Lucian looked at her before looking at his mother, then lay back down. He moved his leg a bit to make contact with her during the process, stirring her awake. She woke up, yawning. After a while, she turned to him before coming to hold his shoulder, saying, "Lucian, are you okay? Does it hurt?"
He turned his gaze in another direction, as if avoiding her, before he replied with barely a whisper, "I'm fine."
Seeing that he wasn't looking at her, she figured it was probably due to the previous night's incident. She sighed. She hadn't expected to face him so soon, and she hadn't planned for this yet, but she had to do it. Her guilt was eating her up.
So she began, "Lucian, I—"
Lucian stopped her, saying, "It's okay, Mom. You don't have to explain what happened to me. I get it, okay? And Aurora is here. We will talk later, just the two of us, okay?"
She looked at Aurora, seeing her staring at them with curious eyes. She nodded before saying, "It's okay. We will talk later." Then she said, "I will tell your sister everything."
Then Lucian shouted, "No, it's okay! You don't have to tell her anything. Let her keep hating me."
By now, everything was going according to plan. As soon as his mom said she would tell his sister everything, he could already smell Celeste at the door. She had paused, probably to listen to what his mom was saying. He had already told Aurora earlier to leave the door slightly open.
Seraphina replied, "But see what she did to you! She almost killed you. I caused all of this. It's my fault. I should have told her this earlier. I should have. Who knew what would happen?"
Lucian replied to his mother, knowing full well Celeste was listening, "It's okay, Mom. There's no need to fret over it, and it's not her fault either. It's my fault. I provoked her. Who knows what kind of anger she holds inside her?"
"I wanted to see my big sister smile again. I can't bring myself to tell her that I wasn't the cause of my father's death. I can't bring myself to explain to her that I was always jealous of her. I can't bring myself to tell her she was the person I looked up to the most."
"She changed a lot. We used to play when we were kids, always looking out for me. After Dad died, I wished so badly to see her smile. I thought if she blamed me enough, she would get over it. I was ready to bear the brunt of the whole pain, even if it hurt me. I don't mind. Even if she killed me, I wouldn't be angry at her. She deserves the best."
His mom shouted, "Lucian, what are you saying? What about you? What about your feelings? What about your pain? You are always watching out for your sister, even if you didn't say it. I know your injuries might be hurting. Why haven't I seen you smile since you came back? Why haven't I seen you laugh?"
"I didn't say anything because I wanted to clear all of it together as a family. Why didn't you tell your sister you saved her from getting kidnapped? Instead, you presented yourself to them. Why? I knew from the start you were hiding all of this to protect her. I don't believe you don't feel any pain."
This was surprising because, from the memories he had, Lucian didn't know much about how he got into that facility, but he knew he had been with his sister that day. All of this was new to him; he was just hearing it now. It seemed Seraphina was adding fuel to the guilt his sister would feel, not that he minded.
So he continued, "Mom, let's not talk about it anymore, okay? It's fine, alright? I'm okay, so it's fine. Besides, she doesn't have to know anything. She needs to grow strong. I already found out that the academy has opened, and she might leave for it next month since it only accepts students from Spellweaver level upward."
Seraphina looked at Lucian before saying, "Lucian, you—"
Then he said, "Don't worry, Mom. I'm fine, okay? Please, let's not talk about this. I don't want anyone finding out about this. I already made an oath to protect you two, even if it costs me my life. By the way, I'm famished, Mom. Do you think you can get me something?"
She stared at him for a while before replying, "Right away." Then she turned around and left.
By now, Celeste had already left the door entrance, probably not wanting to face him after everything she had heard. Her guilt was eating her from the inside.
As soon as his mom left, Aurora dropped her act, turning her gaze to him before saying, "You are quite something. Well, now I want to see how things are going to progress from here, though my main interest is in how you plan to handle your aunt. If she's stronger than Lord Rufus, who is an Ether Sage, then we can assume she's an Aether Lord."
Lucian nodded before saying, "Well, that was my assumption too. And she's a blacksmith as well. I left that detail out because I don't really remember much about her being a blacksmith. Well, she doesn't appear that way to me anytime we see each other, but I want to be able to control my mom and sister's emotions and turn them to love."
Aurora said, "Well, I know it's something you can do. I don't doubt you. So we just have to prepare for your awakening and your aunt's return while we also take care of things here."
He nodded, then laid back down on the bed. He was fully healed, but he had to keep up the act. Aurora would take care of the healer's report to his mom. Then he felt Aurora come to the bed and lay down beside him, putting her head on his chest. He didn't say anything, just raised his hands to pat her head gently.
—————-
Later that evening, as the manor grew quiet and most of the servants had retired for the night, I heard a soft knock at my door. Aurora, who had been reading beside me, looked up sharply. She had stayed in my room all day, occasionally leaving only to fetch food or speak with the healer about my supposed condition.
"It's your sister," she whispered, her heightened senses clearly detecting what I could only faintly perceive.
I was already expecting her, but not so soon. It seemed her guilt was eating her up already. I turned to Aurora, who had already stood up and was moving toward the door without me even telling her. I could tell Celeste was here—I don't know if it was due to her scent, but I can say my senses had become stronger, even more potent than before the whole incident. I was still trying to process it all, but that was for later. I just told Aurora without much expression on my face, "Let her in."
Even though my wounds were already healed, I still needed to act like I hadn't recovered yet. Aurora moved to the door, opening it just enough to peer out.
"Oh, Lady Celeste," she said, her voice immediately taking on the timid, childlike quality she used around others. "Daddy is resting, but... I think he's awake. Would you like to see him?"
There was a pause before I heard my sister's voice, uncharacteristically soft and hesitant. "Yes... if he'll allow it."
Aurora opened the door fully, and I sensed Celeste enter, her footsteps barely audible. She was carrying something—the scent of hot broth reached me, along with freshly baked bread.
"I... brought you some food," she said awkwardly, hovering at the foot of my bed. "The cook mentioned you hadn't eaten much today."
I adjusted myself a bit to make it look like I was skeptical about what she brought. She noticed and asked, "What is it?"
I turned my blindfolded gaze up to her face before asking, "Is it poisoned?"
She frowned. Seeing that she didn't understand my question, I said, "You didn't have to bring food for me. I could ask Aurora to help me tell the servants to bring the food. So you bringing it feels off. I was wondering if you came to finish off what you started earlier."