chapter 37
“Little Madam, what are you saying? How could I be someone else? Hearing this voice and still saying that—it really hurts.”
“You weren’t Olivia all day today.”
“But it’s obviously me—then who do you think I am?”
Olivia denied it,
still keeping her back to Lumina.
Her neatly tied red hair, tall figure, and even her gentle voice—
there wasn’t a single thing that would make anyone doubt that the person in front of her was Olivia.
“I don’t know who you are. But you’re not Olivia.”
“……”
“Because Olivia isn’t a Legion.”
Flinch.
The suspicious person wearing Olivia’s face muttered darkly,
“How did you know?”
“……”
“How did you know I’m not Olivia… and that I’m a Legion? Even the Duke of Hart wouldn’t have noticed—my disguise was perfect.”
The other person seemed shocked, speaking as if they couldn’t believe it.
But the answer that came back was light.
“I just did.”
“……”
“I just knew.”
It wasn’t wrong.
But if she said it felt completely different from when she touched the real Olivia, they probably wouldn’t believe her.
Hearing Lumina’s vague answer, the other person let out a small laugh.
“Ash said you were strange, and he was right. The more I dug, the cleaner everything looked—it was almost suspicious. And now that I talk to you, it’s the same.”
The person wearing Olivia’s face covered it with their palm.
And when the hand moved away—
“Maybe this face is more familiar to you, Little Madam.”
Brown hair, an ordinary face you’d forget easily, and a clearly male voice.
It was the man she had met when she first went to see the Duke of Hart.
Although Lumina knew he was one of the Duke’s subordinates, she didn’t let her guard down.
“I didn’t introduce myself back then, did I?”
“I know. Uncle Brandon.”
“You can probably drop the ‘uncle’…”
“Yes, Uncle. Where is the real Olivia right now?”
Not knowing that Brandon and Olivia were married, Lumina naturally assumed he had harmed her.
“She’s probably at the mansion by now, handling the piled-up work. She’s the type who doesn’t put things off.”
“Liar.”
“Liar? It’s true! I even got her permission to borrow her face!”
“Lying pervert.”
“Hey, that’s harsh. I borrowed my wife’s face with permission!”
Wife?
Could it be that Olivia’s husband—and Ash’s father—was…?
“And a true master of transformation isn’t bound by gender. Take a good look at this face.”
The fact that Brandon was a Legion—and that he had the rare ability to change his appearance—was a closely guarded secret known only to a few.
But Lumina had already figured out both.
Normally, anyone who learned such a secret would be eliminated without exception.
But he couldn’t exactly kill someone Lucius called “my daughter-in-law.”
To gauge Lumina’s reaction, Brandon covered his face again with his palm.
When he removed it, his previously unremarkable features had turned quite handsome.
I’ve seen this face somewhere.
As Lumina studied him closely, she realized—
It was the face of the actor who played the male lead in “Even Though It’s a Monster, It’s Okay.”
While she was impressed by the incredible ability, Brandon covered his face again.
When he removed his hand this time, he had become a white-haired old man.
Since it was a completely unfamiliar face, she just stared blankly.
“So you weren’t an uncle—you were Grandpa Brandon? You said you were Olivia’s husband. That makes you a total thief.”
“No, no, this isn’t my real face. Just some old man I passed by.”
He hurriedly corrected her misunderstanding.
But that was a lie.
This face belonged to the “Doctor” Brandon knew.
The Doctor was someone Lucius was desperately tracking.
Since no one knew his real name, he was simply called “the Doctor,” and he was suspected of being the one secretly manipulating Lumina.
But she clearly had no idea.
When he showed the actor’s face, she recognized it belatedly—but when he showed the Doctor’s face, her expression clearly said, “Who are you?”
Eyes don’t lie.
Even for a split second, recognition always shows.
Brandon realized Lumina had nothing to do with the Doctor.
“I think I understand what kind of person you are. But why did you leave the performance halfway through?”
“Ah, that’s…”
Just as Brandon was about to explain—
Drip. Drip.
The sound of something falling echoed.
Is there a leak?
That’s what she thought—but it wasn’t the building.
The sound was coming from Brandon, right in front of her.
“This keeps happening.”
Brandon grimaced in pain.
His face began to collapse as if melting, a viscous liquid dripping onto the ground.
“I can hold it together if I focus hard enough, but for some reason it’s getting harder to maintain the form. I left because I thought I might get exposed.”
“……”
“Though it was pointless, since you already figured me out, Little Madam.”
He tried to smile kindly, but it only made him look more pained.
This isn’t just pain—his condition is seriously bad.
Since Lumina herself was also a special kind of Legion, she decided to set aside the fact that he could freely change his appearance.
Right now, Brandon’s legs were trembling, and his face kept melting and reforming.
“Please wait. I’ll call Father right away—”
Lumina turned to leave.
