Chapter : 127

It seemed the conversation was taking longer than expected.

As my gaze roamed around the room, Veronica subtly approached and asked.

"Shall I guide you?"

"No, it's fine."

It was a blatant refusal, but I hadn't expected to be able to shake Veronica off with just that from the beginning.

Her smiling face, as if unbothered by the cold rejection, was even more unpleasant.

"Everyone seems to be close with Lucian."

"The House of Mercy is on the smaller side among orphanages.

With fewer people, everyone naturally gets close."

"Ah, I see. And there was a common enemy, too."

At the words that followed, a crack appeared on Veronica's smiling face for the first time.

It was a pathetic sight to see her trying to guess who the common enemy I mentioned was, even as she was afraid.

She must be dying of curiosity, wondering if I knew something about the orphanage.

"If you're so curious, why don't you ask me directly?"

I said with a grin.

"You don't even have the courage to."

"What did you say? Even if you're a noble, you're being rude!"

I strode towards Veronica.

Veronica trembled in fear, her hands shaking.

I'm not particularly fond of oppressing people one-sidedly, but I knew all too well what cruel words this woman, called a 'teacher,' had used to crush Lucian's heart.

So, I couldn't quite suppress my anger.

Because I was haunted by the image of Lucian, abandoned and shedding tears in the end, and the wound that must still remain in his heart.

"Ah, if it becomes known that a student of the Academy oppressed an ordinary civilian—"

"Go ahead, try and spread it."

Now, I was showing my emotions openly. With the clear meaning that even hiding my emotions from someone like you is a luxury.

Whether Veronica would notice that was another question.

"I was just wondering how kind the world would be to you."

Fear finally welled up in her two eyes.

Looking at her face, at a loss for words and only her mouth agape, I firmly grasped her shoulder.

"It's a joke, Veronica."

"Ha, haha. Ahahaha."

Veronica, with her head bowed, clenched her fists tightly.

She must have realized it was no joke at all. It seemed there was no need to offer the advice to behave herself.

"I'd like to be alone for a bit, is that alright?"

"O-of course! Then, have a good time!"

Veronica, who had bowed her head, left the place as if fleeing, pale with fear.

Looking at Veronica, Zephyros approached me and asked.

"What in the world is going on?"

"I just did what you were about to do."

Zephyros, who understood quickly without a long explanation, nodded in satisfaction.

Lucian interjected between us, joking around.

"You really don't have to go that far."

"What are you talking about? Zephyros, do you hear a dog barking somewhere?"

"I know, right, it's so vivid in my ears it's a problem."

At mine and Zephyros's nagging, Lucian, oblivious to our feelings, just laughed, "ehehehe."

"Crazy bastard."

"Idiot."

Even amidst the continued nagging, Lucian still just laughed.

Looking at him, I felt a little better, though it was only a little.

* * *

Veronica, who was rushing away as if fleeing, tripped on the floor and fell with a loud thud.

Her knees were scraped and bleeding, but Veronica paid no mind and got up.

She ran straight to the director's office and burst the door open.

"Director!!"

"Veronica! What is this rude behavior without even knocking?

No wonder the children are ill-mannered!"

At the harsh scolding, Veronica trembled.

Looking down at Veronica, the director bit her nails.

To think that the rumored Hero Lucian was really Lucian!

If she had known this would happen, she would never have done such a foolish thing!

If so, as the guardian of the hero, she could have lived in comfort for the rest of her life—

"Veronica, Veronica!"

The director strode towards Veronica and roughly grabbed her shoulders.

A hint of fear could be seen in the director's two eyes.

Contrary to the orphanage's name, the director had never once shown mercy to Lucian.

To the director, Lucian was a troublesome brat.

According to imperial law, a child who belonged to an orphanage and was on the register could never be kicked out until they turned sixteen.

There were loopholes, but the director didn't want to stir up trouble for no reason.

So she waited until he was sixteen and kicked him out as soon as the time was right!!

"You have to hold on to Lucian somehow!

There must have been at least one child who was close to Lucian!!"

"There's no way there was such a kid!"

Veronica screamed as if she were shrieking.

All sorts of ominous things happened around Lucian.

In the House of Mercy, Lucian was a cursed child who could be openly bullied without consequence.

No one tried to befriend him, and even the few children who did grew distant due to the harsh glares within the orphanage and the strange events that occurred around him.

So who in the world could be Lucian's friend!

The reason she couldn't refute Theo's words was because he was telling the truth.

The existence of the common enemy, Lucian, had brought peace and harmony to the House of Mercy.

"Still, hold on to him! If it becomes known that this is the orphanage where the hero grew up, we'll get a lot of donations! Maybe even the Duchy of Nevera will sponsor us!!"

The Duchy of Nevera, at the mention of that name, Veronica's body trembled.

Veronica was not stupid. In fact, she was smart enough to realize it immediately.

Lucian's other companion was the son of the Duke of Nevera.

"Really?"

"Would I lie to you about something like this?"

"If Lucian is here, not only the young lord of Nevera but other nobles might visit too!"

