IVFV 17

Chapter 17

Lumina moved along under the guidance of a servant.

There was no one beside her as she trailed quietly after him.

“Won’t the Duke monitor whether I’m properly fulfilling our contract?” she asked.

“He dislikes me,” Lucius replied.

He gave a bitter smile as he said it.

She had sensed it during their last conversation as well—there seemed to be some complicated circumstances between father and son.

“If he even sees a strand of my hair, he’ll try to run away despite his poor condition. It’s better that you go alone.”

Lumina had naturally assumed he would accompany her, so she was a little flustered.

But she couldn’t exactly demand to know why he wasn’t coming.

So she left the office alone and crossed the vast mansion with her guide.

“From here, you must enter by yourself.”

“Ah, okay.”

Lumina noticed that the servant was afraid to take another step forward.

Was it because the young master of House Hart was also a Legion?

When it came to Legion, fear and avoidance were only natural instincts.

It wasn’t a strange reaction, so she left the servant behind and stepped through the open door.

‘Oh…’

If the rest of the mansion had been neat and orderly, this place was a complete mess—as if it belonged to another world.

In short, it was utter chaos.

It felt foreign, like stepping into a different space.

Thinking that the young master must be terrible at cleaning, Lumina cautiously looked around to find him.

“Ah?!”

A powerful force shoved her backward.

Her back hit the wall, and a shadow fell over her.

“What?”

The voice sounded oddly familiar.

The owner of the voice blocked her path, bracing one hand against the wall beside her.

She still hadn’t seen his face.

Cornered in an instant, Lumina immediately remembered where she had heard that voice before.

‘That rude kid?’

She quickly realized it was the boy who had helped her the first time she went to meet Lucius.

He had been wearing a hood then, so she hadn’t seen his face clearly—but she remembered the voice perfectly.

“You’re….”

The boy also recognized her at once.

Lumina hadn’t seen his face before, but he had clearly seen hers.

“What are you doing here?”

He frowned.

‘I should be asking you that.’

Unable to move, Lumina finally got a good look at his face.

Jet-black hair, just like the Duke’s.

And eyes a deep golden color, like melted pure gold.

Whether because he was frowning or simply because that was how he looked, he seemed slightly sharp and fierce.

But what stood out most—

‘How many holes did he pierce?’

One, two, three earrings… just on one ear alone.

She hadn’t noticed clearly when she met him on the street, but up close he looked rather delinquent.

“Could you step aside?”

Appearance aside, her purpose was her purpose.

Lumina spoke calmly, pretending not to recognize him.

“Strange. This isn’t our first meeting, is it?”

He looked a couple of years older than her and much taller.

Still eyeing her suspiciously, he leaned down slightly. The distance between them was uncomfortably close.

“You spoke casually to me back then.”

“That was because I didn’t know who you were.”

Despite his larger build and rough appearance, Lumina smiled brightly and answered boldly.

The eldest daughter of a count’s family and the only son of a ducal house.

The hierarchy was clear.

No one could mistake who stood above whom.

“Are you going to stay like this?”

“You….”

After staring at her as if frustrated, the boy lowered the hand that had been pressed against the wall.

She could breathe more easily.

“Do you not know who I am?”

“I do now. The only son of House Hart. Karayan von Hart.”

She thought he might be thinking something like, How dare someone of low birth fail to recognize the heir to a ducal house?

But judging by his expression, that didn’t seem to be the case.

Putting a little distance between them, Lumina curtsied lightly, lifting the hem of her dress.

“Then let me greet you properly. Hello, Young Master. My name is Lumina Rangshus. I’ve come to assist with your treatment.”

Just as she had done before Lucius, she greeted him politely.

Unlike Lumina, who was smiling, Karayan’s expression darkened further.

“Treatment?”

“Were you not informed beforehand?”

She had become the Duke’s ward some time ago. It seemed the Duke hadn’t mentioned her to his son at all.

‘He sent me alone without any explanation?’

She had guessed from their conversations that their relationship was one-sided.

But being thrown into this situation like this made Lumina speechless.

Then Karayan said something even more absurd.

“You’re one of Father’s spies.”

“A spy?”

Ding—

It felt as if a bell rang inside her head.

