🌻 🌻 🌻
MORNING arrived. Iris had spent the entire night in Lucas’s arms.
“It’s morning…” she said.
“It is indeed,” Lucas replied.
Silence settled in between the married couple.
“Er, I’m sorry,” Lucas apologized. “For a lot of things.”
“Um, I’m the one…who came here, so…”
Under the morning rays, Iris gazed at the floor awkwardly. She drew the stole around her, as if to hide her unkempt hair. As a way to apologize, Lucas brushed her dark hair with his fingers until Kiki arrived.
“Your bed was empty this morning, so I was shocked!” Kiki cried. “Huh? Did you spend the entire night on that bench?!”
“I-I suppose so…” Iris nodded awkwardly.
“Wasn’t it uncomfortable? Do you ache anywhere?!” Kiki hastily approached Iris.
“I-I’m fine. I-I should get ready…”
“Right. Can you stand?” she asked.
“I can.”
Iris staggered to her feet and covered her face as she left. Lucas didn’t know if he should stop her and quietly watched her leave, but Kiki was visibly worried.
“Oh no! Lady Iris, you’re acting so feebly!” she cried. “Should we call Leik?”
“I-I’m fine. I really am,” Iris replied.
Lucas felt like he should say something and called out to the slender back wrapped in a stole. “Er, Iris,” he said. “Uh, want me to escort you back?”
Iris gave an exaggerated jolt and shook her head. She couldn’t face her husband. “I-I’m all right,” she said. “I should go.”
“O-Okay…”
Iris staggered out of the church.
“Well, I’m sure Kiki can take care of her…” Lucas muttered.
After he saw her off, he stepped outside and gazed up at the morning sky, hoping to switch gears. The sky was clear, and there wasn’t a cloud in sight. It was so calm that he couldn’t believe the debacle from the night prior. In a corner of the church, before the morning service, Lucas took some time to exchange information with Leik and Cano.
“I got rid of the carriage so that it looks like we fled elsewhere,” Leik reported.
“What’s Marquess Diascia doing?” Lucas asked.
The butler shook his head. “He probably doesn’t want a scandal about hurting a man from the third prince’s faction. I’m sure he’ll be quiet for a while.”
“I guessed as much.” After a nod, Lucas turned to Cano. “Is it true that Marquess Diascia has fallen on hard times?”
“Indeed,” Cano replied. “I also checked the people who attended the marquess’s dinner party. The rumors are true. The people gathered there aren’t seen favorably, even within the first prince’s faction. I believe the marquess wanted to sell you to the powerful Bearbrooks Trading Company in hopes of gaining prestige. But the company also has the right to select their son-in-law.”
“Cano, heed your words,” Leik scolded. “You’re speaking as though our lord is stigmatized property.”
“I mean, he is, isn’t he?”
“And that’s what makes him charming.”
“Whoa…”
“In any case, Cano, you properly filed a report, didn’t you?”
The young boy looked on excitedly as he puffed out his chest proudly. “That I did, of course! I recorded it all, so no need to worry about that! I know exactly what room we were attacked in and how we were attacked. I haven’t left out a single detail!”
“I’m proud of you.”
“But of course! It’s my job! So I didn’t get much sleep…”
“Reliable, aren’t you?” Lucas chimed in.
“Yup!” Then, Cano noticed the change in the air as his eyes wandered. His panic was unsuitable for a spy, and Leik smiled so brightly that it was almost creepy. Cano stammered, “U-Um…”
“You filed a report, didn’t you?” Leik asked.
Cano turned paler by the second.
“Where to?” Leik inquired.
“Er…” Cano’s eyes darted between Leik and Lucas as cold sweat ran down his face. “I knew it. You guys noticed.”
“Of course.”
“You’re an agent of the third prince, aren’t you?” Lucas added.
As Leik and Lucas nodded, only Cano had gone white as a sheet.
“Wait, so you both knew about me and still chose to keep me?” the boy asked.
Lucas nodded.
“You’re kidding…” Cano muttered with a shiver. “Th-Then why’d you entrust someone as shady as me with the madam?”
“Because I trust you,” Lucas replied simply. “You’re not going to allow Iris to be harmed, are you?”
Cano was at a loss for words at his master’s firm declaration.
“Your job is to protect me,” Lucas continued. “But you won’t let Iris get hurt. You’ve known her for a while now, haven’t you?”
Cano’s eyes transformed into the icy gaze of a dog. “How much about me do you know?”
“When you saw the list of guests for the wedding, you didn’t mention a word about the lack of Iris’s relatives being invited. You’re not one to hold back, and surely you would’ve noticed how unusual that was. And yet, you didn’t question Iris, who couldn’t invite anyone to her own wedding. In other words, you’ve known about her circumstances for a while.”
Cano was silent as Lucas went on, “You should’ve questioned House Karelia so that I wouldn’t be suspicious of you. But you didn’t. You were worried that you’d ruin Iris’s special day. Which means that you, at the very least, care about her. That’s when I realized your past.”
The boy maintained his silence for a few moments more before he gave a resigned sigh. He pushed his hair up, his gaze nothing short of intimidating.
“Good grief,” he sighed. “I feel like a fool for acting innocent this whole time. If you noticed how oddly I was acting, I wish you’d pointed it out sooner.” The hunting dog added, “I’ve known the lady for a good while now. When she was still in House Karelia, I’d spied on her, so I’m quite aware of Iris Karelia when she was within the Traditional Twelve.”
He shook his head and started to share his thoughts. “I’m just a dog. No matter how much she suffered, I couldn’t lend a helping hand. I’ve always had my regrets about that.”
Leik crossed his arms at his subordinate’s confession, his gaze cold. “Why didn’t you divulge the truth to my lord during your interview?”
“If I told you that I knew the madam, you would’ve offed me, wouldn’t you, my lord?”
“There’s a chance I wouldn’t have let you into the manor,” Lucas admitted.
“I, of course, know the kind of person you are, my lord. I know things that even the madam likely doesn’t. I also know that you plan on killing me soon. But even so…” Cano kneeled in front of Lucas and put his hands on the ground, offering a deep bow. “I beg of you. I promise to protect the madam at all costs. Please let me go.”
Lucas sighed. “Listen.”
“Yes?”
“I never said that I’ll kill you.”
“Huh?” Cano looked up, his eyes damp.
“In order for you to continue protecting Iris, I need you to continue as you were, as an agent. It’s your job to sell me to the third prince. Use your eloquence and convey to him that we’re still useful pawns in his game. That’s your job. Is that clear?”
“Are you sure?” The young hunting dog’s voice trembled.
“Well, I don’t know when the third prince’s interest in me will wane. I need to be seen as a vital pawn, one he can’t cut off whether he likes me or not. Do you understand?”
“You mean you can’t be in bed with him much longer.”
“You could not have summarized that any worse, but I can’t refute it. Yeah, that’s the idea.”