(?) By the time the lively dinner concluded, the sky outside had faded into a heavy, pitch-black canopy.
Fortunately, alcohol in the slums was an exorbitant luxury, and the Reunion Movement skirmishers were kept on a tight leash by Crownslayer.
Otherwise, given the heated atmosphere around the table, a few of them would have inevitably drunk themselves into a stupor just to keep the party going.
Unlike the restless and perpetually stressed Crownslayer, her ignorant subordinates simply viewed Lucian as a fellow Infected comrade.
They were endlessly curious about his Sankta heritage, bombarding him with all sorts of questions that nearly gave their leader a stress-induced stomach ulcer.
Before the group parted ways, Lucian retrieved a small box of blood-replenishing sugar from his coat and handed it to Little Bear.
“Take this, Little Bear.
You and your mother can eat it together.
If she ever feels unwell, dissolve two pieces in warm water for her to drink.
Just tell her it is sweet water.” Little Bear’s eyes widened with sheer delight.
“Wow!
It is Brother Lucian’s special candy!
Usually, Sister Xiao Ling only gives everyone one piece, and we all treasure it so much…
Is it really okay to give Little Bear this many?” Lucian gently patted her head.
“Of course.
But this is a secret between us.
Do not tell anyone else.” He pressed a finger to his lips in a shushing gesture.
Little Bear immediately mimicked the motion, nodding seriously before hopping and skipping her way back home, clutching the sugar like a priceless treasure.
Standing in the dim, quiet street, Lucian let out a quiet breath and turned to face Crownslayer.
She was already glaring at him.
“Good work tonight, Miss Lyudmila.
Waiting out here for me like this…
were your subordinates being considerate enough to give us some private time, or did you request this intimate moment yourself?” “Drop dead.” Crownslayer crossed her arms, her tone laced with deep irritation.
She frowned, her gaze dropping to where the child had just disappeared.
“What exactly did you give her?
Telling her to eat it with her sick mother…
it is not poison, is it?” Lucian met her gaze, his eyes entirely clear.
“If I told you it was a special medicine for Oripathy, would you believe me?” Surprisingly, Crownslayer did not immediately scoff at the absurd claim.
Instead, a flicker of genuine uncertainty crossed her face, her expression twisting into something far more conflicted.
“…Are you actually a doctor?” “Not exactly.
I only know basic first aid and how to wrap a bandage.
But I am quite confident in my skills as a chef.” Lucian offered a frank, easy smile.
This peculiar dinner had yielded an unexpected harvest for Lucian.
It finally revealed the real reason why Little Bear had stopped visiting The Courtyard.
The Reunion Movement was actively operating in Lungmen to recruit new blood.
Whether these recruits formally joined the cause or simply remained behind as informants, they would be vital assets for Reunion’s future operations.
According to Crownslayer’s recruitment policy, they focused on refugees who had fled from the Ursus Empire.
Those survivors understood the tragic, crushing reality of the Infected better than anyone, making them the most susceptible to Reunion’s ideology.
Little Bear’s mother fit that profile perfectly, and she had indeed been eager to join their ranks.
However, her health had suddenly collapsed, leaving her bedridden for the past two days.
Little Bear was not being held hostage or controlled by these Reunion operatives.
She simply had not visited the tea shop because she was busy caring for her sick mother.
The specific reason no longer mattered, though.
Reunion’s violent goals remained unchanged, and Lucian would never accept their methods.
As he and Crownslayer walked down the dark, oppressive alleyway—the kind of place where a corpse could appear at any moment without raising an eyebrow—Lucian broke the silence.
“Please leave the city tonight.
I can keep your presence a secret for today, but only for today.
Get out while you can.” Crownslayer kept her hands buried in her pockets, her fingers resting lightly on the hilt of her dagger.
“You do not need to tell me that.
My people were seen eating with you.
If we kill you now, the Lungmen Guard Department will trace the suspicion right back to us anyway.
We are leaving.” She had, reluctantly, accepted his advice.
Truthfully, while Crownslayer inherently distrusted anyone who was not Infected, this bizarre dinner had shifted her perspective on the man walking beside her.
Taking advantage of the quiet moment, she voiced the question lingering in her mind.
“That story you told earlier.
