LUCIA

WHERE DREAM AND REALITY MEET (5)

5)

'I guess lunch will be rabbit stew. Should I make some grilled clams too?'

As she ate breakfast, Lucia was thinking about the next meal. When she lived alone, she made roughly three meals for herself and that was it, but ever since she had a guest, it became something she put effort into. Furthermore, he was certainly used to eating only high-quality dishes, so she felt embarrassed to give him her shoddy meals.

Lucia secretly watched him as they ate. She couldn't believe it even though he was right in front of her. Even though she knew it was impossible for there to be two men with such an appearance and atmosphere around them.

Her gaze fell on the soup bowl he was eating from. Lucia gave a small sigh as she watched him eat a breakfast consisting of soup with only onions and potatoes.

'This place...it doesn't suit him.'

She used him as an excuse, but the truth was, it was for her own sake. He was going to leave anyways. It was better for her to send him away before spending time with him became something she was used to in her daily life.

After they were done eating, Lucia brought out some tea and spoke as if she was just saying it in passing:

"When it gets colder, it will be harder to move."

He looked at her with a brow raised.

"Do you mean you can't let me sleep and eat for free anymore? Do not worry, I will pay the lodging fees."

He had already done more than enough work to pay for accommodation. The firewood he cut alone was enough to last the entire winter. Thanks to his regular hunts, there were piles of skins in the storage and if they were sold, it would bring in a considerable sum of money. Lucia had never eaten meat almost every day like she did nowadays.

No matter where they were, capable people always shone. His tenaciousness was true. He was the only person who made her heart flutter in her memories, marking with the pain of her youth. So Lucia's heart throbbed when she looked at him and she felt bitter because she was reminded of her place and knew that she didn't suit him at all.

"That's not what I meant. The person waiting for you...will be worried."

"There is no such person."

He nonchalantly declared. Lucia wanted to immediately ask, 'how can that be?'. He was already married. He had both a wife and a son waiting for him. And it wasn't just his family. Many of his subordinates were probably stamping their feet, searching for his whereabouts.

"I am uncomfortable."(Lucia)

"..."

"I've lived alone for so long that living with someone else is too much for me."

Lucia felt him staring at her, but she looked down and deliberately maintained a look of determination on her face. A while later, she heard the sound of something metal hitting her wooden table. Lucia lifted her gaze slightly to look and flinched.

'Why is that...?'

The thing he put on the table was an item she kept buried deep in her drawer. It was a brooch, framed in the shape of a lion with red jewels on it. She still had no idea how it came into her possession, but there was someone she was reminded of when she looked at it so she just couldn't throw it away.

Sometimes when she remembered it, she took out. Just like how her mother took out the pendant from time to time. And nowadays, because the person she thought of when she took out the brooch was actually in front of her, she found herself taking it out more often.