Chapter: 154
A warm, sweet fragrance filled the air. A gentle breeze seemed to carry the scent of flowers, tickling her nose. Lost in the soft, comforting feelings of early spring petals, she couldn’t help but chuckle softly.
The warm sensation embraced her hand. A tingly feeling swelled in her chest, and her toes felt light. Like a shy girl starting her first crush, she opened her mouth hesitantly.
“ -…”
She whispered his name softly, but when the usual gentle reply didn’t come back, she called his name again in a rush. Still, there was no response. Just as anxiety gripped her throat…
He quietly smiled and tightly held her hand. The warmth that entwined them allowed her to momentarily cast aside her worries. Just as her lips curved into a smile again… she woke up from the dream.
“Ugh…”
The Duke groaned as she slowly lifted her heavy eyelids. Blurred vision revealed the familiar stone ceiling. She began to recall her memories with a dazed expression.
‘What was I doing—…’
As she pieced together her memories, she quickly recalled the moments right before she fainted—sharing a blade with a being that mimicked her child, being attacked from behind, and her thigh being pierced—
‘…Was he… not the enemy?’
Even in the scenario where her thigh was stabbed with a dagger, the hand that reached out to save her flashed before her eyes. Once that thought crossed her mind, her foggy head began to clear.
She rolled her eyes to survey her surroundings. Thankfully, no enemies seemed to be near.
“…!”
A gaze that had been examining her attentively abruptly stopped next to her thigh. A white-haired man was dozing off, still holding her hand tightly. At that moment, the Duke realized where the warmth she felt in her dream was coming from.
Thanks to the Divine Power healing her wounds, her energy was quite depleted, but her previously murky thoughts felt shockingly clear now.
Upon understanding the situation at a glance, the Duke clicked her tongue softly and muttered.
“…What a foolish guy.”
The small smile she wore showed her fondness for Lian. She quietly sat up, making sure not to wake him. She tried to lay him down again so he could sleep comfortably, but as soon as she grabbed his shoulder, he jolted awake in surprise.
“Wha—…!”
“…!”
The Duke couldn’t hide her own astonishment. Even with equal skills, Lian was completely unguarded, while she had been trying to hide her presence.
In such a situation, detecting her presence and reacting sensitively meant he either significantly surpassed her skills or had lived a life where he became hypersensitive to weak signals.
Thanks to the Divine Power, which had cleared her mind more than ever, the Duke knitted her brows in contemplation.
‘Using his body recklessly… I thought he was an angel, but I guess not.’
The white hair and golden eyes were characteristics of both the Duke’s House and angels. Because of this, there had been rumors that the Dukes once descended from angels.
Yet, due to the Imperial family and the Pope joining forces to eradicate those records out of fear of the Duke House’s growing fame, very few knew this fact now.
“Uh, um, are you alright?”
“Were you the one who healed my wounds?”
“Ah, yes! If there’s anywhere that hurts, please let me know. I’ll heal it right away!”
His harmlessly cheerful smile resembled an excited puppy. The Duke squinted and shifted her gaze downward to where Lian’s thigh was. His pants were soaked with blood from the stab wound, and the inside was bloodied and crusted, making it hard to tell if the wound remained.
One thing was sure—he hadn’t treated the wound and had left it unattended.
“Your thigh wound… hasn’t been treated?”
“Uh… the wound?”
He tilted his head, as though he didn’t quite understand what she meant. Eventually following her gaze down, his face changed to one of realization, almost as if he thought, ‘Oh no!’.
“I completely forgot since I was so out of it…”
The way he wore a feeble expression pricked at the Duke’s conscience. Just as she was about to offer an apology, he continued.
“Thankfully, it’s a clean tear, so if we fix it, it won’t even show. Ah— we should get out of here quickly before the blood dries!”
Lian spoke nonchalantly about repairing clothes, as if her pain and safety were less significant than a ripped garment. The Duke was left speechless.
She couldn’t even manage an apology or a thank you, merely looking at Lian’s face, which blended innocence with that genuine smile.
His self-sacrificing attitude, always throwing himself for others, hovered over Lian’s face in the Duke’s mind. Her gaze grew distant and cloudy as if wandering through the past. Countless words rose to her throat, but in the end, she couldn’t voice any.
The one who could respond to her thorn-laden pleas was no longer of this world, so she became accustomed to swallowing her fiery words.
