“Go back and practice your calligraphy. Don’t keep Lord Morrisey waiting,” Luciana said.
Samuel nodded, then walked over to Edmund and said coldly, “Let’s go.”
Luciana didn’t want to see Edmund. Right now, he was nothing more than a servant under Drake. He shouldn’t even be here.
Samuel spoke without the slightest bit of respect. His tone sounded like he was ordering around a common errand boy, not caring about
Edmund at all.
Edmund followed him, full of frustration. Once they were out of Luciana’s sight, Edmund couldn’t hold it in anymore. “She’s just messing with you for fun. Don’t forget she’s never going to give you any kind of status.”
“Lord Faulkner, you sure like thinking ahead,” Samuel said with a sneer, clearly unimpressed.
Samuel thought, “What exactly is Edmund trying to imply–status? And for what?
‘Luciana only took me in temporarily, just like she once did with Edmund. So who’s the one with ulterior motives now? Who’s already dreaming of status?‘
“I’m just giving you some advice,” Edmund said stiffly. “Staying here like this with no name and no title–don’t you care about your own reputation?”
Edmund had no goodwill toward Samuel. This wasn’t a real warning. He just wanted to say it, wanted to drive Samuel away.
Whether Samuel left on his own or got kicked out by Luciana, it didn’t matter, as long as Samuel was gone.
Watching him stay here, taking over what should’ve been his, made Edmund feel sick.
Edmund couldn’t even explain why he felt this way. He wondered, ‘It isn’t jealousy… right? Why will I be jealous of someone like Samuel?‘
Samuel stopped and turned to face him, his expression serious. “Princess Luciana holds a noble status. The attention and judgment she gets are far more than anything I’d ever face. If that day ever came, I’d care more about her reputation than mine.”
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Samuel thought, ‘Luciana is the princess, after all. If anyone wants to stir up trouble, they’ll go after her, not me.
‘I’ve no power, no position–no one will waste their time coming for me first.
‘Therefore, by the time any gossip made it to me, Luciana would’ve already taken most of the heat behind the scenes.‘
Edmund stood frozen, shocked. He realized he’d overlooked something–something big. A strange feeling swelled in his chest. After a pause, he mumbled, “She doesn’t care.”
Even as Edmund said it, there was guilt in his tone. He paused, ‘Luciana doesn’t care… right? In the past, she had never said a word about it.
‘Not once did she mention how much criticism/she had taken for me.‘
Samuel frowned. “If even Princess Luciana doesn’t care, then why should I? She could’ve chosen not to take me in–she had that choice. But she still did, even knowing the consequences. So why should I pretend to care?”
Samuel was clearly talking about himself, yet every word felt like a direct hit to Edmund.
Every sentence sounded like an accusation, like he was being called selfish and ungrateful, like Samuel was blaming him for never once thinking about Luciana’s side of things.
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Chapter 22
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“If you’re that concerned, Lord Faulkner, then stick with Lord Morrisey and stop overthinking. As for me, you don’t need to worry about what !
do,” Samuel said impatiently.
Samuel repeated the same words Donovan had once told him–words now meant for Edmund.
Edmund had already been annoyed with Samuel’s attitude. Now, hearing those words, he shoved aside all his messy thoughts and snapped, “You’re just here temporarily. I used to live in Lilyshade Hall. Have you seen the kind of place you’re staying in?”
“So you do know how nice your old place was, huh?” Samuel shot back.
Back then, Edmund had thrown a huge fit, insisting on leaving. To anyone who didn’t know the details, it would’ve seemed like Luciana had
mistreated him.
But now it was clear–Edmund knew just how well she treated him and still chose to leave. That wasn’t just ungrateful–it was insane.
Edmund had no comeback. Unconsciously, he thought of Juliette.
Back when he left, Edmund had thought it’d be easy to get close to her again.
But Juliette, worried about her reputation, never stepped in to help. Luciana, though… she never even hesitated.
Edmund shook his head, trying to clear it. ‘Why am I suddenly thinking about all the good things Luciana done?‘
Edmund couldn’t blame Juliette. She had her reasons. Maybe once he had money for new clothes, once he could take care of himself again, then he could go to her. Right now, she must have misunderstood him.
To Luciana, this little meeting with Edmund wasn’t worth a second thought. But Samuel remembered it clearly. That Edmund guy–he was a
trouble.
That evening, Samuel had a short talk with Donovan. Donovan felt the same. Edmund wasn’t a good person.
The two quickly found common ground. When it came to dealing with Edmund, Donovan fully backed Samuel.
Over the next few days, Samuel clearly started targeting Edmund. He kept ordering him around and making him do all kinds of chores.
Drake didn’t say anything. Because Samuel treated him with great respect, always polite and proper.
Plus, Edmund was just a servant now anyway. But to Edmund, this was a massive humiliation.
One day, someone from the palace came. Francesca had summoned Luciana—something had happened.
Trenton had suddenly decided he wanted to gift someone a god statue. But the statue was missing. Turned out, Dorian had taken it.
Taking it without permission was basically stealing,
Trenton was furious. He demanded answers from Dorian, and even the maids and servants around him were punished.
Then Francesca had called Luciana into the palace, hoping she’d help plead for Dorian and somehow explain the whole thing.
“If Mother really wants to help him, just say it’s you want to borrow the statue for a bit,” Luciana said casually, petting the kitten in her arms. “Say you just want to take a look, and Dorian forgets to return it. Simple as that.”
Francesca hesitated. “Will that even work?”
Luciana shrugged. “Worth a shot. If it doesn’t work, oh well. He’s the one who couldn’t keep his hands to himself–he’ll have to pay for it.”
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Chapter 22
Trenton’s anger wouldn’t last forever. He wasn’t going to beat Dorian to death. Nothing to worry about.
Francesca noticed Luciana’s detached attitude and felt a wave of uncase–and maybe a bit of disappointment.
“Luciana… he’s your brother,” Francesca said softly, forcing a smile.
Luciana let out a quiet laugh, like she’d just heard the world’s dumbest joke. “Mother, haven’t I always been good to him?”
If anyone thought she’d treated Dorian badly, they had to be blind.
Dorian was her only brother, and Luciana had spoiled him endlessly, cared for him in every way.
What others saw was just the tip of the iceberg. Francesca, as their mother, had seen it all up close.
So there was no way she could say Luciana had treated Dorian poorly.
“You’ve always been good to him. I know that,” Francesca said, her voice softening. “I know some things happened between you two, but I still hope you’ll keep an eye on him.”
Without Luciana keeping him in check, Dorian would get even more out of control. He already acted recklessly, and soon there wouldn’t even be anyone left to advise him.
Francesca thought, ‘If Luciana still cares enough to keep him in line, Dorian won’t be under house arrest right now. And if not, who knows how long that will last?‘
Luciana understood exactly what Francesca meant. It wasn’t about discipline–it was about taking the blame.
Francesca still wanted her to cover for Dorian, to shield him from Trenton’s anger.
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