IVFV 14

Chapter 14

It happened without any warning.

For a moment, Lumina almost screamed, “Eek!”

It was a good thing she had clenched her mouth shut to endure the pain. If she hadn’t, she would have screamed loud enough to turn the entire mansion upside down.

Her heart pounded wildly.

Lumina turned her head and looked at the person holding her wrist.

“Endymion…?”

With sleep still lingering on his face, Endymion stared at her clearly. Even though he had been fast asleep, his blue eyes were filled with sharp vigilance.

“What were you doing?”

“Um, well…”

Lumina, who had been looking for a chance to escape, trailed off.

It was already too late to run, and it didn’t seem like he would let her off with a simple excuse.

I have to answer this carefully.

Depending on what she said, the distance between them—something she thought had grown smaller lately—might widen beyond repair.

“Well… I came out to drink some water and mixed up the rooms! As you know, since all the servants were dismissed, we have to manage on our own for a while.”

“……”

“When I came in, you were sleeping, so I was startled too. I was just about to leave… haha…”

The air turned cold enough to feel freezing.

Right. There’s no way such a pathetic excuse would work.

If she could see Endymion’s favorability toward her, she thought it would have plummeted straight underground.

And yet her foolish mouth kept rambling, trying to salvage the ruined mood.

“Actually, a mouse appeared in my room, so I ran out and—”

“A mouse?!”

This time, his reaction was intense.

The moment he heard the word “mouse,” Endymion sprang up and grabbed Lumina’s shoulders.

“Huh?”

At the same time, her body wobbled.

He had only pulled her slightly while getting up, but her barely steady legs gave out completely.

Thud!

Lumina fell backward and landed on the floor.

“Noona!”

Startled by the result he never intended, Endymion hurried off the bed.

Ouch…

Fortunately, the carpet was thick, so her hips didn’t hurt much.

Compared to the terrible pain in her legs, the pain in her hips felt trivial.

“Noona, are you alright? Can you stand?”

“Y-Yeah. But my legs feel weak. Can you help me up?”

To be exact, her legs hurt so much that she didn’t have the courage to stand on her own.

When she asked for help, Endymion moved to extend his hand.

But suddenly, he stiffened as if sensing something strange.

“Endymion?”

Lumina called him, confused, as his hand hovered awkwardly in the air.

The voice that came back was cold.

“What did you do to me?”

“What do you mean?”

Endymion had noticed something was wrong with his body.

Before he went to sleep, his legs had definitely been in pain.

It had improved a lot since the accident, but they still hurt enough to wake him at night.

But now, they didn’t hurt at all.

He could stand and walk as if nothing had ever happened. As if he were completely healed.

“While I was asleep, I felt a brilliant light. When I opened my eyes, you were beside me.”

So that intense light—

It must have woken him.

Cold sweat ran down Lumina’s back.

“That alone might be explained. But my legs no longer hurt.”

“……”

“What exactly did you do to me, Noona?”

She had planned to heal him secretly. He would simply think a miracle had happened overnight.

After all, her power was something close to a literal miracle—impossible by ordinary means.

“First, can you give me your hand?”

“Ah, sorry.”

Even while questioning her, Endymion didn’t forget his manners and apologized.

With a small groan, Lumina grabbed his hand and stood up. She brushed off her skirt, buying herself some time.

My legs hurt terribly, but I can endure it until I get back to my room. No—I have to endure it.

The immediate problem was Endymion.

He waited silently for her answer.

I didn’t plan to reveal it yet.

At least one fortunate thing was that Endymion was one of the two people she trusted somewhat.

The other was Lucius.

“I think… I might be a Legion.”

“…You? There were no signs at all. And more than that, I’ve never heard of a Legion who heals wounds.”

“Me neither. But maybe I’m a mutant. I only awakened my ability recently.”

“That’s impossible. Awakening at your age is already unusual, and—”

Lumina lightly flicked the bridge of his nose.

Startled, Endymion closed his mouth.

At that moment, a butterfly made of light fluttered and landed right where she had touched him.

His blue eyes reflected the light as he stared at her.

Wings had sprouted from her back.

It felt like a dream.

When Endymion blinked, the butterfly and the wings disappeared like a mirage.

“So I must be a mutant.”

If she healed her own face, the injury would simply move somewhere visible. Afraid it would draw attention, she had only shown him the butterfly.

But it was enough.

His legs were already completely healed; he didn’t demand further proof.

“I understand for now. I’ll consider you a special case.”

He tried to sound blunt, but his expression was far from composed.

