"Nngh... your body smells far too good, Lucian. Now I’m curious—is that a perfume, or is this just how you naturally smell?"
Since when did you get this shameless, Lumina?
Lucian, whose sight had only recently begun returning to him after a lifetime of darkness, saw for the first time an expression on Lumina’s face that could only be described as predatory. Something feral.
After all their years of friendship, only now did he understand the darkness she’d kept hidden beneath that gentle exterior—and he suspected it would haunt him for the rest of his life.
"Do you have any idea how happy I am right now, Lucian? That you finally found the courage to end things with that scheming little tramp yourself. I knew you’d see through her true face eventually. I knew you’d choose correctly."
She spoke with both hands pressed to her chest, as though offering silent thanks for someone else’s misfortune.
How does she already know about the annulment?
Her breathing grew heavier, and she leaned in closer, wrapping herself around his arm, her face pressing near his.
"Nnghh... Huff... I can’t hold back much longer. Eighteen years, Lucian. Eighteen years I’ve watched over you. And finally—finally—the day has come. After today, everything between us changes."
Holy crap. Not today. Please, Lumina, hold yourself together.
He willed his body to move, to run, to do anything—but nothing obeyed him.
Then her gaze dropped, fixing on his torn shirt.
"Hmm... your clothes are already ruined. Wouldn’t it be easier if we just finished tearing them off, darling?"
No. Lumina, don’t—
RIP!—
She stripped what remained of his shirt away in one motion.
My purity!
TOK! TOK!—
A knock at the door. Lumina’s expression shifted instantly, irritation flashing sharp across her face at the interruption.
Lucian’s racing heart finally began to settle.
"Who dares disturb me now?"
A priest’s voice answered, nervous and hurried. "Forgive me, Saintess—a member of House Sarnel has arrived to see Master Lucian."
Oh, thank the Goddess. My purity lives to see another day.
Wait—someone from House Sarnel? So someone actually came to check on me?
"Tch. That was fast. Who is it?"
"Reporting, Saintess. Lady Jeanne Sarnel."
Jeanne Sarnel—second daughter of the Swordmaster sarnel line, known by the title Dancing Maiden, famous for her blade, thinner and far more flexible than the standard sword. Unlike his other siblings, Lucian’s relationship with her had never carried the same awkward distance. She was strict with him—but never cruel.
Jeanne? Why is she here? Wasn’t she supposed to still be on the annual border expedition? If she finds out this is the second time I’ve been cut down from behind, will she come after me again too?
The annual expedition usually lasted well over a year—every noble house was required to send at least one family member to guard the empire’s borders, though it rarely meant real combat; mostly it meant keeping watch over the smaller border kingdoms.
"Very well. Let her in."
Lumina moved quickly, straightening the bed and pulling a blanket over Lucian, erasing any trace of what had almost happened. The door opened, and footsteps rushed toward him—footsteps he recognized instantly.
"Young Master!"
Rumelia. Thank the Goddess, she’s alive.
She threw her arms around him where he lay. Behind her stood a tall woman, nearly six feet, arms crossed.
"Thank you for saving our foolish little brother from those bandits, Saintess Lumina. If not for you, he might not have made it."
Lucian startled at the gentleness in Jeanne’s voice—so unlike the sister he knew, who rarely spoke to him without an edge. He wasn’t sure whether to believe she actually cared, or—
Bandits? I was attacked because of the conflict inside the Order of Lumielle. Did Rumelia not tell her the truth?
He wanted desperately to hear the truth in Rumelia’s heart—to know for certain whether she’d been compromised.
A familiar sensation stirred at the edge of his hearing.
[ Young Master... forgive me. I wasn’t able to fight off the bandits myself. By the time I came to, they’d already been defeated, and you were lying there. ]
The voice confirmed his fear: Rumelia had indeed been touched by the Crimson Soul—though only partially. Her memory had been altered, but her will, her body, hadn’t been fully overwritten.
