Lucia sluggishly rose to the sound of the maid waking her up. It was still dark outside. Yesterday, she told the maid to wake her up before her husband went out.
Lucia stretched, struggling to get rid of the sleepiness, and came down from the bed. While thinking that he was truly amazing to be able to wake up at the crack of dawn everyday like this, she shook her head back and forth. She washed her face, changed her clothes, and drank a glass of cold water to sober up.
"Is he in his bedroom?" (Lucia)
"Master is in his office. He plans to leave in about an hour, so the carriage is being prepared." (Jerome)
Lucia took over the tea tray that Jerome was going to carry to his office.
"I apologize for taking your job as the butler." (Lucia)
"Not at all, Milady." (Jerome)
According to Jerome, there was no need to knock and she could just go inside, so Lucia quietly entered his office.
The air in his office was cool and the smell of antique furniture wafted through the air. There was a large desk located diagonally from the door, and the image of him sitting behind the desk and engrossed in his work came into sight.
Lucia stopped at a distance where she could see him in greater detail. The only thing that could be heard in the quiet office was the soft sound of pages turning.
The spacious desk was packed with a lot of things as if the tiniest gap could not be tolerated. They weren't scattered randomly instead, the documents and books were lined up and ordered in their own way. The only area on the desk that could be called free space, was the width in front of him which he was using for handling the documents.
It was Lucia's first time seeing him working. It was also her first time coming to his office with tea in her hands.
When they were in the north, she didn't go into his office because there were a lot of confidential documents in there and she didn't want people to be suspicious of her and think that she was going into his office to see such things. In addition, even without those suspicions, she was afraid that she would disturb his work so she didn't go anywhere near his office.
The way he looked while concentrating on his work was really cool. Lucia's heart began to race and her face grew flushed. She felt too sorry to interrupt him while he was concentrating on his work. She was fine with just standing there and looking at him.
The peacefulness of the calm morning where one could hear the refreshing sound of birds singing far away was also enjoyable.
* * *
Hugo was always sensitive to the signs of people approaching, no matter what he was focused on. The brutal days of his childhood, and his life on the battlefield had taught him to always be alert of his surroundings. He thought it was Jerome coming in as always and didn't pay any more attention to it. He sensed someone coming in but there was no sign of them approaching him. Puzzled, he looked up, and couldn't help but doubt his own eyes. Meeting his eyes, she gave him a shy smile as if she was embarrassed.
"…Vivian?"
It was a difficult time and place to expect to see her. Her figure which was approaching him with a smile was definitely real. Hugo continued to hold his pen and absentmindedly watched her as she place the tea tray on his desk.
"I hope I didn't interrupt you." (Lucia)
Lucia lifted the teapot and poured tea into the cup. She took the steaming cup of tea and placed it within his reach.
"No."
Hugo quickly answered.
"I'd like to have a word with you. It won't take long." (Lucia)
It's fine if it takes long. Hugo thought to himself as he nodded. The complicated plans and thoughts that were giving him a headache just a minute ago had all disappeared as if they were blown away by the wind. It would be slightly troublesome to create the loop of thoughts again, but it didn't matter.
"Today is your birthday." (Lucia)
"…Birthday?" (Hugo)
Seeing his expression as if he was hearing something bizarre, Lucia was convinced that as expected, he didn't remember.
"The butler said that you do not celebrate your birthday. I don't know, maybe you don't want to remember it."
Birthday.
Hugo had never give that word any meaning in his life. When he was young, he didn't know when his birthday was, and after coming to Roam, he learnt of his brother's birthday and judged that since they were twins, their birthday would be the same, hence he figured out the day he was born.
While acting as the young lord in place of his twin brother, he got birthday meals, but to him, that was the Young Lord Hugo's birthday. He had never thought of it as really celebrating his birthday.
After becoming the Duke, he did not celebrate his birthday. Even if someone tried to remind him about it, he would refuse. Some time after his birthday was the anniversary of his brother's death. He was more concerned about that day than his birthday. So at some point, he had completely forgotten that he had something like a birthday.
"I want to celebrate your birthday." (Lucia)
Lucia was always bothered by the fact that his first birthday simply passed by when they were in the north after they got married. She felt bad because she thought that the reason why he didn't celebrate his birthday was related to his tragic family history.
Anyone can be hurt in their life, big or small. He was a strong person but even if he was strong, he could still get hurt and experience pain.
Lucia was very hurt in her dream, and more than the pain, the hardest thing was that there was no one there to comfort her and say, 'you're hurt, aren't you?'. Lucia wanted to be the person that would give him such comfort.
"This is my present."
Lucia picked up the small box that she had put on the tea tray, placed it on the desk and pushed it towards him.
Hugo took turns looking at her face and at the gift box. The blood flowing through his veins was a curse. His birthday was the beginning of that curse. But his birth could be celebrated. It was a very strange feeling.