“…Do you know how to get out of here?”
“I fell from up there and think I need to find my way out now. But how did you end up here—…”
“Wait, how do you know who I am?”
If Lian lived near the Duke’s House, she could expect him to recognize her face. But with Lian’s unusual appearance and colors, it was strange, even if he had been hiding. When she expressed her doubts, Lian began to quickly explain.
“The suddenly missing Duke, the panicked butler, knights rushing out, a strange incident that scattered the party, and then swallowed me underground!”
The Duke listened calmly to Lian’s recount, thanking him once he finished.
“I deeply appreciate your help. And—…”
Her eyes swept down to Lian’s thigh.
“Even if it was a misunderstanding, my actions were hasty. I’m truly sorry.”
As the Duke bowed her head, Lian hurriedly waved his hands to reassure her.
“No, it’s no big deal! It was just a minor wound, haha!”
The Duke’s eyebrows slightly narrowed at those words.
“And you…?”
“Excuse me?”
“No, nevermind. By the by, what’s your name? I am Ciprian Lucia, head of the Ciprian family.”
“Ah, my name is Lian! I don’t have a family.”
“…”
The Duke regarded Lian’s face in silence once more. She carefully examined his glowing golden eyes and white hair, both bearing a striking resemblance to herself.
‘Definitely… could mistake him for my own blood.’
If she hadn’t known the gender of her child, she might have confused Lian for her son; his colors were unmistakably those of the Duke House.
‘A distant branch of the family, perhaps?’
If Lian wasn’t an angel, he would likely be a distant branch of the Duke’s family. Since all nearby bloodlines had been completely obliterated, there were hardly any left.
‘They said there can occasionally be such cases—’
She thought Lian’s parents must have colors completely different from his. Such differences carried a high probability of indicating turmoil within that family.
The way he casually dismissed his wound, the skills he shouldn’t possess at his age, the recovery speed surpassing human limits—pieces of information swirling around painted him as a suspicious existence born with jarring differences.
The information that slowly pieced together couldn’t innocuously be brushed aside. She quietly pondered as she looked at Lian.
‘If it’s this kid—… adopting him wouldn’t be a bad idea.’
He was an endearing existence reminiscent of ‘him’, a benefactor.
Moreover, though a distant branch, he must surely carry the blood of the Duke House, so the justification wouldn’t be too shabby. As the Duke entertained such thoughts, Lian was internally flustered.
‘Ahh.. she looks so beautiful yet intimidating; I feel like I might stammer.’
[ This is all due to lack of training. If I had trained with you every day, you wouldn’t feel fear over something like this! ]
‘No need for that!’
[ Once time passes, embarrassment will resolve itself. ]
Though fiercely reacting to the magic sword’s words, Lian, too, thought he needed to get used to women, just as the magic sword advised.
After all, the kids he’d always seen as ‘little siblings’ had all grown up to be ‘women’, making it tough to even look them in the eye. Especially with Jess and Iris, whom he had playfully interacted with since childhood; it was quite the dilemma.
Lian subtly shifted his gaze away from the Duke lost in thought, considering.
‘Training is fine, but at least wear some clothes.’
Just as he had finally arrived at a compromise, the magic sword shattered it with a shocking statement.
[ Why are you so fixated on clothes? I mean, I’m technically naked right now, right? ]
“YAAAAAH! I-I didn’t hear that! I don’t know anything!”
Just like how you couldn’t help but think of an elephant when told not to, flashes of the magic sword’s past form sprung into Lian’s mind. The magic sword, lazily resting on his belt, nudged him gently, as if to say, “Look at me.”
[ Wasn’t it you who left the sheath in the cave? Hence, why I’m naked— ]
“Gargandor! Can’t you make a sheath!”
[ Just because a partner draws on the body doesn’t mean they’re wearing clothes, you know? Such poor taste! ]
The magic sword, who had always been used as leverage for meals, seemed delighted to tease Lian now. As a result, Lian’s face flushed scarlet, and his brows knitted together tightly.
Just as he was about to retaliate against the magic sword again…
Swish.
“…!”
“Got a fever or something?”
The Duke stepped forward, casually placing her hand on Lian’s forehead. With such an incredibly stunning face, as if chiseled from a snow-capped mountain, Lian froze in place.
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