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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 3
Chapter Title: Family Duty
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***
Instead of bowing her head, Lumina held it high.
Mrs. Valles, who had been slapped squarely across the cheek, trembled as if she had suffered the greatest of insults.
“You, are you acting this way because you think you'll inherit the family now that your parents are dead? If so, you're quite shortsighted!”
“I don't think you can lead the family either, Aunt.”
She no longer used the Lanshuss surname; she was an outsider to the family.
Unless she got a divorce now, there was no way for her to rule the family directly.
“When you think about it, wouldn't I have a higher chance of becoming the head of the family than you, Aunt?”
“…”
“Ah, of course, this is just my humble opinion, so feel free to ignore it if you disagree.”
As soon as Lumina added that, one could practically see Mrs. Valles's blood pressure rising in real time.
She wanted to retort, but since nothing Lumina said was wrong, she couldn't even scoff.
Her face flushed red, Mrs. Valles shouted.
“Let's see how well you do without our help. Even if you come to your senses later and beg me on your knees, I won't help you!”
“I'll live better than you think, Aunt. So please, watch until the very end!”
Hearing Lumina's almost cheerful words, a speechless Mrs. Valles spun around and stormed off.
The people who had been watching their argument also seemed shocked, covering their mouths and whispering rapidly among themselves.
“So that's why Count Lanshuss would shudder whenever his daughter was mentioned.”
“Did you see how she talked back just now? That child is truly vicious.”
They seemed to be whispering in low voices, but every word reached Lumina's ears.
The malicious glares pouring down on her, the negative words they exchanged.
Ignoring it all, Lumina strode forward.
Her destination was right in front of her half-brother, Endymion.
The boy, who had been in the carriage accident, had an injured leg and was wearing a splint.
“Endymion.”
First she slapped her aunt, and now Endymion?!
With such thoughts, everyone swallowed nervously.
Her voice as she called her half-brother was quite gentle.
But wasn't that the same tone she used when she talked back to Mrs. Valles without batting an eye?
If she could slap her aunt, slapping her half-brother would be even easier.
Everyone thought their speculation was entirely plausible.
Just then, Lumina, who had been clenching her fist, extended her hand.
Her fist now open.
“Let's get along from now on.”
Endymion stared at the friendly Lumina with a strange look.
It was only natural for him to be wary when his aloof half-sister suddenly acted so familiar.
‘This isn't exactly the best situation to be exchanging pleasantries for the first time.’
Normally, Lumina was a quiet child.
No, she had been forced to be a quiet child under her stepmother's pressure.
She had never spoken to Endymion first before, and now, after their parents had died, she wanted to "get along"?
To Endymion, it could easily feel like a declaration of war.
‘They weren't very good parents to me, but to him, they were probably the kindest parents in the world.’
Endymion had a mature personality for his age.
However, he was still only ten years old and had been at the scene of the accident, so he must be deeply distraught.
Knowing all this, Lumina smiled brightly as if she knew nothing.
They both knew each other's circumstances. Offering insincere condolences would only arouse more suspicion.
Endymion stared intently at Lumina's face.
Before long, the boy's gaze shifted to the hand extended toward him.
“Yes. Sister.”
Endymion replied curtly and took Lumina's hand.
His face still had ‘suspicious’ written all over it.
‘He's still just a kid.’
He wears his thoughts so clearly on his face.
Lumina swallowed the words that he didn't need to be so wary of her.
It was too soon to ask for that.
‘He'll come to understand in time. I might not for others, but for Endymion, I will fulfill my duty as family.’
Lumina recalled the final moments of her past life.
It was when she was being transported to some unknown place, her hands and feet bound by Joseph's scheme.
***
*Clatter—.*
Her body jolted, as if she were being carried in a carriage.
Lumina turned her head helplessly. But she couldn't see anything.
Lumina was well aware of the stories about incompetent Legions sold for high prices.
They were said to live lives so miserable that death would be a mercy.
‘Legions may be what they're called, but they were born human. The kind of person who buys another human being is clearly not sane.’
The grim future awaiting her felt as real as the darkness before her eyes.
It was then.
“It's an attack! Everyone, stop— Ugh!”
Starting with someone's scream, unintelligible shouts erupted from all around.
*Thump!*
The carriage suddenly stopped.
Lumina's eyes darted around quickly.
‘Something's wrong.’
A chilling sensation ran down her spine.
But there was nothing she could do herself. She could only remain helplessly inside the carriage.
*Creeak—.*
Soon, the sound of the carriage door opening was heard, and someone untied her blindfold.
Light pierced through the darkness.
And a familiar face came into view.
‘…Endymion?’
A face that was the spitting image of their father.
