IVF 10

Chapter 10

The source of the laughter was none other than—

“Lumina?”

She had expected her to look crushed and cowed like a fool—yet she was laughing? Teresa nearly frowned without realizing it.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I just heard something so funny that I couldn’t help myself.”

“What was so amusing?”

Teresa, who had to play the role of a benevolent aunt, smoothed out her expression before asking.

With an innocent smile, Lumina replied,

“You’re the one telling lies, Aunt, yet you’re so confident about it.”

“Lies? I only repeated what I’ve heard. Whatever do you mean?”

Teresa smoothly denied it.

She meant that she had nothing to do with the child’s abuse and had merely relayed what she’d been told.

Teresa was quick to leave herself an escape route—but it didn’t work on Lumina.

“If it’s only something you’ve heard, you shouldn’t make conclusions in front of the person involved. You’re just an outsider who knows nothing, Aunt. But you spoke as if you’d seen it yourself, so I couldn’t help but laugh.”

If she were truly twelve, she might have fallen silent, thinking, Maybe I really was in the wrong.

But she no longer needed to shrink back at a few careless words.

“…You’ve been living here?”

“Yes, Aunt. You can tell just by looking through the attic.”

“….”

“Don’t you feel any sense of daily life in this furniture? Well, I suppose you’ve only ever handled brand-new things your whole life. Objects like these might seem unfamiliar to you.”

“I see.”

The corners of Teresa’s lips, forcibly raised, trembled.

“You just asked where my dressing room is, didn’t you? Ah, that’s right—Aunt, I’ll explain. His Grace is my guest, after all.”

In other words: know your place and don’t step in where you don’t belong.

Teresa must have thought the matter would be glossed over in front of the duke—but it wasn’t.

Lucius simply observed the absurd situation in silence.

“I don’t have enough clothes to justify a separate dressing room. This wardrobe is all I have.”

“I see.”

Lucius nodded.

“May I open it?”

“Yes.”

He opened the wardrobe.

Most of the clothes showed signs of long wear. A few newer pieces stood out—all gifts from Joseph.

“Is this your taste?”

He didn’t say it aloud, but it seemed as though he were thinking, I can’t quite grasp a young girl’s preferences.

They’re expensive and don’t suit me at all—that’s why he chose them.

Frills, lace, and gaudy dresses covered in sparkling beads. If Lumina had been four years younger, they might have seemed charming. Now, they were awkward.

“They were gifts from my uncle. I wear them carefully because they’re special.”

“If they’re not to your taste, throw them away.”

He said it flatly.

“All of them.”

Clothes bought at great expense were instantly reduced to trash not even worth sorting for recycling.

Joseph’s face twisted at once.

“I’ll buy you things that suit you far better.”

“But I feel like I’m only receiving things….”

Lumina looked troubled—though inside, she was thrilled.

Her materialistic side had raised its head again.

“I am your guardian. I can at least do this much. It’s nothing, so don’t think too much about it.”

A gift from a duke was hardly “nothing.”

Her heart pounded as two versions of Lumina battled within her: the minimalist Lumina and the materialistic Lumina.

Just close your eyes and accept it. You barely have clothes as it is.

Clothes are just scraps of fabric to cover your body! Don’t take it, Lumina! What if he asks for something big in return later?

Scraps of fabric? Are you serious? Clothes are practically your face—they show who you are!

The materialistic Lumina shrieked in shock.

And Duke Heart is absurdly wealthy. Giving you a few dresses is less than tossing crumbs to an ant!

I-is that so?

The minimalist Lumina wavered.

Seizing the moment, the materialistic Lumina delivered the final blow.

Exactly! If an adult offers, you accept! That’s what guardians are for!

Right… he is my guardian now….

A complete defeat for minimalist Lumina.

“Thank you for becoming my guardian.”

Lucius gazed steadily at Lumina, who was smiling brightly.

“It was quite a mess.”

“What family doesn’t have its troubles? Ours just happens to have ours.”

Lumina didn’t think her household was particularly unusual.

She had simply been too young to fully grasp the situation, and the greed of adults had been darker than she’d imagined.

With just one visit, Lucius seemed to understand perfectly why Lumina had sought outside help.

“Then I should fulfill my duties as well!”

Lumina puffed out a spirited breath, brimming with enthusiasm.

“When should I come to visit?”

“Whenever it suits you.”

“…Really?”

Her eyes widened.

There were about six years left until the death of the Duke of Heart’s son.

Was that why he was so unhurried?

If he’s giving me leeway first, I have no reason to refuse.

She nodded.

As if there were nothing more to discuss, Lucius turned his back on her.

He had taken only a few firm steps, yet he already felt far away.

Watching his black-clad figure, which seemed ready to vanish at any moment, Lumina suddenly remembered something.

Thud-thud—

She rushed after him. There wasn’t even time to call out “Your Grace!” The distance had grown too quickly.

With her small hands, Lumina barely managed to catch hold of the hem of his clothes.

“What is it?”

She worried she might be dragged along since he hadn’t noticed at first—but fortunately, the moment she grabbed him, he stopped and turned around.

“I’m not stupid.”

He looked at her as if to ask what she meant.

“Aunt said the attic was for punishment. I didn’t keep living there because I was stupid.”

It had been bothering her enough that she had to say it.

“I don’t think you’re stupid. If you truly were, you wouldn’t have thought to seek me out.”

After all, Lucius was not someone a twelve-year-old could easily meet just because she wished to.

