TRAPPED BY THE SECOND MALE LEAD
THE CHAPTER 20
Lucien leaves Meridia so she can adjust to the changing atmosphere there. A large, secluded house, does not have the impression of cheerful living as big as where he used to live. Quite understanding indeed, but still Meridia felt that this was not the place, she should not be related to the main cast any further.
Meridia makes the most of her time by tracing rooms from one corner to another. Not to forget Meridia also checked the balcony of her room.
“Wah!”
Meridia was immediately stunned when she saw the view presented by the balcony of her room. A lavender flower garden along with two rows of vine trees grow beautifully in the spacious and well-maintained courtyard. Everything is neatly arranged, line by line, series per series. There is no dry foliage garbage, only green grass is awake.
“I'm like being in a fairyland.” Yes, he was basically in a novel world.
Meridia was reluctant to enter and leave the balcony, but she was even eager to visit the garden next to the Palace. His feet were itchy if he did not go and set foot there. Meridia decided to enter.
The girl stared at the two big cabinets inside there that she had not yet reached. “How big is this closet,” Meridia approached the wardrobe that is quite wide and large, he opened it out of curiosity.
Who would have thought, both of them are filled with a range of dresses ranging from various models to colors although most are indigo blue and purple. Not only that, on the top board of the closet there is an arrangement of tiara (small crown whose shape is simpler than the crown) sparkling that many gems.
“Gosh, how much money did he spend on this?” Meridia touched the fabric of one of her dresses and noticed the models, most of her dresses are the type of dresses whose shoulders are exposed a lot “The taste is terrible.” The base of her nose is wrinkled.
Meridia flinched at the sound of knocking on the door as she was focusing on her own thoughts “Excuse me, Her Highness Meridia.” A maid-clothed girl with a flat and pale face appeared from behind the door, his black bead looked at Meridia meaningfully “Ya, what's up?”
“My name is Ximena and from now on I will work as your companion's maid,” he introduced himself briefly then continued his sentence again “Your Majesty the Duke ordered me to help you get ready for lunch with him.”
Meridia was indeed a real blooded noble, but since she was a child she had been used to being treated like a servant, Meridia became accustomed to living like an ordinary person. Getting special treatment like a big mistress in this palace made Meridia feel a bit strange and uncomfortable.
Not only followed wherever he went, even Ximena also offered to help Meridia take a shower and choose which dress to wear afterwards.
Who needs help taking a shower when you're an adult and have hands to rub yourself? Ximena kept trying to help her new employer according to the task she received, but Meridia insisted on refusing “No need, I can do it myself.”
“Your Majesty the Duke will behead me if I do not do the task properly.” said the woman calmly even though the words that came out of her mouth were quite terrible.
It seems Ximena is used to working under pressure, Meridia thought. Inevitably Meridia must follow Lucien's rules so as not to harm any party “Alright. Then please help.”
Meridia was reluctant to argue, whether the threat she had heard just now was real or just a hoax that clearly Meridia felt tired after entering the Navarro palace.
To be honest, Meridia could not or more accurately called not strong following the step by step of a noble woman in caring for themselves.
Too much of this is until Meridia does not memorize the sequence starting from bathing with a mixture of fragrances not only in the body but also hair, body scrubs, wearing masks, cutting nails, massages, then choose clothes. Do not forget the process of styling your hair and dressing up.
Forty minutes into the process, Meridia felt sleepy after several preparatory procedures. But the boredom was soon sidetracked when he saw the reflection of himself in the mirror.
The girl was amazed to see how beautiful she was while wearing makeup “Did I look like this if I dressed up like Marigold always does?”
She touched her cheeks and then carved a small smile on her lips “Thank you, miss Ximena.” Meridia shook Ximena's skilled hand to appreciate the good work she did.