Then, without warning, a sharp pain tore through his skull. It felt like his head was being pulled apart, his ears scraped raw from the aftershock of hearing her heart. He couldn’t suppress it.
Ugh—the backlash from Heartwhisper is too strong. I can’t keep using it like this. The jolt of his body drew every eye in the room toward him.
Lumina caught the movement immediately. "Ah—it seems Lucian is waking. Perhaps you two should speak with him first. I need to prepare for today’s Awakening Ceremony... though if anything happens, please send for me at once."
Ughh.. The Awakening Ceremony. Today. Damn it—I need to get up now, or I’ll be late.
"Thank you again, Saintess Lumina," Jeanne said, dipping her head respectfully.
"Oh, Lady Jeanne, there’s no need for that. Lucian and I have grown so much closer now—how could I possibly neglect him, even for a moment?"
Does she truly intend to never let me breathe on my own again?
Lumina leaned close to his ear before leaving. "I know you’ve been awake this whole time, my... We’ll pick up where we left off soon enough."
Her voice paused there—shifting, growing suddenly serious. "But let me warn you once more. Your family is far more dangerous than you realize. Stay careful, or you’ll find yourself cut down a third time"
A chill crawled down Lucian’s spine at her words. Did she know from the very beginning that I heard everything?
But what does she mean about my family? Isn’t she the most dangerous person in this room?
Lumina swept out of the room without another word. The door shut behind her. A sharp voice cut through the silence a moment later.
"Get up already, kid. Unless you’d rather miss the ceremony entirely."
Strangely, the moment Lumina left, his body obeyed him again. Lucian sat up at once, rubbing his head, and offered his sister a faint smile.
"Sister Jeanne. You’re back already? That was fast."
This was the first time in his life he’d actually seen her with his own eyes—her face striking, elegant, her eyes a pale, calming blue. She still wore her travel uniform, a slender white-bladed sword resting at her hip.
"Don’t smile at me like that. Talk. What actually happened."
She’s always had sharp instincts. But if I tell her the truth, will she even believe someone everyone already dismisses as blind and useless? And if Lumina really controls a network through the Crimson Soul, how many people in this room already answer to her?
He hesitated, unwilling to say more. Jeanne, though, seemed to have something else entirely on her mind.
"Hey. Answer me. Is it really that hard to explain why you called off your engagement?"
"Eh—the engagement?"
"Why do you look so surprised? You thought I was asking why you’re covered in wounds? If you’d actually won a fight against them, that would’ve shocked me more."
I actually thought she cared for a second there. What am I even supposed to say?
"About that..."
"Lady Jeanne, the Young Master is still hurt. Please—don’t wound his heart on top of it. A man freshly heartbroken doesn’t deserve this kind of interrogation."
Thank you, Rumelia. You’re the only sane woman in my life right now.
Jeanne’s tone softened, just slightly, at the interruption. "Hmph. I only wanted to know why you called it off." She straightened, waving toward the door. "Go on, get downstairs, or you’ll be late for the ceremony."
"Ah—right. Thank you for visiting, Sister."
Lucian bowed toward her, gratitude genuine, if brief. Whatever her manner, Jeanne had never once truly hurt him—one of the only people in his family who could say that. He rose and hurried toward the door.
Then he felt it—a strange pressure, cutting through the air.
WHOOSH!—
A blade sliced toward him, fast and precise. But this time, his body moved faster than the attack itself. He spun, catching Jeanne’s wrist in a clean, practiced grip before the strike could land.
"Lady Jeanne! What are you doing?!"
For the third time that week, someone had nearly struck him down from behind—and this time, he’d caught it.
’Interesting. His reflexes are faster than before. His strength too. Almost like he can actually see the movement coming’, Jeanne noted silently, studying him.
But it seemed she’d never intended to truly harm him. "I’m surprised. Your reflexes are sharper than I remember. Why exactly have you already been cut down twice in one week?"
