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Sending Valentia off in a carriage, Lexus went on his way back to the Imperial Palace, also in a common carriage.
Next to him was the puppy he’d suddenly decided to take with him. His tail used to be wagging with such excitement, so it was a little pitiful seeing how dejected he looked now.
When Valentia was around, his tail looked like it was going to fly away, but now that she was gone, it was like all his energy had been completely sapped. She never once pet him apparently, but with how this dog loved her, you’d never guess it.
[ Lexus ] “Why did I take you with me?”
Actually, he didn’t intend to take the dog with him. He didn’t even feel sorry for him.
Lexus didn’t like animals. Dogs, cats, horses, even humans weren’t his favorite. He far preferred plants by comparison. And yet somehow, here he was, picking up a dog.
And not just any dog, but a stray, lacking in any good pedigree. It was so crazy, he could hardly believe it.
But the expression she made when he said he would take the dog came to his mind. It was a very strange face, he wasn’t sure the best way to describe it.
It was a look he’d never seen from her before. Her expression was always so cold looking, but somehow, looking at her like that, he thought she might start crying.
No, not exactly. Saying it was a face close to tears wasn’t totally accurate.
He’d seen more than his fair share of women burst into tears in front of him, but Valentia’s face was a little different. It looked more like she was overwhelmed……
The carriage came to a stop at the Imperial Palace.
[ Guard ] “What’s your business at the Imperial Palace?”
[ Coachman ] “Oh, uh, the Prince is here.”
The coachman, driving an unmarked and common carriage, spoke with a trembling voice. Once Lexus poked his head out of the window, the guard saluted and sent the carriage inside.
[ Lexus ] “Do you have any idea how lucky you are?”
He glanced down at the puppy, who was lying down looking all too depressed.
Lexus poked him, causing the puppy to make a whining sound. Normally the only animals that entered the Imperial Palace were precious birds of good lineage, hunting dogs, well-bred cats, or stunning horses meant to be bred. So a stray was certainly unusual.
Once they arrived in front of the Prince’s Palace, the door to the carriage was opened. Outside, Hugo was waiting.
[ Hugo ] “You’ve returned home early today.”
Lexus was about to exit the carriage, but the dog didn’t seem to want to move, so he picked him up from the seat, handing him off to Hugo.
[ Hugo ] “A puppy, Your Highness?”
[ Lexus ] “Oh, clean him up for me.”
[ Hugo ] “Will you be raising him?”
[ Lexus ] “Apparently so.”
[ Hugo ] “Very well.”
Hugo, a little annoyed by the animal, recklessly took the dog and followed after Lexus. But then he noticed a piece of cloth wrapped around the beloved Prince’s hand.
[ Hugo ] “What’s that on your hand, Your Highness?”
[ Lexus ] “I got a little hurt.”
[ Hugo ] “Hurt? Let me check your hand.”
Lexus spoke lightly, casually sitting on the sofa as he carefully undid the handkerchief wrapped around his hand. He wasn’t seriously injured, but his hands were usually always well maintained, and now it was scratched up pretty badly.
[ Hugo ] “How did you get hurt?”
[ Lexus ] “I took a tumble.”
[ Hugo ] “What do you mean, a tumble? Where?”
[ Lexus ] “Uh, on the ground?”
[ Hugo ] “What are you talking about, Your Highness?”
The Prince was saying he took a tumble on the ground, but it was a little difficult to understand where he was going with this. But his answer was insincere and did nothing to alleviate any of Hugo’s burning questions, so he couldn’t help but continue to ask.
But Lexus just replied with a smile.
[ Lexus ] “Don’t worry about it.”
He thought he’d only be inviting something troublesome into his life if he said he got hurt trying to save a woman from jumping in front of a carriage. Even more so if it was the same woman as the incident from not long ago.
He hated unnecessary disturbances, especially ones he did not wish upon himself. Moreover, he found the excessive interest of others in his life to be a little irritating.
Hugo seemed to understand that he didn’t want to talk about it, so he sighed and swallowed his curiosity. There was no need to bother the Prince if he didn’t wish to say anything.
It was better to just call a doctor to see if he was injured anywhere else.
[ Hugo ] “I will call the Palace doctor.”
[ Lexus ] “Just apply some medicine. There’s no point in calling a doctor.”
[ Hugo ] “But what if it scars?”
Lexus’ hands were very well maintained, aside from the current injury. He had long and slender fingers with strong joints and wellkept nails. They were almost inhuman in how perfect they were, as if he were a statue carved from marble with great care.
Lexus even thought it wasn’t so bad to have a scar since he didn’t like such meticulous perfection. But Hugo was incessant with his worry and the doctor was called regardless.
[ Doctor ] “Oh, how could you hurt your precious body like this? First, I must disinfect it. It might sting a little.”
The Palace doctor rushed in, soaking a cotton pad in disinfectant, grabbing it with a pair of tweezers and dabbing it on the wound. He thoroughly cleaned it before applying the medicine.
It was applied so carefully that he couldn’t even feel it. Thin gauze was used to bind his wound, and that was done with such care, it was like the doctor was performing an important surgery.
[ Doctor ] “It’s good you washed it right away. All the dirt is already gone.”
[ Lexus ] “Is that so?”
[ Doctor ] “Yes. Are your bones alright? Can you move your fingers?”
[ Lexus ] “Hm.”
Lexus raised his hand, moving his fingers.
[ Doctor ] “Luckily there doesn’t seem to be any fractures.”
