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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: The Duke's Son
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***
Lumina followed the servant's lead.
No one else was with Lumina as she trotted behind the servant.
"Aren't you going to watch me, Your Grace, to make sure I fulfill my end of the contract?"
"That boy hates me."
Lucius said with a bitter smile.
She'd sensed it during their last conversation, but it seemed there was some history between the father and son.
"The mere sight of my hair would probably make him drag his ailing body out of bed just to run away. It's best you go alone."
Lumina, who had naturally assumed he would accompany her, was a little flustered.
But she was in no position to question why he wasn't coming along.
So, she left the office alone and was now crossing the vast estate with her guide.
"You must go in alone from here."
"Ah, okay."
Lumina noticed that the servant was afraid to take another step.
*Is it because the young Duke Heart is also a Legion?*
It was a natural instinct to fear and avoid Legions.
Seeing nothing strange in the reaction, she left the servant behind and stepped through the open door.
*Oh...*
If the rest of the estate was neat and tidy, this place was a chaotic mess, like another world entirely.
In a word, it was a sty.
It felt so out of place that it was like being in a different dimension.
*The young Duke Heart must be terrible at cleaning,* she thought, cautiously looking around to find him.
"Ah?!"
A powerful force shoved her backward.
Her back hit the wall, and a shadow fell over her.
"What the hell?"
The voice was strangely familiar.
The owner of the voice blocked her path, one hand braced against the wall.
She hadn't seen his face yet.
Trapped as if cornered in an instant, Lumina immediately remembered where she had heard that voice.
*The rude kid?*
She instantly realized it was the boy who had helped her when she first went to meet Lucius.
He had been wearing a hood at the time, so she hadn't seen his face clearly, but she could recall his voice perfectly.
"You're..."
And he, too, quickly realized who she was.
Only Lumina hadn't seen the boy's face; he had seen hers quite clearly.
"What are you doing here?"
The boy frowned.
*That's what I'd like to ask you.*
Pinned in place, Lumina got a good look at the boy's face for the first time.
Jet-black hair, just like the Duke's.
And deep golden eyes, like molten gold.
Whether it was because he was frowning or if it was just his natural expression, he looked a bit rough and fierce.
But what stood out most was something else.
*How many holes did he pierce?*
The piercings in his ear... one, two, three...
And that was just on the one ear she could see.
She hadn't noticed when she'd seen him on the street, only catching a glimpse, but he looked rather delinquent.
"Could you please move?"
But looks were looks, and her purpose was her purpose!
Lumina said, feigning ignorance.
"Strange. This isn't our first meeting, is it?"
The boy looked a couple of years older than Lumina and was much taller.
Without erasing his suspicious gaze, he leaned down slightly. The distance between them was uncomfortably close.
"You were perfectly casual with me back then."
"That was only possible because I didn't know who you were."
He was bigger than her and had a rebellious air, which should have been intimidating, but Lumina retorted confidently with a bright smile.
The eldest daughter of a Count and the only son of a Duke.
The hierarchy was clear.
There was no one who wouldn't know who was superior and who was subordinate.
"Are you going to stay like this?"
"You..."
Looking somewhat frustrated, the boy who had been staring at Lumina lowered the hand he had on the wall.
The oppressive feeling eased considerably.
"You don't know me?"
"I do now. The sole heir of the Ducal House of Heart, Lord Karayan von Heart."
*How dare you not recognize me, the legitimate heir who will inherit the duchy. You lowly thing!*
She thought he might be having such a cliché thought.
But from his demeanor, that didn't seem to be the case.
Lumina, putting a little distance between herself and Karayan, curtsied, gently holding the hem of her dress.
"Then allow me to introduce myself formally. Greetings, Young Duke. I am Lumina Lanshuss, and I am here to help with your treatment."
It was a polite and proper greeting, just like the one she had given Lucius.
Unlike the smiling Lumina, Karayan's expression crumpled even more.
"Treatment?"
"Were you not told beforehand?"
*It's been a while since I became the Duke's ward. It seems the Duke didn't tell his son anything about me.*
*And he just pushed me in here alone? Without any prior explanation?*
She had guessed from their conversation that the father-son relationship was one-sided, but...
Being dropped into a situation like this, Lumina was dumbfounded.
And what Karayan said next was even more absurd.
"You're a servant sent by my father, aren't you."
"A servant?"
*Ding—.*
For a moment, she felt the illusion of a bell ringing in her head.
Her deal with Lucius had been a rational agreement between two equals.
So to be disparaged as a 'servant' couldn't help but feel insulting.