If Lumina hadn’t been standing in front of him, he might have pinched his own soft cheeks to check if he was dreaming.

“So, Endymion.”

Her voice turned serious.

“The fact that I’m a Legion, and that I used my power to heal you—that’s a secret.”

“……”

“I want you to take it to the grave. Because—”

“You don’t have to say it. If this ability becomes known to the world, it will cause trouble.”

“Exactly! You wouldn’t hurt me, but I can’t say the same about others.”

Endymion opened his mouth slightly, then closed it again.

It seemed he wanted to ask why she trusted him so blindly.

“And I was thinking—if you suddenly recover completely, won’t everyone find it suspicious? So for now, maybe you should pretend you’re still injured.”

“Understood. Then… there was no mouse?”

“Huh? Oh. Right.”

Endymion looked slightly relieved.

Since he rarely showed much expression, Lumina wondered if he had been worried the mouse might spread to his room.

“Well then, I’ll head back!”

She tried to leave, dragging her aching legs.

If only Endymion hadn’t spoken again.

“Did you do it on purpose?”

“Do what?”

“Falling from the railing.”

Tch. This is why sharp kids are troublesome.

But since she had already revealed she was a Legion, there was no need to hide everything.

“Yeah. How did you know?”

“You spoke as if you had a plan in front of me. Though I didn’t expect it to be like this.”

Right. A normal person wouldn’t deliberately get hurt.

Lumina had always had strong recovery abilities, so she had been prepared to endure some pain.

If I had asked the Duke from the beginning, he would have helped without me needing to step in.

But then it would have ended with just the servants being dismissed.

They would have continued living proudly without paying any price for tormenting her all this time.

And I needed to suppress Aunt Theresa’s influence, too.

By now, the head maid would probably shudder at the name Theresa more than Lumina’s.

Betrayal was something people remembered deeply and for a long time.

“It’s better to live with servants who don’t favor one side. It’ll feel more like my own home.”

Lumina wanted to feel the comfort and safety that came with the word home.

“Can’t you heal yourself?”

“No. That wasn’t possible. But I recover quickly. After sleeping, I’ll feel much better. Don’t worry.”

Even injuring her legs from falling off the railing had been calculated.

Though I did roll down more roughly than expected.

From the beginning, she had wanted to heal Endymion.

But if she had healed him outright, his wounds would have shifted elsewhere, leaving him slightly impaired.

People would have noticed something strange.

So she decided to injure her legs while falling from the railing—but even she admitted it was a bit excessive.

Still, I heal fast.

She knew from experience—after being severely beaten by her stepmother.

After a few days, she would walk around as if nothing had happened.

“Please wait a moment.”

Endymion rummaged through a drawer and handed her a small bundle of pills.

“It’s painkillers.”

Since he had been a patient himself, he had medicine on hand.

A doctor had visited earlier that afternoon, so Lumina must have been prescribed something too—but he seemed worried anyway.

“Thank you. I’ll use them well.”

She accepted them and left.

Through the door, the sound of her limping footsteps echoed.

Endymion stared at the door until the sound faded completely.

“We’re the only real family left in this world. I decided not to hate you anymore.”

Lumina had said that not long ago.

But Endymion did not fully trust the Lumina who had changed her attitude so suddenly.

Sitting on the bed, he unwrapped the bandages around his legs. Smooth skin appeared—without a single scar.

It had been healed perfectly. Completely.

He should have been happy.

But instead of joy, he felt worry for Lumina.

Even though he had told himself not to believe her so easily, his heart kept softening. It confused him.

“Mother, why are you only strict with Noona?”

“Endymion. Haven’t I always told you? Lumina—her mother took everything that should have been mine.”

Whenever his mother mentioned Lumina, her usually gentle voice turned sharp.

“So this is just the process of returning things to their rightful place. Do you understand, my beloved child?”

At seven years old, Endymion had been confused.

Lumina’s biological mother taking something from his mother had nothing to do with Lumina herself.

But he hadn’t voiced his thoughts.

He had sensed that asking questions would not bring answers.

So that day, when Lumina was beaten for lying about a mouse in her room—

He stood secretly outside her door with a tiny jar of ointment in his small palm.

“Sniff… hic…”

From beyond the door came quiet sobbing. It was closer to a suppressed groan.

Endymion stood there for a long time, as if about to grab the doorknob.

In the end, he only left the ointment behind.

That was all he could do for the half-sister who seemed to have lost everything because of him.

“It would be right for you to hate me.”

Endymion muttered softly.

He could not understand the thoughts of the girl who was only two years older than him.