[ Lexus ] “I see. Thanks.”
[ Doctor ] “Be careful not to let water touch your hands. It’s not a major injury, but it could still be a big deal, even if it’s just a minor scar.”
[ Lexus ] “Alright. You’re excused.”
[ Doctor ] “Yes. I will take my leave.”
[ Hugo ] “I will prepare a bath for you.”
Once the doctor was gone, Hugo approached and mentioned the bath. But Lexus wasn’t a fan of baths, so he shook his head.
[ Hugo ] “The doctor said you must keep your hand out of water. If you refuse, I will have no choice but tell Her Majesty or His Highness about this.”
But Hugo immediately jumped and threatened to tell on him if he refused so it could not be helped. He submerged himself in the water with scented salts and tilted his head back. Eventually, the hot water made him feel drowsy.
[ Hugo ] “Your Highness, what should I do with this handkerchief? Should I throw it away?”
[ Lexus ] “Handkerchief?”
[ Hugo ] “Yes. The one your wound was wrapped in today.”
There was blood splattered across it and it was in a terrible condition. It was natural for Hugo to ask if he should toss it since it wasn’t handmade and it was clear it was not a handkerchief of high quality.
In fact, it was such a terrible and shabby looking object that, if it hadn’t been wrapped around Lexus’ hand, he would have quietly thrown it away without asking.
[ Lexus ] “Oh, that……..Just leave it for now.”
He was just about to tell him to throw it, but after thinking for a while, he changed his mind.
[ Hugo ] “Very well. I will keep it once I’ve washed it.”
It would be nice if he could use that as an excuse to talk to her. Although, didn’t they need to talk about the dog, too? This wasn’t his intention, but now that he’d saved her life, he’d become her benefactor, so it would be hard for her to turn him away. Now it was looking like this bet wouldn’t be that hard to win.
Somehow, he was looking forward to tomorrow.
Looking forward to tomorrow…..
This was the first time the Prince had ever felt like that.  At some point, every day just started to feel so dull, so this was different.
But Lexus didn’t seem to realize that.
*
* * *
*
Ever since her normal, everyday life had become entangled with the Prince, there was always some kind of commotion. Today seemed to be the most hectic of them all, but it was also the day Lexus got caught up in her own mess.
But if he hadn’t been following her so intently all day, she might’ve been in some serious trouble.
And he did take the dog with him.
As soon as she heard him say he would take him, her heart felt like it was dropping in her chest. He was just taking in a stray dog to help raise it, but somehow it felt like he was saving her.
Maybe Valentia was projecting herself too strongly onto that lost stray.
No one saved her nor did any one care for her, so when she fell, she had to catch herself because no one else would. She couldn’t even bring herself to touch a single stray dog even once.
And so his decision to take the dog felt very strange.
She didn’t know the Prince was the kind of man to throw himself into harm’s way to save someone. He could’ve been seriously injured but even so, he saved her. It was things like that made her think he might be a good person.
He was even nice enough to hold back a common carriage for her.
Entering the mansion with that thought in mind, she ran into the Baron.
Though he was once a handsome enough man, now he was nothing more than a middle-aged, fat man. This was the man Valentia called her father.
[ Valentia ] “Father…..I’ve returned.”
It was very unfortunate to run into him like this. He never accepted her greetings nor did he greet her warmly in return, but if she didn’t say anything to him, the only thing she’d get back were curses.
That was something she realized a long time ago. She passed him by quietly back then, not saying a word since he wouldn’t say anything back anyway.
[ Baron ] —’You ungrateful brat! How dare you ignore me while living in my house!’
[ Valentia ] —’I didn’t mean it like that, I, I just thought you didn’t like it when I spoke…’
[ Baron ] —’So you think you can just ignore me!? Oh, did your mother teach you that!?”
[ Valentia ] —’Why are you bringing up mother?’
[ Baron ] —’Mouthy right until the very end. Such a disgusting woman.’
So long as she was technically his daughter, he couldn’t stand being ignored by her. Despite being a man in his second marriage to the woman he was having an affair with, he had to save face and salvage his reputation as a baron.
He couldn’t stand the imagery of his deceased former wife and her daughter, but was forced to keep her around for the sake of his reputation.
And so, ever since she was young, Valentia lived with a resounding mantra in her head—Become an adult. Graduate from the Academy. Take care of myself.
The baron turned away from her, ignoring her. But then, he spoke in a clear voice, with pronunciation so precise, there was no way she would miss it.
[ Baron ] “If she was going to die, she should’ve died sooner.”
Flinch—
Valentia trembled.
He wasn’t talking about her. He was speaking in past-tense about someone who had already died. And there was only one person who once lived in this house who was dead.
Her mother, who didn’t even have a portrait left to remember her by.
After her mother’s death, her grandparents followed shortly after her, unable to overcome the loss of their precious daughter. Their title was taken by a distant relative and that man took what was left of their property.
And then, that was when that man officially remarried. To the woman he’d been having an affair with.
[ Baron ] “Why did she have to give birth to that?”
She didn’t want to be hurt by those words, but things rarely went her way.
Never once did Valentia regard him as a father, and it had been a long time since she’d given up the expectation of being loved by him. But still, his words were cutting and they hurt.
There was no way they wouldn’t. She knew it was useless, but the scars were being left on her heart all the same.
How can he say that about mother when he once loved her? How can he just forget about her like that? How can he be so cold?
Valentia could not understand her father.