|| 1 || To The Capital

Spring passed and summer arrived. It was the second summer to greet Lucia in her stay at Roam.

Day to day was peaceful and calm. Yesterday was like today, and today led to a tomorrow-like-today.

In this summer, the heat was in full swing and while they were having dinner at the end of a peaceful day, Hugo began to speak.

"His Majesty has passed away. Prepare to go up to the Capital."

Lucia involuntarily dropped the fork in her hand. She had completely forgotten.

'No. I might have subconsciously wanted to forget.'

Deep inside, she might have desired to shove everything away and live in this bubble, no matter what happened in the world.

"Are you okay?"

"…Yes. I was a little surprised. Since it was so sudden."

Lucia was not surprised at the death of her father. The paused hand of the clock had begun to rotate again. From now on, the hectic future she saw in her dream would begin to unfold. Lucia didn't know that she would dread it this much.

The Queen was incapable of having children. In other words, all of the King's children were illegitimate. Hence, no one could argue legitimacy and anyone could become the crowned Prince.

The King had as many as twenty sons but when the King passed away, only five of these princes were alive, including the Crown Prince. In contrast to this, the King's twenty-six princesses were mostly alive.

The princesses were able to survive as they had no rights to the throne but on the other hand, the princes had to kill each other to get closer to the throne. While Lucia led a calm life in her small detached palace, a bloody battle raged in the courts.

In the midst of this, the Crown Prince admirably emerged as victor but even so, he couldn't completely overpower the other competitors. In order to keep them in check, the Crown Prince needed to strengthen his forces and for that, he needed the Duke of Taran.

The final winner was the Crown Prince. And at his vanguard, the Duke of Taran.

Lucia didn't know the details of the complicated political struggle but she could guess that Hugo would be getting very busy in the future. He was definitely not idle in the fief but what he had to deal with was relatively simple.

He had meetings, monitored the territory and went on inspections from time to time. The people he met were limited and his actions could be predicted to an extent.

Unlike what Lucia prepared herself for, he had been a faithful husband. Perhaps the northern customs and manners had influenced him. The customs of the northern people differed from that of the Capital's in many ways.

The liberal tendencies of unmarried men and women were the same but in the north, one was mostly faithful to one's spouse after marriage. However, there were many things that would tempt him if he went up to the Capital.

Xenon was a country with liberal sexual customs. In particular, the Capital was the most open. Even after one was married, there was no obstruction.

Regardless of the fact that he was a married man, the capital was overflowing with girls ready to throw themselves at him. Lucia felt uneasy. There were too many variables in the Capital.

'He might grow cold if we go up to the Capital. There are so many beautiful women…'

"…it. Are you listening?"

"Huh?"

Lucia was startled out of her wits and dropped the knife in her hand this time.

"Are you really okay?"

"Ah…yes. I'm sorry. I was thinking about something else…"

"Something else?"

"Ah…the suddenness. I was wondering if His Majesty's health was not as good as it used to be."

"I heard it wasn't usually good. Against the advice of the court, he didn't refrain from excessive carnal pleasures and alcoholism."

This was her first time getting an insight into the personality of the King. She felt embarrassed, as if her dirty linen was being exposed to her husband. Her father brought death upon himself with his debauchery.

Just like in the dream, Lucia's relationship with her father did not improve at all but she felt no regret.

"When will you be going?" (Lucia)

"I plan to leave first thing at dawn. I have to hurry, so I cannot go with you. Be careful on the way, my wife." (Hugo)

"Alright. I will leave as soon as I'm ready."

When they finished dinner, Hugo took her hand and they walked out of the dining room. The servants were momentarily dazed because their eyes were trained on their masters but afterwards they outright ignored it. The servants had grown accustomed to the generous skinship of the ducal couple so, if it was to this extent they didn't give it another glance.

Lucia suddenly felt somewhat embarrassed. She thought they were going to the garden but he took her to the terrace and hugged her tightly. She returned the hug, wrapping her arms around his back.

"Hugh? Why all of a sudden…"

"You don't like this in front of the servants."

"…"

If he knew she didn't like it, it would be better if he didn't grab her hand without notice or kiss her cheek where people could see.

The nice feeling of hugging him was short-lived. It was summer after all.

