101st Confession - Chapter 125

<CHAPTER 125

“You’re really going…….”

“You’ll stop by the capital after the trip, right?”

After waking up their sleepy friends and having a meal together, Herwin and Lucia prepared to set off on their honeymoon.

They couldn’t stay in a place without the owner, so their friends were about to call in a carriage and leave.

It would be hard to see them again. It was a fact that everyone knew without having to say it.

Henry, Lucas, and their friends greeted Herwin and Lucia with a hug.

“Lucia, you have to stop by the capital, okay? You never know when you’ll be back down here!”

“……Yes, I’ll try to find the time.”

Lucia glanced at Lucas, who had said something to her earlier in the day, and then out of the corner of her eye, she looked at Lucas and Arista.

Their relationship seemed colder than usual. Arista had held Lucas back, but she wasn’t sure if they’d even talked.

Still, neither of them was willing to admit that their relationship had deteriorated in public.

“Lucia, are you going to stop by your parents before you go?”

Lucas stepped forward and looked at her with a hint of disappointment. Lucia pulled herself together and nodded.

“Yes, we have to say hello to them, and Mom and Dad are there.”

Yesterday, the Duke and Duchess of Phoenaeus, anticipating the arrival of their friends at Phoenaeus Mansion, had offered to stay at Agneses.

“You really should be on your way.”

Jerome checked the time and urged, already well behind schedule. They had to hurry if they want to make it on time.

Herwin and Lucia waved goodbye to their disappointed friends once more and climbed into the carriage.

“See you later.”

“You have to let us know when the wedding date is set! Okay?”

Herwin and Lucia clung to the window and told their friends what they should not miss. Their friends smiled and waved.

“Of course! We’ll be the first to write to you!”

“Don’t forget our gifts when you come!”

“Let’s write often!”

“Sister, if ever brother makes you sad, tell me!”

The carriage moved and the faces of their friends, Henry and Lucas, slowly drifted away. An indescribable feeling washed over them.

“A little…”

“It’s refreshing and sad.”

Lucia’s expression was a little subtle, perhaps the same for Herwin. The two, who were looking at each other, soon smiled and held each other’s hands tightly.

They went straight to Agnes’ mansion to greet their parents.

They wished them well on their honeymoon and gave them pocket money to go out and buy something delicious.

When Lucia later found the money in the carriage, she was stunned.

Around 2 p.m., the carriage carrying the newlyweds left the capital. Their honeymoon destination was an island in the south of the country that had recently become a popular tourist destination.

They had installed a teleport just a few months earlier, so they could get there in a short time without a long carriage ride, and they could enjoy the warm climate year-round.

Not long after they arrived at the teleport, they were transported to the island.

Immediately after stepping into the teleport, Lucia’s eyes lit up at the sight before her.

“Oh, my God…! Herwin, look at that! That’s the ocean!”

The ocean was a mystery to Lucia, who had only ever been to the north and the capital.

Herwin was just as excited as she was to see the white sandy beach outside.

After unpacking their bags at their pre-booked accommodation, they set out to explore.

Compared to the capital, where they had to bundle up, it was relatively warm there, so they could dress as lightly as in summer.

Shoot.

“Wow, it’s so cold, ouch, it’s coming! It’s coming!”

Seeing the blue sea, Lucia waded in and out of the water with her bare feet with the excitement of a child. Herwin, who was watching the scene with delight, did the same, taking off his shoes and dipping his feet into the water with her.

“Yeah, it’s so cool.”

“I love the ocean. It would be so nice to wake up to a view like this.”

“Yeah? Maybe we should build a cottage here?”

“Huh?”

“It’s not fully developed yet, so there must be some nice land out there. Even if there isn’t, we can put some extra money on it and it’ll be enough…….”

“No, no, no! I didn’t say that because I want a vacation home! It costs a lot of money just to maintain a vacation home…….”

“Why worry about money? Who are we?”

Lucia was at a loss for words for a moment. Yes, with the wealth of the Phoenaeus family, building a villa here would be no big deal.

Still, Lucia shook her head and grabbed Herwin’s arm.

“Let’s go over there! Jerome says there’s a famous cliff.”

Lucia deflected as much as she could, thinking that if she stayed there much longer, he might actually start building a cottage. There was no way Herwin didn’t know that, but he decided to let her get away with it this time.

They hadn’t been around long and it was already starting to get dark. It was only 4:00 p.m. when they unpacked their things at the hostel.

They’d be staying for another three days, so they decided to make up for it tomorrow and walked around the nighttime streets, which have a different charm than the daytime.

It’s no lie that the city has been focusing on tourism lately, and the streets were as bright as daylight with all kinds of shops.

There were also food stalls everywhere, so there was plenty to do and eat. There were even the occasional street performers.

“Wow!”

Eating a skewer with a special hot sauce, Lucia marveled at the magic show in front of her.

People breathed fire in front of her, and pigeons appeared out of nothing but hats.

It was a trick she’d seen many times in the capital, but it felt special in a different place.

“Herwin, this is fun, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, I don’t think he’s an amateur.”

Herwin watched the magic show with an amused expression on his face. Just then, a man with polka dots and stars painted on his face approached Lucia with a comical gait.

