Lucia: Chapter 3

Norman wanted to continue sponsoring Lucia and help her get married as well. They were not only connected through money. Norman regarded Lucia as her little sister.

“Thank you, Norman. My greatest luck was meeting you.”

“That’s what I want to tell you.”

Lucia’s eyes shook as she confirmed the amount of money she received. With the amount she had saved so far, she would be able to safely run away and smoothly begin a new life.

‘No. The risk and danger is too big.’

No matter how little interest she garnered from others, she was still a princess. If she were to disappear, the palace guards would be deployed to track her down. Not out of worry for Lucia, but because their prestige would be tarnished. If so, they would find out about her past with Norman. It was very likely that Norman would suffer some injustice or punishment.

There was no guarantee she would be able to escape at all. In order to successfully escape, she had to leave the capital and travel somewhere far. She was just a lone girl; nine cases out of ten she would suffer an accident of some sort. She had considered guards or escorts, but she couldn’t trust anyone. Rather, it was likely that the guards would end up stabbing her in the back and stealing all her money.

If she wanted to plan an escape, it would be safer after getting married to Count Matin. She wouldn’t be considered part of the royal palace anymore, so even if she went missing, nobody would care. She could close her eyes and suffer for just one year while looking for someone trustworthy and planning thoroughly, so that nobody would find her when she ran away.

‘But… I don’t want to, that guy…’

A chill ran down her spine just from imagining that person’s face. Was there really no way? A way to escape from him.

“Lucia, do you have a boyfriend?”

“Yea…what?”

“What are you so shocked for? I’m wondering if you have a boyfriend? If you don’t know anybody, then I can look for someone very nice and introduce him to you.”

“How old do you think I am? Aah, it’s okay.”

“You’re only 18 years old. It’s not like I’m telling you to get married. You should get to know a handful of men, so when you’re around 22, you can choose someone among them to marry. Palace maids are very popular, you know. People think they are very modest. They view them differently from women who do manual labor or farming for a living. You guys have pale skin as well. Just go with the flow and tell me. What type of men do you like? Do you like older men who are dependable? Young and cute guys? I’ll find them for you.”

“How about you? Norman why are you still single?”

Norman’s previously sparkling eyes turned bored once the topic shifted back to her.

“Well for me, I’m already too old.”

“What’s age got to do with anything? You just have no interest in it. You’re deceiving your readers. How can you not believe in love when you write romance novels?”

“Tsk, what do you mean deceive? I’m giving life to an everlasting love that does not exist in the real world. When my readers fall into my novel, they live in a dream.”

“Then why are you telling me to get married?”

“Although there is no such thing as everlasting love, I think that when two people’s hearts connect, they can become good friends for each other. Since you’re always alone, I wish you would find a friend who can be with you until the end.”

“Why am I alone? I have you, Norman. Norman, you are my friend and family.”

Norman looked at Lucia with affected eyes and opened her arms wide. Hurry and come into your older sister’s embrace. Lucia burst into laughter while Norman’s eyes shined at her.

“You smell like alcohol, so I don’t want to.”

“Eh? How can you respond that way in this heart-warming moment?”

“I’ll be going now. Norman, you should go and rest some more. You look like you will die any moment now.”

Norman had dark circles hanging below her eyes, making her look like a corpse.

“Aah, I really should return to sleep. I feel like someone is twisting my organs inside of me. If you’re not in a rush, feel free to rest a while longer and take your time going home. Anyway, there is a rush of people outside and it will be hard to get around.”

“Now that you bring it up, is it a special day today? I saw a lot of people on the way here.”

“You didn’t know? I’m always buried inside my house, but you know even less than me. All the knights are returning to parade around the city.”

“Ah…”

That was today. It was a rare chance to see the minister of state, so everyone had left their work for another day and had come out to greet the minister.

‘In my dream, I always kept myself shut inside the detached palace, so I never knew these things.’

This was one of the biggest lifestyle changes for Lucia, compared to the past. While Lucia was pretending to be a palace maid, she was able to go out into the world and explore. Thanks to that, Norman had also made a lot of money.

‘The war is over now….’

Compared to the detached palace, that was still, isolated, and without change, the outside world was very noisy. When Lucia was eight, she had experienced her first war. It had been a local war between two small countries. But as time continued to flow, the war had gradually spread, and soon the whole world had been split in two.

In the future, this war would be called the first stage of the continental war. By the time Lucia was about 11, her country – Xenon, had decided to join the war, and had become the main force of the Northeast Alliance. The next five years were the height of the war. The Northeast Alliance had gradually gotten the upper hand, and for the next two years, there had been a lull in battles. Around when she reached 18 years old, the war had ended in a ceasefire after much negotiation. In this war, Xenon was among the winning countries.

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