The Ugly Lady’s Secret Pouch

At the entrance to the manor, Monaca glanced at Lucas, who had his arm affectionately around Lila’s waist, and then looked down.

The way the Duke had looked at her earlier had been uncharacteristic, and she was afraid.

Then an idea occurred to her. The information she’d just received this morning.

“Well, goodbye, then.”

Monaca’s bowed head snapped up at Lila’s greeting. She smiled and opened her mouth to speak.

“Thank you for receiving me even though I came unexpectedly. Then, I will see you at the upcoming Autumn Ball, Lady.”

Lucas’s face crumpled into a grim line at Monaca’s words. He, too, had received the letter in the morning.

But he had no intention of going to the Autumn Ball, which meant he had no intention of telling Lila either…

“The Autumn Ball?”

Lila, of course, knew about the Autumn Ball. It was a banquet she had to attend every year until she went north.

But the Autumn Ball would not be held for another month. By that time, the northern part would be preparing for the winter in earnest, so it would be impossible to attend.

Monaca saw the confused look on Lila’s face and had an answer.

“They say it’s a little earlier this year. In fifteen days.”

Lila’s eyes widened at her answer. Monaca finished her sentence and stepped back. Avoiding Lucas’s gaze, which was staring at her sharply.

“Well, if you’ll excuse me, young lady, I’ll see you at the Autumn Ball.”

With a pleading look toward Lila, Monaca turned and gave Lucas a curtsy.

“Then, have a good evening.”

After watching Monaca climb into the carriage that was waiting for her at the entrance, Lila tilted her head and looked up at Lucas.

“The ball?”

At her words, Lucas gave her a dejected look.

“In two weeks…”

“You don’t have to go.”

As she hesitated with her words, Lucas grabbed her waist and moved his steps.

Noticing that Lila often matched his stride with her own, he slowed his pace.

Slowing to match her stride, he climbed the stairs.

“Even though we received the letter this morning, we should return to the North.”

“Are you sure it’s okay?”

“Of course.”

Lila was worried that Lucas felt it was so easy to turn down an invitation from the imperial family.

He was being considerate, she thought, since she hated socializing.

“Lucas, we need to talk.”

She wanted to know exactly what was going on, and now that she was going to marry him and spend the rest of her life with him, she wanted to know more about the Montefeltras.

His mint-colored eyes rounded at her demand.

“Talk?”

“Yes. I need to know about the ducal family, how they relate to the imperial family.”

Recalling how he often spoke of the imperial family and the emperor with such blunt sarcasm, Lila wanted to get it straight this time.

“You said I’m part of the family, so you can’t lie to me.”

Her words were tinged with determination, and Lucas looked a little embarrassed.

For a moment, he wondered if she would mind if he told her the truth about his long-standing relationship with the imperial family, but then he complied.

“Of course. How could I lie to you, my lady?”

His softening face glistened in the sunlight. Lila felt a tickle in her stomach whenever Lucas looked like this, and she wanted to punch him in the chest.

“Hmm, first of all, I don’t think that’s something to talk about in the hallway…”

As he spoke, he walked up the stairs and stared at the office for a moment before turning to her.

“Why don’t we talk in the office for a moment? My wife’s room is fine.”

“No, I think this is best done in the office.”

You never know where a conversation in her room might lead, so Lila cut him off.

“Sure.”

Lucas gave her a grim look, as if he’d seen right through her thoughts.

Lila blushed and followed him into the office.

Sitting side by side on the couch, they got down to business.

“Hmm, what do you want to know?”

Lucas asked, not sure where to start. Lila snapped her fingers.

“Well, first of all, I want to know if it’s okay to freely decline the invitation from the royal family. Is there really no problem at all? Please tell me honestly.”

“To be honest, there is a problem. However, it can be solved sufficiently.”

Lila’s mouth dropped open in surprise at his words. What about all the times he’d said it was fine?

“What’s the fix?”

“Well, it’s simple. If we give them magic crystals, the problem will be solved quickly.”

“But isn’t magic crystals something that only exists within imperial family?”

As soon as she spoke, something felt off. With a trembling voice, Lila remembered the magic crystals that Michael and Lucas had given her.

“Wait, wait, wait, I’m a little confused here. I mean, I know there’s some in the Montefeltra mines, but isn’t most of what’s in circulation in the empire imperial goods? I mean, I know the nobles are trying to get in line with the imperial family.”

At the banquet, Lila had listened to the chatter around her as she ate her dessert in a corner.

She thought it might help her later.

Lucas smirked as he looked into her eyes, which were filled with confusion.

“That’s all bullshit.”

“It is…?”

“Not a single ounce of magic crystals comes from the mines owned by the imperial family. That’s just a trick of the eye. The only real thing comes from Montefeltra, from the mines owned by my family. Oh, I think there are some mines that come out here and there, but I can’t say they’re the ones with the reserves.”

“… Then, are you saying that all the magic crystals distributed by the imperial family are from the Duke’s family?”

“Exactly, wife.”

He smiled like a child. Staring at Lila with a look of amusement, he continued.

“I was going to tell you later anyway, but I’ll tell you all about it today.”

He took her hand in his and slipped his fingers between hers, one by one. Lowering their interlocked hands to his own thighs, Lucas spoke.

“My family has long been held in check by the Imperial family, for two reasons. One, because our family is independent, away from the Vassium Empire, and two, because we are of the same Imperial blood.”

Lila felt goosebumps as she listened to the story, which she hadn’t known from the novel.

It wasn’t unusual for her to be told things she didn’t know, but this was different.

She had a general idea of the situation and background of the Empire from the novels, so what he was telling her now was unfamiliar and surprising.

“So, you’re an archduke, then, not a duke?”

“That’s right. It would be correct to say that I am an archduke, but my family cannot stand up to the emperor, which is why we can’t say anything about our family’s magic crystals even if they are given to the emperor and circulated in his name.”

“Why?”

Lila’s mouth went dry.

She had wondered why not a single line in the original story had mentioned Lucas and the Montefeltras.

She didn’t know if what she was about to hear would answer that question, but it seemed like a great secret.

“Why did the lady come to my room that day?”

“… Yes?”

“That day. The night you stood in front of my room.”

Lila’s pupils dilated hard at the unexpected question.

And then she remembered the night he was talking about. The night she and Lucas spent their first night together.

“It was… That day, the day I came in from going out with Michael, and when I washed up afterwards, I smelled a sweet scent, cool and thick, and I followed it out into the hallway… and it seemed to be coming from your room, Lucas, and I was drawn to it like I was possessed…”

Lucas, who had silently clapped a hand over Lila’s mouth as she spilt out the words of her recollection of that day, looked down at her with wide-open eyes.

“You could smell my scent?”

Lucas had been trying to explain the scent. He had to tell her the secrets of royalty, starting with Lupus, so he’d start where she could understand.