I Didn’t Know I Had Two Husbands - Chapter 44

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Lucian hurried his steps after leaving the annex. Their conversation had gone on longer than expected. For now, they had no intention of appearing before her at the same time.

Noticing something and facing it directly were entirely different matters.

Especially Elaria. She was timid. She was always conscious of others’ reactions and hesitated to reveal herself.

He recalled the first time he met her. She had only stared anxiously at her older sister’s back with wide eyes, like a frightened rabbit.

At first, he had simply thought she resembled a rabbit. But after they began talking by chance, that impression gradually changed. Her purity, completely free of greed, made her seem like a different kind of person to him.

Even as a child, she was still a noble. Most nobles were fundamentally greedy. Unlike the other playmates who reached out to him and chattered loudly, she kept her distance instead.

Though she couldn’t hide the curiosity shining in her honey-colored eyes.

As he slowly found himself drawn into those eyes, he had wanted to show her to Noctis as well. They had taken turns going out to the secret hideout.

Adorably, Elaria had never distinguished between the two of them. She had simply greeted them shyly with clear eyes.

“That must be what opened Noctis’s heart too.”

Back then, Noctis had been extremely difficult. Yet he wore the mask well and treated their playmates like a proper gentleman. Rather, Lucian, the true heir of the duke, had often been scolded by his father for not handling social interactions properly.

“…Huu.”

Entering the main building, Lucian let out a long breath as he hurried up the stairs. He was tense. If he told her the truth, how would she react?

He had no intention of letting her go now, but the thought that she might come to hate him, like Noctis feared, made his heart pound wildly and his palms damp with sweat.

Just as he reached the third floor, he spotted Elaria standing in the corridor. Amanda was beside her. It looked like she had been on her way to his room.

“…Ria.”

For the first time, he spoke her nickname and reached out. The moment he caught her slender wrist, he began to walk.

“L…Lucian?”

At her startled voice, the corner of his lips lifted slightly. From the way she called him, he realized she had already noticed the truth about the two of them.

She no longer hesitated to call his name. Because she now knew that the one who reacted to the name ‘Lucian’ wasn’t always the same person.

The moment they entered the room, Lucian pulled Elaria into his arms. His arms wrapped firmly around her waist.

“Ria.”

“…Lucian.”

She realized she hadn’t misheard earlier. Being called by a nickname for the first time made everything she had been thinking about evaporate from her mind.

“Lucian…”

She wrapped her arms around his neck and called his name earnestly. The Lucian she knew. Though she did not yet know the other’s name, she was simply glad that she could call this name freely.

That gave her courage.

She had resolved to hear the truth tonight, yet her lips still felt heavy. Carefully, she began.

“I… want to trust you, Lucian.”

It was what he had once said when they became lovers. “I’ll trust you.” Now it was his turn to give her that trust.

“Ria, you asked why I proposed to you, didn’t you?”

“…Yes.”

“We couldn’t go on without you.”

At the word ‘we’, Elaria’s body flinched. Knowing through intuition and hearing it spoken aloud carried a different weight.

“There’s no reason to hide it from you anymore, Ria.”

After speaking briefly, he looked down at her quietly, as if it was now her turn. She fidgeted with the fabric of his shirt and met his gaze.

If she heard the truth, there would be no turning back. No, perhaps it had already been too late the moment she married them.

She quietly drew a breath and slowly spoke.

“…I want to know the other’s name.”

Lucian, whose story was about to begin with Noctis’s name, showed a faint smile. Even though they shared everything, the jealousy that sometimes surfaced was difficult to endure.

So instead of answering, he lifted her into his arms.

“This might take a while. Shall we move somewhere else?”

Naturally wrapping her arms around his neck, Elaria nodded. As he said, it felt like it would take a long time.

On the bed, the two lay down holding each other instead of becoming intimate, and began to talk. As they spoke, Lucian kissed her from time to time, on her forehead, the bridge of her nose, and both of her cheeks.