Her deal with Lucius had been made on equal and reasonable terms.

But to be belittled as a “spy” felt insulting.

“How much did he pay you? Did he tell you that I’d let my guard down if I saw a face like that, and to report my every move?”

‘…What does he mean, a face like that?’

Was he dissatisfied with her appearance?

Realizing she was being terribly misunderstood, Lumina opened her mouth to protest—

Then she noticed something and stood on tiptoe.

“Hold still.”

Suddenly, she reached out her hand.

Her small white hand approached him. Curious to see what she would do, Karayan didn’t move away.

Her palm cupped his cheek.

‘His skin is burning. He has a high fever.’

With this much heat, it must have been hard for him to endure—yet he had just used tremendous strength.

Truly like a Legion.

And there was another reason her expression turned serious.

‘The whites of his eyes are turning black.’

It wasn’t something an ordinary human could have.

When a Legion used their power, non-human physical traits would appear.

‘In my case, wings grow.’

So far, it seemed that for Karayan, his eyes changing was one of those traits.

And right now—

He didn’t seem to want to use his power at all.

Even if he had rudely called her a spy, he didn’t look like someone who would kill another person simply out of dislike.

‘He even gave me his cloak when we first met.’

To Lumina, this looked closer to an uncontrolled outburst—what one might call a “rampage.”

She spoke firmly.

“Let’s go to the bed.”

“W-Why the bed?”

Karayan looked visibly flustered.

Despite looking like someone who might flirt easily with girls his age, he seemed oddly inexperienced in this area.

His face reddened slightly.

“For treatment.”

“……”

“I told you. I came to treat you.”

Lumina acted as if she would force him down if necessary. For a small girl, she was surprisingly strong.

Caught off guard, Karayan was dragged all the way to the bed.

“You know I’m a Legion, right? If you do, you wouldn’t be acting so recklessly about treating me.”

“I’m a Legion too, Young Master.”

“I’ve never heard of a Legion who treats other Legion.”

Distrust deepened in his eyes.

A healing Legion.

Since it was unprecedented, his suspicion was understandable.

‘Duke! You should have at least explained this much to your son! He thinks I’m a fraud!’

She silently lamented to Lucius in her heart.

Lumina knew it was cleaner to show rather than explain.

So she only said one simple truth.

“As a father, the Duke sincerely wants you to be healthy.”

As she spoke, a childish jealousy stirred inside her.

She had never once felt the devoted love of a parent who put their child first.

She swallowed the feeling down.

Suddenly, Karayan muttered,

“Like a potato.”

“Ah, yes?”

“A potato rolling around.”

“Yes, yes.”

“A half-washed potato.”

Her petty jealousy vanished instantly—but when would this potato nonsense end?

Finally unable to bear it, Lumina replied,

“You’re like cotton candy, Young Master.”

‘Cotton candy with holes blown through it.’

She said it with a smile, leaving him unable to tell whether it was praise or insult.

He looked genuinely confused.

Was he innocent, or just foolish?

Noticing the gap in his defenses, Lumina quickly grabbed his hand.

“What are you—”

A familiar cluster of light gathered.

But unlike when she treated Endymion, it felt blocked—like something tightly sealed and unwilling to let go.

Squirming. Sticky.

As if she were trying to tear off something stubbornly stuck in place.

And along the point of contact, an indescribable fear crept upward.

But Lumina didn’t push him away.

Instead, she wrapped her arms tightly around him.

“……!”

Small butterflies made of light settled over their bodies.

And Karayan’s pain flowed freely into Lumina.

It was sticky, sometimes sharp, bundled together with a nauseating unpleasantness.

‘You were in this much pain, and you still had the nerve to call me a potato?’

Tears welled up in her eyes, and the world began to spin.

Endymion’s wounds had been deep.

But when she treated him, she hadn’t felt her stomach churn or the world tilt like this.

It had simply hurt.

‘Or maybe I used too much power at once…’

Since she didn’t know her limits, she used as much power as she believed she could.

And having treated only two people, she had arrogantly assumed she would be fine.

Sway—

Lumina’s eyes grew unfocused.

Her body wavered, as if barely holding itself upright—

Then she collapsed.