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PHYSIENTS WILL ALWAYS OFFER BEST STORIES AND LIVE STREAMING ALL TIME
LUCIA
C60 [part 1] - < — The Capital’s High Society(1)– > (3)
Chapter 60 [part 1]
< — The Capital’s High Society(1)– > (3)
TN: |･ω･)
During dinner, Hugo began to talk about her outing.
“I heard you went out.”
“Yes. I went to see the acquaintance I asked you to deliver a letter to before. Do you remember?”
“I remember.”
Not only did he remember, but ever since Fabian turned in the last report, he had been closely monitoring, as well as protecting the female novelist.
He had already known that the female novelist would be getting married soon and he had even investigated to see if the man had deliberately approached the novelist.
Unbeknownst to Norman, she was about to marry a man that was guaranteed as non suspicious by the Duke of Taran’s Intelligence Unit.
“She is a precious friend of mine. As she is leaving the capital, I want to leave a connection to be able to help her, just in case she encounters any difficulties in her new home.”
“Do as you see fit.”
At his ready consent, her cheeks reddened a little. She didn’t think he was going to refuse but she felt elated when he simply accepted her request.
“Also…do you happen to know the rumor going around about me?”
“There are always many rumors in the capital.”
“It is such a ridiculous rumor…”
She didn’t continue and just kept poking her dish with her fork causing Hugo to frown slightly. Through Fabian, he knew of all the rumors about her. The rumors were mostly ridiculous so as long as it wasn’t malicious, a sensitive response would be rather counterproductive.
Fortunately, there were no malicious details in the rumors about her. The thought that she might have heard a bad rumor from somewhere he didn’t know made Hugo’s mood turn foul. If that was the case, he would call Fabian who didn’t do his work properly and pound him to the ground.
“Rumors are usually ridiculous. What does the rumor say?”
Lucia was a bit hesitant at his question, then with a slightly reddened face, she tried to explain the unspeakable rumor while holding back her embarrassment.
“The Duchess of Taran is a great…beauty…so you…me…territory…”
“I’ve heard that. What about it?”
The rumor wasn’t a big deal. He asked because he couldn’t understand why it was making her very uncomfortable. Lucia also couldn’t understand how he was completely unaffected by the rumor.
“It portrays you like some kind of kidnapper.”
“For a rumor about me, it’s more on the favorable side.”
Lucia had heard all sorts of rumors about him in her dream. In addition, she had unintentionally delivered the rumor that he drank blood directly to his face. Considering his rather mirthful reaction to her words at the time, he seemed to be composed when faced with rumors about himself.
“But I mean, what incomparable beauty. It’s so dumbfounding…In reality, when I go out to the circles, people will start talking.”
“Why will they talk?”
She didn’t know why he couldn’t understand her after she had said so much.
“You know, because I’m not an incomparable beauty.”
“What do you mean? You’re pretty.”
Lucia was stunned for a moment. And in an instant, her face went completely red. The servants quickly averted their gazes and acted like they didn’t hear anything. The servants, whose expressions did not change at all in this situation, were genuinely admirable.
“…Don’t tease me.”
“I never did. I say you’re pretty because you are pretty.”
Even though he teased mischievously her once in a while, he wasn’t one to joke insincerely. He had said the same thing once before but then, it was just the two of them. Lucia’s face reddened so much that it couldn’t get any redder and she was unable to sit still.
She got up like that and quickly left the dining room. A strong hand grabbed her arm, stopping her from going out to yard. At some point, he had caught up and was right behind her.
“Vivian, did I do something wrong?”
He thought she liked it when he called her pretty. It was clearly recorded like that in his list so he was taken aback by her reaction. Lucia furiously shook her head.
“No. I was…embarrassed because you said that in front of the servants.”
“Wow. It was ‘don’t touch’ in front of the servants now it’s ‘don’t say’ in front of the servants?”
Lucia wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her head in his chest.
“Mm. I don’t like stuff like that.”
While grumbling about why he should care if the servants are there, he returned her hug, wrapping his arms around her back. Listening to his grumbles, Lucia rubbed her head on his chest and chuckled faintly.
Are you happy? Norman’s questions sprang up in her mind. Lucia could give the answer ‘I’m happy’ over and over again. Ever since she decided to believe in him, she was a little less anxious and a little more happy.
