Episode 85. Lucia Everlast And seriously, silence
passed for a while.
Soon after, the person who entered the laboratory burst into laughter.
“Puhaha. hey. Adrias. what’s that look on your face? Is that the expression of seeing someone you wouldn’t want to see? But I passed because I didn’t recognize it like last time!”
“It really was Salem.”
I almost didn’t recognize him because he changed his appearance.
Anyway, how did Salem get here?
Could it be that the person I was talking to first with the top of Everlast… …?
“Salem… …. Could it be Salem Yedidia?”
Then a small voice came from behind me.
I forgot that Lucia existed and made a mistake.
Lucia, who was behind me, stuck out her head and looked at Salem.
“okay. I am Salem Yedidiah. Are you William’s daughter? I’ve heard about it a few times, but it sure looks pretty.”
Salem nodded proudly even though his identity was revealed.
It was definitely like one of the world’s strongest people who had nothing to fear.
At that time, a voice came from outside the laboratory along with the sound of someone running.
“Lord Hagendahl! Please wait a moment!”
Apparently, he used the pseudonym Hagendahl.
Salem went out the door again and turned to Viscount Hollington, who seemed to be running towards him.
“sorry. William. I’ve already uncovered my identity. You don’t have to call me Hagendahl.”
William and I already knew each other.
This is a fact that I did not know even though I played Lucia.
“oh my. Whoops.”
Viscount Hollington, who arrived late to the lab, looked at Salem and us inside the lab with a puzzled look. And in the end, he looked at Salem with resentful eyes.
“You even promised that you would go quietly….”
“haha. sorry. I was so excited to hear that Adrias was here that I couldn’t stand it.”
“Are you acquainted with His Excellency?”
“then! A very special relationship. Isn’t that right, Adrias?”
How should I answer this?
Salem, to put it mildly, is a person in the middle of a love affair, but he is clearly a wanted criminal of the empire. I wasn’t too worried because my relationship with Viscount Hollington wasn’t normal, but it took a lot of work to be positive.
“You are the lifesaver of my life.”
I just want it to end here.
It’s a bit risky if you look too friendly. Not really that friendly.
“what? Are we just that close?”
Today, starting with Lucia, why are you so obsessed with relationships?
I’m kidding, of course.
I was a little embarrassed by the unexpected appearance of Salem, but I was more glad than afraid because he was a person who had a goodwill towards me. In particular, the mana wave he taught me was still useful, so I felt grateful.
“But what were you doing here? What are you two dating?”
“I was doing research.”
Despite my answer to Salem’s words, Viscount Hollington glanced at Lucia with an angry look. Judging from Viscount Hollington’s personality, it seemed that the man he would marry Lucia in the future would have a hard time.
“I interfered with the two enjoying their youth. William. Let’s go out and have a beer with the oldies.”
“Yes yes? I have an appointment with Sir Cromwell… ….”
“Uh huh. If you’re so careless, you’ll be hated by your daughter?”
“That can’t be….”
The two of you are doing a lot of conte.
Lucia intervened as I looked at it with puzzled eyes.
“Is it really Salem Yedidiah? A devil after the truth?”
“okay. why? Can’t you believe it?”
When I asked if Salem was cute, Lucia said boldly.
“yes.”
“whatever.”
“yes?”
“What if you don’t believe me? Do I have to prove it?”
When Salem’s characteristic squeamish tone came out, Lucia seemed taken aback for a moment.
I finally came out with that look.
“Salem. Anyway, what’s going on here? Can I stay like this?”
“Who will recognize me? I’m done with my business, but since I’ve been down to the world for a long time, I should enjoy the entertainment. hey william. Let’s go to the beer house quickly.”
“That is….”
Viscount Hollington looked sideways at me and gave me a troubled look.
I couldn’t help but shake my head.
“I am fine. There was something I was researching with Lucia, so I’m going to finish it. It doesn’t matter if the contract is delayed a little.”
“thank you. dismissal.”
After the fuss, Salem dragged Viscount Hollington out. That stubborn personality probably won’t change until I die.
“How far have you been?”
“senior. Is that person really Salem Yedidiah? I still can’t believe it.”
“If you don’t believe me, don’t believe me. And there’s nothing good about getting close.”
For some reason, Lucia has a lot of interest in Salem.
It’s strange that she reacts like this when she doesn’t even react to most things.
“Then let’s continue.”
* * *
What follows is a piece of shit.
Once I lost my concentration, I couldn’t progress at all.
Eventually, Lucia and I went outside to freshen up the atmosphere.
“Lucia.”
“yes.”
“But is the purpose of this research related to the treatment you mentioned earlier?”
On a low hill in front of the castle, I lay down on the grass as a pillow and asked.
I knew the reason because I had already played the game, but I hadn’t heard from her directly, so I took this opportunity to ask.
“yes.”
“What is the cure? where are you going to use it? Knowing that, wouldn’t I be able to set a goal and help?”
“You want to know?”
“uh.”
