Chapter 49. The Fiancée's Flirting
The Fiancée's Flirting
[In front of the gates of Baron Richard's estate]
As the crimson sunset dyed the land red, there was always a woman standing there without fail.
Sophia.
Clad in a modest white dress, she clasped her hands together as if in prayer and gazed endlessly at the distant horizon.
Rachel bit her lip as she watched from atop the castle walls.
It had already been ten days. Rain or wind, Sophia never missed a single day waiting at the gates, keeping vigil over the path where Lucian would return.
'...My feelings for Lord Lucian are no less than hers.'
Rachel, too, missed and worried for Lucian. But as the young lady of a noble house, she had to maintain her dignity. She hated the thought of pacing restlessly out of longing for his return. Waiting for him was something she could do just as well within the confines of her room.
Sophia, however, was different.
She had no regard for appearances, pride, or disappointment. There was only one thing in her heart—the desperate hope that the man she loved would return safely.
Rachel slowly descended to the gates.
Sophia remained standing there, still staring at the darkening horizon.
Then, beyond the horizon, a cloud of dust rose, and a familiar banner came into view.
The black carriage of the Eckhart family.
"He's here! Lord Lucian is here!"
Sophia grabbed the hem of her dress and broke into a run. None of her usual composure remained.
Before the carriage even came to a full stop, Sophia had already grabbed the door handle.
"My lord!"
Creak.
The door swung open—
"...!!"
Sophia's pupils trembled.
Before her welcoming smile could even form, a pungent scent assaulted her nose.
The cramped carriage was filled with thick, humid air—and within it, the overpowering, musky scent of chestnut flowers, laced with something raw and animalistic.
And then, the sight before her.
Lucian was leaning back against the seat, catching his breath, while across from him sat Kara, the former slave gladiator turned knight.
Kara's face was flushed, and around her lips and chin... a sticky, white liquid glistened.
Her throat bobbed as though she had just swallowed something thick and heavy.
'Ah...'
Sophia understood instantly.
Her voice caught in her throat, and at the same time, she saw Rachel running toward them from behind.
'What do I do?!'
BANG!
She slammed the carriage door shut as quickly as she had opened it.
"Sophia?"
Lucian's bewildered voice came from inside, but Sophia pressed her back against the door and shouted urgently.
"Lady Rachel is coming! Get out now! Hurry!"
Inside the carriage, Lucian broke into a cold sweat, hastily straightening his clothes before stepping out.
"Lord Lucian!"
Rachel came running, panting heavily.
Thud!
"W-Woah, Rachel—"
She practically leaped into his arms, and he caught her firmly, holding her tight.
"I missed you... so much. I thought I'd never see you again... Sniff..."
Rachel buried her face in his chest, crying like a young girl.
As he wiped her tears away, he shot Sophia a quick, playful wink.
The faint scent of chestnut flowers still clung to him, but Rachel, still a maiden, didn't notice.
"I'm sorry... for making you wait so long."
Holding Rachel close, Lucian turned a loving gaze toward Sophia and smiled.
'I kept your secret. Now... hold me too.'
At Sophia's pleading expression, Lucian stretched out an arm and pulled her into his embrace as well.
The Count, holding both women at once.
One, the woman who would bear his child.
The other, the woman who would raise it.
And inside the carriage, Kara wiped her lips bitterly, watching the scene unfold with confused eyes.
'Lady Sophia... wasn't his fiancée?'
After the grueling journey through Kurkan, they spent a few more days in Richard's territory before preparing to return home.
[The next morning, at Baron Richard's training grounds]
"Blocking alone isn't enough! If you can't counter, you die!"
Bam! Bam! Thud! Thud!
From the early morning, the training grounds of House Richard were thick with dust.
The captain of the Eckhart family's guard was leading an intense close-combat drill for Baron Richard's elite soldiers.
The undefeated leader of the northern "Iron Wall" knights, his every move was watched with reverence as the soldiers struggled to replicate his techniques.
