Once the words left the Duke's mouth and his gaze landed on them, everyone quickly flooded out of the room, leaving Lucia and Hugo alone.
There was a brief silence between them as they sat side by side on the sofa. Hugo suddenly realized that this was the first time that they had ever sat down together at such a time.
"Why did you lie?" (Hugo)
"…I did not lie."
"You are hiding the truth from the doctor, aren't you? Not saying it is the same thing as lying. Why are you trying so hard to lie when you can't even lie properly?"
'How did he know?' (Lucia)
It was as if he was reading her mind when he looked at her.
Hugo wrapped one arm around Lucia's waist and pulled her into his arms then he spoke as though he could see inside of her.
"Your expression says 'how did he know?'. You can't lie, it's too obvious."
Lucia simply wanted to escape this situation. She twisted her body and pushed away from him then she stood up from the sofa.
"…It is a busy time for you at work yet you were interrupted. I am sorry to have bothered you."
Hugo remained on the sofa, silently watching the standing Lucia for a moment, then he spoke fiercely.
"Do you blame me for being here?"
"You don't need to be worried."
"What?"
"I won't get better anyways."
Hugo caught her wrist, pulling on her strongly and she couldn't help but fall into his arms.
Lucia tried to struggle and get up but one of his hands held her arm in place while the other hand held her chin, forcing her to meet his eyes.
"What do you mean by that? Why should I be relieved if you won't get better?"
"Didn't I tell you from the start? I cannot have children."
Watching her trembling amber eyes, his red eyes also trembled.
Lucia wriggled her chin and shook off his hand. His hand awkwardly hung in the air then it fell down. She pulled out her arm from his hold. Hugo felt bewildered in the face of her rejecting actions.
"You weren't interested nor did you ask why." (Lucia)
"…"
"Why are you suddenly curious?"
At the time, he had only asked if she could prove it.
After that, he had never asked if she truly infertile or if her body was ill somewhere. Lucia thought that he had completely forgotten about it.
That his interest in her was only to that extent.
Therefore, it was pitiful that as the days go on, she could only continue to hope that her heart would harden instead of heading towards him.
"Suddenly, huh. Is it bad for me to be curious?" (Hugo)
"Then I'm grateful."
"…Don't say it like that."
"I apologize."
Seeing her give curt, icy answers and then shut her mouth like she wouldn't say anymore, Hugo's red eyes enlarged and flared up.
She was doing things that she had never done before and it was getting on his nerves. Hugo did not want to raise his voice since it wasn't even a big deal so he spoke in an even calmer tone.
"Vivian, do you want to argue over something of the past?"
Lucia's heart sank with disappointment.
'If you call it something of the past then I can't say anything.'
For him, it was just something of the past. Lucia quietly shook her head.
"Right now, I am concerned about your body so explain your exact symptoms to the doctor and get treated."
His tone was even more affectionate than usual.
Even though Lucia knew that he didn't really have things like kindness or tender affection, every time she heard his affectionate voice, she was entranced as if she had heard a love song then she would wake up as if she was doused with cold water.
"I do not want to do that." (Lucia)
"Why?"
"If I do that, you would be troubled."
"Why would I be troubled?"
"Because you don't want me to have children!"
Her voice suddenly grew loud.
"…"
For a moment, Hugo could not say anything. It wasn't that he didn't want her to have children but that he didn't want to continue his bloodline itself.
And as to whether she could have a child or not, pregnancy was impossible. But in order to make her understand that, he would have to tell her about many hidden things. However, Hugo did not want to dig into his memory and talk about those things again. To him, those things weren't just past events but a chilling nightmare.
Staring at Hugo who went silent, Lucia took his silence as confirmation and tried to keep her emotions under control.
"I misspoke. Accurately speaking, you have never had any interest."
It was her intuition as a woman. He never wanted a child from her. Despite that, his actions were contradictory. He never used any contraception. Lucia was rather bitter in that regard. He wasn't even that concerned about it.
She wondered what kind of attitude he would have if she had gotten pregnant by chance.
Whether he would take the child away, or have no interest in the child or maybe, he would even turn around and never look for her again. Whatever choice it was, they were all terrible.
"About having no interest…" (Hugo)
'Isn't that you?' Hugo mumbled inwardly. She had not, even once, asked him about Damian. But, no matter how brazen Hugo was, he knew he did not have the right to question her about that. He had married her because he needed the status. Not for her to take care of his son, they did not have a contract for that.
"I didn't know you wanted me to be interested." (Hugo)
Lucia's heart sank heavily in her chest. Somehow, looking at him, he seemed tired.
'No!'
From the moment he said that he could see through her lies, she had already been full of anxiety.
Her nerves were on edge, thinking that her heart could also be read.
If he were to have an inkling of her feelings and say something cruel, like what he said to Sofia Lawrence at the victory party that day…
'My heart will burst. It will hurt so much I'd rather die.'
He was a man that was tender to a woman as long as she kept a reasonable distance.
Just like he had done to her, how many lovers in the past had he smiled at and given presents to?
It was because of this tenderness that those women could not throw away their lingering attachment when they were notified of their break up and clung to him.
'I don't want to become one of his past women.'
It would be good to stay like this forever. Just like this. A fully materialistic life. A husband that gave her tender smiles and held her passionately every night.
She wouldn't be greedy for more. Her sweaty fists were clenched tightly.
"I…don't wish for anything. I have not forgotten my contract with you."