‘These damn rumors. I can’t even grab every mouth that says stupid things and stuff it.’
Other rumors didn’t matter but these days, Hugo was very worried that unfounded rumors involving women or scandals of the past would reach her ears.
Because of that, these days, Fabian was running around, day and night, gathering rumors.
______________
LUCIA
C60 [part 2] - < — The Capital’s High Society(1)– > (3)
Chapter 60 [part 2]
< — The Capital’s High Society(1)– > (3)
┬┴┬┴┤(･_├┬┴┬┴
It had been a few days since Lucia’s entourage arrived at the Capital but no rumors of their arrival had spread. Hugo asked Lucia to rest and stay out of the society’s gaze for a little while longer. So, Lucia spent these couple of days in very relaxed manner.
She knew this break wouldn’t last long so she was enjoying it as much as she could. She had her lunch, looked around the mansion and went for a walk in the yard.
There was a fairly large plain of land between the gates and the entrance to the mansion. Instead of a garden, numerous trees were planted to obstruct one’s vision from seeing the inside of the mansion. And since there was a small pathway in between, it was nice for taking a walk.
“Ooh!”
The sudden loud voice made Lucia jump in surprise. When an eye-catching man unexpectedly appeared in front of her, Lucia plopped down on the spot.
“Ah, Did I surprise you? It’s me. Me. We haven’t seen in a long time, yes?”
The eye-catching man was Roy Krotin. Lucia grabbed his outstretched hand and stood up. To Lucia, Roy was special connection. She hadn’t known at the time but if it wasn’t for Roy back then, she wouldn’t have been able to meet Hugo.
It was Jerome’s role to manage the guests and with Jerome’s shrewd personality, there was no way he would have let her meet Hugo until she was judged to be a proper guest. Back then, Jerome was absent just in time and Roy acted as he pleased, allowing Lucia to meet with Hugo.
At that time, if Lucia had been unable to meet Hugo and was turned away, she wouldn’t have had courage to visit again. It was the help of the heavens and at the same time, it was Roy’s help.
“Since you’re the Duchess now, should I be little different? But I don’t really know that stuff.”
There was no malice in Roy’s grinning expression. Lucia grinned back.
“It’s fine. Do what you’re comfortable with. It’s a pleasure to meet you like this after a long time. I have been wanting to give you my thanks.”
“Thanks? For what?”
“If not for Sir Krotin, how could I have met his Grace the Duke? It is thanks to Sir that I became the Duchess.”
“What…I didn’t…really do anything…”
Roy sheepishly scratched his chin. Actually, the fact that he burst into laughter when Lucia proposed to Hugo always weighed on Roy’s mind. He never intended to ridicule her. It was just that the situation itself was very funny but people usually tended to perceive the opposite of his words and actions.
But when he heard her thankfulness instead, he felt a little awkward and happy.
‘Why does this man have such a bad reputation?’
In Lucia’s dream, Roy Krotin was famous as the mad dog and Lucia had no exact line of contact with Roy so she could only know him from the rumors. But after personally meeting Roy, she realized he was very far from the notorious individual described.
He was cheerful and blunt and if one treated him with good will, he was sure to return the favor.
‘There is little to be trusted in these rumors huh.’
According to the rumors surrounding the Taran Duke, he was a ruthless monster without blood or tears. And now the rumors surrounding her were completely groundless.
In her dream, Lucia got a lot of information concerning the social circles from the rumors but now that she thought about it, most of them were probably lies.
Lucia made a small commitment to herself to not listen to rumors in the future unless she had personally met the individual concerned.
“I hear you have been the escort of His Highness the Crown Prince. Is it okay to be here at this time?”
“Okay or not, I won’t do it anymore. Even if it is Lord’s orders, I won’t! Do you know how hard it is to not go anywhere and just escort for more than a year? Even if it was fun to kill assassins from time to time, I want to quit right now.”
“…Ah, I see. It must have been hard.”
“But, what of my Lord?”
“He’s not in. He went out.”
“Darn. I ran over to have a round with my Lord cuz it’s been a while.”
“…A round? Do you mean fighting His Grace the Duke?”