"It's hot."

Hugo sighed and released her.

"Can't you just endure a little longer without screaming, 'it's hot'?"

"But it is hot."

"What a cool-headed woman."

He grumbled and she burst out laughing. He watched her with a gentle gaze then pulled her by the waist and kissed her on the cheek.

"Why were you so distracted during dinner? Is something wrong?"

"No, just…felt a little complicated. Thinking of leaving this place made me sad."

"Do you want to stay back instead?"

His words were very tempting. If she really could, it would be nice.

"Don't be ridiculous. There are so many things you have to do when you get to the capital. You said you asked His Highness, the Crown Prince to help with Damian's matter."

"You sound like you're saying I should go and work because of the boy."

"It's only natural for a father to do something for his son."

"Will the boy even know of my troubles later?"

"Of course. Damian is not an ignorant child."

'Even so, the boy is still chasing you all over the place', Hugo muttered to himself. These days, Hugo had been curious about the contents of Damian's letters and when he finally took one to read, the contents made his lips twitch. It was a basically report on everything that had occurred from morning till night.

"Is all well with Damian?" (Lucia)

"He keeps you updated, doesn't he?"(Hugo)

"There must be some news you've gotten lately."

Just as before, Damian lived in the Academy without revealing his identity. 'Shyta' was not a position anyone could get with just skills alone. A good background was also needed. However, there was still a lot of time so Hugo was just watching the situation unfold. He had no intention of interfering in a matter of accommodation.

Boys had to be brought up powerfully. Perhaps because Damian was young, with uncertain status, outstanding skill and an unfriendly personality, there were many greedy people around him. There were also troublemakers looking for fights and these would only increase as the boy grew older. The boy had to capable of dealing with all of this.

"He's doing well, of course."

A few days ago, some troublemakers picked a fight with Damian. There were many opponents so a few blows were exchanged but that wasn't the problem as far as Hugo was concerned. Nothing was broken nor was he crippled.

'No matter how many opponents, to be hit by such lousy kids is just…'

Hugo was unsatisfied. Sure enough, Damian was his brother's son. If it was him, he would have gotten rid of those fools without anyone knowing. When he told Damian, 'don't kill people at the Academy', he meant 'it is troublesome to take care of, so deal with it inconspicuously'. The boy didn't seem to have understood him properly.

"Enough about the boy, be careful on your way. And be careful of the heat while you're in the carriage."

"There are many people to take care of me so why worry."

Lucia leaned her head on his wide chest. As time went by, his affection grew more romantic. She could guess that he liked her to a considerable degree. But despite that, her uneasiness did not decrease.

The capital was filled with his past lovers, seductive beauties that fell for his charm, and even the woman that was his wife in the dream. There was no room for her feet(1).

'I'm afraid you'll leave me.'

Lucia had thought that it would be fine as long as she loved him. She had thought that she could stand in the center and love without reliance or burden. But now, she could only wonder if such a love existed.

She was gradually waking up to her arrogance. Perhaps it might exist somewhere but such a love was impossible for her.

***

Lucia sat in the study reading a book then she closed the book and stood up. She could no longer endure the stabbing pain in her stomach. For a while now, she had been feeling stifled.

Even during dinner, it was hard for food to go down her throat. In any case, her stomach seemed to be disagreeing with her so she called for a maid.

"Bring me medicine for indigestion."

Digestion medicine was a household medicine so there was no need to go out of the way to call a doctor. However, even after taking the medicine for indigestion, she still felt nauseous. After writhing in pain and finally throwing up, she felt much better.

"Milady, are you okay?"

"Yes. I feel much better after emptying my stomach."

Hugo was busy preparing to leave on the morrow so Lucia sent word that she would be sleeping first. There was a lot to prepare and pack up for tomorrow so she decided to go to bed early.

* * *

Hugo left his office when it was almost midnight. Because he was suddenly going up to the capital, he had to a lot of work to finish up. There was no end to his work but since he had to ride to the capital at daybreak, he had to get some sleep.

'Why did he have to die in a summer like this?'

What was worse than the hot weather, was his worry that a long carriage journey in this hot weather could ruin his wife's health.

