3.10

“So, are you here to brag about how well things are going with my brother?”  

Liz, who hadn’t seen her friend Clara in a while, asked with a puzzled look when Clara shared her recent romantic tales with an oddly sullen expression.  

“It’s not bragging.”  

“It is bragging. When have we ever seen Baron Lucius put so much effort into a woman? He’s pouring money, time, and devotion into loving you—what’s the problem?”  

Liz set aside the letter she had been writing. Clara noticed the action but didn’t bring it up. If Liz was hiding something from a close friend, it meant she wasn’t ready to talk about it yet.  

“It’s a problem. It’s strange. It’s not like him.”  

Liz raised an eyebrow at Clara’s words. Her concerns sounded like adorable complaints, but Liz thought it was much better than the tearful face Clara used to wear.  

“What’s strange about my brother?”  

“Well…”  

Clara hesitated to bring up the real issue. 

Was it even right to talk about this? 

But then again, Liz was the one who had opened the bedroom door for him and given him that herb.  

“He’s too wholesome.”  

Liz nearly spat out her drink at the unexpected response. 

Wholesome? Wholesome??? That word couldn’t possibly suit Lucius.  

Not long ago, he was infamous for never sleeping with the same woman twice unless she was exceptionally beautiful.  

“Wholesome, you say?”  

Liz coughed and asked again. But no matter how many times she checked, Clara nodded firmly.  

Wholesome. Even a passing dog would laugh at that.  

“Huh. Why do you think that is?”

“Shouldn’t I be asking him that?”

“You’re going to outright ask, ‘Why aren’t you sleeping with me?’?”

“Well… no, but…”

Liz understood Clara’s hesitation. It was awkward to ask a romantic partner something like that outright.

“But is he really just holding your hand?”  

Liz suddenly grew curious. She knew everything about the two of them. From the time Lucius barged into Clara’s room, to the incident in the Sky Earldom’s lounge room, to when he brought flowers to her house—every moment was practically a historic event.  

And now he was doing nothing?  

“Not just that…”

“But he doesn’t go all the way.”

“Right.”

Clara nodded firmly.

Why? What changed?

The question was written all over her face, and Liz couldn’t help but laugh.

“Who knows? Maybe my brother ate something bad. Why else would he act like this?”  

Then, as if something occurred to her, Liz asked Clara, 

“Could it be that his stamina has weakened? He has been buried in work lately.”  

“That’s not it. He’s perfectly fine in that regard.”  

“Oh, so you checked that out.”  

There was no need to check; it was obvious. Every time Clara touched him, that part of him sprang to life. That was the strange part—his body was clearly functioning, yet he did nothing.  

“Clara, didn’t you used to dislike that? You said it felt like he only wanted your body.”  

Clara fiddled with her fingers at Liz’s pointed comment. She was right. While Clara enjoyed being intimate with him, she had found the physical toll difficult to handle.  

“That’s true, but it’s still disappointing that he doesn’t even try. It wasn’t that I hated it; it was just exhausting.”  

“Ah, then wouldn’t it be better to be honest? My brother is straightforward, so if you tell him, he’ll understand.”  

Clara knew Liz was right. But how could she bring herself to say it?  

“Don’t worry too much. Sometimes men act like this when they’re distracted, but my brother isn’t the type to stray, right?”  

Liz’s casual remark struck Clara’s heart. Though she outwardly replied, “You’re right,” with a calm face, the word lingered in her mind.  

‘Distracted.’  

***

No matter how much she discussed it with Liz, this was ultimately an issue between the two of them, something Clara had to resolve herself. It was embarrassing to complain now about something she used to reject, but she resolved to find the right moment to bring it up.  

‘Sometimes men act like this when they’re distracted…’  

Liz’s words occasionally came back to her, but Clara tried to push the thought away each time. If Lucius ever had someone else, he would have come straight to her and admitted it. He wasn’t the type to lie or cheat.  

So why did my heart feel so heavy?  

Each time, Clara found herself disliking her own thoughts. She was neither honest nor rational, and it frustrated her.  

But soon, an opportunity arose for her to speak openly.  

Lucius and Clara were invited to a small party hosted by a noblewoman. Clara gladly accepted, thinking it would give her a chance to spend personal time with Lucius.  

She hadn’t seen him in a while, as they had only exchanged brief letters due to his busy schedule.  

And finally, the day arrived.

When Clara saw Lucius dressed to the nines, she almost felt blinded. She had always known he was handsome, but today he seemed to shine even brighter. She had to calm her excitement internally.  

“Lady Clara, you’ve become even more beautiful since I last saw you.”  

Who was he to say that?  

Clara wanted to compliment Lucius in return, but she felt too nervous to speak.  

‘Foolish Clara. How will you talk to him later if you’re like this now?’  

She scolded herself internally, but Lucius simply found her stiff demeanor adorable.  

