Chapter 78: A Delusional Girl

"Ah... your touch really does seem to affect him."

The doctor’s unexpected remark made Lumi lift her head from Evan’s bedside.

"What?" She blinked at him, wondering whether she had misheard, but the doctor was still examining the readings displayed on the monitor, his brows drawing together as he compared Evan’s current condition with the records taken earlier.

"It’s subtle, but his energy circulation appears to stabilize whenever you hold his hand. I initially thought it was a coincidence, but the changes are becoming more noticeable." He turned toward her. "Miss Pei, have you felt anything unusual when you touch him? Perhaps a sensation of warmth or an unfamiliar flow of energy?"

Lumi hesitated before glancing at their joined hands.

There was, indeed, something strange.

She had first felt it inside the Hell Dungeon when she tried to help Leon, and the same sensation had returned when she touched Evan. It was difficult to describe, like a faint current moving beneath her skin, responding to something she couldn’t quite grasp.

"I think so," she answered cautiously. "But I’m not sure what it is."

"Don’t force yourself to do anything. For now, simply remain beside him, and let me know if you notice any changes."

The doctor returned his attention to Evan’s readings, leaving Lumi staring at the man lying motionless on the bed.

An ability?

Did she really have an ability of her own?

She had long since accepted that she would never become an exceptional Guide.

Yet now, an experienced doctor was telling her that her touch could affect an SSS-Rank Sentinel’s energy circulation.

A small smile crept onto her face.

"Evan," she whispered, gently squeezing his hand, "I think I might actually have an ability."

He didn’t answer, of course, but that didn’t stop her from feeling a little excited.

She had never wanted to become the strongest Guide in the Empire. She didn’t need everyone to praise her or acknowledge her existence. She simply wanted to have something she could do, something that would allow her to help the people she cared about instead of always being the one who needed protection.

Perhaps she wasn’t entirely useless after all and she could finally do something for Evan, too.

Her smile lingered as she looked at his pale face, but the happiness in her heart gradually gave way to a familiar ache.

"Still, you really are troublesome, Evan Caesar." She lowered her gaze toward his hand.

"Do you have any idea how many times you’ve frightened me? First, you went into Rampage during the Fated Bonding Ceremony and on my first mission, and then you nearly got yourself killed inside the Hell Dungeon. Every time I think things are finally going to be all right, you find another way to end up in the hospital."

Her voice was soft, carrying none of the sharpness her words might have suggested.

"I know you were protecting me, but..." She stopped, struggling to find the right words.

The memory of the Anomaly’s claw piercing Evan’s chest returned without warning, making her fingers tighten around his hand.

Lumi swallowed the lump in her throat. "Sometimes, I wish you wouldn’t do that."

She knew how ungrateful it sounded. Evan had saved her life, and here she was complaining about his decision to protect her while he lay unconscious in a hospital bed.

But she couldn’t keep these feelings to herself any longer.

"Every time you get hurt because of me, I feel as though I’m becoming a burden to you. You’re already the Empire’s strongest Sentinel, and you have so many responsibilities. You shouldn’t have to worry about protecting someone like me on top of everything else."

Her eyes began to sting, "I don’t want you to keep getting injured just because I’m standing beside you. I don’t want you to lose something important because you decided to save me."

She lowered her head, staring at the fingers wrapped around his. "I want to be able to protect you, too."

The room remained quiet except for the steady sounds of the medical equipment.

Lumi took a shaky breath before continuing, "I don’t know why you keep choosing me, Evan. I’m not even a proper Guide, and I can’t do the things Celestine can. I don’t have her talent, her rank, or her ability to help Sentinels stabilize their powers."

She paused, her lips pressing together, "But I still want to help you."

The confession left her feeling strangely exposed, even though Evan couldn’t hear her.

Or at least, she didn’t think he could.

Lumi remembered how his consciousness had once reached her in the middle of his Rampage, how she had managed to reach him when no one else could. She had never fully understood what happened between them that night, but she couldn’t forget the feeling of standing before him in that strange, unfamiliar space.

If she could enter his mental space again, perhaps she could discover why he hadn’t awakened.

The thought made her sit up a little straighter.

"Wait..." She glanced toward the doctor, who was occupied with reviewing Evan’s condition.

If his body was still unconscious, perhaps his consciousness was trapped somewhere inside his own mind. She didn’t know whether that was how it worked, but she had to try.

After all, she had reached him before.

What if she could find him again?

Lumi turned back toward Evan and carefully adjusted her hold on his hand.

"Evan, I’m going to try something. Please don’t blame me if it doesn’t work." She closed her eyes.

At first, nothing happened. She could hear the faint beeping of the monitors, the distant footsteps in the corridor, and the quiet movements of the medical staff outside the room.

Then she began concentrating on the strange sensation beneath her skin, allowing it to flow toward her palm as she recalled the feeling of entering Evan’s mental space during his Rampage.

Gradually, the sounds around her seemed to grow distant.

Lumi’s breathing slowed as she focused on the connection between them, searching for that familiar pull that had once drawn her consciousness toward him.

There!

She felt something stir, a faint sensation that seemed to reach beyond her physical surroundings.

Her heart leaped.

She was getting somewhere.

Just as Lumi was about to follow the sensation deeper, a hand abruptly seized her wrist.

"That’s enough."

Before she could open her eyes properly, someone pulled her away from the bedside.

"Father?" Lumi stumbled, her fingers slipping from Evan’s hand as she was dragged backward.

The sudden interruption shattered her concentration, and the unfamiliar sensation vanished almost immediately.

"W-Wait! What are you doing?!" She struggled to regain her balance, only to find herself facing a familiar man whose expression was anything but pleased. "Father, stop."

Felix Pei stood before her, his grip still firm around her wrist.

Lumi stared at him in disbelief.

What was her father doing here?

And why had he suddenly appeared at the hospital?

Before she could ask, Felix turned toward the doctor.

"My apologies for the disturbance, Doctor. My daughter will be returning home with me."

The doctor frowned. "Master. Pei, Miss Pei is assisting us with—"

"Whatever assistance she can provide, I’m sure your medical team can manage without it." Felix’s tone left little room for discussion. "My family has matters to attend to."

"But—"

"Father, wait!"

Lumi tried to pull her wrist free, but Felix merely tightened his grip and began leading her toward the door.

"Evan is still unconscious! I haven’t finished—"

"You are nothing more than a delusional girl imagining she can be of use to someone."

His voice was cold, and he didn’t even bother looking at her.

Lumi fell silent.

The words hurt, just as they always had, especially when they came from her own father. For a brief moment, she almost wanted to argue that she had actually managed to do something, that the doctor himself had noticed the changes in Evan’s condition whenever she touched him.

But the words remained trapped in her throat.

How could she explain something she didn’t even understand herself?

More importantly, how had Felix even known she was here?

She glanced back at Evan’s bed, her heart tightening at the sight of him lying motionless.

"Evan..."

She wanted to return to his side. She wanted to try entering his mental space again, especially now that she had felt herself getting close.

But Felix didn’t give her the chance.

He dragged her out of the intensive care unit, leaving the doctor standing beside the bed with a troubled expression.

As the door closed behind them, Lumi could only wonder why her father was so determined to take her away.

And why now, of all times?