< — The Ducal Couple — > (8)
Translated by: Miss Ruby
Edited by: Luv Shng
TN: Most of y’all seemed to like stewards like I do. Great minds think alike (jk).
During the timeframe of the tea party, Hugo was having a meeting. Hugo held regular meetings with his vassals, knights and local lords.
From their point of view, holding a meeting once a month was good enough to know the state of things but all of Hugo’s other meetings were held at least once a week and then met frequently to hold meetings.
His style of meeting aimed to provide solutions to the issues that are raised during the meeting. So, when he enters a meeting, people were only able to come out after it was over and with faces full of exhaustion. There were many cases where the meeting had started in the morning and lasted till evening.
Today’s meeting took a long time too and was only done sometime after the tea party had ended. Thankfully, the time for dinner had not yet passed.
The current time was a bit too early to have dinner but it was also a time without any particular purpose so Hugo asked Jerome about Lucia’s whereabouts.
“Her grace is on the terrace.”
‘Ah. The tea party.’
[Since it is her Grace’s first event, what do you think of sending a congratulatory gift?]
‘Damn,’ He lamented a little. He’d wanted to send a present but then forgot about it.
Yesterday, his mind was focused on something else, and today, he’d been in a meeting since morning and hadn’t had time to think of anything else. Well, at least today still wasn’t over. Even if it was a little late, as long as it was given today, there probably won’t be any problem.
“Is she still having a tea party at this time?”
“No, Your Grace. It’s been a while since it ended. Her Grace is just passing her time on the terrace. And…since you did not give any orders on a gift for her Grace, I used my judgement and sent flowers and decorated the terrace.”
“Hmm? Okay, you did well.”
As expected, his steward was very capable.
“You said she was on the terrace, right?”
Looking at the back of his master, Jerome couldn’t bear to tell him that her Grace was currently suspicious of whether his Grace had truly sent the gift of flowers.
This incident was undeniably Jerome’s fault. It was the first time in his life as a steward to hide his mistake from his master.
Ignoring Jerome who was busy drowning in his sense of shame, Hugo took light steps towards the terrace. As the day drew to a close, the red glow of the sun was cast on the terrace and the moment Hugo reached the terrace, he stopped walking.
Lucia was sitting down with her eyes closed, supporting her chin with her hand on the table. It was as though terrace was enveloped in a blanket of silence, it was not a heavy silence but a serene and calm one.
‘What is she thinking of?’
He didn’t want to disrupt her contemplation but he was also curious as to what she was thinking about and was tempted to immediately bring her back to reality. Looking at her peaceful face, his heart couldn’t help but grow calmer. She looked so comfortable and at ease that it took his breath away.
Hugo slowly closed his eyes then reopened it. Sometimes, when he looked at her, he felt strange. He felt like there was something pressing down on his chest and he couldn’t quite make out what was in front of him, like something unknown was gnawing at him from the inside.
It was not a pleasant feeling but this feeling did not make him unhappy or uncomfortable. In his life which had always been clear and precise, she was a puzzle piece that he’d been unable to find a place for.
Suddenly, her eyes flew open. When she discovered his presence, she gave a smile that was radiant as sunshine. Hugo momentarily furrowed his brow. His heart suddenly felt like it was being pricked with a needle and seemed to ache.
These days, he kept having abnormal symptoms in his body. So far, he’d never fallen ill and as for wounds, his body recovered remarkably fast so he never needed doctor and had lived without one.
‘…Do I need to ask them to call in that old geezer?’
What was he thinking? Philip’s face was one face he didn’t wish to see even in his dreams. Lucia quickly got up and ran towards him.
The very enjoyable tea party, the fragrant scent of the flowers and the sad but beautiful glow made by the slowly setting sun, all of it had slowly elevated her mood. She had been enjoying the quiet peace on the terrace and just when that happy feeling had reached its peak, he arrived. Lucia expressed her currently bubbling emotions by running into his arms.
“Woah…”
As she had suddenly ran into him, he was stunned for a moment. He held her waist firmly with his arms as she rubbed her head on his chest and relaxed into his arms.
He responded by embracing her soft bosom to his body then he lowered his head and kissed the top of her head. She was doing cute things she’d never done before.
If this was what she had learned at the tea party today then he didn’t mind holding one every day. He smiled tenderly, lightly grabbed her chin and gave her a soft kiss.
“Was the tea party fun?”
“Yes, thank you for the present.”
His gaze immediately took notice of the terrace which was covered in flowers. It would seem that the gift that Jerome had sent on his behalf had made her very happy, and with that, he was satisfied.
‘Why do women love flowers? They can’t even eat it.’