'Couldn't he have lived one more year before dying? That old fool. He should have thought of his health and played in moderation.'

It was a shameful death that made people speechless. Dying in the summer and now of all times. Hugo could only feel dissatisfied. To some extent, Hugo was beginning to settle into life in the north.

Once he went up to the Capital, he didn't know when he would be able to focus on the north again. If he just let things be, he would end up with idiots that try to do the exact same thing like the idiots he killed last time.

Well, it was good either ways. If that happened, he could just kill them too. His worry was more on the variables that would appear once he went up to the capital.

He wouldn't be able to keep his wife within his fences anymore. The mere thought of rogues approaching her made his head hurt. He hadn't gotten her heart or even her childhood name yet.

He quickly finished his distracted bath and went into her bedroom as usual. He saw her figure lying on the bed and moved to lie down next to her. He was about to take her into his arms when he heard a feeble moan. It was a small sound of distress.

He sprang to his feet and turned on the lights in the room.

"Vivian?"

He raised up the thin blanket and turned her body over to face him. Her body felt hot to the touch. He placed a palm on her forehead and felt her forehead clammy with sweat and her body burning with a fever. He immediately pulled the rope to call a maid.

"Vivian."

He called her name several times and patted her cheek lightly but there was no response at all. Flustered, he lifted her from her waist and took her into his arms. Feeling her body sink down powerlessly, Hugo was filled with terror.

"Vivian!"

Feeling the maid come in, Hugo didn't bother to look and just yelled frantically.

"Call the doctor!"

"Yes…Yes!"

The maid took off in a hurry. Those deeply asleep in the castle were rudely awakened by the fiery tempo.

Hugo placed the cold towel on her forehead and the maid responsible for waiting on the Duchess sat on her knees beside the bed. Hugo interrogated the maid and the maid explained the condition of the madam from around dinner with all her might.

"After dinner, Milady threw up everything and said she would be going to sleeping early."

"You should have called a doctor then. Is this how you serve your madam?"

"I-I am sorry."

The Duke's fierce rebuke and frigid tone chilled the maid to the bones. The maid's voice trembled pitifully. It wasn't just her voice but her entire body was trembling.

Anna, who had run all the way from her bed, came into the bedroom. She immediately got down the symptoms from the maid.

"Milady has to regain consciousness before she can take medicine. She has to be wiped down with a towel to bring down the fever." (Anna)

"She was fine until after dinner." (Hugo)

"It seems to be acute indigestion."

"If it's indigestion, why this sort of fever?"

"Indigestion can cause body ache as well as high fever."

Anna turned to the maid.

"Did Milady complain of a headache?"

"A headache…? No, she did not." (Maid)

"Does indigestion cause headaches too?" (Hugo)

"Milady has frequent migraines so I'm just confirming."

"…Migraines?"

In an instant, the atmosphere turned prickly. Anna flinched.

"What do you mean frequent? How often?"

"…About once or twice a month. Milady was given medicine whenever she suffered from migraines."

"This is new to me. Why don't I know about this?"

"Milady said there was no need to inform Your Grace as it is a common ailment suffered by many."

"When did this symptom start?"

"Milady said she often had headaches since she was a child. You don't have to worry too much, Your Grace. Migraine is a common condition and Milady's migraines are not on the harsher side."

Anna's explanation did not do much to change the atmosphere. The Duke's silence was frightening.

Around when Anna began to break out in cold sweat, maids came in with a large pail of water and dozens of towels.

"All of you withdraw. I'll do it myself." (Hugo)

Hugo lay Lucia down on the bed and removed her nightwear. He dipped the towel in water, squeezed then proceeded to carefully wipe down her sweat-filled body. Her entire body was feverish and the every part he touched felt hot enough to burn.

'How did you get such a high fever?'

Hugo knew that the prolonged state of unconsciousness while burning with a high fever was dangerous.

'Migraines, huh?'

According to the doctor, it was a common symptom and nothing to be worried about. But Hugo was angry that he didn't know about this 'nothing to be worried about' symptom.

Every time this happened, Hugo felt like there was an unbreakable wall between them. He hoped that one day, she would open her heart to him but waiting for that day was tedious.

He suppressed his irritation and anxiousness and continued to change the towels to cool down her body.