IVFV 19

Chapter 19

“Yes. I know that much.”

But who was Lumina?

She was the one who had come to the Duke of House Hart on her own feet to make a deal, fully aware of the terrible reputation that followed him.

With her innocent eyes opened wide, she pretended to listen as attentively as possible.

For some reason, Lucius examined her reaction far more closely than before.

“Karayan was there at that scene as well. After that incident, he told me something.”

“What did he say?”

“He said that a woman with wheat-colored hair and pink eyes helped him.”

Wheat-colored hair and pink eyes.

It matched Lumina’s appearance exactly.

“How old was the Young Master at the time?”

“He was seven. You must have been six.”

There was no way six-year-old Lumina could have helped Karayan at the site of a massacre.

And hadn’t he said ‘a woman’? That meant an adult.

Though wheat-colored hair and pink eyes seemed common, it was actually a rare combination.

As far as Lumina knew, aside from herself, there was only one woman with that coloring.

Her biological mother, Chloe Langshus.

‘No wonder he kept calling me a potato. Maybe he didn’t like that I had the same hair and eye color as his benefactor.’

But what could she do? She was born this way.

At this rate, she would be hearing potato jokes for the rest of her life.

“Legions are obsessive. Once they mark someone as theirs, they never let go.”

“……”

“You resemble that woman, so I judged that even if you met Karayan without prior notice, there would not be a major problem.”

‘So you’re saying that since I look like someone he likes, he’ll like me too. That’s what you want to say.’

A faint trace of pity flickered in Lumina’s eyes.

‘You could have just honestly said you didn’t tell him because you’re not on good terms with your son. I would have understood.’

For whatever reason, Karayan’s hatred toward Lucius seemed deep.

Lumina could not understand the very idea of hating a father who, in his own way, was devoted.

But it was not right to interfere deeply in another family’s affairs.

‘Especially since I’m being treated like a suspicious expendable item in this house.’

Calling herself expendable could have been sad. But Lumina did not feel hurt.

After all, wasn’t this a deal made because both sides had clear benefits?

If anything, not only Lucius but Lumina herself was using him.

“And thanks to you, Karayan has overcome one hurdle. I look forward to your continued assistance.”

Karayan’s power as a Legion was so strong that his physical body—the vessel—could not endure it.

For now, he had stabilized, but no one knew when he might lose control again.

If Lumina continued to stay by his side and absorb the power he could not handle, he would likely reach adulthood safely.

By then, once his body fully matured, he would be able to control his strength as a proper Legion.

He would not meet a premature death by being consumed by his own power.

Lumina spoke with confidence.

“I told you, didn’t I?”

That she would make sure he would not regret it.

She was just about to say those words when—

Grrrrr—

Lumina inadvertently became the one who had made that sound.

The timing was so perfect that even she was momentarily dumbfounded.

“It’s no wonder you’re hungry. You’ve fasted for four days. An ordinary Legion would be trying to tear off my arm to eat by now.”

‘…What kind of creatures are Legions exactly?’

Lumina was a Legion herself, yet she could not understand them at all.

She even began to slightly understand why asking, “Are your parents Legions?” was considered one of the worst insults.

Grrrrr. Grrrrr—

Her stomach growled even louder. It felt like her internal organs were twisting.

If she could, she would have told it to be quieter. Unfortunately, her stomach had no sense of shame.

‘Since I just woke up, they’ll probably prepare the meal slowly.’

She was making that assumption when Lucius suddenly slid his hand under her arms and lifted her up.

Floating in midair, Lumina was carried out of the room and got a glimpse of the magnificent corridor.

It seemed he intended to carry her all the way to the dining hall.

She had already experienced something like this once in Lucius’s office.

‘Back then, the distance was short, so I barely understood what was happening to me.’

At that time, everything had ended before she could fully process it.

But now her mind was clear.

“D-Duke!”

“What is it?”

“I-I’ll walk on my own!”

Lumina flailed her legs.

It was a cautious rebellion, afraid she might suddenly be dropped.

“Can you walk?”

“Yes! Of course!”

Her answer was spirited.

But considering her appearance, it was hardly convincing.

Through his sunglasses, she could feel Lucius’s doubtful gaze.

“If you want, I can even do push-ups!”

You?