At the words shouted while gripping her shoulders tightly, Veronica's eyes wavered.

Right, the Lisitoel side might be difficult, but Nevera or other nobles who might visit later could be fine.

"I'll, I'll definitely hold on to him!"

"I knew a smart girl like you would understand."

This was the reason the director had hired Veronica, who had been a resident, as a teacher.

"Then I'll leave it to you, Veronica."

The director fueled Veronica's desire.

If Veronica succeeded and held on to Lucian, it would be ideal, but even if this was revealed later, she could just cut off the tail—Veronica.

How ideal. With everything flowing perfectly, the director laughed silently.

* * *

In a corner of the dusty warehouse, there was a bed out of place.

Lying on the bed, which had no softness to speak of, I clicked my tongue lightly.

"It's annoying how it's turning out just as I expected."

"Why? Were you expecting an exception?"

"Not really, but still."

The neat young man, who seemed to have no connection to such a warehouse for his entire life, roamed the warehouse freely as if he were used to it.

The sight was so incongruous that my eyes were naturally drawn to it.

"So, are your things still there?"

"Yeah, thankfully they didn't burn them."

They were things too trivial to be called belongings.

A necklace with its name tag torn off, a heavily patched cloth bag, a torn book, and a doll that seemed to have been picked up from the trash.

The objects and Lucian didn't mix, like oil and water.

But Lucian embraced them dearly as if they were his greatest treasures.

"Good thing I hid them."

"You hid them?"

"Yeah, I felt uneasy for some reason."

I remember from the game that they were just burned. Did something change?

Anyway, since the things Lucian cherished didn't disappear, is it all good that ends well?

"I think I can leave now."

"Are you done tidying up?"

"I've packed the things I need to pack."

"I'm talking about tidying up your heart."

At the blunt words, Lucian let out a troubled smile as if he had heard something unexpected.

Tidying up one's heart is not something that can be done easily.

To resent it, it was a home where he had stayed for 15 years, and to forgive it, he had suffered here for too long.

If he could have chosen one side, Lucian would have been more relieved.

"If you're going to forgive, then forgive."

"Don't talk nonsense!"

Zephyros, who had been listening to our conversation quietly, jumped up.

"You think if you forgive them, those people will be like, 'Oh!

Thank you for forgiving us!'?"

Of course. They are people who, despite being the ones who should be forgiven, would curse you for not being generous if you don't forgive them.

It's selfish. But the world runs on people's selfishness, and altruistic people appear like miracles.

"They're claiming to have raised you while leaving you in a place like this?

You don't even need to bring up conscience! This isn't right!!"

A floor with wind seeping through the walls and rusty nails sticking out. Air filled with mold and dust.

The broken warehouse, with nothing intact, was by no means a place for a person to live.

"I'm going to report this to the relevant department right away. Just so you know, Lucian."

Lucian didn't stop the angry Zephyros, but just blinked his eyes quietly and looked at him.

His quiet gaze was enough to anger Zephyros even more.

"Say something!"

"It's just strange that someone in the House of Mercy could be angry for me."

Lucian smiled and uttered such pitiful words.

Well, it must have been.

Even those who had been close to Lucian for a short time would not have been able to harbor anger towards the director who reigned as the king of this small orphanage.

This scene before him was a great revolution for Lucian.

"I think I'll be fine just with you taking my side."

"Hey!"

"You don't have to report it.

Anyway, I don't want the people here to be harmed because of me anymore."

"You have never harmed this place, Lucian."

I, who had been listening to Zephyros and Lucian's conversation quietly, interjected as if correcting him.

"Everyone makes mistakes.

That can't be a reason to be hated and ostracized."

Lucian suddenly looked down at the back of his hand.

His right hand, clearly marked with the stigma, the proof that Lucian was a hero.

"Before I pulled out the Holy Sword, I was a really ominous child."

A hint of resentment was even present in the gaze looking at the back of his hand.

The hero is a being loved by spirits.

Their love robbed Lucian of his normalcy. Here, Lucian was a cursed and ominous child.

"So, I'll just understand."

"Don't talk nonsense, Cian."

Any more sweet potato-like remarks were hard to listen to.

I'd bet Albedo's beef jerky that people's throats are clogged with sweet potatoes right now.

"Even if you were really a cursed and ominous child, do you think all that bullying was justified?"

Even if such a thing happened, to embrace it generously and move on.

That would be the true virtue of a hero.

But tell them to cut the crap.

"That's not understanding, that's convincing yourself."

I continued slowly, firmly.

"Nothing should be a means to justify bullying."

"I'm really fi—"

"Were you really okay every single moment?"

At my question, Lucian's pupils wavered.

How could he be okay? Even if he acted like a saint, in the end, Lucian was just a kid.

A kid who hadn't even graduated high school in Korean terms.

I hate seeing a kid like that act as if he's enlightened about everything.

"There's no way you were okay!"

The end of my words flew off as if shattered.

For a moment, something that had been forcibly suppressed in Lucian's expression creaked and leaked out.