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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: A New Guardian
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The source of the laughter was none other than…
“Lumina?”
I thought she’d be cowering like a fool, but she’s laughing?
Teresa nearly scowled without realizing it.
“Ah, I’m sorry. I just heard something so funny, I couldn’t help myself.”
“What’s so funny?”
Teresa, who had to play the part of the benevolent aunt, composed her expression and asked.
Lumina answered with an innocent smile.
“You’re the one lying, Aunt, yet you’re so brazen about it.”
“Lying? I was only repeating what I’ve heard. What are you talking about?”
Teresa deftly feigned ignorance.
She had nothing to do with the child’s abuse; it was all just hearsay.
That was the implication of her words.
Teresa was quick-witted enough to leave herself an escape route. But it wouldn’t work on Lumina.
“If it’s just something you heard, you shouldn’t state it as fact in front of the person involved. You don’t know anything, Aunt. You’re a stranger. But you spoke as if you’d seen it all yourself, so I had to laugh.”
If this were the real twelve-year-old me, I would have been consumed by the thought, ‘Maybe it really is my fault,’ and kept my mouth shut.
But I no longer needed to cower at just a few words.
“...You’ve been living here?”
“Yes, Aunt. A quick glance around the attic should make that clear.”
“…”
“Don’t you sense the life lived in this furniture, Aunt? Then again, you’ve probably only ever dealt with new things, so these items might seem foreign to you.”
“I see.”
The corners of Teresa’s forced smile trembled.
“You just asked where the dressing room was, didn’t you? Oh, that’s right, Aunt. I’ll do the explaining. The Duke is my guest, after all.”
Her meaning was clear: know your place and stay quiet instead of meddling where you don’t belong.
She must have thought I’d let it slide in front of the Duke, but she was wrong.
Lucius was silently observing this ridiculous situation.
“I don’t have enough clothes to need a separate dressing room, so this wardrobe is all I have.”
“I see.”
Lucius nodded.
“May I open the wardrobe?”
“Yes.”
He opened it.
Most of the clothes showed signs of being worn for a long time. That made the few new garments stand out, all of which were gifts from Joseph.
“Is this your taste in clothing?”
*I can’t seem to grasp a young girl’s taste.*
He didn’t say it out loud, but his expression seemed to.
‘That’s because I specifically asked him to buy me clothes that were expensive and didn’t suit me at all.’
They were all childishly garish, covered in frills, lace, and sparkling beads.
If Lumina were four years younger, they might have looked quite cute, but now they were just awkward.
“They were gifts from my uncle. So I plan to treasure them.”
“If they’re not to your taste, throw them out.”
He stated it flatly.
“All of them.”
The clothes, bought with a small fortune, had instantly become trash not even fit for recycling.
Joseph’s face crumpled at once.
“I will buy you things that suit you far better.”
“But I feel like I’m the only one receiving so much…”
Lumina put on an expression of uncertainty. Inwardly, of course, she was ecstatic.
Her materialistic nature had reared its head again.
“I am your guardian. I can certainly do this much. It’s nothing, so don’t give it a second thought.”
A gift from a Duke was hardly “nothing.”
Her heart pounded as a battle raged within her between Minimalist Lumina and Materialistic Lumina.
‘Just close your eyes and accept it. You don’t have any clothes to wear anyway.’
‘As long as a piece of cloth covers your body, it’s clothes! Don’t accept, Lumina! What if the Duke uses this as leverage to demand something huge later on!’
‘Wear a piece of cloth?! Is that what you call talking? Clothes are like a face that expresses who you are!’
Materialistic Lumina screamed, as if in shock.
‘Besides, Duke Heart is incredibly wealthy. Gifting a few outfits is less significant to him than giving a cookie crumb to an ant!’
‘Is… is that so?’
Minimalist Lumina’s resolve weakened.
Seizing the opportunity, Materialistic Lumina delivered a powerful blow.
‘Yes! When an adult offers you something, you should accept it! What’s a guardian for, if not for this?’
