CHAPTER 173: CHAPTER 173: LUCIAN KNOWS-2

Lucian’s eyes suddenly twinkled with a playful glint, too soft to be mocking, too sharp to be ignored.

For a brief moment, Lana’s breath hitched. A chill crawled down her spine.

’Oh no... he’s going to say something dangerous... I can feel it.’

Her intuition proved painfully accurate.

The next second, Lucian leaned slightly forward, his voice smooth and gentle.

"You look adorable in that bear outfit... especially without your lenses."

Lana froze. ’...What?’

Her hand shot to her eyes. No contacts. Nothing but her raw, unmistakable blue irises stared back at him.

Her heart sank. Then, another horrifying realization slammed into her mind. Her silver hair.

She grabbed a lock of it quickly, fingers trembling. The faint metallic shimmer was visible even in her peripheral vision.

’He... he must have seen it. Oh no. Oh no, no, no.’

Her thoughts spiraled so fast she felt dizzy.

’If Lucian had even the slightest suspicion before that she was the silver kitten haunting his memories... then this moment had confirmed everything.’

Desperate to gauge his reaction, Lana lifted her gaze.

Lucian sat there, watching her with warm amusement flickering in his blue eyes.

She immediately closed her own eyes in despair.

’No. No, no, no. He doesn’t know. He definitely doesn’t know. He CAN’T know...’

But deep inside, beneath all her frantic denial, she knew the truth.

Lucian was ninety percent convinced.

And in the next heartbeat, he destroyed the final ten percent with a single sentence.

"Your silver hair," he murmured with a faint smile, "is truly beautiful."

Lana felt her soul leave her body.

She forced a smile... stiff, terrified, awkward.

"It’s... um... dyed. Because of my cousin. She is my idol. She has silver hair too."

Lucian lifted a brow, amused.

"Does she also have blue eyes?"

Lana wanted to crawl under the bed and die.

’Why is he asking like that? Why does he sound like he’s already caught me red-handed?!’

Even though she was exceptionally skilled at lying... had deceived dangerous entities, outwitted criminals, and kept an entire double life hidden... her composure crumbled completely under Lucian’s gentle but unrelenting gaze.

Still, she pushed forward and said with forced firmness:

"Yes. She has blue eyes too. I only got the surgery recently... to match her."

Lucian nodded thoughtfully.

"I see. Then the possibility that the silver cat is related to you is... highly convincing."

Even though he said so, he looked at her teasingly.

Having a surgery to change the iris’s color and her eyes recovering from the surgery so fast that even Lucian never saw her in her post-recovery state was a miracle.

Lana felt her soul wither.

His expression, gentle yet unyieldingly firm, terrified her.

Lucian never accepted a possibility without examining every angle. He rarely settled on only one explanation. He didn’t offer blind trust.

But now? Now he was staring straight at her with absolute conviction.

Which meant... either the alternative was impossible.

Or the alternative was the truth... and he was pretending not to know.

Lana’s stomach curled uncomfortably.

She forced a yawn.

"I... feel tired. I think I should rest."

Lucian smiled, serene and satisfied.

"Of course. Sleep well. I won’t disturb you."

And with that, he stood, smoothed down his coat, and left the room.

The moment the door clicked shut, Lana buried her face in her hands.

Outside, the maids exchanged glances.

"The master is still the master..." one whispered.

"He made her forget her panic in just three sentences."

"Manipulative as always... But gods, he’s good at it. Sigh! I pity Miss Lana."

"By the way, what cat do you think they were talking about?"

"Don’t ask me; even I am curious!"

Inside the room, Lana paced restlessly... at least as much as her weakened body allowed.

’He knows. He definitely knows. Ninety-nine percent... no, a hundred percent confirmed!’

Her thoughts spiraled into chaos.

’What will he do? Kick me out? Stop speaking to me? Pretend to ignore me? Oh no, oh no, OH NO’

But then she paused.

If Lucian wanted her gone, he would have done it long ago. If he felt disgusted, it would have shown on his face. Lucian never lied with his expressions.

Her heart slowed slightly.

’Maybe... Maybe it’s all a bluff. He might be testing me. Yes. Yes! This must be one of his psychology games.’

She convinced herself, barely, that Lucian was simply playing mental chess.

She was still spiraling when a soft flutter of wings reached her ears.

Mr. Crow swooped in through the balcony, a rolled paper in his beak.

The moment he saw her distressed expression, he dropped the paper on the nearest table.

"Cow?" he asked, his tone sharp with worry. "What happened? Why are you pacing like a ghost?"

Lana immediately burst out as if she had seen a ship in a vast ocean. "Lucian knows."

Mr. Crow blinked, confused by her words. "Knows what?"

Lana grabbed his face with trembling hands.

"He knows I’m the silver kitten!"

Mr. Crow stared at her for three seconds... then shrugged.

"So what?"

Lana’s mouth fell open.

"SO WHAT?! If he knows, what will he do?! Kick me out? Reject me? Stop talking to me? Maybe... maybe he’ll hate me! Or... "

Mr. Crow flicked her forehead with his wing.

"Woman. Stop. You’re overthinking."

Lana blinked. Mr. Crow sighed dramatically and perched on her knee.

"If he truly hated you or wanted to throw you out, he would’ve done it already. Why would he wait until you’re panicking like a headless chicken?"

Lana paused, processing his words.

... He wasn’t wrong.

Mr. Crow added casually:

"As long as you deny everything, even if he has proof, he can’t do anything. That’s how survival works."

Lana stared at him. "Isn’t that... shameless?"

Though she said so, her heart was tempted to try it. It was not like... Lucian could force her to accept anything, right?

Mr. Crow shrugged his wings with zero shame.

"Sometimes being shameless is essential. And I learned that from you, Lana."

Lana’s jaw dropped. She was speechless.