LUCIA

DAMIAN(12)

"Oh my, Chris."

The duchess smiled brightly and greeted Chris happily. When their eyes met, Damian used his eyes to ask Chris what he was doing. Chris smiled mischievously in response. Then when he faced the Duchess, he wore a polite look on his face.

"Chris. It saddens me to not have seen you for a few days now. Will you come to hang out again from tomorrow?"

Since the day Chris was forcefully invited to the Ducal residence, he had been visiting frequently. He even brought his younger brother, Jude. He stayed from morning till night, ate snacks, lunch, took naps, read a book; basically, he enjoyed himself like it was his own house. The only thing he declined was the Duchess' proposal to have dinner before he left. He wanted to avoid eating with the Duke of Taran.

Visiting someone else's house a few days before the New Year wasn't good etiquette, so he stopped visiting to avoid acting out of line.

Lucia liked Chris's friendliness. He seemed like he would be a good friend and a great balance to Damian's stiff personality. She also liked his shamelessness in happily visiting the ducal residence without reserve.

"Yes. I will gladly come to visit if you invite me." (Chris)

For the few days that they didn't go to the ducal residence, his little brother, Jude, kept whining, asking when they were going to see the princess again. Jude called the Duke of Taran's little daughter, 'princess'. When Chris asked him why he referred to her like that, the little boy fidgeted and replied:

[She's pretty.]

Chris was dumbfounded. The little brat had a good eye.

"There's no need for an invitation. You are always welcome. By the way, who are these two gentlemen?"

Chris held the shoulders of the two boys firmer. He giggled inside as he felt them trying not to stagger.

"They are classmates from the Academy."

Steve and Henry stated their names and greeted the ducal couple. Lucia figured they were probably nervous, so she accepted their stiff expressions.

"Damian, are they your friends?"

When Damian's indifferent gaze swept over the two boys, their clear faces darkened. Damian glance at Chris, who was grinning with satisfaction, and he secretly smiled. Chris had kept grinding his teeth over the suspension incident and it looked like he couldn't stop himself from playing a trick on the two boys. Damian decided to play along with Chris.

"They..."

Damian drew out the end of his sentence and observed the paling expressions of the two guys.

"...are not my friends, mother."

'Mother'. This was practically killing them and making sure they were dead. The arrogant guy who didn't know his place was in fact, the Duke's son. They already had a bad feeling when Chris talked with the Duchess in a friendly manner and revealed that he had been visiting the Ducal residence without reserve. Steve and Henry really felt like dissipating on the spot.

Damian didn't plan on torturing or taking the two boys to task for something that had happened in the past. If they kept acting up in the future, he would definitely crush them but that hadn't happened yet. To the two boy who didn't know what he was thinking, it sounded like a declaration of war.

"And I don't think they will be in the future."

From Damian's answer, Lucia sensed that their relationship was not very good, so she stopped being interested any further.