‘Right. He is my guardian now…’
It was a complete defeat for Minimalist Lumina.
***
“Thank you for becoming my guardian.”
Lucius gazed steadily at the brightly smiling Lumina.
“It was a complete mess.”
“Every family has its circumstances. My family just has its own, that’s all.”
Lumina didn’t think her family was particularly unusual.
She had been too young to grasp the situation properly, and the adults’ greed had simply been more insidious than she’d thought.
It seemed Lucius had perfectly understood from this single visit why Lumina had sought outside help.
“Then I must fulfill my duty as well!”
To show her enthusiasm, Lumina huffed spiritedly through her nose and spoke with vigor.
“When should I come to see him?”
“Whenever it is convenient for you.”
“What? Really?”
Lumina’s eyes widened.
There were still about six years left until the Young Duke’s death.
Was that why he was so relaxed?
‘If he’s the one offering me leeway, I have no reason to refuse.’
Lumina nodded.
As if there was no further business, Lucius turned his back to her.
He had only taken a step or two, yet the distance between them grew immense.
Watching his dark figure, which seemed like it would vanish in an instant, Lumina suddenly remembered something.
*Patter-patter—*
She immediately chased after him. There was no time to call out ‘Your Grace!’ The distance was growing too quickly.
With her small, fern-like hand, Lumina just barely managed to grab the hem of Lucius’s coat.
“What is it?”
He hadn’t even noticed he’d been caught and continued walking forward, making her worry for a moment that she’d be dragged along.
Fortunately, however, he stopped as soon as he felt the tug on his coat and turned around.
“I’m not stupid.”
He looked at Lumina as if to ask what she meant.
“My aunt said the attic was for punishment. I didn’t keep staying there because I’m stupid.”
The comment had been bothering her subconsciously, so she had to bring it up.
“I do not think you are stupid. If you were truly stupid, you would not have thought to seek me out.”
Besides, he wasn’t someone a twelve-year-old child could meet just by asking.
Lucius only believed what he saw with his own eyes.
“And, Your Grace. I have one more favor to ask…”
“What is it?”
“When I go to see the Young Duke, may I stay at the ducal estate for a few days?”
Without asking for a detailed reason, Lucius readily nodded his head.
At this, Lumina’s expression brightened like the sky after a rainstorm.
“Thank you. Then I’ll make sure to visit before it’s too late… Oh, I’m so sorry for wrinkling your clothes!”
She had been holding on with such force that his coat seemed to have creased slightly.
Seeing Lumina’s distress, Lucius replied bluntly.
“There is no need to apologize.”
Even though he said it was fine, Lumina’s face remained crestfallen as he boarded the carriage to return home.
***
“So, Boss, how was she?”
As soon as the carriage started moving, Brandon, who had been waiting, asked Lucius.
“Her nerve is quite impressive.”
“I’ll say. She didn’t cry or run to the city guard after seeing you.”
Remembering Lumina’s bright, intelligent eyes, Brandon couldn’t help but smile fondly.
“Brandon.”
Warned by Lucius, Brandon looked aggrieved.
“But you saw her ability, too, Boss. Any Legion would be drawn to that child.”
When Lumina used her power, he had felt a light envelop his entire body.
It was a warmth that felt like it could melt his cold, hard heart until it became soft and pliable.
Legions were commonly known to lack humanity. But when he saw that light, he felt as if he had become an ordinary human.
She possessed a coveted ability that no Legion could ever refuse.
“You were going to become her guardian in the end anyway. That ability is something you can’t buy even with all the money in the world.”
“You were eavesdropping.”
“I was just too curious.”
Brandon was trustworthy enough to be given important tasks, so it didn’t matter if he eavesdropped.
Lucius gave a nonchalant nod, recalling the girl who was so much smaller than him.
His first impression of her was unassuming.
But she understood her own value, knew when to back down, and was unyielding when she shouldn’t.
She was a child who knew how to negotiate properly.
