Lucius’s First Love (Part 1)

Lucius met Clara when he was just 11 years old.  

Lucius knew he was handsome. Wherever he went, women’s gazes followed him, and there wasn’t a single person, from children to noblewomen, who didn’t praise his appearance.  

So, winning a woman’s heart wasn’t difficult for him. Naturally, he used that charm to his advantage whenever necessary.  

“Ah, so you’re Lucius. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”  

Lucius thought this as he looked at the Countess, who greeted him with a gentle smile.  

It was bothersome, but since she was a friend of his mother, he decided to treat her appropriately.  

‘Besides, if she’s a Countess, she must have a decent level of wealth and power.’  

If she could be of help to his future endeavors, it was worth acting kindly. 

“Oh, I haven’t introduced my daughter yet. Clara Belle, come and say hello.”  

Ah, this is a bit troublesome.  

If this had just been a simple meeting, he wouldn’t have stayed.  

But it seemed she intended to introduce her daughter. Lucius thought about leaving, but his mother, the Baroness, held his hand tightly, making it difficult for him to escape.  

‘Sigh, this is annoying in so many ways.’  

“Wow, a prince?”  

It was at that moment.  

From behind the Countess, a small and adorable figure cautiously peeked out.  

She appeared to be around the same age as his younger sister Liz—perhaps no older than eight.  

Her chubby cheeks, dainty lips, and curly light brown hair immediately caught his attention.  

What’s this? Seriously.  

Unlike his sister, who stomped around with triangular eyes and threw tantrums when she didn’t get her way, this girl was entirely different.  

Lucius couldn’t hide his bewilderment and could only watch as the little girl approached him.  

“I-I saw you in a fairy tale. A beautiful prince.”  

The girl continued to mumble as she walked up to Lucius and tightly grabbed his left pinky finger.  

At that moment, Lucius felt something tug at his heart.  

“Prince, please marry me.”  

“No.”  

Lucius harshly shook off her hand, even surprising himself at how cold he was to a child.  

“Lucius, that’s too much for Belle.”  

The Baroness, who had been watching, immediately stood up and scolded him.  

Lucius sensed trouble. 

She’s going to cry, isn’t she? Like Liz. Girls her age cry easily.  

Should I hug her or something?  

As he contemplated, Clara approached him again.  

“Why don’t you want to?”  

“What?”  

“Why don’t you want to marry me?”  

The girl didn’t cry.  

She simply touched her rejected hand and asked him again. Her emerald eyes, wide with curiosity, stirred Lucius’s heart once more.  

“You’re not a princess.”  

Even so, Lucius responded coldly.  

“Lucius! Really, you—”  

The Baroness gripped his shoulder tightly.  

‘Can’t you treat her kindly?’ Her gaze said it all. Lucius sighed internally.  

“Then I’ll become a princess!”  

What?  

Amidst his confusion, Clara smiled brightly, as if his words hadn’t bothered her at all.  

It was strange. Usually, after hearing harsh words from him, people either avoided him or cried, but Clara didn’t.  

Her sunny smile and declaration that she’d become a princess left Lucius staring at her face for a long time.  

And the blush that crept up to his ears went unnoticed by him.  

***

From that day on, Clara often visited the Baron’s estate. At first, she came holding the Countess’s hand, but later, she started coming on her own. Liz and Clara liked each other from the beginning and quickly became best friends.  

Lucius found it amusing how his once unruly sister acted demurely in front of Clara.  

It was Lucius’s job to keep an eye on Liz, so he often ran into Clara. Each time, Clara repeated her proposal, and Lucius rejected her. Though she sometimes looked dejected, it didn’t last long. Clara would smile and say, “I’ll become prettier and propose again!”  

‘What a ridiculous kid.’  

While the two girls played in the garden, Lucius would quietly read a book in the shade.  

But he couldn’t stop his gaze from drifting toward them. Watching Clara and Liz play in the garden, he glanced at his left pinky finger.  

‘What was that feeling back then?’  

The sensation when Clara held his finger. 

Why did my heart flutter for a moment?  

Lucius carefully studied Clara’s face as she wandered around the garden. To be honest, she was an undeniably cute child.  

There was a warmth about her that was different from when she played with his sister.  

‘Yes, she’s certainly cute. Since the Countess is beautiful, Clara will probably grow up to be a stunning woman who makes men weep.’  

Moreover, her soft, curly hair felt comforting whenever he patted her head.  

Recalling that moment brought a smile to Lucius’s lips.  

Right now, she’s just a child following me around, but when she grows up, will she stop proposing out of habit?  

‘Lucius, are you crazy?’  

Lucius clenched his fist. 