He couldn’t understand it but in the first place, he could never understand the existences called women anyways. His sight moved towards the bright and blossoming red flowers that seemed eager to show off their beauty, and his gaze landed on the rose flowers.
His eyes slightly stiffened.
[Please send me a rose.]
Suddenly, the words she had said came to mind. He then felt an ominous foreboding.
‘When did she say that?’
In his extraordinary memory which could remember everything from the day he could walk, an error seemed to have occurred.
As his heart grew restless and desperate, his memory became more disordered. He struggled to remember the memory of something that had happened just a few months ago.
‘Right. The contract…the condition she gave me the day we made a contract.’
[If you believe that I am unable to control my heart, please send me a rose. ]
‘This… Damn it.’
- Notice – 12/24/2024 - December 24, 2024
- Emilone’s Temptation Labyrinth – Chapter 67 - December 21, 2024
- Forget My Husband, I’ll Go Make Money – Side Story 21 - December 14, 2024
Bahahaha comes back to haunt you hugh
😂
Thanks for the rest of the chapter.
Thanks for the chapter, I’m so excited for what happens next x
OMG!! I forgot tooooo!!
Now is their lovey-dovey time going to change??
Many thanks
Nooo you just can’t leave in this point…
Thanks for the chapter.
Wait, wait, what does the red rose mean again? i forgot, please someone refresh my mind
When lucia signed a contract marriage with hugo, she added a condition that if she showed feelings for him or signs of falling in love, he would give her a flower.
And then they would separate I guess.
Can’t wait for the next chapter!!! How will lucia react knowing that the flowers were sent by Jerome and not hugo?
She knows that though…was I mistaken? (・・?)
No you’re not. Lucia knows
But does she even remember it? Lol. I barely remembered, and it wasn’t even that long ago xD
You forget a missing detail. Hugo, or should I say, Jerome, didn’t send just a rose to those ladies, He sends a YELLOW rose. Traditionally the flower represents friendship. Jerome, probably, sent it to them to signify – “hey the duke wants from now a friendship with you.” To Lucia, though, he sends red roses – the flower that represents love. Jerome sending this type of flower is a good though, really. He probably sent it to her not only because Hugo is blatantly falling in love with her, but also because Jerome sees her as the perfect woman for his master.
Roses are the flower if love. Red roses mean romantic love and if someone gives them to you, they are professing their romantic feelings for you. Yellow roses, which are what Jerome sends the women that the Duke breaks up with, hold the meaning of friendship/platonic love. However, if you give yellow roses to a lover instead of red, then that is essentially saying that you feel nothing more than platonic feelings for that person which is why they are also known as the roses of goodbye for when you are breaking up with someone.
Hence why is it important to Lucia from who the flowers are from. 😂i’m sure Lucia is not sad but then the rose flower does gave her a bit of guard now.
Wa~h
Can’t wait for the next chapter…
Awww I hope this mistake doesn’t affect their relationship especially now that they are warming up to each other T_T
Damn that cliffhanger hahahahah
Hahaha i seriously considered not posting till I was done with the next chapter but changed my mind.
My heart skipped a beat tbh. I do hope the next one comes fast! Will be patiently waiting!!
RIP Hugh ^^’
“Eat your heart out.”
Soooooooooo, I was wrong. He DID add roses….. turns out…. I totally thought Jerome didn’t get roses for her…. even made a comment on how relieved I was…. don’t know how, but apparently my vision reflects my desires…. 😅
I understand the pins and needle smile, but…. the hug? I’m confused. What is she planning. She knows. Does she just want him to admit it, or is she gonna give him hell. I feel like she wouldn’t force him to beg…. well he’s already apologized once it might be as simple as that.
Or will she use this to divorce? One answer, adds many a questions, era, era….
She’s definitely one with a quiet anger. Death? That’s easy. Living Hell? Who wants to walk through that?
Still loving this!Thanks for the update!
Pins and needles smile? What?
He felt pain in his heart, ” He felt as though his heart was being pricked with a needle,…..”
Like a smile that’s accusingly painful, and makes you get goosebumps or feel as if you did something wrong.
Nooo. Oh god i need help with sentence structure. So what the author was trying to say was it’s like the romantic kinda pain from seeing her beautiful smile. i dunno. couldn’t word it well it seems T^T.
I went back and reworded it. Tell me what you think. But I said her smile was sunny not sinister ~(⁰▿⁰)~
? Really? I think it fits really well.
Hmmm, if you’re trying for a loving feeling how about pang feeling or maybe ‘hammering’ (like heavy heart beat) or maybe a regular Thu-thump …. but these might be too girly.
I like the way it is now. I leaves the reader wondering what will happen.