Not only that, but she also knew how to be firm when she needed to be angry.
She was just like…
“Like a dog, isn’t she?”
“...Boss, what are you talking about?”
No matter how he heard it, it sounded like an insult.
Coupled with his grim tone, which he himself was unaware of, it sounded like he was badmouthing her.
“She was like a small dog.”
“Ah, so that’s what you meant. That’s true.”
The way she barked with her small frame without even blinking was exactly like a small dog.
Her hair was wheat-colored, so if he had to be specific, a Pomeranian?
“But you can’t forget, Boss. That girl is suspicious. Too suspicious. She might even be connected to the Doctor.”
Lumina Lanshuss.
They had already completed a background check on the girl, down to her aunt’s in-law’s cousin’s grandfather.
In other words, they had dug up everything.
“She lied.”
Lumina had lived a life far removed from Legions. She had never met one before.
Yet she lied, claiming she had, and she seemed to understand her own ability quite well.
Many things didn’t add up.
“I doubt there’s anything more to dig up, but should I investigate a little further?”
“Do it.”
Brandon’s featureless face melted like jelly, reforming into that of a handsome, amiable man in his mid-to-late thirties.
Brandon was also a Legion.
Lucius’s faithful limb, a Legion who could perfectly change his appearance to that of anyone he had seen once.
He often put his ability to good use for shady business.
“It’s my first time dealing with someone who still has secrets after being so thoroughly investigated. It’s making me nervous. I’ll do my best not to disappoint you, Boss.”
Lucius nodded.
Even so, he had a feeling it wouldn’t be easy.
When Lucius suspected something, he kept it where he could see it. It made it easier to deal with later.
That was why he had intended to accept Lumina’s proposal from the start. She was far too useful to just cast aside.
However, to find out what cards she was hiding, he had pretended to be uninterested, rejecting her repeatedly.
In the end, he was the one who had been outplayed.
“You love your son, don’t you?”
It was rather unpleasant, as if she had taken his son hostage. But this, too, was something he would have to keep an eye on.
“Oh, right. Has Karayan, the runaway, come home yet?”
Karayan von Heart.
That was the name of the Young Duke of Heart, Lucius’s only son.
“He won’t even step on my shadow, so I wouldn’t know.”
“He’s at that age where he rebels against his parents.”
And the trauma from the day of the great massacre was likely still with him.
Brandon barely managed to swallow his next words.
***
“The Duke suspects me.”
After Lucius left, Lumina, having successfully secured a powerful guardian, muttered to herself.
Even she had to admit there were many suspicious things about her.
‘He let it slide today since it’s the first day, but from now on, he’ll try to test me to figure out my ulterior motives.’
Suspicion could turn into distrust, and that distrust could get her cast out too early.
She couldn’t end up a stray with her strings cut at the wrong moment. That would only repeat her past life.
‘I can’t eliminate his suspicion completely. The fact that I know the future is impossible by common sense. In that case, what I can do is…’
Win the Duke’s favor.
He wouldn’t be able to easily cast away a child who was objectively beneficial to him.
“Young Lady.”
As she entered the mansion, a maid approached her cautiously, watching her expression.
“What should we do with the flowers the Duke gifted you?”
The amount of flowers Lucius had sent was enormous, enough to be hauled by several large cargo wagons.
“Arrange some of them in vases to decorate the mansion. And these seedlings can be used to adorn the garden.”
“Understood.”
“There will probably be some left over even after that, so could you make me a bouquet?”
Lumina took the carefully arranged bouquet from the maid and walked down the hallway.
Glancing sideways, she could see the gardeners, who had received their orders, busily carrying seedlings beyond the window.
“The flowers are so beautiful…”
Lumina looked down at the garden with cold eyes.
“But the people managing them are subpar, so it’s a mess. It’s about time for a change.”
*Snap.*
Lumina plucked a flower whose color was particularly striking and dropped it to the ground without a second thought.
Then, she stepped on it lightly and walked on.