What on earth was I thinking?  

In a few years, he’d be an adult, and Clara would still be a child. Thinking like this was wrong.  

‘Yes, stop thinking about it.’  

“Ah!”  

At that moment, Clara’s scream snapped Lucius’s head up.  

Her hair was being pulled by some boys. His eyes caught her grimacing expression and the flowers she had been holding in her hands.  

“Let go of me!”  

“Give us the flowers, and we’ll let you go.”  

“I said no!”  

Lucius sprang to his feet. The book fell to the ground, but that didn’t matter.  

“Let go of Belle’s hair!”  

Liz kicked at the boys, but she couldn’t match their quick movements. Instead, she stumbled and fell to the ground, eliciting laughter from the boys.  

“Liz!”  

Clara reached out to her friend, but her hair was being pulled, so she was dragged along instead. Holding back tears, she pleaded for them to let her go so she could help her friend.  

“What will you give us if we let you go?”  

“What?”  

“If we let go of your hair, you’ll have to—”  

Before the boy could finish his sentence, he let out a scream as someone twisted his arm.  

“Ahh!”  

“How dare you touch her?”  

Lucius twisted the boy’s arm. Although the boy immediately let go of Clara’s hair in pain, Lucius’s anger didn’t subside.  

“Brother!” 

“Brother L-Lucius …”  

Liz and Clara looked at him tearfully. Especially Clara, who clutched her disheveled hair and let a few tears fall. Seeing her chubby cheeks tremble, Lucius ground his teeth.  

‘Should I just break his arm?’  

Yes, break it. Make an example of him so no one dares harm Clara again.  

As he resolved to do so, a soft touch on the back of his hand stopped him.  

Clara held his hand tightly and shook her head as if to say, “Don’t.”  

“Lucius, I-I’m fine.”  

“Belle.”  

“Really.”  

Her soothing voice made Lucius hesitate. 

If I broke the boy’s arm, how would Clara react? Would she be scared? Would she stop following me?  

Imagining her frightened expression didn’t sit well with him.  

Lucius released the boy’s arm with a sharp motion. The boy clutched his swollen wrist and quickly retreated, glaring at Lucius.  

“What are you looking at? Get out of my garden.”

“This… this is inappropriate, Young Master Lucius. We are invited guests.”  

“Inappropriate? Wasn’t it inappropriate when you were rude to my sister and Clara?”  

As Lucius growled and tried to approach them, Clara wrapped her tiny arms tightly around his waist. The boys, seeing this, quickly ran away.  

“Don’t. You can’t do that.”  

“…Clara.”  

Lucius stopped in his tracks. Her small hands couldn’t even fully wrap around his waist.  

He gently took her hands and removed them from his waist.  

“I’m really fine.”  

“Alright.”  

Lucius carefully patted her hair, tidying her disheveled locks. Clara blushed deeply as he combed through her hair.  

Watching this scene in disbelief, Liz spoke up.  

“Belle, give him what you prepared.”  

“Oh, uh, okay.”  

At Liz’s words, Clara shyly held something out. It was a small bunch of flowers she had been holding earlier. However, the petals were now torn and dangling due to the scuffle. Lucius lowered his gaze at the sight.  

“Oh no, Belle, the flowers…”  

“Ah…”  

Clara’s expression darkened. She quickly tried to hide the flowers behind her back, but Lucius’s hand was faster and snatched them away.  

So this was what she had been holding onto earlier, intending to give it to me.  

Suppressing the twitch of his lips, Lucius spoke coldly.  

“Give it here.”  

“I’ll give you something better.”  

“If I don’t take this, you’ll just keep nagging me, won’t you?”  

With that, he snatched the flowers and held them carefully in his palm.  

“I wanted to give you something prettier.”  

“Stop bothering me and go play over there.”  

Worried he might lose the flowers again, he shooed the two girls back toward the garden.  

As he returned to his seat, Liz yelled behind him, calling him a heartless brother, but Lucius didn’t look back. He knew his sister wasn’t fragile enough to be hurt by mere words, and Clara was safe, too.  

Yet his mind was filled with thoughts of the shabby flowers.  

What exactly did that girl mean to me?  

‘She’s just like a little sister. No different from my own sister, someone I care about.’ 

His mind cooled as he thought this. The smile that had crept onto his face hardened. 

What was I even trying to do? Was I trying to play along with this meaningless childish game?  

He clenched the fragile stems of the flowers in his hand.  

‘These mean nothing to me. Nothing at all.’  

Lucius repeated these words to himself several times. 

Yes, this was how it should be. This was right.  

But in the end, he couldn’t bring himself to throw the flowers away.