Lubel’s eyes widened.
At some point, Selenea had come to stand right beside her, looking down at her.
With a gentle smile, Selenea seemed to ponder something for a moment before speaking.
“But publicly, you’ll have to keep using the name Tatio. I think that’ll be safer for you.”
Lubel asked in a small voice,
“…Safer?”
“Yeah. As soon as we get back to the estate, I’m going to look into ways to hide you.”
Her voice was calm. Lubel’s face showed clear discomfort.
“…That’s not going to be easy.”
But Selenea simply grinned and shrugged.
“We’ll figure something out. You know what they say—‘even if the sky falls, there’s always a hole to crawl out of.’”
Selenea spoke like it was no big deal, her expression light and carefree.
She playfully tapped Lubel’s back and said,
“So don’t worry too much. We’re really not in that bad a situation. The fact that I even found you is huge.”
Her blue eyes curved beautifully again, and Lubel’s face turned red with confusion.
Her hair was matted with monster blood, and her face was smeared with soot from who-knows-where.
But in Lubel’s eyes, Selenea looked… different.
She remembered a shabby old temple she had once visited as a child with her mother. The beautiful face she had looked up at from the central platform—
Yes, Selenea looked just like that nameless goddess statue.
Lubel scowled slightly, then lifted a hand and rubbed her eyes roughly.
Selenea rested her hand lightly on Lubel’s shoulder.
“Just trust me. You’ve suffered enough already, and I’m not going to let anyone hurt you again.”
Lubel stood frozen for a few seconds before suddenly turning her head and walking away quickly.
“Hey, why are you walking so fast all of a sudden?”
Lubel didn’t answer—she just picked up her pace.
Her heart was pounding so loudly her ears felt numb. She felt like she had to hide her face somehow.
Her brows furrowed at this strange new feeling.
She was sure Selenea didn’t understand the weight of what she was saying.
Protect her? Protect Lubel? That wasn’t something just anyone could do.
If it were possible, then why had she been hiding all this time in a place swarming with monsters?
‘…Weird woman.’
Her face burning, Lubel shook her head furiously.
Everything about this was strange.
From the first time they met in the market, to their sudden reunion in this cursed land.
And then Selenea had said she had come looking for her.
That she was here to protect her.
Lubel recalled the moment Selenea had called her name back in the hut.
Lubel Albertine. A name that always felt like it belonged to someone else.
But when she heard it come from Selenea’s lips, her heart felt like it dropped to the ground.
Like someone who had been dead a long time suddenly coming back to life.
‘…And she said she’d only call me that when we’re alone?’
Her face flushed again uncontrollably.
“I’m on your side,” Selenea’s voice echoed in her ears, her words still lingering.
Her face only got hotter.
“Wait for me!”
Selenea called from behind.
But Lubel all but ran ahead.
Completely unaware of the fact that every sense in her body was on high alert.
* * *
“Hah…!!”
I bolted upright, drenched in cold sweat.
Turning my head, I saw the sky outside the window glowing yellow with sunset.
‘…Don’t tell me I slept all day?’
I remembered returning to the inn with Lubel and giving Cassian the potion from Ansen.
I’d washed up roughly, then sat by Cassian’s side as he groaned in pain.
‘I must’ve fallen asleep without realizing it.’
I shook my head. Lubel had probably carried me to bed.
Dragging my heavy legs, I got out of bed and took a sip of water from the glass on the nightstand.
My stiff muscles began to loosen a bit.
‘That dream again.’
Ever since I’d collapsed from Mayer’s attack, I’d been having nightmares.
Most of them were about my past life—painful, traumatic memories.
I stared at the wall and let out a shallow sigh.
There were too many things to think about to get caught up in a bad dream.
‘I still don’t know how I’m going to hide Lubel.’
I set the empty glass down and began pacing the room.
‘I’ll have to tell Father the truth.’
I couldn’t handle this alone, and I wasn’t going to repeat the same mistake with Mayer.
But how much of the truth should I reveal?