"No! Don't look at it now."
Hearing her cry, Hugo who was reaching out for the gift paused.
"Do it later. When I'm not there. My present isn't much so…I'm embarrassed." (Lucia)
Following Jerome's advice, Lucia embroidered his name on a cotton handkerchief. She didn't start the embroidery with the purpose of giving it to him as his birthday present. One piece seemed so empty, so she made one more, then she thought that three was better than two, and when she finished the condensed handkerchief of three, she realized that his birthday was approaching.(1)
"There is no such thing for gifts."(2) (Hugo)
"Still. Look at it later." (Lucia)
It was unseemly for a birthday present. Lucia's face burned at the thought that he might be disappointed. Would it have been better to just give it to him as a meaningless item rather than giving it to him as a birthday present?
Hugo chuckled seeing the indecisiveness on her face.
"Alright. I'll look at it when you're not there."
"It's because I had no idea what to do for your birthday present. I would be giving you a present with your own money."
Hugo found her thoughts amusing and smiled. A substantial budget was set aside every year for the family's Lady of the House. That money was undoubtedly the Lady of the House's private asset. However, she still thought of that money as just public fund. Actually, public fund was the right expression. It was the principle of things to return the budget that remained by the end of the year.
However, there was no noblewoman that returned their budget. The jewelry purchased during a Lady of the House's marriage belonged to that Lady of the House. When a divorced happened, they were able to take away all the jewelry without including it in the alimony. That was why the jewelry stores were usually crowded at the end of the year.
The fact that she returned a considerable amount of the budget last year had shocked him. At the time, he fretfully thought that she hated his money and thus refused it, but now he knew that she was originally such a person.
"Hugh. Your birthday, the day you were brought into this world, deserves to be celebrated. I want you to have a meaningful birthday."
Hugo stood up and approached her in one stride, pulling her into his arms. It was the first and best present of his life.
"Thank you." (Hugo)
Hugo clutched her tighter as emotions welled up in his chest. The warmth that filled his arms also made his heart feel warm. He buried his nose in her neck, enjoying her scent mixed with the faint scent of tea whirling in the air.
"I'll stop disturbing you and go now." (Lucia)
"It's fine with me." (Hugo)
Lucia barely managed to pull away from his sticky hold and left the office.
Seeing the closed office door, Hugo was very disappointed. Even though he said it was okay, she still left.
He looked at his hands, remembering the feeling of her body that was held gently in his arms. Really, what a heartless woman. It was always just him who wanted to hug and touch her a little while longer.
He heaved a long sigh, sweeping a hand through his hair. He didn't know if he could get back to work. His wife's sudden appearance in the morning had shaken him completely and his thoughts had gone out the window. Today was going to be a very long day.
***
While lamenting to himself, Hugo turned around and went back to his desk. Then he noticed the gift that she left behind.
He wondered what kind of gift it was for her to tell him not to look at it when she was around. Curiosity rose to replace the sense of loss he felt from her disappearance and his mood brightened a little.
He sat on his chair and untied the ribbon around the box. After opening the box and looking inside, he quietly stared at its content. Inside the box was a beautifully folded snow-white handkerchief. He picked up the handkerchief. The rough texture of cotton on his fingertips was a familiar feeling to him. He stared at the name embroidered on the corner of the handkerchief for a while.
Hugo leaned down and opened up the lowest drawer of his desk. And he took out the handkerchief that was valuably stored inside.
A flower-embroidered handkerchief that was embroidered with slightly clumsy skill. And a handkerchief with his name embroidered on it.
He put the two pieces side by side. With folded arms, he looked at the two handkerchiefs spread out on the table.
His heart felt like it was being tickled but his stomach was churning. He felt like he had touched something squishy that flared up when it was touched. Hugo couldn't explain what he was feeling. It was an emotion he was feeling for the first time in his life. It wasn't breathtaking, his heart was beating faster and he felt like he had a vague hold of it.
Hugo went over each of the human emotions that he knew about in his mind. The feelings that he knew of by dictionary definition but had never felt before. It took him a long time to find the word that matched his current feelings.
Touched. Was this the feeling of being 'touched'? Do people usually live feeling like this? For the first time, Hugo envied the people who enjoyed ordinary emotions like laughing and crying. It was an unbelievably pleasant feeling.
When he heard a knock on his door, Hugo packed up the handkerchiefs and stored them in his drawer. Jerome came in.
"We are ready to head out. Fabian is waiting in front of the carriage, Your Grace." (Jerome)
Hugo thought for a moment then stood up.
"Tell him to come in and wait." (Hugo)
Jerome bowed his head in response to his master who walked past him and left the office. Jerome walked up to the desk to tidy up the tea tray. Seeing as the teacup was full, his master didn't drink from it and when he opened the lid of the teapot, there was cold tea left inside.
