Chapter 55 - 54: How Could He Be the Same as Me?

Chapter 55: Chapter 54: How Could He Be the Same as Me?

"Good night."

Lucian replied, watching the girl wave at him before pulling the door shut.

"Solving mysteries..." he thought. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he couldn’t help but recall the three "riddles" Lilia had given him. Her name. The reason she helped him. And finding her at Lien Academy.

With every riddle solved, Lucian felt as if he understood her a little better, as if he had drawn a little closer to her. And now... it was her turn to approach him.

For Lucian, laying himself bare for someone else to see was undoubtedly extremely dangerous. He had repeatedly reminded himself that letting Lilia know about his past might not be a good thing. He might lose an ally. He might even gain an enemy.

But... Lucian couldn’t deceive himself. From the moment Lilia said she would seek the answers herself, the smile on his lips hadn’t faded.

He was looking forward to it. Anticipating... the day she would come to him.

Meanwhile.

"Lucian’s identity is definitely not as simple as just being the son of a duke," Lilia thought to herself as she returned to her room.

Lady Beaumont indeed wanted to play matchmaker for the two of them, but Lien Kingdom’s ideologies were still rather conservative. Unmarried men and women living together before marriage was practically considered a moral outrage. Because of this, Lilia and Lucian’s rooms were not next to each other. Instead, they were situated at opposite ends of the hallway, a setup that almost felt like an obvious attempt to cover things up.

The reason Lilia was so certain Lucian was hiding a secret was because Prince Theodore had sought her out just before the banquet ended. They had chatted for a while, and Lilia had selectively ignored his flirtatious remarks, focusing instead on the few key pieces of information.

He mentioned that Declan Marlo had taken an inexplicable interest in Lucian. The man had barely touched his wine throughout the entire banquet, choosing instead to constantly ask questions about Lucian.

Marquis Marlo wasn’t exactly a brilliant man; there was no need to overanalyze his behavior. His interest in Lucian most likely had nothing to do with any future plans or schemes. Rather, it meant that the two of them had already met or crossed paths before today. It was just that, at the time, the Marquis didn’t know "Lucian" was "Lucian." That was why he had been so utterly shocked when he finally put two and two together tonight. He couldn’t even wait for the banquet to end before impatiently trying to confirm Lucian’s identity with Prince Theodore.

This also explained why Lucian hadn’t immediately appeared when Lilia bumped into Marquis Marlo in the East District last time. He had known Marquis Marlo would recognize him.

But... why wasn’t he afraid today? Could it be because of the things she had said to him last time?

Lilia didn’t think it was that simple. Altering a plan just because of a single sentence from her wasn’t the style of a smart person like Lucian.

Anyway, regardless of the reason, it was an indisputable fact that Lucian had an alternate identity. And this detail had to be directly connected to his personal main storyline. Lilia was confident that as long as she could uncover this secret, even if it didn’t directly trigger Lucian’s personal main storyline, it would still take her a massive step forward toward that goal.

Moreover, judging by Lucian’s reaction tonight, her proactive request to solve his mysteries could also raise his Favorability. Of course Lilia was going to do something that could kill two birds with one stone. Not only was she going to do it, but she was also going to make it her top priority.

Lilia had always been a woman of action.

The next day.

She and Lucian took a carriage to school together. Sure enough, they ran into Caius at the gate, who looked as if he had been waiting there for who knew how long.

Seeing the two of them step out of the carriage together, Caius’s already unpleasant expression darkened even further. To make matters worse, Lucian acted as if he hadn’t seen him at all. Even after Lilia got off the carriage, he continued to hold her hand, seemingly intent on walking her all the way to her classroom.

Looking into Caius’s pitch-black eyes, Lilia felt that if looks could kill, Lucian would have probably been hacked to pieces a thousand times over by now. His hand, in particular, which was holding hers, would likely suffer the death of a thousand cuts.

Lilia used a bit of force to break free and said to Lucian, "I can go to the classroom by myself."

"Alright." Lucian always respected her decisions. He glanced at Caius, seemingly by chance, and extremely naturally reached out to tuck a stray strand of Lilia’s long hair behind her ear right in front of Caius. "I’ll pick you up tonight, then."

"That won’t be necessary." Caius seized the opportunity to intervene, pulling Lilia back and stepping in front to shield her. His brow lowered. He was just about to utter some scathing remarks when he felt a tug on his clothes from behind.

It was Lilia.

"Class is about to start," the girl said, looking at him. "I need to hurry to the classroom now."

Caius remained silent. Even though he knew perfectly well that she was only saying this to stop him from causing a scene, the moment he heard those words, all the fiery anger in his heart completely dissipated.

"Let’s go," Lilia said, tugging at the hem of his shirt.

Caius nodded in silence.

The two of them walked side by side down the main path leading to the classrooms. After a prolonged silence, Caius finally spoke. "You were with him last night."

Lilia didn’t deny it. "The banquet ended very late last night, so Lady Beaumont had him stay over at the estate."

"You stayed together?"

"...How is that possible?" Lilia turned her head to look at him, rendering her somewhat speechless. "What goes through your head every day?"

"You." Caius grabbed her hand without giving her a chance to argue. He lowered his eyes, looking somewhat pitiful. "Whenever I think about the fact that you and he might have slept so close to each other last night..."

He thought that the blond bastard might have even taken advantage of the opportunity to do something to Lilia... The mere idea made him so furious he wanted to murder someone.

"Nothing of the sort happened," Lilia comforted him casually. "His room was very far from mine, just like yours is at home."

Caius’s eyelashes drooped, and his grip on Lilia’s hand tightened slightly. His fingers slowly slipped through the gaps between hers before quietly closing.

Their fingers intertwined. A dark fire danced in Caius’s eyes.

"Just like me," Caius thought. "Does he also dream of you at night? Does he use your dresses to comfort himself when you aren’t looking? Or... does he come to your bedroom door when he can’t sleep, wanting to push open that thin door, invade your space, and..."

"Caius." Lilia’s voice interrupted his thoughts.

Caius lifted his gaze. Deep within his pupils, that dark intensity was far richer than usual.

"Do me a favor," Lilia finished her sentence.

Caius’s Adam’s apple bobbed, his voice carrying an unsuppressable hoarseness. "Tell me."

"Tonight, no matter what method you use, help me stall Lucian for at least an hour."

"What are you going to do?"

"You don’t need to know."

Caius remained silent for a moment before saying, "...Alright.

"No matter what method I use, right?

"I’ll remember that."