Entering the Ahren estate, Lucian headed straight for Erin’s residence. Everyone at the estate knew him as Erin’s bodyguard, but they were surprised to see him looking entirely different, like a rich nobleman. No one stopped him, but they couldn’t help but wonder what was happening. Other than those who had seen him in the royal court and palace, no one knew him as Lucian Rainier, nor did he find it necessary to announce his identity.
When he reached Erin’s residence, everyone was shocked to see him.
"Luke, is that you?" the guards standing outside asked, approaching him.
He nodded.
"Have you suddenly beco a rich nobleman or what? I could hardly recognize you."
"Sothing like that," he answered. "I’m here to visit Lady Erin."
"Lord Rainier?" Bree, who had stepped out of the residence, noticed him. Though surprised at his changed appearance, she bowed to him respectfully.
Her actions surprised the guards.
"Did you call him a Lord?" a guard asked.
Bree nodded. "He is not Luke but the Lord of the Northeast, Lord Lucian Rainier."
The two guards, though shocked, imdiately bowed to him. "Apologies, Lord Rainier. If we..."
"It’s alright," Lucian dismissed them hurriedly and asked Bree, "I want to et Lady Erin."
"Lady Erin is in the rear garden, with...."
Lucian had already turned to go to the rear garden of her residence before Bree could finish talking.
’Why such a hurry?’ Bree wondered and followed him.
They reached the rear garden, where Bree almost ran to catch up with Lucian’s long strides. "Lord Rainier, please let announce your arrival to Lady Erin."
Only then did Lucian slow down and allow Bree to go ahead of him.
Bree reached the garden where Erin was enjoying tea with her elder brother, Euron.
"Lady Erin, Lord Rainier is here to visit you," Bree announced, bowing politely to the siblings.
Erin was surprised to hear it, while Euron turned his head to look at the handso nobleman walking toward them. Erin followed her brother’s gaze. Like him, she was shocked. She found it impossible to take her eyes off him. Her heart, which had never wavered at the sight of even soone like Arlan Cromwell, the most handso and desirable man in the kingdom, beat faster at the sight of this lord of the northeast.
Euron cleared his throat, seeing his dazed sister. She imdiately regained her senses and maintained her usual calm and composed deanor.
Lucian approached them and offered a light, polite bow. "Lord Euron, Lady Erin."
Euron stood up to greet him, his tone polite. "Lord Rainier, what brings you here? I believe it’s not because you’re missing your previous job."
Lucian didn’t mind the teasing and spoke, "I’m here to et Lady Erin."
"Oh, and here I thought after our joint efforts in taking down Luis Mortier, you considered a friend and ca to visit ," Euron comnted.
"I was going to visit you before leaving for the northeast," Lucian replied. "But I’m glad I could et you here."
"But since you’re here to visit Erin, I’ll leave you to it. I hope next ti you co here especially to see ," he said, glancing at Erin, who hadn’t spoken a word. Turning back to Lucian, he added, "I have so important work to attend to. I must take my leave."
Lucian nodded, and Euron left.
"I will bring tea," Bree said and walked away.
Left alone, Erin finally looked at Lucian. "Please have a seat, Lord Rainier."
Lucian sat in the chair opposite her. Before he could say a word, she asked, "May I know what brings you here, Lord Rainier? If I’m not mistaken, on your last day as my bodyguard, you said what you wanted to."
Just as calm and composed, Lucian looked straight into her eyes. "There is sothing I thought I should say."
Erin leaned back in her chair, folding her hands in front of her chest. "Hmm! Let guess." Her gaze t his unyielding one. "You’re here to pay back for helping your sister, aren’t you?"
Lucian simply stared at her, his gaze devoid of any particular emotion. "Do you think so?"
"Of course." Her tone was confident. "What other reason could you have to visit your previous master? You’ve already settled the account of your salary and paid back for my help by being my bodyguard on the last day. As far as I rember, the only thing that could bring you to is to repay what you consider a favor to your sister. I know Lord Rainier is not fond of owing anyone and likes to keep everything clear with others."