That was why, even after all these years, she could never mistake him for anyone else—her half-brother, Endymion.
Could he be in league with my uncle?
That was her first thought. It made sense, since all her relatives had supposedly agreed to her disposal.
It wouldn't be strange if Endymion was among them.
But this possibility was quickly dispelled. Endymion looked Lumina over, saw that she was relatively unharmed, and was visibly relieved.
“Hurry and run. Run somewhere no one can find you.”
Lumina didn't immediately understand Endymion's words.
She couldn't bring herself to do anything, only blinking her eyes.
“I've fulfilled my duty as family.”
Family? Duty?
But Endymion couldn't answer Lumina's questions.
He collapsed right then and there.
Only then could Lumina get a proper look at him.
Endymion, covered in blood, was riddled with injuries, large and small.
“En-Endymion…”
Lumina fumbled for Endymion's cheek.
There was still warmth in his cheek. Feeling the warmth that soaked her palm, it almost felt like he was alive.
Unlike the fact that he had already stopped breathing.
Lumina froze and turned her head.
She could then see the people who had been transporting her lying on the ground.
It seemed Endymion had dealt with them all by himself.
Lumina was the only living person here.
The scene was surreal.
Lumina opened her mouth blankly.
“…Why?”
For what reason?
“Why on earth would you do that?”
She couldn't understand.
She had been betrayed by the uncle she had chosen, and saved by the half-brother she had ignored.
“We could hardly be called family! We just had the same father!”
Lumina's shout echoed emptily.
In that moment, Lumina saw her own ugly truth with crystal clarity.
‘I hated Endymion.’
She hadn't shown it much, but in a corner of her heart, she had resented the half-brother who had suddenly appeared one day.
And she had naturally lumped Endymion in with her stepmother, considering them to be on the same side.
That was why she had taken the hand of her uncle, who she thought would be on her side.
“I wouldn't have done it.”
“…”
“Even if you were in danger, I wouldn't have helped you. But you…”
Lumina poured out her heart as if a dam had broken, but she received no answer from Endymion.
“No. I asked you. You have to tell me why you helped me.”
“…”
“Are you just going to leave, being the only one who knows the truth? That's too cowardly.”
She knew she was being absurdly stubborn.
Knowing full well that no answer would come, Lumina still pressed Endymion.
In the chilling silence, tears streamed down Lumina's cheeks.
It was then.
Butterfly wings sprouted from Lumina's back, and a swarm of tiny butterflies enveloped Endymion.
The shimmering butterflies disappeared shortly after.
Lumina, who had slightly furrowed her brow at the brilliant light, then saw it.
Endymion, still covered in blood, but with all his wounds gone.
Instead, Lumina was covered in wounds. Scars remained in the exact same places, as if all of Endymion's injuries had been transferred to her.
The incompetent Legion.
That was how Joseph had described Lumina.
And indeed, Lumina had also lived believing she was a Legion with no abilities.
But it wasn't that she had no ability.
She was different from other Legions who specialized in attack, and her ability had simply manifested too late.
“Ugh.”
It wasn't just the wounds that were transferred from Endymion. She felt a piercing pain.
It was a pain that brought her close to death.
‘Come to think of it, he told me to run.’
But she couldn't run.
After being forced to take poison by her uncle for so long, even taking a single step forward was a struggle. How could she possibly run?
Her consciousness faded from the unbearable pain.
Lumina collapsed weakly.
But then, a strange man's voice washed over her from above.
“…So the healing Legion, thought to be only a legend, actually exists.”
Who?
Through her blurry vision, she caught a glimpse of a middle-aged man's face. A man she had never seen before.
“It seems you've been exposed to poison for an irreversibly long time. Normally, your self-healing ability would have saved your life.”
Pupils slit vertically.
He was a man with such a menacing appearance that if she hadn't seen Endymion, she would have believed him to be the one who killed everyone around them.
He spoke in a regretful tone.
“With an ability like this, you could have saved my son. But it's all too late.”
The man gently closed her eyelids with his large hand, as if to let her rest in peace.
But when he removed his hand, Lumina's eyes were not closed.
She was staring intently at him, as if showing her will to live.
“Do you want to live?”
If she could have, Lumina would have nodded.
The mere thought of that damned Joseph and her relatives gloating made it impossible for her to close her eyes and die peacefully.
“In that case…”
She seemed to have squeezed out her last bit of strength to nod.
That was Lumina's last memory before her life ended.
***
‘Back then, I didn't know who that man was.’
It was understandable, as she wasn't in her right mind.
But now, recalling it calmly with a clear head, she knew exactly who he was.
‘Duke Heart.’
A powerful Legion and a high-ranking noble, he was the key to protecting the family without being swayed by her self-serving relatives.
