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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: Four Days
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***
Lumina collapsed limply.
Karayan, who had inadvertently become her support, froze on the spot.
It was a long while before Karayan came to his senses enough to speak.
“Hey.”
“……”
“Hey…!”
Unsurprisingly, there was no reply.
Karayan, unsure of what to do, awkwardly raised his hands as if being punished.
*Haa, haa—.*
A faint breath brushed against the nape of his neck. The spot where her breath, so fragile it could stop at any moment, touched him tickled.
Startled, Karayan finally adjusted his hold on the girl.
The limp girl was unnaturally light. So light, he thought he could lift her with one hand.
Judging by her clothes, she seemed to be a noble like him. Did her family starve her?
She was so frail she looked like nothing but skin and bones.
“What the hell. You’re covered in wounds. Who were you planning on healing in this state?”
As he shifted her position, he discovered injuries on Lumina’s body that he hadn’t seen before.
Even the small glimpse he caught through her collar looked quite severe.
He’d wondered if her family starved her, but it seemed they not only starved her but abused her as well.
Karayan’s face twisted into a deep frown.
“What is this ridiculously fragile creature calling itself a Legion?”
Why did ordinary people fear Legion?
They were a race that naturally crushed their opponents with overwhelming power. They were never meant to be the victims.
‘Even if her abilities are different from a typical Legion, this is worse than a useless one.’
The very existence of such a weak Legion was nonsensical.
Even by human standards, this girl was nothing more than a fluffy potato.
And right now, she was a bruised potato that had been tumbled around.
He wanted to deny with every fiber of his being that this utterly insignificant creature was a Legion like him.
But the afterimage of the butterfly wings that had sprouted from the girl’s back still lingered in his vision.
And…
“What kind of magic did she even use?”
Ever since Lumina had used what he presumed was her unique ability, the pain was gone.
The agony that had threatened to snap his sanity and the destructive instinct that craved blood had vanished completely.
On top of that, the constant throbbing in his head was clear.
All the pain he had accepted as normal was gone. It was as if the sun had broken through, dispelling the fog in an instant.
But that didn’t mean his distrust had disappeared.
She said she came here at his father’s summons. And with that face, no less.
Karayan gently pressed Lumina’s nose with his finger. Her dainty nose squished slightly.
Yet, she showed no sign of waking, not even a twitch, and the gravity of the situation finally hit him.
It might be different for a normal Legion, but for a tiny potato that looked like it would roll away in the wind, not waking up was a very serious problem.
“Ha, seriously.”
He couldn’t just leave her here.
But he didn’t want to see his father, Duke Heart, either.
Finding himself unable to get Lumina out of his mind, Karayan was tormented by a fierce internal conflict.
“You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you?”
“……”
“I know you’re just pretending to be unconscious, so get off me.”
Karayan’s shouts echoed emptily.
Her face, as white and soft as plain flour dough, remained perfectly still.
“This is driving me crazy.”
Karayan roughly tousled his own hair in frustration.
He was sandwiched between something small and troublesome and something large and hateful, forced to make a choice.
“Of all the faces to have.”
Karayan muttered in a much softer tone than before and laid Lumina down on the bed.
A moment later.
*CRASH—!*
The door to Lucius’s office was thrown open violently.
***
Lumina slept.
Very deeply.
There were moments when she drifted into consciousness and fluttered her eyes open.
*‘Flower petals?’*
It seemed the wind had blown while she slept, as she could see flower petals scattered on the bed.
Brushing them away with her hand, Lumina closed her eyes again.
Her body and mind felt as heavy as lead; even lifting a finger was a chore.
After this happened a few more times, she finally decided it was time to stop sleeping and opened her eyes to an unfamiliar room.
*‘Ah, I collapsed while treating Young Master Heart. This must be the ducal estate, then.’*
The thought relaxed her, and her body went slack.
Here, at least, Joseph and Teresa couldn't harm her.
That single fact was an immense comfort.
*‘I slept so soundly, without a single dream.’*
She was lazing about, guessing she had slept for ten hours at most, when a maid entered.
The maid seemed startled to see Lumina awake and immediately returned with a group of doctors.