He assumed she was just nervous about attending the party with him.  

As the two entered the party, all eyes turned to them. Rumors had circulated that they wouldn’t last long, but their affectionate appearance silenced such gossip, at least for this event.  

“Lady Clara!”  

A noblewoman called her name familiarly as soon as they entered. She waved as if to beckon Clara over.  

Clara hesitated. She wasn’t particularly close to that group, and they were known for spreading gossip. She didn’t feel like mingling with them.  

Clara clung tightly to Lucius’s hand, looking around for another group to join.  

“Over here~! Lady Clara must not have seen us.”

The noblewoman’s loud calls left Clara with no choice but to acknowledge them. At the very least, she had to sit with them briefly.  

“Go ahead. I’ll be mingling with others as well.”  

“Ah, alright.”  

Clara wanted to say she didn’t have to go, but Lucius’s gentle encouragement made her nod reluctantly.  

She worried he might get annoyed if she clung to him too much. After all, Lucius had gone out of his way to secure an invitation for her, concerned she was spending too much time at home.  

As a businessman, Lucius valued social interactions, and Clara felt she needed to adapt to his world.  

“Why the long face? Is it because you’re not close to those ladies?”  

Noticing her gloomy expression, Lucius stopped her before she approached the group. Clara almost confessed that she didn’t want to talk to them and preferred to stay by his side. But instead, she just smiled, thinking it would seem childish.  

Lucius didn’t seem convinced by her response. He walked over to the ladies’ table, placed a reassuring hand on Clara’s shoulder, and even kissed her cheek before leaving.  

The noblewomen squealed in delight at the display of affection, as expected.

“I’m so envious of you these days, Lady Clara.”  

One of the ladies seated at the same table shared her honest opinion. All eyes at the table turned to Clara. Sitting there with a bored expression, Clara sighed inwardly when her name was mentioned.  

“Is there anything to envy about me?”  

“Of course! You’re the role model for free love! And you’ve even captivated the most popular man in the Empire!”  

The lady’s eyes sparkled as she exclaimed, and Clara gave a troubled smile. 

A role model for free love? What in the world was that supposed to mean?  

“Exactly. It seems he’s completely smitten with you, Lady Clara.”  

The other ladies at the table began to chime in one by one. However, their words weren’t entirely filled with goodwill.  

“Isn’t it normal to simply exchange greetings from afar? When I saw him holding Lady Clara’s hand, looking worried, and even kissing her cheek, I thought he was an older brother dropping off his little sister.”  

“Oh my, Lady Bella, what a thing to say. To describe the Baron’s thoughtful actions like that!”  

They laughed as if it were all a joke, but Clara felt hurt. After all, hadn’t their relationship started as a brother-sister dynamic? They hadn’t been romantically involved for long.

“Since you’ve known Baron Lucius since childhood, I suppose it could seem that way.”  

But Clara forced a smile, hiding her feelings. So what if their relationship seemed a bit unusual to others? They were happy together now, and that was all that mattered.  

“Oh, right. You’re quite close to the Baron’s sister, aren’t you? Then it might feel like he’s a real brother to you.”  

“Hmm? Isn’t that a bit much? They’re clearly in a romantic relationship.”  

“Oh no, I didn’t mean it that way. It’s just a saying. Honestly, I’m a bit worried. Sometimes, people mistake the comfort of familial affection for romantic feelings.”  

The lady who brought it up wore a smug expression, shrugging her shoulders as if she had made an astute observation.  

‘She’s doing this on purpose.’  

What she wanted to imply was clear: that Baron Lucius saw Clara as a little sister and mistook those feelings for love.  

Clara could have snapped back, but she chose to stay silent. To be honest, she had wrestled with similar thoughts herself.  

Was it just physical compatibility? Or was it the long-standing bond they shared? While she enjoyed being with him, she couldn’t help but feel uneasy.

The noblewoman’s words had hit a nerve.

“Oh, surely not~.”  

Clara grew tired of the sly remarks and the prying voices. This was why she hadn’t wanted to sit with them. She considered leaving and turned her gaze toward Lucius.  

Lucius, who had disappeared for a while, was now walking back into the hall, holding the hand of a noblewoman.  

“Oh my, does the Baron have a connection with Madame Margaret?”  

“I heard she recently gave birth, but with her husband gone, it seems she mingles easily with young nobles.”  

The ladies’ attention quickly shifted to Lucius. Or rather, to Lucius and the noblewoman beside him.  

Clara also carefully observed the pair. For some reason, she couldn’t help but notice his hand holding hers and the arm wrapped around her waist.  

The two were smiling brightly at each other. Then, as Lucius handed the woman a handkerchief and leaned in to whisper something, the ladies around Clara let out a collective “Oh my,” accompanied by ambiguous sighs.  

Something inside Clara snapped. She quickly bid farewell to the ladies at the table and strode toward Lucius.