Chapter 36
Even at a glance, the girl looked completely different in color and presence from the Hart Duke, yet she was being escorted as she stepped down from the carriage.
“Who is that…?”
People kept glancing back and forth between Lumina and Lucius.
No one could fail to recognize Lumina, whose face had already appeared in newspapers.
Yet even seeing the two standing side by side felt so strange that people couldn’t help staring.
“Father! I’m so excited! It’s my first time watching an opera!”
Lumina clung to Lucius’s side and exclaimed in a playful, childlike tone.
From afar, just watching Lumina, it was a fresh and endearing scene that brought smiles even to bystanders.
But when looking at Lucius, it was as if the world instantly drained of color, and people’s smiles faded.
“Seeing it with Father is going to be so much fun, right? My heart is already pounding.”
That was a lie.
In her previous life, Lumina had indulged in hobbies and entertainment to her heart’s content, so it was a small white lie.
‘Well, I am genuinely looking forward to the performance, so it’s not entirely false,’ she reasoned.
Before her stood the massive building of the opera house.
And the item Olivia had handed to Lumina and Lucius was a pair of opera tickets.
It might have seemed that Olivia had done this simply to foster camaraderie between Lucius and Lumina, but that wasn’t the case.
‘This is essentially a showy outing.’
Olivia was no mere competent aide for nothing.
Lumina’s sudden marriage to Karayan had been announced without warning.
Many people would be suspicious, and for a girl who had suddenly become a duchess, negative attention was inevitable.
‘The plan is to show Lumina in a positive light alongside the Duke to solidify her position as a duchess.’
It would be ideal if she could get along with Karayan, but he was absent once again.
So instead, Olivia arranged an outing with Lucius, the influential head of the family.
Olivia hadn’t explained this explicitly to Lumina.
But the moment she produced the tickets, Lumina realized it was part of a meticulous public-relations strategy.
Lumina looked around the opera house as if seeing it for the first time, glancing at Olivia following quietly behind.
Then she noticed something unusual and spoke up.
“The title is different, isn’t it? This isn’t the performance Olivia told me about.”
Dark posters depicting a man and woman embracing decorated the interior.
The title read It’s Okay to Be a Monster.
The poster Olivia had shown her before had been The Radiant Sun Embraces Me, a bright and sparkling title.
“That’s how it turned out.”
Lucius cut straight to the point.
Lumina, utterly confused, looked to Olivia for an explanation.
“His Grace was so eager for you to visit the opera house as soon as possible that this happened,” Olivia explained politely, adding a small sigh.
“Honestly, I thought the content might be inappropriate for a twelve-year-old, so I tried to object… but…”
“What kind of performance would there be like that?” Lucius interrupted.
“As you can see, this was his opinion,” Olivia muttered.
The Legion didn’t understand the delicate feelings of a twelve-year-old girl.
“Then you recommended the performance you originally intended to me, Olivia?”
“Exactly.”
Lumina grabbed Olivia’s hand tightly.
She flinched slightly at the touch but kept her hand firmly clasped while meeting Olivia’s eyes.
“Then we can watch this today and go see the other one with you next time!”
“Oh my.”
“Do you think Father will have time? If it’s too tiring, next time it can just be me and Olivia!”
“There will be no problem that day.”
…Even though the day hadn’t been mentioned yet.
“Of course. His Grace will have nothing else to do that day,” Olivia added, joining in.
Laughing, Lumina settled into the designated box seat.
Not long after, the performance began.
It’s Okay to Be a Monster.
As the title suggested, the play featured a male protagonist who was a literal “monster,” and the story revolved around his conflicts with his human lover.
“Lucy! Don’t look at me!”
“No! I’m going to!”
The male protagonist persistently pushed the female lead away, while she stubbornly refused to give up on him.
“Edward, I love you. So don’t hide—look at me.”
“Don’t come near me. Don’t look at me. If you get closer, I’ll devour you.”
“…”
“Lucy, Lucy, I…”
Edward covered one side of his face with a hand while reaching for Lucy with the other.
“I’m a monster!”
Bang!
Thunderous sound effects flashed across the hall.
The male protagonist, with horns sprouting from his head, could convincingly call himself a monster.
But to Lumina, it was obvious that the writer had merely transformed the Legion into a “monster” to avoid offending them.
The male lead claimed he was possessed, grew horns, and became hideous; seeing the female lead tempted his appetite, so he must be a monster.