"How much did my father pay you? Did he tell you I'd let my guard down around a face like that, so you should report my every move?"
*...What does he mean, 'a face like that'?*
*Does he have a problem with my face?* she wondered.
Realizing she was caught in a huge misunderstanding, Lumina was about to retort.
Just then, she noticed something and stood on her tiptoes.
"Hold still."
Lumina suddenly reached out her hand.
As her small, white hand, like a fern frond, approached, Karayan didn't pull away, curious to see what she would do.
A moment later, Lumina's palm cupped Karayan's cheek.
*His skin is hot. He's running a terrible fever.*
With a fever this high, it must have been hard for him to bear, yet he had just used immense strength.
Truly befitting a Legion.
And there was another reason Lumina's expression turned serious.
*The whites of his eyes are turning black.*
It was a form no ordinary human could possess.
When Legions use their powers, non-human physical traits are revealed.
*In my case, wings sprout.*
From what she could see so far, Karayan's changing eyes seemed to be one of his physical transformations.
And right now.
Karayan didn't seem to particularly want to use his powers.
Even though he had spewed rude words like 'servant' at a stranger, he didn't seem like enough of a scoundrel to kill someone just because he disliked them.
*He even gave his cloak to a stranger.*
To Lumina, it looked like he was on the verge of a so-called 'berserk' state, where his powers were manifesting against his will.
Lumina said firmly.
"Let's go to the bed."
"W-Why the bed?"
Karayan was visibly flustered.
Judging by his looks, you'd think he'd be hitting on girls his age, but contrary to his appearance, he seemed to have no immunity to this kind of thing.
His face turned a little redder than before.
"For your treatment."
"..."
"I told you, didn't I? I came to treat you, Young Duke."
Lumina acted as if she would force Karayan to lie down if she had to. For a small girl, she had considerable strength.
Caught off guard, Karayan was dragged to the bed.
"Do you even know I'm a Legion? If you did, you wouldn't be acting so recklessly, talking about treatment and all that."
"I'm a Legion, just like you, Young Duke."
"I've never heard of a Legion stepping up to treat another Legion."
The disbelief in Karayan's eyes deepened.
A healing Legion.
It was unprecedented, so the boy's skepticism was justified.
*Your Grace! You should have at least given your son a minimal explanation! I'm being treated like a con artist!*
A lament that Lucius couldn't hear poured out of her heart.
Lumina knew it would be cleaner to show him her abilities rather than explain them at length.
So she only told him a simple fact.
"As a father, His Grace sincerely wishes for you to be healthy, Young Duke."
As she spoke, a childish jealousy reared its head.
It was probably because she had never once felt the devoted love of a parent who put their child first.
She was swallowing down her inner feelings when Karayan suddenly spoke.
"You're like a potato."
"Ah, yes."
"A rolling potato."
"Yes, yes."
"A half-washed potato."
Thanks to him, the base emotion of jealousy vanished, but she wondered when his potato rant would ever end.
Unable to take it anymore, Lumina finally said something.
"You're like cotton candy, Young Duke."
*Cotton candy that's been blown on until it has holes in it.*
Since she said it with a smile, he didn't seem to be able to tell if it was a compliment or an insult.
He looked quite confused.
*Is he naive, or just an idiot?*
Spotting Karayan's opening, Lumina quickly grabbed his hand.
"What are you doing..."
A familiar halo of light gathered.
But unlike when she had healed Endymion, it felt like something was tightly blocked, refusing to let go.
A writhing, sticky sensation.
It felt like trying to forcibly peel off something that was stuck fast.
Moreover, an emotion of fear, as if facing an indescribable horror, crept up from the point of contact.
But Lumina didn't follow the impulsive feeling and push Karayan away.
Instead, she hugged the boy tightly.
"...!"
Tiny butterflies made of light landed on Karayan and Lumina's bodies.
And Karayan's pain flowed into Lumina without obstruction.
It was sticky, then at times sharp, like a condensed ball of nauseating unpleasantness.
*He was in this much pain, and he was still rambling on about potatoes and whatnot?*
Tears welled up in her eyes, and the world began to spin.
Endymion's wounds had also been quite deep.
But when she treated Endymion's wounds, she hadn't felt this nauseous, nor had the world spun.
It had only been painful.
*Or maybe it's because I used too much of my power at once...*
Not knowing her limits, she had used as much power as she judged she could handle.
Besides, she had been complacent, thinking she would be fine since she had only healed two people.
*Sway—.*
The light in Lumina's eyes faded.
And Lumina's body, which had been barely holding its balance, tilted and then went limp.
