Thaddeus’ golden eyes darkened, his patience once again thinning. “Then tell me, Lucavion. Who was she?”
Lucavion remained relaxed, still resting his chin on his hand, but the way his dark eyes flickered showed he had anticipated this reaction.
Thaddeus continued, his voice firm. “What was her name? Where can we find her?”
For the first time, Lucavion’s smirk faded slightly.
He looked at the Duke—not with amusement, not with mockery, but with something almost serious.
Then—
He sighed. “Mister Duke, you know…”
His dark eyes locked onto Thaddeus’, steady and unwavering.
“I trust you. Truly, I do.”
A pause.
“But this—this is something I will not reveal for the time being.”
Silence.
A slow, creeping tension filled the room.
“What?”
Thaddeus’ voice was low, quiet—but it carried weight. Warning.
His golden gaze sharpened, flickering with restrained frustration.
Lucavion, however—
He merely shrugged.
“It is my Master’s will,” he said simply. “That I take care of his daughter.”
His smirk returned, but it wasn’t quite as sharp as before.
“And for the time being—” he continued, his tone light, “she’s in safe hands. That’s all that matters, isn’t it?”
Thaddeus exhaled sharply. “That is not for you to decide.”
Lucavion met his gaze without flinching. “Isn’t it?”
Thaddeus’ jaw tightened.
This boy.
This infuriating boy.
Lucavion leaned back slightly, stretching his arms. “Besides, Mister Duke…” He gave him a lopsided grin. “You’ll have your hands full with the things I’m about to bring you in the future, so rather than worrying about her—”
His dark eyes gleamed.
“I suggest you prepare for that instead.”
Thaddeus exhaled slowly, pressing his fingers against his temple.
A headache.
This boy was a walking headache.
Thaddeus exhaled slowly, dragging a hand down his face.
He wanted to push further. He wanted to know who this girl was, where she was, what ties she had to Gerald beyond blood. But—
There were too many things on his plate already.
The recent expedition had been a disaster. Countless adventurers had died, and that meant dealing with compensation claims, disputes, and political backlash. The noble houses who had invested resources in the venture would demand explanations, and there would need to be formal assessments regarding the appearance of the Kraken.
Then, there was Aeliana’s return.
His daughter had barely survived, and the news of her recovery would ripple through the capital. He would need to handle the reports, the rumors, the flood of inquiries that would inevitably come from both his allies and his enemies.
And now—
Now, he had this.
Lucavion.
His backing of this reckless swordsman would soon come to light, and when it did, there would be consequences. The Royal Family’s eyes were already on the Thaddeus Duchy—this would only increase their scrutiny.
Thaddeus sighed heavily, rubbing his temple.
The sheer fact that he had spent hours talking to this boy—when he had an empire’s worth of responsibilities to deal with—was almost laughable.
But here he was.
Instead of preparing military reports or drafting letters to the capital, he had sat through this conversation, through every twist and absurdity that Lucavion had thrown at him.
And somehow—
Somehow, he had ended up agreeing to sponsor him.
‘My god… Please do not make me regret this decision.’
Finally, he looked back at Lucavion and exhaled sharply.
“Fine,” he muttered. “I’ll drop the topic for now.”
Lucavion’s smirk widened, as if he had expected the Duke to give in.
“But don’t mistake this for me forgetting,” Thaddeus added, his golden eyes narrowing. “We will revisit this conversation.”
Lucavion chuckled, tilting his head. “Of course, Mister Duke.”
Lucavion stretched slightly, rolling his shoulders as he exhaled.
“One way or another,” he said smoothly, “you’ll come to learn about her identity.”
Thaddeus narrowed his gaze at him, already irritated at how casually Lucavion was handling this.
“I simply deduced that, for the time being, it’s not optimal to reveal her,” Lucavion continued. “Hence, I decided against it.”
He threw a quick glance toward Aeliana.
She was glaring at him.
He sighed internally. ‘Ah, of course. That look again.’
“And with that,” he said, stretching his arms before lazily placing a hand on his hip, “if that is all, I shall take my leave.”
But before he could turn— Read the latest on My Virtual Library Empire
“You should stay here for a while,” Aeliana said abruptly.
Lucavion blinked.
Aeliana crossed her arms, her amber eyes unwavering. “You must have exerted yourself after fighting the Kraken. You should take a proper rest.”
For a moment, Lucavion just looked at her.
Then—
“Ahaha…” He let out a short, amused laugh, rubbing the back of his neck. “You and your father certainly didn’t hesitate to nearly kill me, though?”
He arched a brow, smirking. “You definitely didn’t look like you thought I exerted myself back then.”
Aeliana’s lips curled slightly. “Of course not.”
She turned her head slightly toward Thaddeus, her expression almost playful.
“We were just playing around, weren’t we, Father?”
Thaddeus, without missing a beat—
“Yes.”
Lucavion blinked.
Then narrowed his eyes.
Then exhaled, shaking his head.
“Hah. You two really are alike.”
Aeliana tilted her head slightly, a faint smirk tugging at the corner of her lips.
“I just spoke in a way you liked,” she said smoothly. “You certainly enjoy speaking in ways that can be misunderstood, don’t you?”
Her amber eyes gleamed with something dangerously close to amusement.
“Is there a problem?” she asked, arching a brow. “Or is it only acceptable when you do it?”
Lucavion exhaled sharply, dragging a hand through his hair.
Ah.
So this was happening.
‘I suppose this is what I get for existing, huh?’
With a sigh of pure resignation, he shook his head. “I guess you can never escape from a woman’s grudge.”
Then, with a raised hand, he gave her a small, half-hearted shrug.
“I’m sorry, okay?”
Aeliana simply turned away with a soft—
“Humph.”
Lucavion sighed, shaking his head before glancing back at Thaddeus.
“Is there anything else you want to say, Mister Duke?” he asked, raising a brow.
Thaddeus was still glaring at him.
For a moment, Lucavion wondered if he had unknowingly committed another crime in the Duke’s eyes. But then—
Thaddeus simply exhaled and shook his head. “There is none.”
Lucavion smirked. “Oh? No more lectures?”
Thaddeus shot him a look that could have incinerated a lesser man.
“None.” His voice was edged with finality.
Lucavion decided—for once—not to push his luck.
Instead, Thaddeus shifted to something more practical. “The maids will be informed of your presence. You’ll be given meals as needed. You may stay here for as long as you require.”
Lucavion blinked, a little surprised. “Oh? How generous.”
Thaddeus gave him another look, unimpressed.
Lucavion laughed lightly and placed a hand over his heart. “Then I shall thank you for your grand hospitality, Mister Duke.”
He turned, stepping toward the exit. “If that is all, I shall take my leave.”
And with that, he left the room.
The moment the doors shut behind him—
Thaddeus exhaled, shifting his gaze.
Then—
He turned to Aeliana.
“Aeliana.”
His voice was calm, measured. But she recognized that tone.
The one that meant he was done playing around.
Aeliana straightened slightly, meeting his gaze. “Yes, Father?”
Thaddeus watched her carefully for a moment. Then, finally—
“What do you think about him?”