My Mate Chose My Best Friend, So His Uncle Claimed Me novel Chapter 44

Chapter 44: Born to Flaunt

“I should have known…” I murmured again, and another chuckle broke in me as I brushed off the grass from my dress. I still had Lucretius’s coat in my arms, and his scent still lingered on it, calming my nerves.

“Did something amuse you while I was gone?” he asked, his expression looking curious. His gaze trailed briefly to where Lilith had disappeared, then returned to me.

“Nothing worth mentioning,” I hummed as I loved the feeling of the grass, slightly swinging my foot.

He also hummed quietly in response, setting the small basket down on the grass. “Eat,” he said simply as he knelt and began arranging the food. The scent of warm bread and honey, and some stew in a bowl drifted through the air. “You don’t have any seafood allergy, right? This is shrimp stew.”

“Not really.” I sank down beside him, my fingers touching against his coat that I had folded neatly on my lap.

Lucretius broke a piece of bread and handed it to me. “Here,” he said without looking up. “You seem restless.”

“I’m not,” I lied, taking the bread.

I really didn’t want to notice it, but I knew that I felt jaded confronting Lilith earlier. It felt like it took half of century age just to spit those words I wanted to throw at her, and not only that, I was being confronted by Redmund, too.

It would have been better if I should taken them at once.

He tilted his head, his eyes arching. “You lie terribly, Euphyllia.”

The way my name rolled off his tongue made my heartbeat falter for a moment. It was like he knew me very well and could read every breath I took.

De v

He leaned slightly closer while a piece of bread was on my mouth, his elbows resting on his knees. “Was she here?”

I froze, the bread halfway to my lips. “Who?”

A small smirk played on his lips. “You know who,” he said meaningfully, he even wriggling his eyebrows.

His teasing voice would make not want to answer his question. But this was Lucretius, the person I could trust.

I swallowed hard, lowering the bread to my lap. “Yes,” I admitted. “Lilith came.”

There was no reason for me to hide it anymore if he knew it. He just wanted it to come out from my mouth. Perhaps, I should open to him more because I had a feeling every movement I did, he knew it.

It felt like someone was silently watching and reporting me to him. Or it must be my imagination.

He was enveloped with silence. But I could see that he was taking his time to process what he was going to say next until he finally spoke, “Hmm. She did not physically hurt you, did she?”

His question somehow brought shivers down my spine. His tone was low, but I could sense the slight threaten on it. When I looked in his face, his expression was remained composed, but his smile looked different.

“What did she say?” he asked, his eyes turning toward me, unblinking.

I nearly gripped the bread at his reaction. Hesitated, I answered, “Nothing important.”

“Euphyllia.”

Just my name, but the warning in it was enough to make me sigh. I knew that he wouldn’t buy my brusque reasoning. “She said things she thought would bother me,” I replied, my eyes darting at the shrimp stew he brought, looking appealing to me. But I snapped myself back to continue. “Things about pretending to belong here. About being unworthy of my title.” I tried to smile, but it didn’t reach my eyes. That brought a little pang in my chest when I recalled it. “But I told her exactly what she

+25 Bonus

needed to hear.”

My eyes darkened, but a small, proud smile crept to my lips upon remembering what I told her.

“Oh?” His brows lifted. “And what was that?”

My smile deepened, my head turning in his direction. “That I’m your wife, your Luna, and the lady of the household,” I said

brazenly.

A flicker of amusement graced his handsome face. “You’re learning quickly,” he voiced out. His expression was almost the same as mine. “Now, that’s how you boast what you own, wifey. I am impressed.”

What he said made my heart flutter. That compliment was a big progress for me. Having it come from Lucretius gave me a huge gratification.

And that Lucretius man was my husband now.

I tore off another piece of bread and dipped it into the stew. I almost moaned in delight when dipping the bread into it tasted so good.

It might be because during my dinner, Lucretius complimented me. But I was still waiting for him to bring up my encounter with

Redmund.

I wasn’t certain if he was indeed aware of it or was probably just waiting for me to say it.

But judging how Lucretius looked peaceful as he poured water into my cup, he looked composed as always. It was easy to forget that this man was feared by many.

But then reality gripped me back in.

