IVFV 16

Chapter 16

While Lumina hesitated, a servant from the ducal house placed tea in front of her.

After setting down some simple refreshments as well, the servant withdrew. Breathing in the sweet aroma, Lumina opened her mouth.

“Are you very busy?”

“Not particularly.”

“Really? That’s great!”

Lumina jumped to her feet energetically and hurried over to stand in front of Lucius.

What is she trying to do now?

Lucius watched her without dropping his guard.

Unbothered by the ominous gaze hidden behind his black sunglasses, Lumina placed a small, dainty box on the table.

Lucius narrowed his brows and examined the box carefully.

Did she steal a family heirloom to win my favor?

Or perhaps it was a bomb. It wasn’t impossible that she approached him with the intention of taking his life.

It had already been quite some time since he ordered Brandon to investigate Lumina more thoroughly.

‘And yet nothing turned up.’

They had dug into her background thoroughly, determined to shake out even the dust—but nothing surfaced.

That made her even more suspicious, and Lucius could not lower his guard.

Even under his watchful scrutiny, Lumina opened the box with her tiny hands.

At the same time, a rich sugary scent wafted out.

“Then let’s eat together!”

It was clearly a sweet, soft chocolate cake.

This was the reason Lumina had asked the carriage to stop on the way.

‘He probably already owns anything expensive, so luxury goods wouldn’t impress him. And I don’t have the money to buy something extravagant enough to satisfy him. But not many people dislike food, right?’

If, contrary to her expectations, he disliked it, she could just bring something different next time.

How could anyone perfectly guess what the other person liked on the first try? You test their reactions little by little and learn.

Since it was the first day, she had prepared a bold and striking dessert to gauge his preferences.

And so, an adorable chocolate cake—completely out of place in the dignified office—made its appearance.

“I felt awkward coming empty-handed, so I bought this. It looks delicious, right?”

Pretending not to, Lumina quickly observed Lucius’s reaction.

Because he wore black sunglasses, it was hard to read his expression, so she had to watch him even more carefully.

It was then—

Thud.

Without warning, Lucius stood up.

It felt as though a massive mountain had suddenly risen before her, and Lumina flinched instinctively.

Did he hate chocolate cake? Was he more of a cheese person? Maybe he preferred cookies.

Or worse—what if he disliked sweets altogether? That would be the worst possibility, and she didn’t even want to imagine it.

Lumina craned her neck to look up at his face.

But there was no need.

He suddenly lifted her up effortlessly and crossed the room in a few long strides.

“You walked all the way over here when your leg isn’t even in good condition. That was unnecessary.”

“…?”

By the time she regained her senses, Lumina was already seated on the sofa—the very spot she had been sitting in before.

Across from her, Lucius settled down, crossing legs that seemed as long as one entire Lumina.

Since the distance between them had become much closer than before, Lumina took it as a positive sign.

At least until he spoke.

“You even brought your own tea food. Did you think I wouldn’t offer proper hospitality to a guest?”

His tone was prickly.

Lumina hurriedly shook her head.

“No, no! The people responsible for Your Grace’s meals must be incredibly skilled, so of course any cake they make would be delicious! But this one is something I personally like.”

“……”

“I wanted to share something I like with you! It’s also a way to thank you for your gift!”

If it was her personal taste, he had nothing to argue with.

After hearing her bright explanation, Lucius seemed slightly embarrassed.

But that didn’t mean his gaze toward her softened.

No matter how much the girl in front of him resembled a tail-wagging Pomeranian with sparkling eyes, he couldn’t let go of his suspicions.

There were too many questionable points.

“You seem to have quite a bit of luggage.”

“Ah.”

Only then did Lumina remember. She pulled her bag onto her lap.

“When I asked last time if I could stay for a few days, you said that was fine, right?”

“I did.”

Rustle, rustle. She rummaged through her bag and pulled something out.

“I brought pajamas! The ones you gifted me, Your Grace!”

In her small white hands was a cute pale pink set of pajamas.

The soft color looked surprisingly elegant.

“I treasured them in my wardrobe for days because I wanted to wear them today!”

She even brought pajamas on purpose.

Her boldness truly proved she was a Legion.

Lucius stared at Lumina, who was proudly showing off the clothes he had gifted her—even though, at best, she was no more than a ball of fluff.

Heh heh.

As if unaware of his thoughts, Lumina beamed.

“As you probably noticed, the clothes I’m wearing now were also a gift from you! I was so surprised at how much I liked them the first time I saw them.”

Lucius had only one child—a son. He had never raised a daughter.

Moreover, children—including his own son—usually ran away the moment they saw him. There was no way he could know what someone her age liked to wear.

Add the condition of “young girl,” and the matter became even more confusing.

So he had simply ordered his subordinates to send appropriate clothes.

He had only stamped approval documents, not even knowing what specific outfits were sent.

It had taken just a few words and a flick of his fingers to arrange it—but Lumina, chatting nonstop with a proud expression, looked genuinely happy.

To be fair, even in his untrained eyes, her previous clothes hadn’t looked particularly good. She must have felt the same.

“Your Grace, aren’t you going to eat?”

When Lucius remained still, Lumina urged him.

“You’re not going to eat? I even stood in line to buy this because I thought it’d be nice to share.”

“……”

“They say food tastes better when you eat it together. I even bought a portion for the Young Master, just in case—but I suppose that’s not possible?”

“……That would be difficult for now.”

“Really? That’s unfortunate. Then I’ll set his portion aside. It’d be a waste to throw it away just because he can’t eat it.”

“……”

“The line was really long today. I guess it’s gotten quite popular.”

After listening quietly to Lumina’s chatter, Lucius called for a servant.

“Prepare small plates for the cake and—”

“Two of them!”

“……and replace the tea with something suitable for our guest.”

“Don’t forget yours, Your Grace!”

Lumina quickly reminded him when she noticed he had no teacup.

Lucius let out an involuntary chuckle.

Her boldness truly was Legion-like.

Soon, slices of chocolate cake were placed on luxurious porcelain plates in front of them.

Since the dessert was quite sweet, pairing it with sweet tea would not have matched well.

Instead, slightly bitter tea was served to balance the aftertaste.

Lumina carefully took a sip first. Her eyes sparkled like stars.

‘It’s delicious.’

It suited her taste perfectly.

She felt like she could drink this tea all day. Naturally, her gaze shifted to her slice of cake.

She used to enjoy it quite a bit in her previous life, but after eating too much of it, she had grown tired of it.

‘And my tastes changed after that.’

She had already claimed it was her favorite. What if it turned out not to be that good?

Slightly nervous, she picked up her fork, cut a small piece, and placed it in her mouth.

‘Mm…’

Perhaps because she hadn’t eaten properly for a while, the cake melted gently in her mouth, blending beautifully with the lingering flavor of the tea.

‘Even if the Duke has refined tastes, he probably wouldn’t call this the worst.’

Glance.

She looked at Lucius across from her.

‘He’s eating at a steady pace—maybe slightly reserved because he’s watching me—but he keeps using his fork regularly. Good. Successful.’

Though she couldn’t be certain because of the sunglasses, his initially harsh demeanor seemed to have softened somewhat.

Thinking that nothing eased tension better than food, Lumina slowly moved to the main topic.

“The cake made by the cook at our estate tastes good to me too. I considered bringing that, but something happened recently, so it seemed difficult.”

“Something?”

‘You know perfectly well and still pretend.’

There was no way Duke Hart, who likely monitored every move at the Rangshus estate, didn’t know what had happened.

But Lumina played along.

“All the servants were dismissed for negligence. So the atmosphere is chaotic while we hire new staff.”

Now came the real point.

“Ah! Could you perhaps recommend someone, Your Grace? If they’re introduced by you, I could trust them with the estate’s affairs! And surely they would meet your standards, so it would be perfect.”

“That is not a difficult request.”

With a touch of flattery added in, it even seemed like the corner of Lucius’s lips curved slightly upward.

Now Joseph wouldn’t make a fuss about filling the Rangshus mansion with his own people.

Feeling that the cake tasted even better now, Lumina continued cheerfully.

When the cake had disappeared as quickly as snow before the sun, she brought up the next matter.

“By the way, is the Young Master at the estate? I was planning to start treatment today, but since you said earlier that it would be difficult, I suppose it’s not possible…”

“No. He is in his room. You’re fortunate.”

‘…He’s just at home, yet he calls that fortunate?’

Unbeknownst to Lumina, it was extremely rare for Karayan to stay put at the estate.

Lucius briefly recalled the image of his son being brought back almost by force.

“His condition isn’t very good. Will you still see him?”

“Leave it to me! That’s my specialty!”

Without clarifying what “not very good” truly meant, Lumina confidently declared it.