"Sister—don’t just attack me out of nowhere like that."
"Idiot. An enemy will never give you a warning, Lucian. If you can’t dodge an attack like that, you’ll never earn my approval."
"Fine—but I just blocked your attack. Doesn’t that mean I’ve already earned it?"
Jeanne sheathed her blade. "Sure. If you’re ready to face the weight of every noble eye on you today, go right ahead. No one from House Sarnel is coming besides me. And one more thing."
I’m not bothered by my family’s absence. But ’one more thing’?
"Are you seriously planning to walk into the Cathedral without a shirt?"
Lucian looked down. His torn shirt hung loose, barely clinging to his shoulders.
"Hmm... your stomach’s gotten more toned, hasn’t it," Jeanne observed, studying him with unsettling thoroughness.
"Don’t—don’t look at me like that!"
Rumelia snatched up a black garment nearby—one that looked suspiciously similar to what Lumina had worn earlier.
"Young Master, quick, put this on and go."
Lucian pulled it on hastily and hurried out of the room.
...
"Alright. Now it’s your turn for questions, Rumelia." Jeanne turned toward her, expression suddenly serious. "Tell me exactly how my brother ended up losing that fight."
"Shouldn’t we be escorting the Young Master right now?"
"No. I’d much rather hear about my idiot brother’s other failures first."
***
Some time later, he arrived at the grand ceremonial hall of the Cathedral of Peria.
The scale of it struck him immediately—rows upon rows of people, waiting their turn beneath a towering obelisk pillar that would reveal the tier of their Awakening.
Along the sides stood high-ranking noble families, watching their children—each eighteen or older—step forward for their turn.
Representatives from several prestigious academies had come as well, scouting for promising talent among the crowd.
Shame there’s no one here from Orvis Academy. If I manage a decent Awakening today, maybe they’d finally notice me... assuming I get something worth noticing at all.
Lucian took a seat near the back. Ahead of him, someone’s pillar flared gray—Tier H, the lowest possible result, meaning whatever Blessing or Talent they received would be just as weak.
Moments later, another pillar blazed brilliant green—Tier D, rare enough to be considered genius-level. The crowd erupted into applause.
"Congratulations to Etas Biston, on your crimson Awakening," a Bishop announced warmly.
Impressive. That might actually meet Orvis Academy’s minimum standard. He watched the green light, quietly hoping for something close to that himself.
"Lucian Sarnel. It’s your turn now."
The Bishop’s voice rang out, clear and unmistakable, directed straight at him. Is this because of something Lumina arranged too?
Every eye in the hall turned toward him—a blind boy, standing alone for his Awakening.
Worse still, a member of the Sarnel Swordmaster line, without a single Elder at his side, unlike every other noble family present.
Ugh, great going, Bishop. Thanks to you, now the entire room’s staring at me.
The stares were cold, but he’d long since grown used to that particular chill. The Bishop’s voice, gentle, cut through it.
"Step forward, child. There’s nothing to fear."
This Bishop seems kind enough. I wonder if he’s been touched by Lumina’s Crimson Soul too... or if the Goddess really did choose him herself.
The entire ceremony rested on faith in the Goddess Lumielle—renowned across the continent for her wisdom and benevolence, a reputation upheld by every Saintess who bore her blessing. And yet, after everything he’d just witnessed, Lucian couldn’t fully silence the doubt creeping in.
But still, he wanted to believe in the Goddess Lumielle one more time.
Still, he reached for the towering obelisk and pressed his palm to its surface, letting his mana flow slowly into the stone. He hoped for nothing more than a crimson result—enough, at least, to earn his place at Orvis Academy.
Then, without warning, the obelisk answered.
Light exploded from the pillar, so sudden and so blinding that the entire hall fell into stunned, frozen silence.
The Bishop’s mouth fell open, disbelief plain across his face. Lucian, still facing the ground, slowly lifted his head toward the source of the glow.
That’s impossible. Isn’t this light...