“Mm? Hahaha! It’s right to call it a fight. A duel is a fight too.”
“Ah…a duel. Isn’t that dangerous?”
“There is no danger. We aren’t amateurs either. It’s only dangerous to those that swing the sword carelessly. Haven’t you ever watched a duel?”
“I haven’t. But His Grace might get hurt…”
‘Puhahaha!’ Roy burst into loud laughter.
“Hurt? Ah, even saying that is absurd. There is no one in the world that can hurt even the fingers of my Lord.”
‘Is he really such a great Knight?’
Hugo’s physique overwhelmed that of a knight’s. But maybe because Lucia had never actually seen him wield a sword, it didn’t feel real to her. She ran a workshop in her dream so she knew a little bit about those that were called Knights.
While they were uncompromising and simple, sometimes their temper exploded and then they were like an angry bisons, ignoring what was in front of them.
‘He isn’t like a knight at all.’
She couldn’t feel the peculiar rough ambiance of a knight from Hugo.
‘Could it be because he is a Duke before he is a knight?’
Even though she had met a considerable amount of knights in her dream, she had rarely come across noble knights. Which also included a knighted Duke.
So she was slightly suspicious. Maybe the rumors about his military acts were more exaggerated because he was a Duke. In the first place, rumors were groundless so it was possible. If someone that knew the Duke of Taran heard her thoughts, they would be jaw-drop speechless.
“Sir Krotin!”
A voice as sharp as day interrupted them. Jerome approached the two of them with a stiff expression. Roy gave a silly smile and his expression was awkward as he spoke.
“Hello. Long time.”
Jerome fixed Roy a sharp glare then spoke politely to Lucia.
“Milady. If you go out without a maid, you may encounter some trouble.”
“Ah, you did say that before. I will make sure to be careful.”
Lucia inwardly rebuked herself for her thoughtlessness then she gave Roy a slight nod and began to head to the mansion, leaving the two men alone. Jerome watched until Lucia was inside the mansion then he turned to look at Roy.
“What is this insolence! That is the Lady of the House of Taran. She is not someone you can meet in a place where no one is around!”
This was the capital where one couldn’t know where eyes were hidden. And all sorts of scandals in the Capital originated from incidents that didn’t amount to much initially.
“Sorry.”
“I am saying you should be a little more careful.”
“Ah, I said I’m sorry. Even though I haven’t seen her in a long time, she truly hasn’t changed so I was just glad to see the Duchess.”
“Personal feelings, whatever it may be, should not be expressed carelessly, to a woman who had a husband. Do not assume that Master will forever be generous. If a terrible rumor of Milady arises because of Sir Krotin, he will be very angry.”
“Hmm. But the lord hasn’t ever been angry because of a women.”
“This is not just any woman but the Madam. Watch your words.”
The sight of Jerome acting like a mother protecting her cub was so unfamiliar that Roy blinked in surprise. Jerome was not inferior to Roy in behaving impolitely to the Duke’s women.
If Roy was the outspoken one, Jerome was the one that quietly considered scrapping them. In that sense, the two of them were strangely in great sync.
But apart from that, there was a big difference between them. Roy displayed amusement and bad temper, while Jerome faced the women with utter coldness like a Duchess that had forgotten her duty.
Except for that, the two men were incompatible. They were like cat and mouse. The amusing thing was that Roy was much stronger yet Jerome was the cat. Whenever Roy caused trouble, Jerome came out with enormous nagging and criticism.
The Roy that was fine with Hugo’s tendency to beat him up when he was mad, would only shrink in front of Jerome. Roy acted as he pleased, with nothing to fear, and he felt an inferiority similar to admiration about Jerome who was always precise and unyielding in his actions.
“Does the lord to that woman…”
At Jerome fierce glare, Roy quickly changed his words.
“Does the lord…like the Duchess?”
“Yes.”
“A lot?”
“A lot.”
“Mm. Then, if I am as before, will the lord be angry?”
“Extremely angry.”
One could only be glad if it ended with merely anger. Jerome was sincerely worried about Roy and was giving him a strong warning. If it was some other thing, Master would generously forgive to Roy. But if it concerned the madam, there would be no forgiveness at all.
“Okay. Well, it’s alright, I also don’t dislike that wom…the Duchess.”