He stared at Lucia and Herwin without saying a word, then pointed at both of them and drew a heart shape.

Lucia laughed as if it was asking if they were lovers.

“Yes, we got married yesterday.”

Surprise flashed across the clown’s face, and then he started clapping, leading the audience to applaud.

“Huh?”

The clown grabbed Herwin. Herwin wondered at first but turned to Lucia at the gesture to follow him.

“Go.”

“……What the hell are you trying to do?”

Herwin didn’t seem to want to, but he obediently followed the clown. The clown squirmed in front of him and whispered in his ear.

Herwin obediently listened. Then the clown, along with another clown, stood in front of and behind him.

They held up a black cloth as long as he was tall and covered him.

They didn’t say a word, just acted, and the people couldn’t take their eyes off them for a moment. As they watched in fascination, one of the clowns suddenly drew a knife and plunged it through the cloth before Herwin could react.

“Herwin!”

Lucia cried out in alarm, but the clown gestured for her to stop. Then, just as the other clown had done, he drew his knife and plunged it deep into the fabric.

Lucia’s face paled. She glanced at Herwin’s feet beneath the cloth, hoping his reflexes would allow him to dodge.

He was still. The position of the knife made it impossible to squat or dodge.

Even if it was magic, she couldn’t take it anymore.

“What are you doing with my husband now……!”

Lucia was about to argue when a firecracker exploded, and the cloth around Herwin turned into a pure white veil, scattering pollen.

Lucia froze in surprise, and then Herwin emerged, unharmed and clean, with a single rose in his hand.

“Lucia.”

Herwin beamed, and the women around him sighed.

“Thank you for marrying me. Let us live happily ever after.”

As Herwin placed the rose in Lucia’s trembling hand and pulled her into a tight embrace, whistles and cheers erupted around them.

Lucia regained her composure and looked around. The clowns who had performed the trick were gesturing apologetically and throwing all sorts of candy into her arms.

“It was all a trick?”

“Yeah, they said they wanted to see what my wife would do when I was in danger.”

“You, really……!”

“My husband, that’s what I like to hear, honey.”

Before she could get angry, Herwin kissed Lucia on the cheek, making her laugh so affectionately that she couldn’t even get angry.

* * *

“The food was delicious, and we had a lot of fun today.”

“Your feet don’t hurt?”

“Yeah, I wore comfortable shoes, so they’re fine.”

As soon as they reached their quarters, Lucia staggered in and went straight to bed. 

With her face buried in her hands, Herwin laughed and took her shoes off.

It was so strange to see him do what she wanted without being asked.

“Now, let’s get you cleaned up.”

“What? I washed this morning.”

Herwin smiled meaningfully at Lucia, who shook her head in disbelief.

“Are you going to stay like this? Well, it doesn’t matter to me.”

Lucia noticed that Herwin’s voice was more sneering than usual. Raising her head, she could see his face, which was now almost in front of her.

Lucia swallowed hard at the sight of his wide-open red eyes.

“What, what are you doing?”

“Nothing.”

Herwin’s red eyes slowly lowered as he slid Lucia’s dress off her shoulders.

“I’m going to do what I didn’t get to do yesterday.”

For a moment, Lucia was mesmerized, but then she blushed and jumped to her feet.

“Oh, no, I’m going to wash up first!”

As Lucia rushed into the bathroom, she heard laughter behind her. Lucia realized that her reflection in the mirror was as red as a burnt potato.

It looked eerily similar to the flower on her neck. Yesterday, she was relieved that they didn’t spend the first night, but now that they were about to, she felt disoriented.

As much as she wanted to run away somewhere else, the anticipation was overwhelming because she had been waiting so long for this.

Lucia stripped off her clothes and wrapped herself roughly in a towel. She checked the temperature of the water in the tub, rolled her eyes, and stared at the door, which was firmly closed.

She swallowed hard and moved to the doorway.

“Herwin.”

There was a rustling sound, followed by a friendly voice.

“What? Did you forget something?”

“Not that…….”

Her jaw dropped, but Lucia took a breath and gathered her courage.

“Do you want to… wash up with me?”

Suddenly, she didn’t feel any support from the outside world. When she didn’t hear a response, she felt embarrassed.

“Tss, you don’t have to, I was just saying……!”

As she closed the door and turned to leave, the hand on the doorknob lurched forward. Lucia staggered, bumping her nose against something solid.

Lifting her head, she saw Herwin, his face as red as hers.

And in his red eyes, the dark desire began to flicker.

“Are you serious?”

“……I shouldn’t have said that?”

Lucia slipped down the towel that was covering her body. Herwin’s eyes scanned her.

Tsk.

The bathroom was so silent that they could hear the water dripping. But then, with a scratching sound, Herwin threw off his top and swept Lucia into a quick hug.

“I may not be able to stand it.”

“That’s okay, I’m not-“

It’s the same.

At Lucia’s affirmative reply, Herwin’s eyes flashed, swallowing her whole.

For the first time, Lucia realized that such a sound could come out of her mouth.

Her hands and toes tingled, and she wanted to grab onto something, anything, but the only thing she could grab onto was Herwin.

“Lucia……!”

“……Herwin!”

They moved from the bathroom to the bed, tangled together, and continued to call each other’s names in ecstasy through the long night.