Lucia smiled briskly with her eyes almost closed, as if the sunlight was warm.
“no, I do not want.”
“what. why?”
“If I knew this, would seniors hate me too?”
For a moment, her expression turned bitter and she was locked in a sad smile.
However, the expression passed by so quickly that I wondered if I was mistaken.
‘It can’t be an illusion.’
I felt sorry for Lucia for nothing.
There was no one who could understand her illness that she was holding alone.
As it is a rare and incurable disease that only she has in this world, her lonely feelings must have created a defense mechanism that does not allow others to approach her.
“Lucia.”
“why. also. If you set the mood like that, do you think I will tell you?”
“I’ve been through a lot lately, but I’ve been happy. Because I have a family that waits for me, and at the academy, there are people who are related to you and Vivian. It was a life I never could have imagined before.”
When I was Kim Jin-hwan, I lived only for missions and goals.
All emotions were castrated, and it was just put into operation like a machine.
But after coming here, I found out.
that I am not a machine
That I am a human being who is clearly living with emotions.
Although my shoulders were heavy because I knew the secrets and future of this world, apart from that, I felt that every day was enjoyable.
The spirit of improvement for me, Amy’s letter saying she’s been trying out new things lately, and the relationship with the playable characters, who are really living and breathing unlike games, were all unbelievably grateful and precious.
“So all of that is important to me. I don’t want to lose. So I struggle more. Even if I live in sweat every day to protect these daily lives that are so precious to me, I feel that even that is enjoyable.”
Lucia was silent and quietly listening to my story.
His eyes were sleepy, but he knew she was awake.
“So there’s absolutely no way I’ll hate you. I bet you Even if everything in this world betrays you, I won’t leave you alone. Oh, did this go too far?”
I smiled mischievously as the atmosphere seemed unnecessarily heavy.
Lucia still pretended to be asleep and didn’t answer, but it didn’t matter.
I just said it one-sidedly because I wanted you to know my truth.
all over again.
“Sir Cromwell!”
Quite a bit of time had passed before I saw Viscount Hollington’s carriage returning to the castle.
I waved my hand and stood up.
“Lucia. You are also a precious person to me. Just know that.”
* * *
Adrias Cromwell left as soon as his contract was concluded.
As Lucia watched Adrias leave from her room in the castle, she remembered the words he had told her.
‘You won’t leave me alone… ….’
My face just got hot.
I don’t know how you can say something like that without changing the color of your face.
But because of that, it felt more sincere and touched my heart.
I don’t know what kind of life Adrias had lived before, so he said that, but his words were quite a big comfort.
‘Coming to think of it, I don’t know anything about Adrias-senpai.’
He knew nothing except that he was the Earl of Cromwell and that he had a sister. I hadn’t really been interested in it until now, but this incident made me curious.
How he lived, how he was when he was young, and how he became a count at such a young age.
‘You don’t seem to like sweets, but what do you like to eat? Do you like meat?’
As Adrias’s curiosity burst out, thoughts continued endlessly.
After thinking about him for a long time, Lucia was awakened by the sound of a servant knocking on the door.
“Lady Lucia. The owner wants to have a meal together at the restaurant. How should I tell him?”
Lucia, who always ate in the lab or in her own room, decided to go down to the restaurant after a long absence.
Wouldn’t the father know more about the Cromwell family?
After answering that she would go down, Lucia came down to the restaurant and saw an unexpected guest.
‘Salem Yedidiah.’
You still haven’t left?
Salem was sitting down with her father, thinking he was going to have dinner.
“Lucia. I didn’t think it would come out, so I couldn’t tell you in advance. Hagendahl-sama decided to have a meal with us. Would that be okay?”
“yes. does not matter.”
Even though his identity has already been revealed, he sees his father, whom he calls Hagendahl, and walks to his seat and sits down.
Lucia was thinking in her heart that it was all right.
I was thinking of asking Salem, who seemed quite connected to Adrias, about what had happened to him.
“Lucia Everlast.”
But before she could ask the question, Salem spoke first.
“I heard that you have some talent for magic. Really?”
“not too bad.”
The answer was vague, but she wasn’t really interested in magic.
Magic was a secondary factor because the process of her learning magic itself was to research her own cure.
“Seeing you reminds me of the guy who used to be my student.”
“A disciple?”
“uh. Although he ran away because he couldn’t climb up.”
As Salem spoke, he raised his arm and began to conjure something with his magic.
It was something that looked like a star shining blue.
“iced coffee.”
As if Lucia was bewitched, she couldn’t take her eyes off the magic, and Viscount Hollington just watched with an expression wondering what was going on.
“Do you know what this is?”
“Do not.”
Seeing Lucia answer right away, Salem smiled and tossed and caught the star he created above his hand like a ball.
“ah! Danger above… ….”
“Do you really think you know what this is?”
Unlike Lucia, who was anxious, Salem looked at Lucia with an expression of interest.
Then he grabbed the star he created, crushed it, and thrust his face into it.
“Lucia Everlast. Would you like to try my student?”