“…Why?”
“How do I put this. She doesn’t give off a bad smell.”
“Smell? Do you mean perfume?”
The Madam wasn’t one to spray excessive perfume. In fact, Jerome also like this point of hers. The perfume of noble ladies was usually so potent that even if it was just two people, the smells got mixed up giving someone a headache.
“It’s not that…”
Roy was used to instinctively grasping the general temperament of a person when dealing with them. It was because of this that the Crown Prince took a fancy to him even though Roy was just staying at the Crown Prince’s side because of his lord’s orders.
Roy had bounded himself to Hugo for a similar reason too. The biggest reason was that he really liked his lord and the reason after that was because he didn’t particularly hate anyone that was around his lord.
“Anyways, it’s something like that. I get it now so I’ll be careful. I want to sleep till the lord is back. Where can I sleep?”
“…Follow me.”
______________
LUCIA
C61 [part 1] - < — The Capital’s High Society[1]– > (4)
Chapter 61 [part 1]
< — The Capital’s High Society[1]– > (4)
TN: (๑˃ᴗ˂)ﻭ
Hugo leaned on his arms in thought as he sat in the carriage heading towards the ducal residence. From his expression, it was impossible to guess what he was thinking about. Fabian sat on the opposite side of the carriage and made a careful attempt to gauge his master’s mood.
“Shall I look into Sir Krotin’s whereabouts?”
According to the Crown Prince, the Knight Roy Krotin disappeared without a word and his whereabouts were unknown. Insubordination, unauthorized absence and negligence. If one were to charge Roy of these crimes, it was not just once or twice.
“For someone like him, he has endured for long.”
Fabian couldn’t help but fully agree with that statement. In fact, it was amazing that Roy had lasted for more than a year without causing any trouble and was only giving a protest now.
“Leave it alone. He’s probably sleeping somewhere and will crawl in later.”
When Roy was done fooling around and showed himself, Hugo planned to give him some long due ‘advice’. It was around time for the efficacy of the last ‘medicine’ to have fallen.
“And as for the escort matter, I think that’s enough, it can stop now.”
Although Kwiz was still a prince, the gap between his present royal authority and his authority before the King died was like heaven and earth. Kwiz was under escort and guarding, not lacking to that of a King’s.
If someone were to move rashly against Kwiz, they would be charged with treason and their entire family would be under the danger of extermination, hence, there was no one that would move carelessly or take risks at this time.
“Yes, Your Grace.”
‘Just as I expected. His Grace is lenient with Roy.’
If Roy were to hear this, he would frantically argue that there was no way the Duke was lenient with him since he was beaten mercilessly however, the Duke’s leniency was acknowledged by all but Roy.
His master did not treat anyone else the way he treated Roy. Fabian somehow felt like he knew why. Roy was the only person that faced the Duke of Taran with cheekiness and without being afraid. When the Duke of Taran was with Roy, at times, he would seem like an normal person.
‘Mad dog, huh…what a fitting nickname.’
Nowadays, in the Capital, the knight Krotin was referred to as the ‘rabid dog Krotin’. There was a time when Fabian used to be worried that Roy would get into trouble for acting cheeky in front of the Duke.
That fellow certainly suited the name, mad dog. For a mad dog knows no fear.
“Who is the most famous designer in the Capital?” (Hugo)
“There are a few. From here…”
Fabian looked out the window and roughly gauged their current location.
“The nearest place is Monsieur Jeffrey’s boutique or Madame Antoine’s boutique.”
The male designer was immediately excluded from Hugo’s choice.
“Turn the carriage. Head to Antoine’s boutique.”
Immediately the carriage changed directions and began to head towards the Madame Antoine’s boutique. Antoine was definitely one of the famous designers in the capital. But, it was difficult to say that she was the most famous.
Depending on the dressing style that one preferred, the best designer would differ from person to person. The reason Antoine could catch a big customer today, was firstly because she was female and secondly because the location of her boutique was closest to the Duke’s carriage.
Even though the Duke of Taran did not make an appointment in advance and was interrupting at closing time, he was treated as a VVIP and received into the VIP suite.
High-class boutiques were very sensitive to information on the power situation of the country. Their main customers were wealthy and the wealthy were mainly high-ranking nobles and the high-ranking nobles were mainly people in power.
