Chapter : 128

"Then what am I supposed to do if I’m not okay?"

A question mixed with a hint of resentment follows.

"It’s natural to endure it!!"

It's not natural, but it's what's natural. To Lucian, patience was such a thing.

"Well, you’re not enduring it now."

"Sophistry—"

Lucian's hands, which were about to refute with sophistry, covered his face.

The motion of slowly stroking from his forehead to his chin was imbued with a deep sigh and a faded resignation.

"I’m telling you not to endure it like that from now on."

"If only it were as easy as you say. I’m… not ‘you guys’."

I knew well the word that would follow the ‘you guys’ that Lucian left unsaid.

Nobles like you.

Zephyros, realizing this, had veins pop on his forehead.

Whack!

Before I could grab and stop Zephyros, he threw a punch at Lucian without hesitation.

"Ah, this is a bit of a disaster."

Lucian, who was hit with a crisp sound, started to fight back, and in an instant, a physical fight between the two young men broke out in the old warehouse.

Worried that the warehouse might collapse from the brawl that broke out without even drawing swords, I used magic and just watched.

I was secretly rooting for Zephyros more than Lucian.

"You son of a b*tch! Is this how you’ve been hanging out with us all this time!"

Zephyros, who had finally knocked Lucian down, shouted.

"This is your fault, Cian."

Even if it was only a three-month-old friendship, to Zephyros, he must have been the first ‘real’ friend he had ever made.

At first, he had approached with all sorts of calculations, but at some point, he would have treated him as a real friend, so it’s enraging to realize that the other person was conscious of things like status because he was a noble.

Unable to say anything, Lucian, who had pinched his bleeding nose, finally shed tears.

"Then what the hell am I supposed to do?

If I don't endure, I'll be abandoned. For my entire life!!

There was nothing I could do besides endure!!"

"That's past tense. You don't have to endure it anymore.

You know that too."

I approached Lucian and poured the All-Purpose Soothing Agent I had taken from Senior Lerwon over his head.

The words that it would be effective even if applied turned out to be true, as the nosebleed stopped quickly.

Though the mix of red blood and the color of the All-Purpose Soothing Agent was not a pretty sight.

"So, try to give me a reason to endure it anymore."

"What if one day I'm no longer a hero?"

"That would be a great thing. It would mean this world no longer needs a hero."

"I could become a useless person."

"When were you ever that useful?"

At Zephi's interjection from behind, I glared at him for no reason.

It was a moving atmosphere and situation, and he had to go and ruin it.

At the grumbling words, Lucian finally began to wail.

Now, with the mix of red blood, the All-Purpose Soothing Agent, and tears, it was a real mess.

Zephi and I waited quietly for Lucian without a sound. He was a friend who required a lot of care in many ways.

* * *

"Hey, cry in moderation."

"If you get beaten up one-sidedly, you have a reason to cry."

"I was not beaten up one-sidedly."

Lucian, as if annoyed, immediately pointed it out.

At the words that slipped out without him realizing, Lucian flinched for a moment and then continued.

"You're an annoying bastard, Zephyros Nevera."

"Don't worry, Cian. You're not that annoying of a person."

"What does that make me if you say it like that?"

I just watched the two bicker and checked the time.

It hasn't even been an hour since we came to the House of Mercy, but it feels like we've been here for a long time.

"Let's go now. We're all busy."

"Yeah, alright."

Lucian quickly got up. However, in his arms, there were no belongings he had carefully packed.

"Your things? Didn't you come to get them?"

"I just wanted to come once.

You guys were against it, so I made an excuse."

A necklace and a cloth bag, a book and a doll.

They were the lingering attachments left to Lucian, a fragment of a past that could never be compensated for.

"You know, just like how the senior burned the bouquet he received from Iris, can you burn this too?"

"How about burning down the entire orphanage?"

At Zephyros's suggestion, Lucian shook his head.

"No. I just want to burn it for the last time."

So these things can't escape the fate of being burned after all.

Still, there's a big difference between Theo burning them with his own hands and someone else burning them.

As per Lucian's request, I burned the objects with a circle of fire, and Zephyros gathered the remaining ashes with the wind and scattered them out the window.

Lucian calmly watched everything, and only when nothing was left did he finally smile.

"Then let's go to the Lisitoel fief now."

Not a hint of hesitation could be found in Lucian's eyes.

As Lucian, with relieved eyes, walked out of the warehouse, Veronica blocked his way.

"Lucian!"

Veronica roughly grabbed both of Lucian's arms.

That woman!

As the incensed Zephyros was about to step forward, I quickly stopped him.

This was not a situation for us to intervene. Watching Lucian handle it himself was what was truly for Lucian's sake.

"Miss Veronica."

"Lucian, where are you going?"

Veronica's eyes looked urgent and anxious.

In the gaze where even fear could be glimpsed, Lucian slowly removed the hands that held him.

Veronica tried to hold on somehow, but there was no way a woman with no proper training could withstand Lucian's strength.

At the sight of him brushing off her hands as if shooing away an insect, Veronica's eyes wavered even more.

"You've misunderstood something, Lucian."

"I won't call you teacher anymore. I'm no longer a resident of this place."

"Lucian, really, why are you being like this?

There's a misunderstanding.

If you listen to my whole story, you'll understand everything, okay?"

"The House of Mercy will not be harmed by me, but it will not benefit either."

"Lucian!"

At the almost screaming shout, children began to gather around Lucian.