But no matter how she looked at him, he was clearly a Legion.
‘His personality is completely rotten.’
Lumina was certain of it.
Just observing how he treated the female lead as an excuse for being a “monster” was enough to figure it out.
Lumina understood why Olivia had worried before the performance.
The grim setting, a mix of mystery and dark romance, wasn’t something an ordinary twelve-year-old could fully grasp.
‘At this age, a brighter, more hopeful performance would be more appropriate.’
This wasn’t a story about living and dying for love—it seemed destined for a tragic ending.
“How boring.”
“Is that so? I’m new to this, so I don’t really know,” Lumina replied innocently.
“The acting is terrible, especially the woman,” Lucius commented, pointing at the female protagonist.
“After all this time away from the opera house, it seems the talent has dried up.”
“They probably had to change the cast suddenly,” Olivia whispered softly from behind.
“The leading role was supposed to be played by Camella, one of the most skilled and popular opera singers today. But due to scandals involving infidelity and dark magic, she was removed from the performance.”
“That’s too much.”
“The play’s motif is based on the Duke and Duchess’s love story, so he scrutinized it carefully. That might be why she seemed lacking.”
“Eh?”
Lumina blurted out in surprise.
“I didn’t do that,” Lucius denied Olivia’s comment, but he clearly seemed embarrassed.
Lumina retracted her earlier criticism of the male protagonist’s personality.
Looking now, he seemed a cheerful young man with a bright outlook on life.
“Which part of this play is related to Father?” Lumina asked at the perfect moment.
She knew very little about the late Duchess.
Karayan claimed that her father had killed her mother.
But from Lumina’s own observation of Lucius, he seemed genuinely devoted to his late wife.
“This play has nothing in common with my life,” Lucius said.
“But Olivia said the play was based on your love story! It must have influenced it somehow,” Lumina insisted, eyes shining brightly as she looked at Lucius.
“I never revealed the truth about Iris or me because I didn’t want others gossiping. That’s all imagination. It’s just a motif—made up from exaggerated rumors or things overheard,” Lucius explained.
“But it’s related to you, Father! It’s amazing! I want to hear about you!” Lumina pleaded.
Lucius couldn’t resist and reluctantly began to speak.
“Have you ever seen me with your own eyes?”
“Ah, no.”
If you ignored her previous life, it wasn’t a lie.
“Well, it doesn’t matter. You’re a Legion anyway,” Lucius muttered absentmindedly, lowering his sunglasses slightly.
Then his blood-red irises and vertically slit pupils were revealed.
“Even when I’m not using my powers, my eyes look like this. That’s why people have avoided me since before. Even other Legions might think of attacking me.”
So, to ordinary people, he would naturally seem intimidating.
Lumina finally understood why he never took off his dark sunglasses.
“But Iris was the only one who saw me as I was, regardless of how I looked.”
“She must have been kind.”
“The beginning of our encounter wasn’t particularly kind, but there was no one else like her,” he said, voice laced with both affection and bitterness.
Since it was awkward to ask further about the Duchess, the conversation ended there.
As the opera continued, Lumina noticed Olivia suddenly leave in a hurry.
Lumina stood and followed her.
“Where are you going? Did you not like the performance…?”
“No, no!”
“Or were you scared after seeing my eyes…?”
“Father! That’s impossible!”
Lumina shook her head quickly to prevent further misunderstandings.
“I… have some personal business. I’ll be back as quickly as possible.”
“I figured as much.”
“Huh?”
“I knew that girl had decided to deal with that scoundrel,” Lucius muttered, gesturing toward the male protagonist on stage.
It seemed he also found fault with the male lead after the female lead.
But personal business naturally brought certain thoughts to mind.
“Oh, no! The restroom! I’m going to the restroom!” Lumina blurted, realizing direct expressions were the only way to communicate.
Lucius paused briefly, then nodded, perhaps slightly disappointed.
Leaving him behind, Lumina walked down the hallway.
Her destination was not actually the restroom.
‘She shouldn’t have gone far.’
Dodo-do-.
With the performance in full swing, the halls were empty.
As Lumina moved swiftly through the opera house, she spotted the person she had come for.
Olivia stood in a corner with her back turned.
Lumina approached her slowly.
Sensing her presence, Olivia didn’t turn but spoke.
“Young Lady? What brings you all the way here…?”
“You.”
Lumina cut her off and spoke firmly.
“You are not Olivia.”
