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Episode 52. The Same Heart

It was Lucy.

Why was Lucy in front of me?

'A dream?'

It couldn't be a dream — Lucy's scent was too strong.

"Lapin!"

And her clear voice reached me.

It wasn't a dream.

"Why are you here?"

Her happy approach was short-lived; Lucy stopped in her tracks.

The implication that he shouldn't be here made Lapin's joy freeze rapidly.

"Lucy."

Anxious, he closed the distance between them.

As the gap between them shrank, Lucy grew wary of her surroundings and lowered her posture.

"How did you know to come here?"

At her sharp question, Lapin's pupils narrowed. Her prickly, sensitive voice felt like it was pushing him toward a cliff.

"…Was I not supposed to come here?"

He clenched his fist, suppressing the rising sorrow. He hadn't expected Lucy to be overjoyed to see him, but he hadn't wanted to be pushed away either.

"Am I interrupting you? Did I barge in on you and the director?"

Lapin saw the man's coat covering Lucy's elegant dress. It was long enough to reach her waist, and it bothered him. Instead of acting on the urge to tear it off, he pressed her with his question.

"Barge in? Didn't you get the director's letter?"

"I read it."

"Then why are you here?"

The blood drained from Lapin's face. The voice he'd longed to hear, sweet enough to listen to forever, now felt like poison sinking into his entire body.

He lowered his darkened face.

'Damn it.'

Unable to part his lips, Lapin flinched at a presence nearby.

Lucy's knee touched his. The unexpected contact, along with her fresh scent, left him dazed.

"…."

At Lucy's shifting, his chilled back grew warm. Lapin spotted the director's coat on his shoulder and frowned.

"I don't need this."

"You'll catch a cold."

"I'll be fine —"

"Lapin, stop being stubborn and put it on."

At her irritated voice, Lapin's eyes widened.

"Put it on."

Meeting his gaze, Lucy was genuinely angry.

"Are you stupid?"

"…."

"You read the letter — so why did you come?"

She spoke as she forced the coat over his shoulders.

"What if you get caught by Tulda?"

"Huh?"

"They're the bastards who came to the cabin four years ago to kill you. Whether you're weak or strong, they'd scour the village to cut your throat. Do you think they've changed in four years?"

Flustered, Lapin could only stammer.

"Fortunately, they left without incident, but they could be watching. If they'd planted someone, they'd have kept them close to the director. If those bastards found you…"

Lucy paused to catch her breath.

"Lapin, even if you're strong, they have numbers. Even if you win, you'll get hurt. I really hate it when you're hurt."

"…."

"I hate it even more when you get hurt while I'm not there. So even though I missed you, I held back."

This time, Lapin looked at her, and Lucy averted her gaze.

As he observed this unfamiliar expression, his eyes moved to her hand on his shoulder. The hand that had forced the coat on him to keep him warm was trembling.

"I came to the party because Director Damian asked me to."

Lucy spoke in a smaller voice than before.

"I didn't want to come, but I forced myself. I thought I'd worry less about you here, so why did you make me anxious again?"

"…So what you're saying is."

His lips moved slowly.

"That you missed me."

"Isn't that obvious?"

What kind of question was that, anyway? He could almost hear the unspoken words behind it.

"…I came here with the same feelings."

A hint of tenderness crept into Lapin's voice.

Gone was the Lucy who tried to protect him — here was Lucy, anxious that he might get hurt. Others might say there was no difference, but Lapin felt happiness in that small change.

"I came running because I was worried about you."

He and Lucy shared the same heart. That this feeling wasn't one-sided, but a mutual understanding, thrilled him.

"…Even though Tulda might be here?"

"I'm no longer afraid of them. What I fear is them threatening you. That scares me."

"Liar! You've been so sensitive ever since you ran into them last time."

Her warm words healed the venomous feelings that had sunk into his entire body in an instant.

"And yet I was angry that you faced Tulda alone without me. And a party with the director on top of that — can you imagine how I felt?"

"Hmm."

Lucy began, her brows slightly furrowed.

"…I must have been… really angry."

At Lucy's self-deprecating reply, Lapin couldn't help but smile.

"Yes. More than you think."

Driven by mischief, he blamed her further.

"And despite the possibility that I might be a Tulda spy, you came running like this."

Lapin saw Lucy, who had fallen silent under a wave of guilt.

In that moment, he felt an overwhelming happiness. Unable to contain it, he grabbed Lucy's arm and pressed several kisses there.

Smack, smack.

It was an affectionate touch.

As if her arm were coated in honey, Lapin peppered it with kisses, moving down to her wrist.

"Ugh."

At Lucy's gasp, he looked up. His gaze, filled not with anger but with passion, met Lucy's exactly.

"It's punishment. You made me angry."

Like someone who'd always wanted to do this, he pressed his lips to her wrist for a long time. Lucy's pulse, pulsing beneath his lips, raced wildly.

"Now do you understand how worried I was?"

He said.

"I hope this feeling is the same as yours, Lucy."

"…."

"You're so beautiful. I hope you'll always call my name so sweetly."

He whispered, as if tempting her.

"…."

"I want you to keep worrying about me. I want you to be anxious without me. When I'm hurt, I want you to hold my hand and cry by my side. Don't smile at the director or strange men — smile only for me."

At his courtship, Lucy froze.

"You're beautiful now, but I think you'd be even prettier in a dress I picked out for you, Lucy."

Lapin held her wrist tightly so she couldn't escape.

'I don't want the same relationship as before.'

Lapin thought.

With his bold confession, he held back the urge to kiss her lips and waited for her answer.

"Lucy, where are you!"

As if on cue, the interrupter Damian's voice called out. Lapin clicked his tongue and tightened his grip on her wrist. He wanted to take Lucy and run, but Damian was the type to hold a grudge and pay it back later.

"Lucy."

He pulled off Damian's coat and called her.

"If your heart is the same as mine, please come with me to that small village in the west."

His voice, asking for an answer from the woman he loved, was more serious than ever.

"But if Tulda is watching me—"

"If they were, I'd have dealt with them immediately. If you dislike me or find me repulsive, you don't have to come. But if not, please come."

"…."

"I'll be waiting under the big tree at the village entrance."

Lapin pressed his lips to Lucy's wrist once more, then stood.

---

"Where on earth did you go? I found you!"

Damian approached with a flushed face.

"If you go somewhere, at least let me know! Did you become an assistant just for show? Is making people worry your hobby?"

"Yes…."

I answered absentmindedly, stupidly. As expected, Damian's suspicious gaze fixed on my face.

"Did that cold wind short-circuit your brain?"

"Maybe."

"What? It really did?"

He flicked my forehead, telling me to snap out of it.

"Ha, fine."

He turned his head, as if out of energy to nag.

"Mother went back to the manor first, so when you come to your senses, we'll return to the territory too."

"I need to go see Lapin."

"What nonsense?"

Damian frowned immediately.

"No matter how I think about it, I'm worried."

"In that dress?"

"Yes."

"Right now?"

"Yes."

At my stubborn nodding, the director sighed.

"I told you to abandon that weak-willed mindset. You're that worried?"

"More than that—"

"Then I'll come too."

"If Tulda is watching you, they'll notice if you go somewhere other than the territory."

"Ah, seriously."

Damian's face crumpled.

"So the conclusion is you want to be with that pathetic bastard…"

He bit his lip several times and held his forehead.

"Damn it. Why do I feel so shitty?"

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