Lucius believed only what he saw.

“And, Your Grace, I have one more request….”

“What is it?”

“When I come to see the young lord, may I stay at the ducal estate for a few days?”

Without asking for details, Lucius nodded readily.

Lumina’s face brightened like the sky clearing after rain.

“Thank you. Then I’ll make sure not to delay my visit… Ah! I’m sorry for wrinkling your clothes!”

She must have grabbed him with more force than she’d realized; the fabric was slightly creased.

Seeing her flustered, Lucius replied curtly,

“There’s no need to apologize.”

Though he had said it was fine, Lumina still looked distressed as he boarded his carriage to return home.

“Captain, what do you think?”

As soon as the carriage began moving, Brandon—who had been waiting—asked Lucius.

“She has courage. I rather liked that.”

“Of course. She saw you and didn’t cry or run to the city guard.”

Brandon smiled faintly, recalling Lumina’s sharp eyes.

“Brandon.”

At Lucius’s warning tone, Brandon protested.

“But you saw her ability too. If she’s the same Legion, you can’t help being drawn to her.”

When Lumina used her power, it felt as though light wrapped around his entire body.

His cold, hardened heart seemed to soften and melt with warmth.

Legions were often said to lack humanity. Yet when he saw that light, he felt almost like an ordinary human again.

It was an ability no fellow Legion could possibly reject—one they would covet.

“You were planning to become her guardian anyway. That ability couldn’t be bought even with a fortune.”

“You were eavesdropping.”

“I was too curious not to.”

Lucius trusted Brandon enough that it didn’t matter.

Nodding calmly, Lucius recalled the girl far smaller than himself.

His first impression had been unremarkable.

But she knew her own worth, retreated when necessary, and stood firm when she should not yield.

She had the proper posture for negotiation.

Moreover, when it was time to show temper, she did so decisively.

She was like…

“Isn’t she like a dog?”

“…Captain, what are you talking about?”

It sounded like an insult.

Unaware of it himself, his harsh tone only made it worse.

“Like a small dog.”

“Oh—that’s what you meant? That’s true.”

Small in stature, barking fiercely without blinking—she really did resemble a small breed.

With her wheat-colored hair, perhaps a Pomeranian?

“But don’t forget, Captain. She’s suspicious—too suspicious. She might even be connected to the Doctor.”

Lumina Langshus.

They had already investigated her thoroughly—to the point of digging into the distant relatives of her aunt’s in-laws.

In other words, she had been stripped bare.

“She lied.”

Lumina had lived a life entirely separate from the Legion. She had never met one.

And yet she claimed she had—and seemed to understand her own ability quite well.

There were many inconsistencies.

“I doubt we’ll find much more, but should I dig a little deeper?”

“Yes.”

Brandon’s plain face melted like jelly, reshaping into that of a genial man in his mid-thirties.

Brandon, too, was a Legion.

Lucius’s loyal right hand, capable of perfectly assuming the appearance of anyone he had seen once.

He often used his ability for darker tasks.

“It’s the first time someone still has something hidden after we’ve combed through everything. I’d better not disappoint you, Captain.”

Lucius nodded.

Even so, he had a feeling it wouldn’t be easy.

Whenever Lucius suspected something, he preferred to keep it within sight—it made handling it later simpler.

That was why he had intended from the beginning to accept Lumina’s proposal. She had far too much value to discard lightly.

He had only pretended disinterest, continuing to refuse her in order to see what card she was hiding.

In the end, he was the one who had been struck.

“You love your son.”

For some reason, it felt as though she had taken his son hostage, and that left a bitter taste.

But that, too, was something to watch going forward.

“Oh, right. Has Karayan come home after running away?”

Karayan von Heart.

The young lord of House Heart—Lucius’s only son.

“He won’t even step in my shadow, so I wouldn’t know.”

“It’s the age when boys rebel against their parents.”

And he must still bear the trauma of the day of the massacre.

Brandon swallowed the rest of his words.

“The duke suspects me.”

After Lucius left and she had successfully secured a powerful guardian, Lumina muttered to herself.

Even she thought she was suspicious.

He let it slide today since it was our first meeting, but from now on he’ll try to probe what I’m plotting.

Suspicion could turn into distrust—and distrust could get her cast aside early.

She couldn’t afford to become a kite with a cut string at the wrong time. If that happened, her previous life would simply repeat itself.

I can’t eliminate his suspicion entirely. Knowing the future is impossible by common sense. So what I can do is….

Win the duke’s favor.

Objectively speaking, he wouldn’t easily discard a child who brought him benefit.

“Miss.”

As she entered the estate, a maid approached cautiously.

“What shall we do with the flowers His Grace gifted?”

The amount of flowers Lucius had sent was enormous—enough to fill several large wagons.

“Place some in vases to decorate the mansion. The seedlings can be used to landscape the garden.”

“Yes, miss.”

“There will still be plenty left, so could you make a bouquet for me?”

Cradling the carefully arranged bouquet the maid handed her, Lumina walked down the corridor.

Through the window, she glimpsed the gardener busily carrying seedlings as instructed.

“Flowers are beautiful….”

Lumina looked down at the garden with cold eyes.

“But the person managing it isn’t. It’s a mess. I suppose it’s time to replace them.”

Snap—

She plucked a particularly eye-catching bloom without hesitation and dropped it to the floor.

Then she stepped on it lightly and walked on.