"You both are insane," Edmund said, wiping a tear from the corner of his eye when they both continued to stand there, hugging and glaring at each other, "You look like you are going to kill each other before the wedding, I swear."
"You know what they say," Lucian said, pulling Celine closer to his side, "The line between love and madness is thin."
"Who says that?" Celine asked, looking up at him.
"I just said it," Lucian said, feeling more and more confident. He was no longer a gardener talking to a duke's daughter, but a man talking to his woman. "And it's true. Look at you, still not letting me go to the washroom."
Edmund continued to laugh at his sister's reactions, who was clearly struggling to keep up with Lucian's retorts.
"You are not allowed to laugh," Celine said, pointing a finger at her brother. "If you take his side, you can forget about me taking over your duties."
"Don't forget who is covering for your meetups," Edmund reminded her, his smile not fading. "I no longer owe you, my dear sister."
"...Ugh, you barely know him for an hour and he is already a bad influence," Celine mumbled, her hold on Lucian loosened a bit.
They accompanied him to the washroom, where he finally had a moment to himself.
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'Okay,' Lucian thought to himself while looking at his reflection in the mirror, 'What's the plan now?'
If Edmund were against them, there would probably be signs of his interference. But he didn't seem to be. He had given Lucian his blessing.
It sounded too good to be true. Lucian was not used to someone helping him without expecting anything in return. Celine must be offering Edmund something, like taking over his duties, as she just mentioned.
The Rochefort twins were a united front, Lucian thought as they walked back to the solarium.
The tablecloth was replaced, along with the spilled tea and a new set of pastries.
"How can I repay the favor, Young Master?" Lucian asked, "For helping me and Celine."
"Nothing," Edmund said, looking at his sister, who was already stuffing a pastry into Lucian's mouth. "I'm just happy to see her smiling again after her grandfather's passing. I thought she would never recover."
"I'm sorry for your loss..." Lucian didn't notice any changes in her mood. She seemed to be her usual self, always ready to push his buttons. "When did it happen?" he asked, "He didn't pass recently, did he?"
"Seven months ago," Edmund answered after receiving a nod from his sister, looking at Lucian, "The notice was just a formality. We've been in mourning ever since."
'Seven months ago,' Lucian thought, 'That's right after we met at the border...'
She stuffed more pastries into his mouth, making his cheeks puff up. He gobbed them down with a few gulps. The mood was getting heavy again.
"I was there to comfort her, so there's no need for you to worry," Edmund said, reading his mind and stabbing it with his words.
"Don't misunderstand," Celine cut in, "I had to babysit him because he's a big baby who couldn't handle it. He's the one who needed comforting."
Edmund coughed lightly, turning his head away from Lucian's gaze. "I had to make sure you won't turn your grief into a weapon. You were not in the right state of mind, Celine."
Lucian finished the whole plate of pastries, trying to drown the nagging feeling in his chest with sugar. He never had a sibling, but he had a cousin, and they were the opposite of close.
'If you react like this toward her brother, who knows how you will act toward anyone else who becomes her husband,' the voice said, not in a mean way, but a curious one. It even sounded happy for them to reunite, though it would never admit it.
'Poison,' Lucian munched on the croissant the maids brought in after he finished the last pastry. 'I need a lethal poison.'
Killing her husband still looked more realistic in his head than marrying her himself.
He continued to listen to the siblings' conversation, learning more about her and her family. It was obvious that she didn't want Edmund to feel like a third wheel, so Lucian helped her, making the meeting less about them and more about Edmund.
Her brother made it possible for them to meet in the first place, so he deserved some of her attention. Celine seemed to appreciate his efforts.
"Any lucky ladies I should know about?" Lucian asked.
Edmund was a bit taken aback by the question, "Not yet. Mother doesn't think it's time."
"She's overprotective of him," Celine said, "She's scared of another woman stealing him from her. He's a mama's boy."
Edmund sent her a dirty look. "She is just worried about my future. And she is not overprotective. She is... cautious."
The way he said it made it clear that he was just repeating his mother's words, words he didn't believe in but had to obey.
After a few more hours of getting to know each other, Lucian took the opportunity to secure their next meeting before he left. He offered his services at a loss, not for free as to raise suspicion, but close enough to make it look like he was trying to climb the social ladder with a small bribe.
"I have a supply of rare orchids," Lucian said, "I could offer them to your mother as a gift. Maybe she will be in a better mood then."
Edmund's eyes lit up at the suggestion, and they all moved to his office to write down a contract.
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The dark desk inside the office was polished to a shine, reflecting the three of them in its surface. Edmund sat in his high-backed chair, while Lucian and Celine sat across from him.
Lucian had to bite his tongue to stop himself from commenting on the prices he had written on the contract.
The young master had quite an influence on the house's finances, but the final decision was surprisingly not his, but Celine's.
She carried the seal of the duchy with her, and with a simple stamp, the contract was sealed. Lucian officially had a foot inside the Rochefort estate.