LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 36
Episode 36: A Momentary Lapse of Judgment
“…!”
Perhaps it was due to her overwhelming anger, or maybe her blood pressure had suddenly spiked, but Brigitte suddenly felt dizzy.
Her breathing became erratic, and her legs wobbled. As she pressed her hands against her painfully throbbing head, she lost her balance and staggered to the ground, like a rag doll.
“Brigitte, are you okay?”
Before her swaying body could hit the wall, someone swiftly slid a hand between Brigitte and the wall.
Marie let out a sharp breath.
“…Luke-sama…”
“I’m sorry… I heard a loud voice and wondered if something had happened…”
Luke awkwardly apologized.
Supported by someone, Brigitte’s unsteady body felt somewhat stabilized, yet her gaze wandered aimlessly. The dizziness hadn’t fully subsided, but she was comforted by the gentle grip on her shoulders as she was guided to a nearby chair.
As her back was softly rubbed, her heavy breathing gradually eased up.
“Are you hurt?” Luke asked with a worried look, and Brigitte shot him a glare before shaking her head firmly.
“I… I haven’t done anything wrong!”
“Yes. You’re not wrong.”
Brigitte stared at him, momentarily taken aback by such an easy affirmation.
“Everything you said is indeed true, Brigitte-san. I’m as lowly as can be, hardly noble at all, with no status or wealth to speak of.”
Even squinting didn’t reveal any anger in Luke’s expression. Straining her ears didn’t help either; there was no trace of dissatisfaction in his voice.
Without any form of protest or argument, Luke knelt down before Brigitte. Maintaining eye contact at her petite height, he spoke softly.
“You care a lot for Lady Alexia, don’t you? So do I. I certainly don’t want her to be unhappy.”
If only he could declare he would make her happy.
He wished he could boldly propose to Alexia.
However, one cannot choose their parents.
You can’t change the family you were born into.
And you can’t overcome blood ties simply through effort.
“So, please don’t worry. A lowly person wouldn’t dare desire a noble. I know my place…”
With a slight bow of his head, Luke turned to leave and wished Brigitte well, who remained stunned by his words.
“I’ll be heading to the kitchen to help Hans-san.”
Luke stood up, silently bowed, and turned to leave.
Everyone remained frozen in place, like stone statues, until he was completely out of sight.
“Why is he being so modest? No need to play noble… I won’t be fooled…”
Brigitte still appeared bitter, but the fire in her earlier outburst had clearly sputtered out.
It was Alexia who timidly broke the silence.
“I shouldn’t say this, but… I think it’s a misunderstanding that Luke likes me.”
“A misunderstanding?”
“Yeah. The first time I met Luke was in the forest below the castle. It was still early evening, but I sensed some strange wolves making a fuss, so I headed into the forest with a few knights.”
Wolves are fundamentally nocturnal beings, often active around dusk, which made the ruckus they caused that day quite odd.
As expected, a pack of wolves was hunting in the forest, with Luke−the unsuspecting prey−lost among the trees.
Alexia quickly drew her bow, nocked an arrow, aimed, and shot at the wolves.
“Luke was born and raised in the royal capital. It must have been his first encounter with a wild wolf. Experiencing the thin line between life and death likely heightened his emotions for a bit.”
Alexia had heard such tales before.
It’s said that standing with the opposite sex in a precarious situation—a swaying bridge or a crumbling stone path—can lead one to confuse tension and fear with romantic feelings for that person.
Luke faced a life-threatening predicament, probably steeling himself for death, only to be saved by Alexia.
Could it be that the relief and gratitude he felt in that moment were mistaken for love?
Perhaps he still held onto that misconception.
But surely, he would wake up to the truth soon enough.
“So, I think it would be unfortunate if you took Luke’s words at face value. Eventually, this misunderstanding will clear, and he’ll come back to his senses.”
“Is that so…?”
As Marie tilted her head, Alexia chuckled lightly.
“There’s not a man so strange as to persist in thinking about me. It’s always been this way, hasn’t it?”
All the young men who previously proposed to Alexia didn’t last long before giving up. None had really stuck around.
In the beginning, they would whisper sweet nothings to her, only to quickly turn and criticize her as barbaric, rude, or crass.
They came and went as they pleased.
They pursued her monologically and pressured her for marriage.
They settled for disappointment, belittling her all at once.
“What on earth is this?” Alexia thought, amazed.
But she wasn’t particularly hurt.
She hadn’t allowed her heart to open wide enough for them to leave marks.
It wouldn’t be accurate to say she had grown disillusioned with men.
Though she had seen plenty of unsatisfactory candidates, she understood that didn’t mean all men could be lumped together.
Nevertheless, her desire to live independently of men only intensified, and she found their declarations of love, romance, and sincerity increasingly unreliable.
She wasn’t equating Luke with her past suitors.
While she thought Luke was a trustworthy person, she still classified the feelings he held for her as gratitude or obligation—essentially a misunderstanding.
Shaking her head, her hair as dark as night, Alexia declared firmly.
“I have no illusions. Luke’s feelings are merely a momentary lapse of judgment.”
Marie quietly tilted her head.
(It has been several months since Luke came here… I don’t think it can simply be called a momentary lapse…)
Marie thought it was too long to be dismissed as a mere moment, but she kept her mouth shut, fearing that any words might reignite Brigitte’s anger, which had just started to cool.
Brigitte straightened her long skirt and turned to face Alexia.
“That’s quite enough. It’s just a waste of time to be further confused by that outsider. It doesn’t matter whether he’s serious or mistaken; he clearly holds no status befitting your partner.”
Brigitte’s intentions were not lost on Alexia. It was the same sermon she had heard since childhood—so much so that her ears could no longer feel the burn.
“Listen well. You are the heir of Rietberg. You absolutely must marry! You need a husband who understands the responsibilities of the margrave, possesses status, lineage, and character, and who will support you both publicly and privately!”
With a whirlwind of words, Brigitte pressed on.
“Without a doubt, it will not be that outsider!”
“…U-Understood…”
Alexia was destined to inherit the margrave title and knew she must marry eventually.
Despite the understanding of her necessary marriage, she remained hesitant due to the past affairs of her suitors, which made her resistant to moving forward. Until now, she had repeatedly avoided the match proposals brought to her.
Her father, the current margrave, was displeased, but frankly, Alexia herself had little interest in romantic entanglements.
In one of the castle rooms, there was a towering pile of unopened invitations to parties, proposals of marriage, and biography letters from suitors that had accumulated over time.
“…However, before the young lady can marry, there is a significant obstacle to overcome.”
“Yes, there is still one more person she absolutely must get past…”
Ewald opened his mouth to say something, while Marie’s gaze drifted into the distance.
“Lady, may I interrupt?”
In an unusually hasty manner, Eckart—Ewald’s father and the butler of Rietberg Castle—rushed into the room.
“An express horse has just arrived.”
What Eckart handed over was a letter inside a small cylindrical tube.
It was a communication tube used for messages. The seal bore the same crest as the flag hoisted at the castle.
“My lord—the margrave of Rietberg has returned.”