Chapter 31

Two weeks after the expedition -- the Technical Department had passed its peak of busyness.

During the one month of the expedition, they were supposed to be quite busy, but the replacement equipment was completed ahead of schedule.

The reason was Viola.

She had demonstrated her highest level of concentration and quickly completed the replacement equipment for the Divine Beast Knights. Maintaining this high level of concentration, she also helped her colleagues, which accelerated the overall progress of the Technical Department, allowing them to start leaving on time from today onwards...

"Director, is it okay if I stay in the office and work on removing the enchantments from the defective items?"

"I knew you were a workaholic, but aren't you running low on magic power after such a high-paced work? If you collapse from magic exhaustion or overwork, my position will be in jeopardy. Let's call it a day today."

Perhaps thinking of the Ambrosius family, Director Dressel shivered and urged Viola to go home. With her superior saying that, there was no way to refuse. Viola decided to return to the ducal mansion.

When she returned to the Ambrosius family's mansion, Lady Hermine was delighted by her son's fiancée's early return.

"Viola, would you like to have a drink with me?"

This was the first time Lady Hermine had personally invited her for a drink. Feeling curious but seeing no reason to refuse, Viola nodded.

Invited to the salon, Viola sat on the sofa next to Hermine. The drink served was ice wine, which was sweet and smooth, making it easy to drink like juice.

However, she didn't want to get drunk and make a fool of herself in front of the lady, so she sipped it slowly. Lady Hermine mainly asked questions about the work in the Technical Department, and Viola explained while drinking the wine.

As they slowly savored it, Lady Hermine suddenly looked puzzled.

"Hmm, I heard you were quite good with alcohol, but you're not drinking much. Did I get it wrong?"

"Um... Is that information from Lord Lukas?"

"Yes, of course. Lukas said that when you drink together, you drink a lot and it's very lively. I was curious to see how it would go."

How much did Lukas talk? She hoped he didn't mention drinking whiskey straight from the bottle.

"Hehe, it's because of Lord Lukas. He asks questions in a playful way, and I get carried away. Plus, he's a good listener, so I end up talking a lot."

"Oh, so I'm not a good listener?"

"No! That's not what I meant!"

As Viola hurriedly denied, Lady Hermine chuckled. She didn't seem offended; rather, she looked pleased.

"I'm sorry, you're so cute, I just wanted to tease you. It seems you and Lukas have really gotten along. That's good, really good."

Lady Hermine finished her wine and looked at Viola with a raised eyebrow.

"But Viola... you don't think of Lukas as a lover, do you?"

Her heart skipped a beat.

Lukas and she were in a mutual love relationship, which was why their engagement was approved. She needed to deny it, but her opponent was a veteran in social circles. If she lied completely, she would be seen through.

"Well... I have a fondness for Lord Lukas and respect him greatly."

"Yes, I can see that. Let me rephrase it. You don't think of him as someone you want to be intimate with, do you?"

"Um, that's..."

Just imagining kissing or more with Lukas made Viola's head spin. She drank the wine to cool down, but her chest felt hot too.

"Oh! So you do have some awareness of him. Or maybe you're just now realizing it and feeling flustered?"

Realizing she was seen through, Viola gave up on hiding it. She nodded awkwardly, feeling guilty towards Lukas.

"On the first day we met, you said Lukas was the savior who would solve the succession problem. But it seems you really didn't think of him as more or less than that, right? As expected."

"I'm sorry. But if you knew how I felt, why did you and the Duke approve the engagement?"

From Lady Hermine's tone, it seemed they had seen through her from the beginning. Despite being a villainess who tried to use her son to solve the succession problem, she was welcomed from the first meeting.

"Lukas... has given up and avoided many things."

This was unexpected. Lukas had status, money, and popularity. Viola tilted her head, wondering how he could lack anything.

"Hehe, is it surprising?"

"Yes, honestly, Lord Lukas is a perfect person."

"Yes, he is an amazing child. He has the strength to endure and overcome anything. But there are very few people he can be himself with."

Lady Hermine looked at her empty glass and spoke about Lukas.