The main reason I see the ‘pain’ he feels is basically all thanks to Ren from Skip Beat since he normally has his best, most radiant sparkly smile for when he’s trying to hide his emotions (mostly when he’s upset ^^’)
So from my perspective Radiant Smile = A Super POed Customer so I hope you’ll leave it as is, especially since he’s in big do-do now ^^ (I’m so glad I’m not him right now ^^)
LMAO OK
I was trying for heartache cuz he doesn’t know what he’s feeling. I reworded it a bit, what do u think? or is the older version better?
👍 Looks good! Just reread the chapter, the way it is now fits really well!
Oh! Forgot to mention, I love seeing him slowly fall.
First her eyes were interesting, then she was interesting ( also proposing mirage that really benefits him, willing to accept his current bachelor living) or amusing ( he laughed a lot ok!), next he had sex with her ( pretty sure he never intended to touch her since he suspects she could still get pregnant and she probably thought he wouldn’t either just the 1st night at worst) and… got addicted…, skip a few, now he’s welcoming her ‘tender’ hug (pretty sure when other women did this he didn’t care or was indifferent), but now he wants more….. sorry Hugo you seem to keep digging a bigger trench. I’d say hole, but he’s at least tactical….
It’s really the first time a woman has honesty been in his reach while perfectly out of his reach, she’s keeping her promise. Not for him but for herself. She might be good at meditation to keep that calm….
Very well said! I think Michelle who is Lucia’s tutor said that the best way to keep a man like Hugo interested it to maintain the “proper distance” and Lucia is really good with keeping this distance.
But I’m sure pretty soon Hugo won’t like this distance and will want to be even closer. hahahaha ^_^
Was it not yellow rose? From what I recall those past relationships with him were given yellow rose. Because yellow roses means goodbye?
And I think red roses mean passion, but when they made the contract it was ‘rose’ and a color was not specified.
Since he’s not the kind of guy to give flowers or thought enduring gifts to his girls, she never expected a gift (if she did it would end up with her in a heart break so she’s holding back). So a Rose would be the end.
“Every flower has a meaning Charles.” -Hugh Jackman in Kate and Leopold
For her since Jerome give yellow rose for the End, she just wants a ‘rose’ for the end. Personally I took it that if it was a rose of any color other than yellow that would at least show some respect for their time together yellow would mean Jerome sent it and Hugo didn’t care.
I guess it’s be like saying you got a tan, but to what degree we wouldn’t know,and Lucia didn’t specify a color, just a flower and Hugo agreed to that ‘flower’ the rose.
Lucia doesn’t know each color of rose have different meaning…and what representative of color means…. When she asked before, the answer is yellow roses meansg goodbye…but she doesn’t know other color mean of rose mean… And the condition contract state just rose not what color of rose…so for Lucia the rose can have meaning for their condition contract…so after hug.. Maybe she really maintaining more distance from Duke… Now more drama to their life….but l thought maybe he just use Jerome as scapegoat…
Thanks for the chapter
Ahh~ thank goodness he remembers
Look who falls first.. kek ^O^
Hugo that feeling is LOVE lol
Thanks for the chapter! love this! <3
Oh Hugh, you have an incurable heart disease, you can’t fight it….so live with it…. Mwahahaha😈😋
Aaaa everything’s a glo upppp
Miss Ruby do you know any translators that translate Korean novels.Since I don’t know much but I want to recommend this novel to be picked up its a really good one called Lady Baby.
Raw link ; https://page.kakao.com/home?seriesId=50227496
Why It should get picked up : The webnovel is completed and is adapted to manhua and the MC is very interesting its a rebirth trope where the MC who has lost all her family members to murder and is at her most lowest point she is given a chance to go back and be reborn to when she was a baby by a woman.
The story follows the MC from when she was a baby to her adult hood and is also quite different from the other MC being reborn to the baby and how she grows out from her trauma and also improving the lives of people who she knew could have been better if a bit of love was provided to them.
And there is more the MC’s family is absolutely adorable.
Description : Calliope has suffered through nature’s law and many accidents. Her family was murdered and an ongoing war ended her life, but she traveled back in time to when she was born?! While Calliope slowly grows, will she be able to figure out who killed her family and stop them in time?
Oh I’ve read the manga for it. Wasn’t really my type of read. Unfortunately, I don’t know any other KR translator.
Its alright I also don’t know many but thanks for replying 🙂
Pffff, I thought the one that was going to be flustered and weirded out for the roses was going to be her, but she brilliantly knew the Duke didn’t send them, what a great twist of the common trope.
Pfffff, I thought she would be the one who devastated but turned out he was. I love this plot twisted Lol😂😂😂
‘Why do women love flowers? They can’t even eat it.’
I have never related more to a statement than I have today.
It seems that Hugh is not so indifferent to love right 🤭
re-read 2023❤..!!