Chapter 51: 2.36: A Kingdom Beyond The Sea
Jax wanted to show off too, putting more effort into his fight and delivering a swift kick to the older brother’s stomach, and then used his elbow to knock him out.
There was still Southerner’s blood coursing through Jax, together with the power he gained from it.
It was his mother who ran away from her hometown when she was pregnant with him. She forced him to try and fit in as a local, which meant no fights, no being loud, no being a southerner.
The chanting grew louder.
"See?" Jax yelled at them, "That’s how you do it!"
"Boss! Boss! Boss!" the crowd continued.
"..." Jax groaned, turning to look at what was going on Lucian’s side after defeating the older brother.
It’s not that he was jealous of them cheering on Lucian. It was that he didn’t want them to encourage their Hay Head Boss to extort more out of himself than he was capable of.
After all, Jax was there when they had to carry the half-dead Lucian to the orphanage. He didn’t want a repeat of that, not on his watch.
Seeing his older brother getting defeated as well, "I yield," the younger brother admitted.
The crowd erupted in a roar of approval.
Lucian’s legs gave out, and he collapsed to his knees, his hands flat on the muddy ground.
"Boss!" They ran to his side, the crowd surging forward to help him.
Lucian A. got to him first, pulling him up and draping one of Lucian’s arms over his shoulders.
Another worker, Lucian T., grabbed his other arm, and they half-carried, half-dragged their Boss towards the main house.
"What about them?" Jack asked as he stripped himself, keeping only his underwear on, and began to shower under the heavy rain.
"Invite them to dinner after you wash yourself," Lucian said.
He had no personal servants to help him clean up or change his clothes, but some of the workers were eager to please, asking him if he wanted them to prepare a basin of hot water and such.
"A herbal bath would be nice, thank you," Lucian said as he sat down by the entrance, hiding from the rain. Someone brought him a hot stew, and he ate while the workers prepared a bath for him.
Repeating a movement while someone was punching back wasn’t easy. He should have started with the basics if he knew there were so many to begin with.
Just look at Jack. It came naturally to him just as breathing. A real talent. Unfortunately, Jax was a bad teacher.
Lucian sighed and then looked at his hands. They were numb as if he didn’t even have them anymore, so it was a struggle to hold the bowl and feed himself.
’Would she feed me if she were here?’ He wondered, his mind going to his little wife. ’I want to find out.’
Winter would arrive in a month, so his schedule was tight.
He didn’t have to do much manual labor like before, but he still had to give directions and supervise the work of others. Some things required him to be there in person.
He returned to Goblin’s greenhouse to check on its progress while cramming some training in between his projects as well.
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By the end of the month, Lucian had made a few official visits to Celine’s home, where she showed him the path they would take to sneak him into her room.
He was currently sitting on a plush armchair, feeling out of place, as if he were a piece of old furniture that had been brought in by mistake. The room he was in wasn’t even the main library, but a personal one.
Celine sat opposite him, and Edmund sat between them like a buffer. Lucian was taking notes on the logistics of his business while they were discussing the current affairs in the Varia Kingdom. The conversation soon moved to their language.
Lucian remembered how Celine got grounded the first time, with all her allowance money taken away. It was because she failed her language lessons.
It looked like she still didn’t fare well in this subject because the teachers didn’t really speak the language they were trying to teach either. Also, why should she learn their language when no Rochofert spoke it either?
Varia Kingdom... It was a kingdom beyond the sea, and their culture was very different from his own. It was a nation of powerful warriors who borrowed strength from the spirits of the dead.
You didn’t die in their lands, but instead, got bound to the land and used as a tool to protect the living. That’s what the Diamante Kingdom told its citizens at least. The reality was probably more complex.
Lucian would like to expand his business into the Varia Kingdom in the future, and knowing the local language would be a big help (he didn’t trust Voice in this regard anymore).
Maybe he could study it together with Celine during the winter?
’How romantic would it be?’ He thought. There would be no third wheel and no interruptions. It would be just them and a pile of books to read. The thought alone made him want the winter to come sooner, which used to be the worst season of the year for him.
"What would─?" Lucian could barely finish his sentence before a female’s voice cut him off.
"Edmund, dear," a woman’s voice called from outside the library. Her voice was sweet, but there was a hint of steel in it that made the hairs on the back of Lucian’s neck stand up. "Are you in there?"
Edmund scrambled from the sofa and hid under Celine’s skirt, his movements so quick and desperate that Lucian was taken aback.
"Pretend to be my servant," Celine whispered to Lucian, her voice urgent. "Stand up and pretend to dust the shelves."
Lucian was confused, but he did as he was told. He stood up and grabbed a feather duster from a nearby table, his heart pounding in his chest. He didn’t know what was going on, but he knew that he had to play along.
The door to the library opened, and a woman walked in. She was beautiful, with dark brown hair that was piled up on her head and a dress that was the color of the midnight sky. The mourning dress. The Duchess of Rochefort. Edmund and Celine’s mother.
"Where is Edmund? I was told he was here," she said, her eyes scanning the room, her gaze lingering on Lucian for a moment before moving on. She didn’t recognize him. To her, he was just a servant. A piece of furniture.