“It should have been me doing a good job, Your Highness.” the flat-faced girl seemed relieved after knowing Meridia was satisfied with the result but she did not return her friendly smile “Please do not call me miss, just call Ximena because I'm just a regular waiter, Your Highness.”
A sound of footsteps could be heard echoing on the floor of the deserted corridor and not long after that Lucien appeared at the door of Meridia's room which was wide open.
The young man's narrow eyes widened to see the girl who had looked simple now had turned into a beautiful goose. The sea blue dress that Meridia wore added a peculiarity of a Meridia in her eyes.
Lucien's satisfied smile triggers a red tinge on Meridia's face “Haha I never get tired of seeing your beauty.” compliments her sincerely but still looks suspicious to Meridia.
Meridia did not know what kind of reaction to make. At the moment he has not been able to position himself well in the Navarro palace, it seems like it will continue to be so until he gets answers of his entire question. The kindness Lucien showed increased the level of alertness in the Marigold twin.
Lucien offers his arm to Meridia “Let's have lunch now,” take him with pleasure.
The dining table of a noble was incomparable to that of an ordinary person. The long table with more than ten seats was filled with a wide variety of freshly cooked dishes. The aroma is very appetizing. “Sit next to me.”
“Do any other guests will join?” asked Meridia innocently, he had never once eaten such a high quality luxury food as was available at that table and that much? Not likely.
“Of course all this is just for you.”
“You're kidding?” Meridia gawked at the large amount of food on the table. People with a big appetite will not be able to spend everything on their own.
“No. You can choose what fits your tongue.”
Apparently all Lucien deliberately prepared so that Meridia could choose her own food that was suitable for her.
Meridia sat on the chair to Lucien's right in a slow motion and hesitated, her dark blue netra looking one by one at the food before her eyes.
Meridia was interested in seeing something else. There is one whole pie in the category of desserts or sweet foods which strangely is only that available, there are no other sweet foods.
Lucien who had been observing Meridia had finally spoken up “You're curious about that? You can't eat too much sweet food. Your stomach is intolerant of sugar so I do not provide many sweet foods.” the handsome man explained as if he understood very well what Meridia can and cannot eat.
I come from another universe, how do you know our stomachs are the same?
“How do you know that?”
“Yes because I know.” Lucien's ambiguous answer made a big question mark on Meridia's head.
“I want—“ Lucien instantly interrupts Meridia's sentence before the girl finishes talking as if she already knows what she is going to say “You can just ask later after you finish eating. Your stomach has been empty since yesterday, ‘kan?”
The two had lunch together quietly. Meridia really only ate a piece of pie because it was too full to eat other dishes. After lunch, Lucien took his bride-to-be for a walk in the park while occasionally chatting.
Again Meridia was surprised to see the contents of the garden in the front of the Lucien palace which was filled with red camellias and lavender which if a little blown the aroma will spoil the sense of smell. He did not see all the sights of the palace because at that time Meridia only focused on the people who were waiting for Lucien's return.
Meridia developed a smile as her feet had actually stepped on that area of the lavender garden. It was so soothing to see the plants growing fresh there. “I take care of this all.”
“Really?”
“Yes. I told you once that I wanted to be a gardener, yes ‘kan?”
The two sat enjoying the view on the garden chair under the only wisteria tree growing in the garden. Unlike it seems, Lucien talks more when alone with Meridia. He also told how happy he was when gardening.
Meridia looked at Lucien's joyful face as if the young man had only felt happiness in life for the first time. Almost Meridia was washed away by that cheerful smile. “Why did you isolate yourself from the outside world? I mean, you've come to think of hiding where you live.”
Lucien hung his chin while staring at the beautiful face of Meridia “I don't want to coexist with other nobles. I think you already know how hard life is between such humans.”
Can not be denied the truth, the status of the nobility indeed changes all the rules of life for those who bear it. To be honest there wasn't much fun to be had from being part of the nobles.