It was a sensitive time, now that power was reorganized on such a huge scale. Although there was some factor of unrest, most people expected the Crown Prince to become King without fail.
The fact that the Duke of Taran was the closest adviser of the new King was something that anyone with a little grasp of the current political atmosphere would know. It was the emerging dominance of a powerhouse that nobody would be able to deal with in the future.
To the powerful Duke, his richness was just an extra bonus but that extra bonus was the most attractive to Antoine.
As a highly prideful designer and the owner of her own boutique, Antoine strove to establish her pride in front of her tolerable nobles customers but today, in front of the Duke of Taran, she did not plan to doing so. She was very amiable and welcomed her guests personally.
“It is an honor to meet your distinguished personage. Your Grace.”
“I do not appreciate talking for long so I will be brief.”
“Please, go ahead.”
“I need a dress for my wife.”
The hottest topic in society, the Duchess! Antoine fought to control her expression in order to avoid revealing her interest.
“Is Her Grace accompanying you? Is she waiting in the carriage?”
“I have heard that designers can personally visit on commission.”
“Yes, of course. Your Grace. When would you like me to visit?”
“Tomorrow…”
On a second thought, tomorrow was not going to be possible. Today was fifth day in the ‘once every five days’ rule. Maybe because of the accumulate fatigue from travel but ever since she came to the capital, it had been difficult to do her to his heart’s content.
Moreover, yesterday, he was only a slightly late in returning home but she was already fast asleep. She had a huge fever before coming to the capital so Hugo was very sensitive about his wife’s health.
He didn’t want to wake her up when she was tired and in deep sleep so he just hugged her and slept.
Today, he planned to have a passionate night with her, doing both today’s and yesterday’s part. If she rested all day tomorrow, it wouldn’t be too much for the designer to visit her the day after tomorrow.
“No. Let’s have you come in next tomorrow.”
“You mean…in two days?”
Antoine was a famous designer. There were lines of people waiting to be fitted in her dresses. Nowadays, especially because of the upcoming coronation, it was busy day and night. Her schedule was tightly packed for a month.
Even when she wasn’t busy, she usually left a margin of at least a week to schedule a date. The sudden demand of a schedule in two days was difficult. However, Antoine was only worried for a short moment. In the first place, the customer in front of her was incredibly huge.
Antoine flicked her abacus and compared the publicity to be gained from the Duchess wearing an Antoine designed dress versus the damage to be received from the immediate and impractical schedule change.
The Duchess was at the center of conversation in the social circles. She had gone straight to her husband’s territory as soon as she got married and no one had ever seen her properly.
Whenever the noble ladies were being fitted for dresses in Antoine’s boutique, they filled Antoine’s ears with talks of the Duchess. The first appearance of the Duchess in the circles would certainly be an event of great interest.
“Understood. I will do as you say.”
Antoine replied readily. She looked forward to meeting the rumored Duchess and that had also played a part in her reply.
___________
LUCIA
C61 [part 2]
Chapter 61 [part 2]
< — The Capital’s High Society[1]– > (4)
TN: Hello! Since the previous translator is back, I will be dropping this novel. My new project is Invisible Dragon! (This is a joke….)
“My wife is frugal. She thinks that it is a waste to buy a number of dresses.” (Hugo)
“Oh my.” (Antoine)
“But I think that my wife is deserving of the best as my Lady of the House.”
“What might you mean?”
“Ensure that you arrange everything you need, regardless of cost. It is in your capability to one way or the other, manage to persuade my wife. Depending on the capability shown, I will decide on whether or not to continue working with you in the future.”
At first, Antoine didn’t understand what the Duke was talking about but slowly, understanding began to fill her eyes. She had sometimes heard of a husband, or a father, sending someone to try and curb the senseless spending of their wife or daughter, but this was the first time she was seeing someone requesting to have their money spent.
‘Oh my goodness. The Duke of Taran is such a romanticist!’
Antoine gazed at the Duke of Taran with an entranced look in her eyes. It was the same gaze she used to look at the gold in her secret safe.
“Are you saying…not to worry about the cost?”
“Unreasonable charges will be refused.”