“Don’t call the Captain!”
Brandon urgently stopped her.
“Why?”
“I didn’t want to go this far, but—wait, wait! If the Captain finds out about this, I’m dead.”
Seeing Lumina about to run off to Lucius, Brandon quickly spoke.
Lumina tilted her head.
“Father may be a bit ruthless, but he’s not heartless enough to kill his subordinates over something like this.”
“No, that’s not it.”
Brandon’s expression turned serious.
Recently, he had truly been on the verge of death—not metaphorically.
And he hadn’t been able to tell anyone.
Normally, he would never speak of this.
But perhaps because he had been suffering alone, he unconsciously held out his arm and showed Lumina his wrist.
Diamond-shaped patterns were densely etched across it, like a bracelet.
At a glance, it looked like a tattoo.
“It’s proof I’ve been cursed with dark magic.”
“…Dark magic?”
“Yeah. There’s a binding placed on me. If the Captain learns about my condition, I die.”
“I don’t know much about dark magic, but can you usually know the exact conditions of a restriction?”
“……”
“Or did you use dark magic yourself and something went wrong? How do you know so much?”
“The Doctor who cast it on me told me.”
Brandon recalled the time he had been traveling around, investigating Lumina.
“It’s been a while. My escaped test subject. Ah, you go by Brandon now, don’t you?”
A figure in a black hood approached him.
Even without seeing the face, Brandon immediately knew who it was.
The Doctor.
The one who had disappeared six years ago had suddenly appeared again.
He was shocked—briefly.
Then he was overpowered without resistance.
When he regained consciousness, a considerable amount of time had passed.
Along with a vivid mark of the curse.
Only fragments of memory remained, but the Doctor had said:
“I’ve given you poison. If you want the antidote, bring me the research on ancient magic from the Duke of Hart. You have one week. If you don’t hand it over, you die.”
“That’s how he threatened me.”
“Why does he need that?”
“How would I know?”
Realizing he had spoken out loud, Lumina looked at him curiously.
“I don’t even know why I keep telling you all this.”
It must have started after she healed his injuries.
Just being near Lumina made him feel strangely at ease—like he could tell her anything.
Of course, he still forced himself not to reveal critical secrets.
“Did you tell Olivia about this?”
“No. There’s no way I could.”
Lumina realized why Olivia had betrayed Lucius.
To save her husband.
Olivia wasn’t in her position for nothing—she was sharp.
Even if not immediately, it was only a matter of time before she noticed something.
If Olivia pressed him hard enough, he’d confess just like this.
She didn’t even need to see it.
“Did you try to find the antidote?”
“Of course. But whether it’s a unique poison he created, I couldn’t even identify it.”
“Then maybe, like when I healed your injury last time, I might be able to help.”
“Your ability works by transferring wounds and then healing them. Can you control it perfectly?”
“I can manage external wounds to some extent.”
“That’s external. This is internal poison. What if the dark magic transfers too?”
Brandon studied her expression.
She clearly knew nothing about ancient magic.
Just like before.
If she were connected to the Doctor, he would’ve kept someone like her close.
Having once been the Doctor’s experiment himself, Brandon became certain—Lumina wasn’t his subordinate.
“And you promised the Captain you wouldn’t use your ability on anyone except Karayan.”
He didn’t want to involve someone as young as her in something this dangerous.
“I’d rather die than become a traitor.”
His loyalty was absolute.
His abilities unmatched.
His dedication to family clear.
Even if he talked a bit too easily, Lumina liked him.
“Don’t give up on life so easily.”
“……”
“Why don’t you think the other way? Olivia would do anything to save you as your wife.”
Even if it meant dying branded as a traitor.
Just as Brandon wanted to protect his family, Olivia would risk anything for him.
“You’re awfully human for a Legion. But there’s no other way. Either I become a traitor… or I die.”
Lumina fell into deep thought.
Would things really end like fate dictated—Olivia betraying Lucius, and both of them dying?
Even if she didn’t betray out of malice… she had no choice to save her family. If only we had the antidote…
She wanted to change fate, just like she had changed her own.
Crouching down, Lumina touched the liquid dripping onto the floor.
It felt less like liquid and more like pudding.
“So the dark magic is just enforcing a restriction, and as long as we get the antidote in time, it’s fine?”
“Yeah.”
“That’s simple. I have a method.”
“What? That’s impossible. If you’re thinking of using your Legion ability—”
“No. Something else.”
“Stealing the information?”
“No.”
She answered firmly.
“Then what? Don’t tell me you’ll find the antidote? That’s impossible. The one who made the poison is a genius.”
“A genius? That’s perfect. More importantly—”
Lumina stood up, smiling as she approached him.
“Do you have money?”
“Huh? Uh… yeah…”
“Great! Then give it to me.”
And just like that, she confidently extorted money from Brandon.