The eagle-eyed man looked at Meridia's troubled face, his hands slowly moved to flick the hairdo that was stuck on the girl's forehead “I'm happy to be with me here. From now on I will not be lonely anymore.” murmured very slowly even the girl could not hear it.
Meridia glanced at the young Duke next to her “You're too good to me. What's the reason you helped me? You're doing good to me like you know me so well. I never did anything to you.”
Meridia can catch a glimpse of the man snorting “I've been in love with you since we first met. You always caught my attention.”
The girl put aside Lucien's answer and asked another question, “How do you know where I live, what my life is like, and even my identity?”
“Remember our first meeting near the market? From then on I started finding out everything about you, but don't call me a stalker.”
Meridia was fully aware that the answer issued by Lucien was very strange. It's not unreasonable, it's just that everything's too short to actually happen. In less than a month, Lucien had found out about her.
“You are ‘kan a Duke, you can easily find a partner.”
“I do not enjoy my position and prefer ordinary life. And you need to know, no one can control the heart to anchor feelings to whom.”
I'd better pretend to trust him first. I have to be careful around him.
“Then what about the Marquess and her family? You pick me up on such a fancy train, the people there will definitely know.”
Lucien shook his head casually “You're worried about unnecessary things.” She grinned thinly when she saw Meridia confused “Oh yes, I want to talk about this with you.”
After Meridia focused on him, Lucien sat up straight again and leaned his back on the shoulder of the chair “Should we celebrate our wedding party by inviting all the nobles who are there? Looks like it's gonna be exciting. I'll show everyone that you're mine.”
Lucien's crazy idea was not responded to. Meridia mendelik surprised to hear the word ‘wedding’ mentioned by her just “What?!” she repeatedly blinked her eyes “What do you mean by the wedding party?”
Lucien chuckled softly then he smiled wide “You didn't hear me wrong. You can stay here by being my wife. Take it easy, we'll have a wedding soon so you still have time to adapt to your new home while taking care of the wedding preparations.”
Meridia stood up from the chair in reaction to her shock. Lucien's statement was very deviated from the shadows. “Why do you want to marry me? We're not even that close until you can break the wedding as easily as turning the palm of the hand.”
Meridia tried not to yell at the person in front of her “You better tell me the best reason behind your decision.”
Lucien grinning wide “Pfft! itis funny. Do I need a reason to marry the girl I love?”
“This doesn't make sense. You just..huh, I hope it's just a joke.”
Lucien stepped out of the garden chair. Her sneaky grin was imprinted on her cold face “I'm not kidding and it's a well-rounded decision. You think anyone will love you as much as I do? Will anyone care about you but me? You won't find someone who loves you as much as I do.”
If Meridia's suspicious it's not a mistake. The way Lucien conveyed his thoughts did not at all describe that he knew Meridia recently. “I'm not—“
“I won't explain anything. It's up to you to remember it yourself or not, the look on Lucien's face turned flat. He stretched out his hand, “The air outside is getting colder, let's go inside. You'll need a break.”
Lucien held Meridia's hand tightly but did not hurt her. “I remind you, you've chosen the wrong partner.” Meridia's speech actually invited the amused naughtiness of the young man “I won't regret it as long as it's you, Meridia.”
It's insanity. He's gone mad. He's a very dangerous man.
"I can't always keep you company, so I hope you can be patient waiting for my return."
Meridia raised her eyebrows "Which of your business? Your job is just to run around."
"Haha yes it is true. But you don't worry, I'm not out looking for another girl."
"Did I mind?"
"You'll be jealous when you see me talking to another woman."
"You're too confident. Why am I feeling jealous?"
Lucien grinned faintly, "You'll feel it."
NOTES:
For friends who do not understand, this is the order of rank/caste/degree/ranking of noble status ranging from the highest to the lowest.
The author uses the highest degrees only up to the King yes, not the Emperor.
It's just for order, the labor system of division of his ranks is different. Thank you^^^
