"Until you showed me your freaky side first, I believe," Celine answered, placing her head on Lucian's shoulder as if they were a loving couple. "You prefer the sweet and soft me, so why should I disappoint you? You're not an easy man to please, so why would I try and fail?"
"Is it hard to act soft and sweet for me?" Lucian asked, throwing her off balance with his words, "What do you get from it?"
"Your sweet and soft side in return," she answered the second question, avoiding the first. "It makes the relationship fair and balanced. And we both know how much you love balance and fairness."
Lucian smiled to himself and rested his head on hers, "It must be tiring, then."
"Not more than you, who has to pretend to be in love with me to bring me down from the inside out," she muttered with a helpless sigh.
Lucian didn't deny the accusation, which would confirm Celine's words. "I would rather be in a relationship with a person who is comfortable in their own skin and isn't trying to please me," he said, "It's hard to make someone feel comfortable when you're not."
Celine was silent for a moment before speaking, her voice low and soft, almost inaudible to anyone else, "Is that why you are being mean instead of being nice? Are you being honest for a change?"
"You tell me," Lucian said, his voice just as quiet as hers.
He was a bit more honest with her than he would have been with anyone else. It had always been this way, and it would probably always be. He was not sure why, or how it started, but it was just the way things were between them.
They were probably too tired to keep the charades going, leaving them in a state of vulnerability. A state where they could be hurt the most but also heal the fastest.
"I will have to leave the city in a few days," Celine suddenly said, and Lucian's head snapped up to look at her. "It's time I take care of some unfinished business."
She explained as she watched the knights, "Men don't have to know how to fight to lead an army or be a commander, yet I had to waste my whole life learning how to fight just to be taken seriously by them."
Lucian stared at her for a moment, "Hm?" he asked, "Where are you going?"
"South," Celine said.
South...that's from where her father had just returned from. There were a few rumors of her being put under house arrest whenever her father returned home to deal with the mess his daughter had caused in his absence. She would then pretend to be sick to gain his sympathy.
"Is it alright to reveal that to him?" Seb asked, receiving a rapier's end to the top of his forehead in return. He continued calmly, "I'm not saying that it's a problem, but you've always been careful to keep your plans secret, My Lady. Even from the Duke."
Celine hugged Lucian's arm with her free one, leaning her head against his shoulder, "How am I supposed to seduce the man I love if he thinks that I'm a lunatic who only thinks of chasing after the Crown Prince? It's only fair that I let him know of my plans to gain his trust," she said, her voice light and playful, "We're getting married after all."
Seb bowed his head in acknowledgment, "Yes, My Lady. As you wish."
Lucian figured out that Celine wouldn't have revealed it if she cared about it spreading around. Which meant that even if the Crown Prince or the King got hold of the information, it would benefit her in a way.
"Before the marriage talk, we should discuss the engagement first," Lucian said, "I haven't yet proposed─"
Celine jumped from her seat and clapped, interrupting him, "We are already engaged, what are you talking about?" she exclaimed in surprise, "You can't be engaged without proposing."
Lucian opened his mouth to speak, but she interrupted him again, "I only remember an army─"
"Pfft," Celine covered her mouth with her free hand, waving him off, "We don't need to go into such details, dear," she said, "It was the most romantic proposal in the world. I couldn't walk properly for days..."
She gushed, her cheeks turning red as her eyes lit up with stars, "Oh, it was just like a fairy tale! How can I describe it?" She brought her hand to her chest, looking off into the distance as she let out a dreamy sigh, "It was like a dream come true. A moment I will never forget."
"...I haven't done anything─"
Celine pointed her rapier at Lucian, her eyes deadly serious, "You will not ruin my perfect proposal story," she said, "I will fight to the death to defend it."
And thus, their relationship quo was once again swept under the rug by none other than Celine. Lucian could only shake his head and sigh in exasperation as he watched his self proclaimed "fiance" skip happily away from him.
She would rather fight to the death than face the reality of something being wrong in their relationship. As if by refusing it hard enough, the problem would cease to exist. (Both were ignoring the fact that they had already made vows before the altar).
The audience watched the scene unfold before them, elbowing their fellow friends on their sides, finding their Lady's behavior much more entertaining and tolerable than when she was around the Crown Prince.
Celine left with Patch and Sir Brix, leaving Lucian with dozens of knights.
"Summon your people here as soon as possible, My Lord," Graham approached Lucian, "The tournament will be upon us soon. Falling too far behind will not reflect well on your house, and that won't do good for your standing, or for our Lady's."
"She doesn't seem to care about her standing," Lucian said.
Graham smiled, "That was before. Now she has to care. She is your future wife, and what reflects on her will reflect on you, and on your children."
Children. Lucian couldn't imagine the horror of a child with the combined madness of Celine and himself. The world wouldn't survive it.
"I'll keep that in mind," Lucian said. "I will summon some of my men."
The tournament, huh?
He planned to focus on the Marindale territory instead of participating. It's not like he had high chances of winning anyway.
He was still missing one knight to complete the numbers for the tournament.
╔═══ Author's note ════╗
We are done with the first volume with exactly 100 chapters!🥳
I believe many found Lucian's and Celine's characters confusing, and for a good reason.
Up until now, they were just "enjoying" each other's presence (also annoying the hell out of the other, really). Instead of confronting their past, they were assessing their new selves (to see if they still fit together).
And because they were somehow still so compatible, they pushed each other's buttons just to test their new boundaries.
What do you expect in the next volume? 😈
I'm surprised there's just one snu snu scene so far since I planned much more at first (like Celine locking him up in the estate and forcing herself on him).
Lucian was supposed to end up with Stockholm syndrome, and much more trauma. I somehow scrapped the idea. It didn't really fit Celine's character. She is a Lady, not a lowly rapist. She trains and makes people stay with the help of her whip, not by locking them inside a cage.😆
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