With those thin, short limbs? You’re going to do push-ups? It would be a miracle if you didn’t break something.

She could almost hear his inner thoughts.

It was less concern and more a look at someone pitifully insisting the impossible was possible.

Still, since Lumina insisted so firmly, he set her down.

The moment her feet touched the floor—

Wobble—

She nearly fell forward and kissed the floor passionately.

Lucius caught her from behind, and Lumina stood upright like a roly-poly toy.

“…Sorry,” she muttered awkwardly.

For being overconfident.

Accepting her own triviality, Lumina was carried away like luggage.

It was rather late for a meal.

For once, the kitchen of the Hart ducal residence was bustling.

A luxurious feast was laid out in the dining hall. The aroma was so delicious it could make even a full person drool.

Gulp.

Lumina was no exception.

Since her relatives might have poisoned her food, she had only pretended to eat and barely survived on almost nothing.

‘And since I was unconscious for four days, I might have really been on the verge of danger.’

The growling of her stomach was likely her organs’ desperate plea.

Finally facing proper food, Lumina aggressively picked up her fork and knife.

Here, she did not need to worry about poison. Lucius would not poison his own food.

With saliva pooling in her mouth, she began with the soup.

She ate, and ate, and ate.

It was just soup, but how could it taste so good?

It slid down her throat effortlessly.

A person who knew restraint would have put down the spoon by now—but she wanted more.

With lingering regret, Lumina’s trembling hand barely set down the spoon.

The meal was over.

“You don’t eat much. I noticed that before.”

Considering the wide variety of dishes made from ingredients gathered from mountains, fields, and sea—yet she had only eaten soup—he could reasonably think that.

Lucius, who had been watching the entire time, spoke as soon as she put down her spoon.

“Is it not to your taste?”

“No?! Of course not!”

Lumina shook her head vigorously.

But perhaps he thought she was lying.

Lucius gestured to a servant.

“Call the head chef.”

Soon, the summoned chef rushed in.

Standing straight, he quickly scanned the scene with trembling eyes.

“Do you believe this situation at the dining table is acceptable in this house?”

Freshly served dishes.

In front of the young guest, a bowl of soup barely touched.

And neatly arranged cutlery signaling the end of the meal.

The chef understood instantly.

“Perhaps I should take over myself.”

The chef’s face turned pale blue. He bowed at a ninety-degree angle.

“My apologies, Your Grace! I will correct this!”

No, that’s not necessary—

Before Lumina could stop him, the chef disappeared.

Soon, servants returned carrying dishes that smelled even more powerful than before.

Just moments ago, there had been empty space on the table.

Now it was so filled with delicious food that one might worry the table legs would break.

“Legions need to eat at least ten times what you just did to maintain their strength.”

‘…Wouldn’t that make them gluttons rather than Legions?’

Lucius pushed the dishes toward Lumina.

They all looked irresistibly delicious.

She wanted to eat this, and that too. Being right in front of her only made it worse.

‘No, no. If I eat more, I’ll get sick.’

Pop!

The Lumina opposing greed jumped out inside her head.

Then, as if waiting, the Lumina faithful to desire retorted.

‘Sick? From this little? It won’t even reach your liver!’

The desire-driven Lumina shouted without giving up the floor.

‘Didn’t you see the chef’s face? This food contains his hard work. There’s no poison in it, and if you waste it, you’ll be punished by heaven!’

Today, too, the two Luminas argued fiercely.

‘Don’t eat more.’

‘You can eat.’

‘No.’

‘Yes!’

‘Right, yes—…huh?’

Inadvertently shouting “yes,” the anti-greed Lumina lost.

Still, to avoid overeating, she cut each dish into bite-sized pieces and tasted them little by little.

‘It melts.’

Even Lumina, who prided herself on having eaten quite a lot of delicious food in her life, was moved.

It felt too precious to swallow, so she rolled it on her tongue for a long time before letting it go down.

After continuing her meal for quite a while, Lumina despaired inwardly.

‘This place… is dangerous.’

There were too many temptations.

At the Langshus residence, she could maintain restraint because she stayed alert.

But here, it was difficult.

After tasting every dish on the table at least once and feeling both happiness and despair at the same time—

Lucius pulled out a white stick-like object from his pocket.

‘A cigarette?!’