"What's going on?"

"I know. Something must have happened to Brother Lucian."

"Why is Miss Veronica like that?"

There was no malice in the children's murmurs, and Lucian's voice broke through all the noise.

"Conversely, it means that if you try to benefit from me, I will make a point of harming the House of Mercy.

Veronica, you've always been a wise person, so you'll know what I mean."

Because she knew, Veronica's expression turned even paler.

People often mistake the weak for the good.

Lucian, who pulled out the Holy Sword, is the strong, and the House of Mercy is the weak.

As special as the existence of a hero is, most will side with the hero. But, there will always be a small minority who will throw stones at the hero.

Those stones will persistently aim for Lucian's most vulnerable parts

.

So, from the beginning, you shouldn't even give them a stone to throw.

If that's difficult, then make it so they don't even dare to throw a stone.

"A hero… would do such a terrible thing?"

"Even if I don't, my friends will step forward. And I won't stop them then."

How many people would stand on the side of the House of Mercy and try to stand against Nevera and Lisitoel?

Among those who would sympathize with the House of Mercy and throw stones, there would be no one who would risk their own safety to stone Lucian.

Lucian might be followed by dishonor for a short time, but in the end, Lucian will still shine as a hero.

"Are you going to repay the grace of being raised with enmity!?"

At Veronica's shout, Lucian neither smiled nor got angry.

His cold gaze seemed to say that it was a waste to even spend his emotions on them.

"Since when did neglect become the grace of being raised?

Thanks to the House of Mercy, I grew up without dying until I was sixteen, so I am showing mercy now."

"Brother, why are you like this…."

A child, on the verge of tears, grabbed Lucian's clothes.

"Brother? You've never once called me that before, Milo."

At the firmness within the gentleness, the boy called ‘Milo’ slowly let go of his hand.

"Shouldn't you understand too?! It's not like you don't know what a terrible child you were!!"

Veronica shouted without realizing it and immediately covered her mouth.

A face of regret. Veronica hung her head low with a look of dismay.

At Veronica's appearance, Zephyros openly clicked his tongue.

"Lucian, what I was trying to say was not that─"

"I have no intention of refuting. As you said, I was a terrible child."

Lucian's voice was devoid of any emotion, like that of someone delivering a death sentence.

"That's a fact that won't change even if I'm the hero who pulled out the Holy Sword, right?"

"You're misunderstanding!!"

"If it makes you feel better to think that, then think that way."

With those words, Lucian walked past Veronica.

Veronica and the other orphanage children didn't even dare to stop Lucian, and quietly made way.

Following Lucian, we too left the House of Mercy.

Lucian, who had come out of the building, lightly scratched his cheek.

"Was I too harsh?"

"You were far from enough."

Zephyros grumbled in dissatisfaction. I partially agreed.

This was Lucian being incredibly harsh.

"Good job."

I strode up to him and patted his shoulder.

"Yeah. Good job."

Zephyros also encouraged Lucian.

Lucian, who was staring blankly at the House of Mercy, smiled with relief.

Now, the past will no longer hold Lucian back.

It was the smile of a person who had thrown off his shackles and was finally flying free.

* * *

But! That was that, and this is this.

After sending Zephyros and Lucian to the Lisitoel fief first with a one-time use movement artifact distributed by the Academy, I strode into the orphanage.

When I went to the director's office, I heard the director's voice shouting at Veronica.

Oh my, she's getting a real earful, huh?

I had not the slightest intention of helping, so I just tapped my foot in the hallway and waited for it to end.

Veronica came out with her face a mess of tears.

After Veronica left, I whistled and went into the director's office.

"Hello?"

"You're… Lucian's friend─"

"You were so polite to Zephyros, but you must think I'm a pushover, huh?

Well, compared to Nevera, Lisitoel does fade a bit."

I leisurely walked in and sat on the sofa. The sofa was too soft and it bothered me.

"Lisitoel…? Ah, oh my! I'm sorry! I was out of my mind!!"

"Is there any reason why I should understand your circumstances?"

At the rhetorical question, the director's face turned red, but she couldn't refute it.

I didn't want to engage in a power trip using status differences, but with the opponent in front of me, this was the most effective.

"No, of course not! I-I'm sorry!"

The director, as if nothing had happened, bowed her back.

"I came here in person because I was worried about something."

"What on earth are you worried about…."

"Don't bother Lucian unnecessarily."

I crossed my legs and created a high-handed atmosphere.

Fortunately, perhaps because I resemble my father, the director's expression hardened.

"Lucian has people by his side who can bury a person's life without much effort.

And I'm more than enough to do that alone, without even needing Zephyros Nevera."

"I think you're really misunderstanding something─"

"Am I misunderstanding?"

In this world, there is no one who knows more about Lucian's past than me. I can assert that, with the exception of Lucian, there is no one.

"Then shall we see if it's really a misunderstanding or not?"

I smiled lightly, but the director's fingertips trembled.

"Don't appear in Lucian's life again.

This is my first and last warning. Life is precious, isn't it?

As Veronica conveyed, if you don't appear in Lucian's life anymore, we have no reason to intervene."

Zephyros and I respect Lucian's opinion.

But that's only when the House of Mercy does no harm to Lucian.

"Do you understand?"

The director, while trembling in fear, slowly nodded her head.

"I'm relieved that you understand well."

I patted the director's shoulder.

Under the slow touch, the director's breath trembled faintly.

The director could not utter a single word in that silence for a very long time.