His bare back glistened with sweat, veins bulging along his arms as he swung his wooden sword. It was as if he were trying to wash away the guilt and turmoil inside him through sheer exertion.
After a particularly fierce sparring session, the captain, breathing heavily, made his way to the shade of a tree at the edge of the grounds. There, another warrior—Kara—sat with her arms crossed.
"Hahh..."
The captain wiped his brow and plopped down beside her.
Kara silently handed him a waterskin, which he drained in one go.
An awkward but heavy silence settled between the two warriors who served the same master.
"Lady Kara... you've been through a lot."
The captain was the first to speak.
"I heard you saved our lord's life multiple times. Even for someone as capable as him, surviving countless ambushes alone in that savage land couldn't have been easy... We're all grateful you were there."
His words carried genuine respect. Gratitude toward a comrade who had risked her life to protect their lord in his stead.
But Kara's expression was complicated.
She remembered how she had "saved" Lucian.
Inside the shaking carriage, taking his explosive desire into her mouth, swallowing every last drop.
The bitter truth was that she had protected him more with the body of a woman than with her sword.
"You outrank me, Captain. There's no need to lower your speech."
Kara replied with deliberate calm.
"I've heard you've guarded our lord's back on countless battlefields. All I did... was follow orders. And... just call me Kara."
"Then... Kara. I'll speak plainly."
Their eyes met.
Without words, they understood—what each had sacrificed for their lord, and the hardships they had endured.
Though they had never fought side by side, this was more than mere camaraderie. It was the bond of warriors who had faced life and death under the same banner.
As the break stretched on, the captain stared blankly at the sky.
His mind drifted back to the conversation he'd had with Lucian the previous afternoon.
"My lord... I'll accept any punishment. I no longer deserve to serve you."
Before his lord—who had known of his betrayal (his affair with the maid Nancy) yet pretended otherwise—the captain couldn't lift his head.
But instead of reprimanding him, Lucian had simply smiled cryptically and clapped him on the shoulder.
"Listen, Captain. A hesitant soldier can never become a commander."
Lucian's eyes were playful yet piercing.
"You're already an excellent leader. Don't overthink it. When you see a castle that must be taken, attack with everything you have. That's what a man does."
At the time, he had thought it was just tactical advice—a way to delay his punishment. Or at least, he had wanted to believe that.
But now, remembering how his lord had not touched Nancy for some time, the captain finally understood.
'The castle to be taken... wasn't the enemy's. It was...'
Nancy.
The heart of the woman he loved—the woman who had looked at him with affection.
Lucian had already let her go. And with those words, he had pushed the captain forward—'Go and claim her heart.' 'Don't hesitate. Love her.'
"Ah..."
The captain's eyes burned.
He had been tormented by guilt for coveting his lord's woman, only to realize his lord had been cheering for that love all along.
"Thank you... my lord..."
He roughly wiped his eyes.
A single tear rolled down his stubble and splashed onto the dirt.
"What's wrong?"
Kara looked at him in surprise, but the captain stood abruptly and grinned.
"Nothing. Just sweat in my eyes. Kara, I need to train more. Once we return to the estate... I've got a lot to do."
He tightened his grip on the wooden sword.
The moment they arrived at Eckhart Castle, he would no longer be the hesitant lieutenant standing before its walls.
He would run straight to the maids' quarters, confess his feelings to Nancy, and hold her tightly—never letting go.
That was how he would repay his lord's kindness.
And it was the duty of a true man.
During their final days at Baron Richard's estate, Rachel desperately hoped Lucian would visit her room late at night.
After witnessing what had happened with Sophia, she had realized something.
The principle of "chastity before marriage" could no longer stand in the way of her love for Lucian.
"Lord Lucian... the moon is so bright tonight."
Rachel stepped out onto the terrace in a thin slip, her collarbones and shoulders daringly exposed.
"Lately... the sun sets so quickly. The air is getting colder... autumn must be coming soon."
With lines she had practiced for hours, she cast a suggestive glance, studying Lucian's expression.
"And... my bed... feels too big and cold to sleep in alone..."
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