“Ho-ho. We are not a senseless boutique.”
Antoine quickly wrote down her estimated figures on a memo. Antoine loved romance and at the same time, she was a realist.
She knew that love didn’t feed anyone. Only love based on gold was eternal!
Antoine’s mind cleverly mulled over how to make the ambiguous boundary of ‘regardless of cost’ clearer. She wrote down half of her considered maximum amount and placed it before the Duke. Just in case, it was to her advantage to take the pride of her customer into consideration.
“What do you think?”
Antoine was asking if he could handle a price of this extent. A dress was quite the expensive luxury. The newer the article, the more unique and exclusive the design, the higher the price skyrocketed. Antoine had seen people boast to their lovers about a dress and enter the boutique then their hearts would sink at the price and their prides would be damaged.
Hugo didn’t even blink at this challenge from Antoine. He smiled mockingly, picked up the pen and added a 0 behind the amount, dealing her a KO in a single blow.
When Antoine got back the memo, her hand shook repeatedly. Gasp. She felt breathless and grabbed her chest. Eureka! Fanfare burst out over her head. Luck fairies jingled tambourines as she hit the greatest jackpot of her life.
“I…I will definitely come visit in two days.”
“I look forward to seeing your capability.”
“Please, leave it to me.”
“Ah, I would also like you to introduce me to a good jeweler.”
It was too cumbersome to carry much of the family-owned ornaments from Roam to the capital. Above all else, the fact that she didn’t have much jewelry kept bothering him.
Like a hungry beast positioned before flesh, Antoine’s eyes sparkled and she gave a buoyant smile.
“I will guide Your Grace to a jeweler that loses out sli~ghtly when compared to the Duchess’s elegance but can never lose when compared to other places.”
Antoine went out of the building with all of her staff and they gave a deep bow to send off the Duke of Taran. When the carriage was no longer in sight, Antoine gracefully straightened her waist and her eyes were ablaze with passion.
“The schedule adjustment goes into effect, right now! No matter what, the day after tomorrow shall be completely empty! Prepare every dress, shoe, hat, made so far to go into the design book!”
At Antoine’s instructions, her assistants began to move frantically. It was likely that from today till tomorrow night, light wouldn’t go out in Antoine’s boutique.
***
The carriage arrived the jewelry store recommended by Antoine. The manager of the jewelry was a close partner of Antoine’s. Being fully thorough, Antoine had placed someone next to the coachman to guide the path of the carriage.
Sepia jewelry had already gotten news ahead of time, chased away their few curious customers and closed the door of their shop, preparing to welcome only one customer.
When the carriage arrived, someone was already waiting to receive the Duke with the highest etiquette.
Hugo browsed through the display of necklaces and bracelets, pointing to a couple items as he looked.
The items in Sepia Jewelry were high-class and cost up to five figures in the capital but in the eyes of Hugo who had seen all sorts of jewelry, they weren’t much.
In his mind, it couldn’t be helped that the quality was low since he was buying them in a hurry.
Who knew whether he was really buying, or just window-shopping for he simply glanced at the items brought out, and pointed to something else again.
But no one seemed uncomfortable. Even if they were not told by Antoine in advance, it was common sense in the industry that when a big-shot of this level visited, the income from the visit was not small at all.
Several employees followed Hugo closely, moving as swiftly as possible and at some point, the presenting table was filled with jewelry.
“Let’s go with this.”
“Which one do you mean exactly…?”
The general manager rubbed his hands, lowering himself subserviently. The items presented to the Duke were all high-priced articles so, selling even one or two was a big hit.
“All of it.”
“Do…D-Do you mean everything?”
“Isn’t it for sale?”
“No! No, I mean, you’re right! We will have it ready immediately!”
The general manager trembled with delight. When he thought of the commission from the sale today, he felt like bursting into laughter.
“How long will it take?”
“A…A little wait…it will be out soon.”
Hugo picked up a clear yellow teardrop-shaped sapphire necklace from the table(1). It resembles the color of her eyes.
“Pack this up now and deliver the rest.”
“If it is not urgent, may we deliver at daybreak tomorrow? These are high-quality items so we wish to guarantee their safety.”
“You may.”
After almost emptying a jewelry shop, Hugo finally went home.
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