IVF 06

Chapter 06

Suddenly, her center of gravity tipped forward.

Lumina ended up burying her face in the other person’s chest and blinked in confusion.

“I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”

“…Who?”

She lifted her head to check his face.

But he was wearing a hood, and she couldn’t see him properly.

Judging by his voice and build, he was a boy at least a head taller than Lumina.

And even without seeing his face clearly, she was certain.

He wasn’t someone twelve-year-old Lumina knew.

‘Then why is he acting like he knows me?’

Lumina stared intently at his hood, trying to see his face.

The boy placed a hand on the back of her head and gently pushed her down.

Caught off guard, Lumina once again ended up with her nose pressed against his chest.

“They’re coming this way. Don’t lift your head.”

The boy whispered lowly.

He didn’t say who was coming, but she knew instinctively.

Her uncle, Joseph.

That was who he meant.

Afraid Joseph might recognize her voice, she didn’t even dare breathe.

Tap. Tap.

The area was noisy with people talking, yet the sound of someone’s dress shoes was distinct.

Flinch.

When Lumina trembled involuntarily, the boy tightened his arms around her.

Joseph, who was striding past with irritation, glanced at the two of them.

‘She looked quiet and obedient. I didn’t think she’d cause trouble. And now she runs away?’

They say it’s the quiet cat that climbs onto the kitchen counter first. He’d been thoroughly blindsided.

The moment he heard Lumina had suddenly disappeared, Joseph had started wandering around aimlessly. Then he spotted wheat-colored hair.

Her face was hidden as she was snugly embraced by a taller boy, but the clothing looked similar.

‘Don’t tell me…’

His instincts screamed.

It’s Lumina.

As he tried to look more closely, the hooded boy shot him a sharp glare.

He had merely locked eyes with a child much younger than himself.

Yet a chill ran down his spine.

Instinctively sensing he shouldn’t get closer, Joseph eventually left without even seeing the face of the child who might have been Lumina.

“…Is he gone?”

Only after a long while, once Joseph had left, did Lumina cautiously ask.

She was still pressing her nose against the chest of a complete stranger whose name and face she didn’t know.

“I don’t see him anymore.”

Lumina quickly slipped out of the boy’s arms.

Then she swiftly scanned her surroundings.

Joseph was nowhere in sight.

A sigh of relief escaped her.

“Don’t look around too much. You’ll seem suspicious.”

The boy casually draped an arm over Lumina’s shoulders, pulling her close.

It looked very familiar.

Embarrassingly so, considering they had just met.

“Don’t make that blank face. Act like you know me. Weren’t you being chased too?”

“Ah.”

Lumina blinked slowly. It felt as if a lightbulb had gone off above her head.

“So you’re being chased too, and you grabbed just anyone so you wouldn’t get caught? That makes us business partners of a sort?”

“…Yeah. You seemed to be in a similar situation, so I helped.”

“Thanks. Whatever your intention was, you saved me.”

As if she had never looked foolish, Lumina quickly grasped the situation and neatly summed it up.

“How long do we have to keep this up?”

Acting as though they were extremely close, she lowered her voice.

“For now, just go wherever you were headed.”

His tone was arrogant, almost like an order.

For a moment she wondered, Who does he think he is? But her own situation wasn’t exactly favorable either.

It wasn’t a losing deal, so Lumina obediently walked toward her destination.

Having a “business partner” made her feel unexpectedly reassured.

‘So far, so good.’

Thanks to the boy she’d met by chance, she had safely overcome the crisis. Things were going smoothly.

For some reason, she felt they would continue to go well. Lumina stole glances at him.

“If you want to look, don’t sneak glances. Just look properly. And if you want to say something, don’t hold back.”

She must have stared too much.

She ended up getting called out.

“Where were you headed?”

They were only going to meet once and part ways.

She tactfully didn’t ask for his name or to see his face.

She was just curious where he was fleeing to, that he could so casually tell her to go wherever she wanted.

“Anywhere.”

After just a few exchanges, it was easy to infer that the boy had a rather prickly personality.

But that answer felt particularly insincere.

“There’s nowhere I can’t go. As long as it’s not near that person.”

That person?

For a moment, she almost asked who he meant.

But since this was only a fleeting encounter, she preferred not to dig too deeply either.

After walking for some time—

“I don’t want to go that way. We’ll split up here.”

The moment the boy finished speaking, Lumina quickly widened the distance between them, as if they had never been close at all.

The boy seemed to let out a short laugh at her swift change of attitude.

“Thanks. I hope whatever you’re dealing with works out too.”

Lumina turned her back without hesitation.

But the boy grabbed her.

“Wait.”

“Hmm?”

He removed the hood he had been firmly wearing and placed it over her head.

The problem was that he pulled it down so tightly it covered her vision.