About escaping from your hometown and surviving out in the barren wilderness.
Was any of that true?
Or was it just a performance to win over my men?” “Every word of it was true,” Lucian replied, his smile softening.
“The only detail I left out was that I did not escape alone.
There was someone else with me.
She was my childhood sweetheart, and we both suffered terribly back then.
It was exactly because I learned the true agony of starvation that I decided to learn how to cook.
I wanted to make the best meals possible, so my family would never have to go hungry again.” “…” Crownslayer fell silent, her gaze flickering as she studied his profile in the gloom.
“That is quite a heavy burden.
I believe you.” Lucian’s open, entirely honest expression had completely dismantled her usual defenses.
If a look like that could be faked, he would be the greatest actor on Terra.
Even Talulah, the proud and unyielding leader of Reunion, would have to concede defeat to such a performance.
Crownslayer finally understood.
This man might not be Infected, but he bore the scars of true suffering.
That lingering sense of homelessness was likely the root of his deep sympathy for the Infected.
Then, a sudden thought struck her.
“Wait.
You said you escaped with your childhood sweetheart?” During dinner, Lucian had mentioned that Laterano absolutely did not tolerate the Infected, enforcing a strict policy of immediate expulsion.
In contrast, the Ursus Empire enslaved the Infected as free labor, dragging them into the freezing hellscapes of the northern mines to work until they died.
Ursus was a fate worse than death.
Laterano’s policy, while rigid and cold, at least offered a slim chance of survival in the wastelands.
Connecting those two harsh realities, Crownslayer arrived at a grim theory.
She looked at Lucian, her eyes filled with a complex, heavy emotion.
“Your childhood sweetheart…
she contracted Oripathy, did she not?” “…I will exercise my right to remain silent.” For a rare, fleeting second, the casual ease vanished from Lucian’s face.
He faltered, looking away before quickly masking his expression behind a neutral front.
But that tiny crack was all the confirmation Crownslayer needed.
‘I see…’she thought.’This man willingly abandoned his home to walk into the wilderness with his childhood sweetheart after she became Infected.
That explains his absolute acceptance of us.
But judging by his reaction just now…
that girl is probably…’ Crownslayer was not some naive, romanticizing young girl, but she was not devoid of basic humanity either.
Earlier, she had despised Lucian’s frivolous attitude and the way he had casually claimed to be her boyfriend, subjecting her to an immense humiliation she could never explain away to her subordinates.
But if all of that obnoxious behavior was just a coping mechanism because his beloved childhood sweetheart was dead…
her intense aversion to him largely evaporated.
She let out a soft, quiet sigh.
“I understand.
Just live your life well, you idiot.” “Ah, wait a second.” Lucian, completely unaware that Crownslayer had just mentally scripted an entire tragic romance drama for him, casually called out to stop her.
The flickering fluorescent streetlamp buzzed overhead as he pulled another small bag of blood-replenishing sugar from his coat.
“Take this.
Just pretend you got scammed by a street vendor, or eat it as a snack on the road.” Crownslayer eyed the bag with deep suspicion.
“Are you serious?
I still do not believe there is a magical cure for Oripathy.
Are you just used to tricking gullible kids?” Lucian rolled his eyes.
“If it were just a useless placebo, I would be shouting from the rooftops that it was a miracle cure to make a profit.
Just try it.
What do you have to lose?
You must have plenty of severely Infected people in your camp.
Find a few who are about to kick the bucket and shove a piece in their mouths.” “Tch.
You never know when to shut up.” Crownslayer snatched the bag from his hand, looking exactly like an irritable, delinquent high school girl storming out of a convenience store.
This time, it was a genuine farewell.
Crownslayer raised a hand in a lazy wave, not bothering to look back.
“Next time we meet, I will still cut you down if I have to.
If you ever stand against the Reunion Movement, I will kill you.
Goodbye.” Lucian was not about to be outdone.
“That is my line.
Try not to do anything too terrible out there, Lyudmila.” Crownslayer did not stop him from using her real name.
A second later, her black attire melted completely into the shadows of the Lungmen night.
[Rhodes’s Note: Enjoying the operation so far, Doctor?
(This daily grind literally pays the landship’s rent!
to use the links!)