“I guess there is someone inside.”
“Then why didn’t anyone respond to our letters? I know they all arrived here promptly.”
“Well…”
He turned his head toward the main gate and stared. His eyes opened wide as he looked closely at its high walls, steel bars, and doors. After a while, the main gate, which had been closed, opened slowly.
The approaching soldier said with a look of embarrassment,
“The butler said there has been no contact with the Vernes, but there seems to be some mistake. For now, you can enter, Your Highness.”
Just like that, the soldier moved out of the way for their carriage to slowly enter the opening gate.
“Yep. We dropped by to see Alexandra. We’re on our way back now.”
“Oh, I see.”
“What about you, Lennox? From the looks of your robe, you must be in the middle of working?”
“I just finished an experiment, so I was just in the middle of going to get some fresh air. I’m lucky to have run into you, Sister.”
The bashful smile on his face eased up. In the meantime, they had exchanged letters and spoke, and now he has come to her without hesitation because a lot of the awkwardness had disappeared. Her cute younger brother was the best!
“That robe suits you well. Oh, and thanks for before. Thanks to you, things worked out well.”
“Is that so? That’s a relief. So, Tiana, did you decide on what to do?”
“Yep. It is still a secret, but I’ll let you know when there is some progress. Because I was able to start it thanks to you.”
“I’m glad to help you, sis. I can’t wait to see what it is.”
He was so cute when he smiled, so she reached out and stroked his hair. Seeing her smile at the softness of his curly hair made him blush and take a step back.
“Hey, I’m not a child.”
“Sorry. Your hair is just so soft and fluffy, so cute.”
“Cute… I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that!”
“How come? It is a compliment.”
“It is not…”
Lennox’s face under his wilted head blushed even redder. A little while later he suddenly brought up something serious.
“Now that I think about it, have you seen Father?”
“No. I haven’t. I thought about going to where he works, but ehh… the timing wasn’t right.”
“Oh, I see. He would be in the middle of a meeting around this time…”
He nodded while checking the time on his shiny watch. Hesitating after glancing at Lucius for a second, he guardedly brought up something else.
“If you don’t mind, please come visit. It feels empty without you, sis. And I’m worried about our father; he seems depressed these days.”
“Really? Maybe because of work…?”
“It’s because you’re not there. He always misses you, even if he doesn’t say it. Me too of course.”
She looked at his shy face and smiled.
She normally sent a letter to Edwin whenever she sent one to Lennox, but she hadn’t noticed anything because he was always asking the same thing: “How are you?” Well, with her having spent twenty years of her life there, it was natural for him to miss her. She missed him, too.
Looking at Lucius, Lennox made eye contact with him, smiled gently, and nodded. Lucius said, smiling as a token of gratitude for his asking permission,
“All right. We’ll drop by soon. I’ve been wanting to see your family for a long time, too.”
“Everyone will be happy, sir.”
said Lennox, smiling gladly. They talked for a little longer before Lennox, checking the time, returned. Tiana laughed at him turning around regretfully and confirming that they should come soon.
Lucius and Tiana boarded their carriage and slowly left the palace. Only then did she ask when she saw his face relaxing little by little,
“Earlier your face stiffed up when you saw Lennox. How come?”
“…isn’t he your younger brother? I didn’t even realize how anxious I was…”
Tiana held back a laugh after seeing him rub his chest as he spoke. So, he was nervous. He made the same face whenever he was around Edwin… Does this mean…
“By chance do you feel the same when you’re around with my father?”
“Yes. I feel even more nervous around Duke— I mean, your father.”
The thought of that alone turned his comfortable face into stone.
Oh my, my lovely husband! Why are you nervous in front of your father-in-law and brother-in-law? Keep this up and you’ll develop a fear of speaking in front of them, she thought.
From Lucius’s perspective, they were his wife’s family, and even Tiana was still nervous in front of Marquess Calvino and the empress dowager, so she couldn’t say a thing, but she hoped that he’d eventually calm down around them. Since they were family now, they had to get along happily.
When she looked at him with a worried face, he smiled softly at her, slowly relaxing his face again. Warmly grabbing his hand with both of her hands, they smiled at each other.
***
The next day. Like Alexandra and Lucius said yesterday, they visited the Vernes’ mansion early in the morning. They had thought about visiting in the late evening when there weren’t many people, but they just started early because they didn’t think they could completely hide the fact that they visited the count at whatever time.
Arriving at their destination, they saw a soldier guarding the tightly shut main gate. After seeing the Grand Duke’s carriage and approaching it in a surprised manner, he asked politely,
“Grand Duke, Your Highness, Grand Duchess, Your Highness. Welcome to the Verne family’s mansion. I am sorry, but I never received anything about your visit.”
“We have sent several letters but never got one response, so we just came in person. Can you check if anyone is home?”
“Yes, of course, sir. Please wait a moment.”
The man, quickly running through the gate, was seen picking up a magic stone and talking to someone. Was he using a spell to contact someone inside? Lucius said, keeping his eyes on him,
“I guess there is someone inside.”
“Then why didn’t anyone respond to our letters? I know they all arrived here promptly.”
“Well…”
He turned his head toward the main gate and stared. His eyes opened wide as he looked closely at its high walls, steel bars, and doors. After a while, the main gate, which had been closed, opened slowly.
The approaching soldier said with a look of embarrassment,
“The butler said there has been no contact with the Vernes, but there seems to be some mistake. For now, you can enter, Your Highness.”
Just like that, the soldier moved out of the way for their carriage to slowly enter the opening gate.
