After being accepted by his new master, Cano’s expression changed instantly. “I’ll continue to be in your care, my lord! Sir Leik!”
“Quite the flatterer, huh?” Lucas muttered. He exchanged a strained smile with Leik. “And,” he added, “don’t tell Iris you know about her past.”
“Huh?” Cano tilted his head to one side quizzically. “And why not?”
“He’s jealous, quite plainly,” Leik chimed in. “If you become overly friendly with her, our lord would be most displeased.”
“Ah, I see,” the boy replied. “But don’t worry. She’s more like an older sister whom I admire. Of course, if you ask if I’ve never viewed her as a person of the opposite sex, well…”
“Leik, prepare a fishing boat,” Lucas ordered.
“Please! I beg of you to let me work here!” Cano cried.
“Argh! I’m saying that I trust you, so don’t betray that, all right? Let go of my legs, you idiot!”
Cano was crawling on the ground and groveling for forgiveness. Lucas shook the boy off and crossed his legs once more.
“You showed me your loyalty to Iris,” he said. “I’ll trust you for now. The rest you’ll have to build with how you act.”
“Yes, my lord!” Cano nodded with a smile.
After they finished making some final adjustments, Lucas stood up.
“I leave guarding Iris to you guys,” he said.
“Where are you off to, my lord?” Leik inquired.
“I’ll go scout the village. This’ll probably be the last time I’ll ever be here, so I’d like to do this alone.”
He turned his back to his servants and pushed open the thick wooden door of the church to head outside. The sun’s rays beat down on Lucas, and the skies were clear. The cool breeze felt nice. The green ears of wheat fluttered as far as the eye could see, and the thick aroma of dirt and grass, unique to farm villages, hit his nose. It was a scent that he wasn’t used to.
With his canary-yellow hair and dirty clothes, no one would recognize that he was a nouveau riche. Lucas decided not to wear a hat, exposing his unique blond hair to the world as he sullied his leather shoes with the dirt underneath his feet. He walked to the village at the foot of the hill, below the convent.
Villagers were already bustling around, busy with their work. Lucas spotted the backs of some people taking care of the crops while children ran around to help the adults. Women were busy fetching water. Because everyone fulfilled their respective roles, a village could function. Lucas was raised near the coal mines and later lived in a port city. He wasn’t too familiar with farming villages and gazed at it with great interest. Naturally, to prevent the spread of any bad rumors about the convent, he greeted people kindly and didn’t forget to engage in a conversation or two.
“You’re an outsider, aren’t you, lad?” a man tending to the water wheel called.
“I’m a peddler. My carriage broke down, so I’m here to waste some time. I’ll be headed for the port by noon, so I decided to get some exercise in before then,” Lucas replied with a smile, ensuring he looked friendly. “The land here looks fertile, but it seems like you’re having trouble repairing that water wheel.”
“Bah, taxes are too high. All our young folk have left to earn money in the city.”
“Hey, I’ve got some time to kill. Why don’t I lend you a hand?”
“You?”
Lucas chuckled. “I used to work as a servant of a nobleman. Work like this is my forte.”
And so, Lucas made his rounds around the village. After a while, his servants, who had finished helping Iris, approached him.
“Whatever are you doing, my lord?” Leik asked wearily.
“I was never allowed to do work like this in Solalitika,” Lucas replied. “If I don’t move around every now and then, my mind will start to grow dull, too.”
“Take a look, Cano,” Leik whispered to his subordinate. “My lord might even be a more skilled servant than you.”
“It does seem like he can make do even if he loses his wealth,” Cano replied wearily. He placed a hand over his cheek. “But we’re more in the cute department. In other words, our room for growth is infinite.”
“We? Don’t put me in the same boat as you. I’m not just cute. I’m cute and reliable, everyone’s favorite Leik.”
“What are you guys babbling about?” Lucas mumbled with exasperation to his two servants.
Off in the distance, a lady dazzled under the sun. Iris was under a sun umbrella held by Kiki. Enveloped in a white dress, Iris looked like the personification of light.
“You’ve been working hard,” the baroness said with a smile. She stretched out her hand and wiped the sweat off her husband’s cheek. “Why don’t we take a break, Lucas?”
“You walked all the way here?” the baron asked. “It must’ve been hard on your body.”
“Not at all.”
He took the umbrella and held it over her as the two walked along the creek that watered the wheat fields. There wasn’t a cloud in sight, the blue skies shining down on them. Lucas matched Iris’s stride as he indulged in this bit of happiness while she expertly walked along the dirt path.
“Lucas,” Iris said, breaking the silence. “You came here to check if anyone knew about your parents, correct?”
Lucas stopped in place as he thought about the village. “Yep. I heard my mother met my father when she was off doing her charity work. I’d thought that maybe there were some stories about her.”
Needless to say, he didn’t expect much. This village was a good distance away from the port. They were unlikely to have any information. But somewhere in his heart, Lucas had hoped that someone had heard something about his mother through the grapevine.
“Lucas, why don’t we come back here again one day?” Iris asked.
“That’s probably difficult,” Lucas countered. “I don’t think we can ever set foot within Marquess Diascia’s marches again.”
For whatever reason, Iris giggled as she put a hand over her mouth. “That’s not like you.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well…” Iris’s dark eyes looked up at Lucas as she mischievously tilted her head to one side. “The usual you would’ve come up with a plan that allowed you to freely enter Marquess Diascia’s land as you please. You’ve got the railroad and the port, and House Diascia is on the brink of ruin. You have plenty of openings to take advantage of, I’d imagine.”
“You’re bold.”
“Oh, not as much as you, dear husband. Who is it that barged into enemy territory?”
“Haha, I can’t refute that.”
Lucas’s mind grew sharper again as he clapped his hands, filthy with mud from fixing the water wheel. After he got all the dried mud off, his heart felt lighter.
“Speaking of, Iris,” Lucas started.
“Yes?” she asked.
“Are you still going to be formal with me?”
Iris smiled, her expression brighter than the sun. “I’m doing it on purpose.”
The couple continued to trek through the village until Leik called for them with the carriage. The peaceful village was comforting, and their hearts were soothed by the place as though time had stood still.
When they boarded the carriage, Lucas decided to consult his wife.
“Iris,” he said. “I think I’d like to go to Lapisasther.”
Iris widened her dark eyes.
His destination was the Lapisasther Kingdom.
Lucas had finally made his resolve to visit that nation.