Plus, Lubel thought I had a supernatural ability to see the future.
‘Future-seeing my foot. I’m just a full-on unawakened nobody.’
“Ugh…”
A deep sigh escaped from the pit of my stomach.
Was it because I was a noble? Or because I was in a fictional world? Everyone around me seemed to be awakened with powers.
Finding someone unawakened was the real rarity.
So why was I the only one like this?
‘And I already made it sound like Adam’s power is mine.’
I bit my lip and finally made a decision.
“…Whatever. I’ll just pretend it’s my ability for now.”
At least in front of Lubel.
If she found out I had no powers and ran back to the cursed land, it would be a disaster.
Cleaning up the mess would be future-me’s problem.
‘And technically, seeing the future is kind of true.’
Thanks to reading the novel in my past life, I knew about the major events that were coming.
Yeah. It’s not a total lie.
The self-justification brought me some peace. I smiled faintly.
‘Now back to the main issue—how and where to hide Lubel.’
I gnawed on my thumbnail before shaking my head.
That could wait a bit. I still had time before Father returned.
He said five days, so at the earliest, he’d be back in three.
That was plenty of time to figure things out.
But just as I opened the door to check on Cassian—
I ran straight into someone who was about to come in.
“Lubel?”
She stood there holding a tray of food, looking slightly startled.
She was wearing simple indoor clothes, probably borrowed from Cassian.
Compared to her usual thick robe, she seemed… different.
“…You’ve been sleeping all day without eating anything.”
She glanced over me and trailed off. I quickly stepped aside.
“Oh, thanks. When did I fall asleep?”
“You passed out right after that knight did. You looked uncomfortable, so I brought you here.”
Feeling a little embarrassed, I followed her to the table.
“Did you eat anything?”
She shook her head.
“I’m not used to eating regular meals.”
“I see…”
No wonder her body was so lean and toned.
While I held back that comment, Lubel grabbed a dry cloth, wiped the table, and set down the dishes expertly.
Then she neatly placed the spoon and fork beside the plates and looked at me.
“Well? Sit down.”
“O-oh! Right.”
I flustered and quickly sat down.
As I avoided her gaze and picked up my fork, she asked:
“When are you leaving?”
I was picking berries out of a salad with tangy dressing when I looked up.
“Probably in about three days.”
I popped the berries into my mouth and chewed contentedly. Then I heard her voice again.
“You’re waiting for your father to return from the subjugation mission, aren’t you?”
“Yeah. We’ll head to Tigeris Castle first. Then I’ll figure out where to hide you.”
Lubel said nothing. She just watched me eat in silence.
Then she finally spoke.
“…It won’t take long.”
“What won’t?”
“Your father coming back.”
I tilted my head.
But I soon understood what she meant.
Because the very next morning, just two days later, my father returned from the monster subjugation—just as Lubel had predicted.
“So… there were so few monsters that there wasn’t really anything to subjugate?”
“Exactly. It was over in half a day.”
I blinked in disbelief. Ansen, standing nearby, added,
“Normally, we target large monsters like wyverns, ghouls, or golems. But this winter, for some reason, their numbers are way down.”
“…”
“There were hardly any of them. And we used thirty strength-enhancing potions… so the job was over way too quickly.”
He shrugged and sipped his steaming tea calmly.
His composed demeanor made me tense up. I remembered the night before, almost dying with Cassian.
Even if the monsters were fewer in number—taking care of them in half a day?
My pale face must’ve been obvious, because Father spoke up again.
“You don’t look well. Did something happen while I was gone?”
…He’s so sharp it’s scary.
“I specifically told Cassian not to leave your side even for a second.”
I laughed awkwardly and tried to stand up—to pretend I was heading to the bathroom and escape.
But then—
“Commander! No—Your Excellency!!”
Crash!
A loud bang echoed as the door flew off its hinges like paper.
Startled, I turned my head to see a burly knight standing on the shattered door.
“Cassian’s been injured!!!”
With that, my father and Ansen’s eyes slowly turned to me.