'He must have been too busy to even drink tea.'
It wasn't an isolated incident, so Jerome didn't think anything of it and took care of the tea tray.
* * *
Lucia sat on the bedroom sofa, using her free time to embroider more handkerchiefs for Damian. She could tell the passage of time from the length of the morning sunlight entering her bedroom. She felt like she was being very productive because she was doing something at such an early hour.
She finished one piece and carefully examined it. She had embroidered Damian's name so many times already, so it looked very neat.
'I certainly have no talent for embroidery.'
Even though she had been embroidering for quite the long time, her skill in embroidery didn't increase. It only improved because she was embroidering the same thing, if she changed the pattern, her clumsy skill would show again.
When she thought of the handkerchief that she gave him, she felt embarrassed. His name was an unfamiliar pattern, so the completion didn't look that skillful.
"Bring me a glass of water."
She told the maid that was sitting in the corner. When a glass suddenly appeared from above her head, Lucia was surprised at the maid's rudeness and lifted her head. Arms came from behind the sofa and wrapped around her shoulders. It was a familiar feeling and scent.
"Hugh."
"You're working hard this morning."
Lucia took the glass of water and put the needlework in her hand into the basket next to her.
'He has seen the gift.'
Her face burned and she gulped down the water. She deliberately gave him the gift in the morning because if she gave it to him in the evening, it would have been too embarrassing to see his face right after. She felt embarrassed because he didn't know her plans and came straight to her afterwards.
"You're so devoted to the boy." (Hugo)
"…Yes?" (Lucia)
"What good is a child? They're all just 'I'm finding my way in life'."
Lucia burst into laughter. He sounded like an old man who was feeling the shortness of time after working hard to raise his child all this time.
"I'm doing your share too. Because you don't show much interest." (Lucia)
"You shouldn't smother the boy too much." (Hugo)
"I don't smother him that much. Are you going out now?"
Lucia peeled off his arms thar were wrapped around her from behind and stood up from the sofa. She had never sent him off at such an early hour unless he was leaving rather late. She couldn't do it every day, but sometimes, she wondered if she should give it a try. At some point while Lucia was pondering, he had walked in front of her.
"Vivian."
Before she could reply, he pulled her by the waist, took the back of her neck and pressed his lips onto hers. He sucked on her lower lip and through the crack of her lips, he invaded her mouth deeply. His tongue coiled around her tongue as they came into contact. Her fingertips felt electrified. Lucia let out a small moan and her hands which were on his chest trembled.
His tongue retreated for a moment then reached for her throat, sweeping over the roof of her mouth. Lucia couldn't think straight because of the sudden deep kiss. She was caught in his arms and could only step backwards as he led.
He leaned over, continuing to kiss her as she pressed against the sofa and plunked down on the seat. He towered over her as if he was half-leaning on her.
Lucia wrapped her arms around his neck. It was a deep kiss that caressed every corner of her mouth. It caused the heat in her body to rise and stimulated her desire. It was not a fresh kiss to say goodbye. It was the seduction of a man longing for a woman.
She got up early, so her exhausted body had loosened up. Every corner of the room was clearly visible with the bright morning light and because of the unexpected tackling of the man in front of her, Lucia was both flustered and heated up. His erotic kiss easily made her thoughts collapse.
His lips touched the rim of her ear, went under her chin and moved down her neck. When his hand grabbed her breast over her clothes, her body flinched.
"Hugh. You have to…you have to go out."
"My schedule was postponed."
If the Fabian who was waiting heard this sentence, he would have grabbed somebody by the neck.
* * *
"Why the hell isn't he coming down? We can barely make it even if we leave now."
Fabian paced around Jerome's office, unable to sit still for even a moment.
"Is it an important schedule?"
"There is no schedule that isn't important!"
'There is also no schedule that can't be cancelled,' thought Jerome.
"You know this isn't my job, don't be like this. Go up and bring him down." (Fabian)
Jerome slowly drank his tea as if he didn't hear a single word. It was a change of pace and a relaxing time for the always busy butler. Jerome enjoyed the leisureness of the morning.
"When the both of them are in the bedroom, nobody goes up to the second floor."
"Why?"
Do you really have to ask? Seeing the weird look Jerome was giving him, Fabian's face grew red-hot and he fumed.
"Hey! Aish seriously. I'll go and bring him down myself!" (Fabian)
"Then, I need to inform sister-in-law." (Jerome)
"Why?"
"To prepare flowers for your funeral."
Fabian's face became distorted. He stalked off to the door with a seething expression. Jerome was worried that he might really have to hold his brother's funeral and asked, "Where are you going?"
"Going to handle the cancelled schedule!"
Fabian noisily banged the door as he left.
"That guy, his temper is getting worse. He isn't like that to sister-in-law, is he?"
Jerome mumbled to himself as he leisurely drank his remaining tea.