‘I feel like a burrito wrapped tightly in a tortilla.’

Just before the hood covered her eyes, she had caught a brief glimpse of his face.

Even in that fleeting moment, it was strikingly handsome. The kind of face that would make countless women heartsick once he grew up.

But Lumina, unfazed, asked calmly,

“You said you’re being chased too. Is it okay to give me your cloak?”

“If you wander around alone dressed like that, people will think you’re a lost noble lady. I didn’t walk you all this way just to watch you get caught the moment we part.”

As expected, he was still prickly.

“Wear it.”

“…”

“It’s nothing. Consider it repayment for your excellent performance pretending to be close.”

She couldn’t see his expression.

But from his voice alone, she sensed embarrassment.

‘He’s not used to being kind to others.’

Though he sounded like he was grumbling, he meant for her not to feel burdened.

Wearing a cloak far too big for her, transformed into a giant burrito, Lumina grinned.

“Okay.”

Jingle—

With a clear chime, the shop door opened.

“Welco—… What the. It’s just a kid.”

The owner, who ran both a tavern and an inn, visibly showed disappointment at his first customer of the day.

The small frame made him doubt she could even pay properly. She was certainly no adult.

When she removed the deeply pulled-down black hood, long wheat-colored hair and sparkling pink eyes were revealed.

She was thin, as if she hadn’t grown up eating properly, but she looked rather gentle.

Judging by her neat appearance, even if she hadn’t been loved, she likely came from a fairly wealthy family.

Still, at best, she looked about ten years old.

“Child, are you looking for your parents? Unfortunately, this place is so empty you won’t find them here.”

It was a small shop tucked away in a corner—how had she even found it?

Having quickly lost interest, the owner waved his hand dismissively, as if telling her to leave.

But the girl glanced around once and confidently sat down across from him.

…Though the high chair made it look slightly difficult.

“I came to see Mr. Calvados.”

Calvados.

The name of a brandy distilled from apple cider.

And also the alias of Duke Hart—known only to a few.

“Calvados? If you want brandy, come back with your parents’ permission.”

“It seems he doesn’t manage his employees very well. An ordinary person wouldn’t call brandy as if it were a person. Especially in a place like this.”

There was a composure about her that didn’t suit a child.

The owner, who had let his guard down for a moment because of her appearance, grew wary.

“I don’t know where you picked up that name, but he’s not someone a kid like you can meet.”

Lumina continued smoothly from across the table.

“What if I’m a Legion?”

“Then you should follow proper procedures and go register.”

Even at the word Legion, he responded indifferently.

Legions weren’t stones lying around to be picked up.

If he believed everyone who claimed to be one, any stray dog would become a Legion.

“I came to see Mr. Calvados because I don’t want to reveal to the Imperial family that I’m a Legion.”

“Where on earth did you hear that name?”

“I can’t disclose my source. Just know that I heard he’s very interested in Legions like me.”

“It’s true he’s interested in Legions, but you’ve come to the wrong place. If you just honestly say who sent you—”

“And I’m the only Legion with healing abilities.”

The owner fell silent.

A Legion with healing abilities.

Even after hearing that, he showed no reaction.

He merely looked at Lumina as if she were a con artist.

‘Isn’t that a bit too obvious? Your thoughts are written all over your face!’

She hadn’t expected him to believe her right away, but seeing it so plainly still stung a little.

“You’re saying you’re a Legion with that kind of ability?”

“Yes.”

“Ha…”

The owner let out a sigh whose meaning was unclear. Then he shook his head and bent down.

He disappeared beneath the cocktail bar.

“Didn’t want to do anything bad to a kid, but I guess I have no choice.”

‘Is he pulling out a knife?’

Gulp.

Lumina swallowed dryly.

A moment later, the owner pulled something out and slammed it down with a bang.

It was—

“A glass orb?”

It was about the size of two fists put together.

“Place your hand on it.”

“What is this?”

“A simple measuring device. If you’re a Legion, it’ll react.”

It wasn’t something you’d expect to find in an ordinary tavern.

She had indeed come to the right place.

“And if I’m not a Legion?”

“There won’t be any reaction, and you’ll be thrown out immediately. Along with your childish fantasy of being a Legion.”

The owner muttered, “Didn’t want to be this cruel to a kid with so many dreams.”

On the other hand, Lumina was serious.

If she were thrown out, Duke Hart would start tracking her.

‘He’ll investigate my background. Even information about my great-great-grandfather on my aunt’s in-law’s side—whom I’ve never even met—will be dug up and handed over to Duke Hart.’

Now that she had come this far and spoken the name “Calvados,” her course of action was set.

Without further hesitation, she firmly grabbed the glass orb.

And the owner’s expression twisted into something bizarre.