*‘…Why? There’s more than one doctor. Are they making such a fuss just because I fainted for a moment?’*
One by one, the doctors made their rounds, examining Lumina.
After the long examination was over, the door opened again.
She tensed, thinking it was another doctor.
But there was no need.
It wasn't a doctor in a white coat, but Lucius in a black suit.
“Everyone, leave.”
At the single command from the man who entered with an overwhelming aura, the servants filed out like a receding tide.
Lucius sat in the chair beside the bed and asked in a casual tone.
“How are you feeling?”
“The best! I’m sorry to have worried you for nothing.”
Her body felt light. She felt like she could do push-ups with ease if asked.
Lumina beamed.
But one thing had been nagging at her.
*‘How much did I toss and turn in my sleep? I just had to wrinkle such an expensive outfit.’*
She had been changed at some point and was now wearing the light pink pajamas she had packed from home.
All the clothes Lucius had gifted her were magnificent. The only problem was that they were *too* magnificent.
Including the pajamas, even the day dress she was currently wearing was brand new. She had deliberately not worn them and had refrained from even touching them.
*‘I was afraid of being possessed by the demon of greed.’*
Since he’d offered them, she couldn't resist the devil’s temptation and had accepted.
But once she had them, she feared she might sell her very soul to the devil.
*‘Habits are a scary thing. Habits.’*
She had to remain vigilant, as there was always a chance she could revert to the unrestrained person she was in her past life.
Lumina secretly glared at the wrinkled fabric. Just then, Lucius spoke.
“You slept well for four days.”
“…What? Four days? Has it really been four days since I fell asleep?”
“Yes. You slept like the dead, so I had to check on you constantly to make sure you weren’t. It would be inconvenient if you died just yet.”
Lucius said in a chilling tone.
Though his words should have sent a shiver down her spine, all Lumina could think about was the reason her pajamas were wrinkled.
*‘Right, if I slept that long, they were bound to get wrinkled. It would have been strange if they weren’t…’*
Realizing it was entirely her fault, she felt humbled. With a sense of apology, she tugged at her pajamas to straighten them.
As she fidgeted, his voice reached her.
“And despite you saying you were fine, I was told your leg was giving you a lot of trouble.”
“Really? I thought it was fine. It was only a little uncomfortable, but I could walk properly.”
*Smile, smile.*
Lumina, never losing her smile, answered slyly.
But Lucius, who already knew everything there was to know about the girl and her circumstances, asked sharply.
“Who else did you heal?”
Did he really think she would share such personal information?
Unfortunately for him, Lumina had been the one to suggest keeping it a secret from Endymion, and her lips were sealed.
“The wound was too deep to be from a simple fall. The doctors all agreed it looked like something you’d get after a carriage accident and a few months of recovery.”
“My younger brother.”
Lumina answered readily.
One might think the ducal doctors were just that good with their accurate description, but the quick-witted Lumina knew better.
*‘He’s already certain.’*
He had finished his investigation of her and knew that her healing ability worked by transferring injuries.
From there, the deduction would have been simple.
*‘So, my honest answer is to gain the Duke’s trust. It’s a process of building mutual faith.’*
Someone might scoff at her pathetic self-justification, but she had no choice.
If she lied about being tight-lipped, she might find herself unable to open her mouth ever again.
“From now on, refrain from healing anyone other than my son.”
He meant to monopolize her ability.
Just as Lumina had approached the Duke to use his status, Lucius likely saw her as a mere tool to heal his son.
Having no one else she was close enough to want to use her ability on, Lumina obediently nodded.
“Oh, by the way. The Young Master didn’t seem to know anything about me. Did you not tell him about me beforehand?”
“He was away for a while, so I didn’t have the chance to explain.”
*‘Still! How could you not tell him something so important? I was nearly thrown out as a fraud!’*
Lumina’s scream-like protest resounded only in her mind.
After giving his shameless excuse, Lucius stared intently at Lumina and opened his mouth.
“Are you aware of the great massacre six years ago, where countless Legion were killed?”
“Yes.”
“Then you must also know that the mad butcher who killed an unprecedented number of Legion was me.”
The temperature in the room seemed to plummet.