My fingers reached the rim of the cup when I finally remembered something to bring up to him. “Lucretius,” I began. “Now that… we’re married,” I paused, letting out a small laugh. “Does this mean that I’ll stop being your assistant?”

There were things I didn’t consider when I entered contract with him, and I just realized it lately. But because I was blinded by betrayal and vengeance, I irrationally decided to agree with him.

Or so I thought.

His hand halted midway, handling the ladle over his own bowl. His head slightly tilted, his eyes glimmering with curiosity.

“Why do you ask that?”

“I just thought…” I paused again, unsure if I should voice this out or just keep it to myself. “Since I’ll be here as your Luna now, I assumed I wouldn’t be returning to the royal military anymore. That I’d have to stay in the pack instead.”

There was a slight edge of disappointment lingering in my tone. The royal military had grown up around me and been my world for years. It was a dream I had longed to achieve and was within my grasp.

Despite everything, it was still part of who I was.

Now, I wasn’t certain if he allowed me back to the royal military. It frightened me, yet I had to know his plans for me.

If he said that I could no longer work there and just stay here, I would truly be devastated. But this was what I had signed up for, and I should have prepared for the consequences of my actions.

Lucretius leaned a little, his eyes narrowing in that way meant he was trying to read me. “You don’t sound very pleased about the possibility.”

Possibility.

So, he was really planning that… My days in the royal military would be over…

44. Bam to Flount

+25 Bonus

“I just…” I hesitated, lowering my gaze to the grass. “I don’t want to feel like I’ve lost something of myself just because I became someone’s Luma. I’ve worked hard to earn my place in the ranks. I don’t want that part of me to vanish.”

I bit my lower lip. My heart was preparing me for a possible end of my career outside of the pack when he didn’t answer right

away.

Laicretius had the right control over what I was supposed to do next. Everything should be consulted with him.

When I finally looked up, my heart leaped out of my ribcage as I saw him staring at me with that calm, unreadable gaze that both unsettled and comforted me at once.

“You think I would forbid you?” he asked slowly, observing me.

“I do not know,” I admitted honestly. “You’ve always been unpredictable.”

He was even hard to read. I wanted to add. He was a cunning bastard, too.

That earned him a chuckle, looking amused. “You’re learning how to speak to me without fear,” he said. “I like that.”

Was I?

I wished I could say that. If he really thought that, then he was wrong.

I had too many uncertainties on my mind that I could have wished to bring them all up at once. But I wanted to watch how he would react and what he was thinking.

He leaned forward again, resting his elbows on his knees. “Euphyllia, I married you because I wanted you by my side, not locked away in a house. Certainly, I can do that. But it is not going to be fun.” He grinned when he saw the horror in my eyes. “Why would I consider offering you such a marriage proposal, given that you were once involved with my nephew? It is because you are strong, capable, and far too intelligent to be reduced to just hosting tea parties for visiting Lunas and noblewomen.”

My heart skipped a beat. I already heard this firsthand when we talked in the dilapidated garden. But hearing it again from him caused my heart to race so fast.

“Judging by your words…” I paused for a moment, seeing him anticipating the next words I was about to say. “Does this mean… I am still allowed in the royal military?”

My question almost hyperventilated me as I waited for him to answer. But he didn’t answer immediately.

Instead, Lucretius slightly leaned back, his gaze fixated on the flickering lantern light reflecting off the lake’s surface. His expression was… indecipherable again.

་ཇནྟུ་དད་ཇ་ཇལ་བའི་ངོ་འཚེ ཛི་ རྡ

That increased the expectancy looming inside me. Was he having second thoughts about it? Was he just feeding me some hopeless ideas?

His silence was long enough to make me clutch the fabric of his coat on my lap.

Finally, he spoke. “You’re not just my Luna, Euphyllia. You were a tactical keeper and an assistant of mine long before that title ever fit you.”

My breath caught.

“I won’t take that from you,” he continued, turning his head to me. “But understand this. When I say I want you by my side, I mean it literally. I am being dispatched to Auritaurie in two days, and you know that. The rogue activity there is worsening. And I intend to bring you with me.”

I inhaled sharply upon hearing his decision. “You really want me to come?”

I even had to confirm that. It felt like what he said a while ago was a dream.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify