Chapter 53: 53 — That Hellish Place

Lucian jolted awake, his chest heaving and drenched in cold sweat. His heart pounded violently as the remnants of the nightmare clawed at his mind.

The same nightmare.

The very memory he still couldn’t escape.

The nightmare had ceased for the past few months; however, it had returned to haunt him once more. He saw her again—his mother, lying in the dirt, blood seeping into the earth beneath her fragile figure. The sky was filled with gray smoke, and the houses surrounding her were ablaze. She couldn’t move a muscle as she lay there, lifeless.

He reached for her in his dream, but, as always, his hand never quite touched her.

Lucian’s gaze shifted toward the nightstand, where two envelopes lay sealed with the royal crest—one from the king and the other from his half-sister, whose face he could barely remember.

"Maybe that’s why..." Lucian murmured, still staring at the letters. "That hellish place."

His fingers brushed over his bare chest, feeling the remnants of warmth from his mana core, a power he had never known existed. A wave of relief washed over him, yet the searing hatred in his heart remained unwavering.

His thoughts turned once again to Cynthia, the woman who had made him realize the existence of his powers. Perhaps without her, he would never have known that he possessed the magic for which he had been discriminated against all his life.

For a fleeting moment, he thought he was beginning to see her differently. She had softened, or perhaps he had softened toward her—he couldn’t tell.

They had been practicing magic together for months, and at times, he even felt a strange connection, a trust that hadn’t existed before. But the dream—the reminder of what he had lost, what he could never regain—and the cause of it was her people, her knights. The reminder brought everything crashing down again.

He glanced toward the small desk by the window, where the two letters from the royal family lay unopened once more. Another reminder of his cursed bloodline, of his place in the world—an illegitimate child, forever doomed to live in the shadow of Valen, the crown prince.

His jaw clenched as he stared blankly at the letters.

Why does she think she can fix this messed-up marriage? Why does she act as if anything between us could ever change? Clearly... we hate each other.

***

At the dining table, Cynthia kept watching Lucian. She had been observing him closely lately.

She thought the distance between them was slowly closing; that perhaps the hatred he held for her was finally dissolving. But the cold, distant look in his eyes told her otherwise, especially today.

They had been having dinner together, although rarely; it was something that had never happened in her past life. She was delighted, and perhaps that was why she let her guard down. She had given him too much space without trying to persuade him that she wasn’t as vile as he thought.

However, perhaps she was. She wanted to use him; she wanted to ruin him just as she had been ruined.

Yet, she found herself helping him as they practiced magic together. Their powers had greatly increased over the months, and it seemed they had grown closer—or so she thought. But the cold gaze Lucian gave her once his eyes lifted from his dinner said otherwise.

"I guess the hatred he has for me..." she whispered to herself as she locked eyes with him.

Lucian had always been a mystery. The illegitimate child of the king, neglected by most, yet strangely loved by the king himself. Why, then, was Valen the one chosen for the throne? If the king truly cared for Lucian, why not make him the rightful heir? Cynthia couldn’t wrap her mind around it.

It was a mystery she needed to solve soon. She tried to give him time to accept her, but no matter how much time passed, he still looked at her the same way he had on the first day they met.

"I’m done eating."

Cynthia, who had been pondering how to uncover the reason behind Lucian’s hatred, turned her attention back to him, watching as he stepped away from the dining hall.

"Your Highness, the Grand Duke told me to let you know that you will be leaving for the capital in three days and asked you to make the preparations," Elene stated, keeping her gaze on the ground.

Ever since Cynthia had been allowed to manage the household, Elene had been trying to keep a low profile and was oddly obedient, which amused the former.

Cynthia couldn’t reconcile this new Elene with the head maid she remembered from her past life—the one who barked orders at the servants to ignore her and acted as if she owned the mansion. Cynthia had instructed Anni to monitor Elene closely, yet no significant developments had been reported in months, which left her bewildered.

This wasn’t the Elene she knew. The woman she remembered was someone who held grudges against anyone who came in her way and was always plotting to make their lives hell. For example, at some point, Elene had gone as far as making people think that Cynthia was having an affair with someone even though she never left her bedroom.

Cynthia was on her way to the dining table when she heard Elene speak.

"But maybe it’s because they are always meeting in her bed..." After saying this in front of Lucian, she acted as if she didn’t mean it. "I can only hope to be wrong," she added.

Lucian didn’t show any reaction and simply kept eating.

"Your Highness?" Elene’s voice brought Cynthia out of her dark memories.

She looked up, scanning the woman beside her. She felt certain that sooner or later, she would need to uncover whatever scheme Elene was brewing.

"Alright. Let’s start the preparations tomorrow," the silver-haired young woman said, rising from her chair with a bright smile without glancing at the middle-aged maid beside her.

The more importance I give her, the more she will think she can control me, Cynthia thought, a lingering amused feeling in her heart. I suppose reading those books helped me analyze these people more easily.

- Three days later -

Seated in the carriage, Cynthia glanced up at Lucian, who sat across from her, his long legs crossed along with his arms. His dark suit matched his perfectly combed hair. She could even see his long eyelashes from the distance between them.

"What are you staring at?"

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay Read