Lucia Chapter 111

< — Peaceful day-to-day life — > (1)

The Queen gave birth to a baby girl . Hugo heard of the princess' birth while he was with the King . When Kwiz heard that a princess was born, he was greatly delighted .

“Hahaha! A princess?”

It was not a fake mask; Kwiz was truly delighted . Hugo had heard the King say in passing, several times, that he wanted a baby girl . Hugo just let it pass since it wasn't any of his concern but seeing Kwiz's vivid delight made him feel strange . Kwiz already had three sons, so Hugo didn't know why having one more child was making him so excited .

“Gong, isn't it time to hear news from you too?”[1]

“…Not yet . ”

“Think about it, a daughter that resembles the Duchess whom you treasure so much . Well, this King has to go see the Princess . A princess, huh . It's a princess . ”

The King cancelled the rest of his afternoon schedule, so Hugo was on the way home, earlier than usual . Inside of the carriage, Hugo gave a long sigh . News of the princess' birth would soon reach his wife .

The sight of his wife being unable to take her gaze off the Queen protruding stomach still floated in his mind .

[If someone knowing your secret will bring you pain, you don't need to tell anyone . ]

Looking back on it, she showed unconditional understanding . She didn't ask for the exact reason why Hugo didn't want a child, she just accepted it .

[…But the secret could cause you pain . ]

[If that happens, I'll cling to you for answers . ][2]

His wife lied . No matter how much pain his secret caused her, she was the type to swallow it down alone, and never cling to him for an answer .

'I have to…tell her . '

When he got home, his wife was out . The tea party she said that she would be attending today was not yet over . After asking Jerome to notify him when his wife returned, he went into his office . Not long after, he heard that his wife had returned and went out to meet her .

“How come you're here?”

Lucia was happy as if she had received an unexpected gift . She smiled brightly and nestled into his arms .

“Was the tea party fun?”

“It was a little enjoyable . ”

Hugo wrapped an arm around her waist and they engaged in light banter as they went up to the second floor .

“Why are you back early today?”

Lucia entered the receiving room, following his lead, and sat down on the sofa .

“You will hear the news soon . A princess was born . ”

“Oh my, that's great . Princess Katherine mentioned quite a few times that she wanted the baby to be a girl . ”

And every time, Lucia answered Katherine with, 'it will be a beautiful princess . ' Katherine thought she was just saying it out of courtesy, but Lucia already knew that a princess would be born .

“His Majesty was also happy . ”

Hugo grew quiet and the conversation went dead momentarily . Seeing him this way, Lucia could feel that there was something difficult for him to get out, and a worry emerged in her mind .

“Nothing happened to Damian, right?” (Lucia)

“…Why Damian, all of a sudden?” (Hugo)

“I think because we were talking about a newborn baby, my mind went to Damian . ”

“The boy is fine . Nothing will happen to him . ”

“It's alright if he's fine . Why do you get skittish when I bring Damian up?”

“What? Skittish?”

“You're the child's father, don't try to fight a battle of nerves with your son . ”[3]

“I'm not fighting a battle of nerves…Sigh . Yes, yes . I'm sorry that I'm small-minded . ”

Lucia laughed, cupped his face with both hands and gave him a light peck on the lips .

“It's fine even if you're small-minded . I love you . ”

“…Shouldn't you tell me I'm not small-minded?”

“Actually, there're sometimes when your small-mindedness…”

Lucia paused, sending him a strange gaze and seeing his sour face, she burst into laughter .

“…I think you've changed . ”

“What?”

The more time passed, the more Hugo was drawn to her . For a while, he gazed at his wife as she tilted her head at him .

No matter how one looked at it, his wife was smaller and weaker than him . However, on the contrary, he was in the weaker position and the one playing to his wife's mood . But the biggest problem was that, it didn't feel bad at all .

Hugo brought his head forward and gave her a short kiss . Her eyes widened into circles and her eyes curved beautifully as she smiled . Her smiling visage was so pretty that he couldn't help but kiss her a few more times .

Even as they talked about the newly born princess, his wife looked to be in a good mood . Her bright smile was the opposite of his worries and made his cheer up .

“Speaking of a baby . ” (Hugo)

“The newborn princess?” (Lucia)

“No . Our baby . ” (Hugo)

Lucia doubted her ears . She could not believe the expression, 'our baby' came from his mouth . Her heart thumped loudly . Lucia swallowed a nervous breath; her expression was glassy as if it would crack at the slightest touch .

“I told you a long time ago, that I have a secret I cannot tell anyone . ” (Hugo)

“…Yes . ” (Lucia)

“I still can't tell you everything about it . But I think you should know some of it . ”

And then Hugo went silent . It was Lucia's first time seeing him finding it hard to say something . Lucia was about to say, 'You don't have to say it' . And at that moment, he opened his mouth and began to speak in solemn tone .

“I cannot give you a child . The Taran family is a cursed family . ”

Translator's Corner:

[1] As explained before, get/hear news is about pregnancy .

[2] I previously translated this as I'll turn to you . In a way, they mean the same thing but this fits better, context wise .

[3] AKA, psychological warfare .

Chapter end