"If you believe that’s why I’m here, how would you like to repay you?" he asked.
"I’m not the one to say you owe anything. Since you’re here to repay, you must have sothing in mind."
"What if I’m not here to repay you for anything?"
"Then you must have lost your way and ended up here by mistake."
"That’s not the case."
"Then I have no idea. You must be just bored and have nothing better to do...."
"I’m here to apologize to you," his dignified and deep voice interrupted her.
Erin felt like she had heard sothing wrong. "Apologies for what?"
"I’m not sure."
Erin, who almost felt moved to think he wanted to apologise, was now stunned to hear that he wasn’t even aware of why he needed to apologise.
But was she even aware of what he should apologize for? He had done nothing to upset her, yet she was still upset with him.
Both were the sa, neither aware of what was truly wrong.
A sudden silence fell as they simply stared at each other quietly.
The silence was broken when Bree brought tea for Lucian. She served it and walked away, sensing the tense air around them.
"Lady Erin, my sister said you seem to be upset with and can’t stand the sight of . She thinks I have done sothing to upset you," Lucian said, not bothering to look at the teacup.
"Rina said that?" Erin asked.
He humd and continued, "I’m not sure what I did to upset you, but if there is anything, I apologize for it. I hope you can forgive ."
She stared at him quietly, his deep brown eyes as if they could pull the very soul from her body. She cleared her throat awkwardly and looked away, around the garden.
It was difficult to believe that this rock of a man knew how to apologize to soone and he even considered what his sister told him.
"Lord Rainier, your sister must have been mistaken. But since you’re here to offer an apology, I accept it." She picked up the teacup from the table and started drinking after blowing on it to cool it. Her gaze didn’t dare et his, but she could feel his eyes still on her.
"Aren’t you going to drink your tea?" she asked, busy with her own cup.
She didn’t want him to keep staring at her like this or she was sure she won’t be able to stand that mysterious looking gaze of his.
Her eyes stuck at the table top, she noticed his hand finally move to the teacup and lifted it. She observed how large his hands were, though rough-looking but with a manly charm, the sa hands he used to protect her in the market that day, the sa long fingers that accidentally brushed against her ankles.
With all these thoughts, she felt as if she couldn’t breathe anymore and wanted him gone before he could guess what was going on in her mind just from the sight of his hand. She was not used to how he was affecting her, confusing her about what was happening to her.
Her gaze, moving along with his hand, stopped at his face as she watched him drinking tea. She couldn’t help but gulp at the sight of it, how elegant he looked while simply drinking tea, or so she thought.
Lucian’s calm deanor contrasted sharply with the turmoil inside her.
She watched the way his lips touched the cup, the smooth motion of his hand, and the way his eyes remained focused and unyielding. Every small detail seed to draw her in more, making her heart race even faster.
She got back to her sense. "Is there anything else you want to say, Lord Rainier?" she asked, trying to steady her voice and mask her unease.
He set the cup down gently, his eyes eting hers once again. "No, Lady Erin. I just wanted to ensure there were no misunderstandings between us. I appreciate your ti."
She managed a small nod. "Of course, Lord Rainier. Thank you for coming."
Lucian finished the tea and stood up, offering a polite bow. "I will take a leave then."
Erin nodded and he left. She watched him leaving, sohow hoping that he would turn to look at her before he was gone, but he didn’t.
She finished the tea in one gulp and frowned inwardly. ’Why is this tea so tasteless?’ She slamd the teacup on the table and stood up abruptly.
Bree hurried over. "My lady, what happened?"
"Don’t ever give that tea ever again," she ordered coldly and walked away.
Bree, confused, quietly followed her master. ’Isn’t it her favorite tea? What happened all of a sudden? Did Lord Rainier say sothing unpleasant to upset her?’
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