Chapter 20
Serdian caught me in his arms—whirl! …?!
‘…….’
It was so unexpected that Lucillea blinked in a daze, staring up at Serdian.
“Uh… um, th-thank you for saving—”
But before she could even finish her thanks, Serdian’s words cut in first.
“You can’t even support your own weight, so what the hell are you carrying around?”
“Huh?”
Only then did Lucillea realize that his gaze was fixed on her necklace.
“You saw it?”
“With all that commotion, wouldn’t it be strange if I didn’t?”
Lucillea gingerly pinched the chain between her fingers, lifting the necklace to show him.
“Then, do you know anything about it? What’s wrong with this thing? I only chose it because they said it was necessary to live in the Grand Duke’s residence—so why is it suddenly acting up like this?”
“……”
Serdian frowned, scrutinizing the necklace.
“How would I know? I’ve never even seen that thing before.”
“Ah… is that so…?”
Lucillea pouted, her face falling as she let the necklace drop.
“So, being a genius heir doesn’t mean you know everything, huh…”
“…What?”
Serdian’s mouth twitched open in protest, but he shut it again with a sigh.
“Anyway, you’d better get rid of that thing. Unless you want to go crashing into another wall.”
“Yeah… you’re right…”
She couldn’t just keep flinging herself at wooden doors every time she came to the library.
Lucillea turned her head toward where she had seen the wooden door earlier.
But—
“Huh?”
The door that should’ve been there was gone.
‘Where did it go?’
She whipped her head around, scanning her surroundings.
Was she mistaken about the location?
But no matter how hard she looked, there was no sign of the massive wooden door.
All she saw were the cold, dark-blue wallpapered walls, unyielding and solid.
Startled, Lucillea dashed toward the spot where the door had been.
‘What on earth is happening?’
As she ran her hands disbelievingly over the wall, Serdian asked,
“What are you doing?”
“Didn’t you see the wooden door here?”
“A wooden door?”
Lucillea gestured wildly at the blank wall, explaining,
“There was a reddish-brown door right here! So tall it almost reached the ceiling, with golden handles side by side! Don’t you remember?!”
Her vivid description only made Serdian’s face grow more grave.
“Did you hit your head?”
“…No, I didn’t.”
Lucillea shot him a glare before turning back to the wall.
Nothing. Absolutely nothing.
‘What is going on? Did I imagine it?’
Her thoughts tangled in confusion—when suddenly, Cookie’s voice rang out.
[No way! I saw it too!]
Lucillea’s eyes snapped to Cookie, perched up on the bookshelf.
‘Right! Cookie saw it too!’
Then she hadn’t just been hallucinating.
Lucillea once more brushed her hand over the wall.
‘There really was a wooden door here.’
Now, for some reason, it had simply vanished.
Her gaze fell to the necklace, now utterly still.
The thing that had been thrashing wildly just moments ago now lay motionless, its light extinguished.
‘You’re no ordinary trinket, are you?’
[Lucy! Throw it away right now! That thing’s dangerous! You almost got smashed flat against the wall!]
A dangerous object…
Lucillea half-agreed, but alongside the warning, her curiosity flared.
‘It’s true, the necklace nearly slammed me into the wall.’
But the power it displayed—the vision of that reddish-brown door—it felt wrong to dismiss it as a simple hazard.
‘Didn’t Mei seem to know something about this necklace?’
I’ll have to ask her when I get back.
Shoving the necklace under her clothes, Lucillea turned back to Serdian.
At once, he flinched and took a step back.
Lucillea walked right up to him and grasped both his hands tightly.
“You saved me today. I won’t forget this debt. No—in fact, if you ever need my help, just say the word. I’ll repay you somehow.”
When she looked at him for confirmation, Serdian’s brows knit.
“…Don’t tell me you’re planning to keep that necklace.”
“Hm?”
Lucillea smirked.
“What, are you worried about me?”
Because the necklace might hurt me again? Is that it?
Her teasing expression made Serdian let out a dry laugh as he pulled his hands free.
“I’m not worried about you. I’m worried about the Grand Duke’s residence—that you’ll wreck the place along with that weird necklace.”
Lucillea giggled.
“As if that would really happen.”
Then she noticed the mess of books that had fallen when the necklace went wild.
“Ah…! It’s a disaster in here!”
She hurried back along the path she’d been dragged, scooping up the scattered books.
If a librarian came back and saw this, things would get complicated.
Clutching an armful of books, she said to Serdian,
“I meant what I said—I’ll repay the debt.”
“……”
Once she’d gathered most of them, she stood, continuing,
“Not that you’ll need my help anytime soon.”
Then she spun around, grinning.
“How about this? From now on, no matter what you do, I’ll always be on your side. I’ll believe in you, no matter what anyone else says!”
“What?”
See? Isn’t that generous? Lucillea asked proudly.
Serdian ran a hand through his bangs with a sigh, then fixed her with a cold look.
“Why?”
“Huh?”
“How long have we even known each other? What do you possibly know about me?”
Wow. This guy.
‘Why so prickly?’
Even in the original story, Serdian’s miserable childhood was mentioned often.
‘Hey, kid. You’ve got nothing on me.’
Have you ever lived until nineteen being beaten? Have you ever died in a hit-and-run while trying to escape?
‘And above all—have you ever possessed the body of a villain doomed to be executed?’
Ever tried chatting face-to-face with the person fated to cut your throat?
‘I’ve lived through hell itself.’
And I don’t know how much longer this hell will last.
‘But trust me—I’m not so fragile that your sharp words can wound me.’
Lucillea suppressed her true thoughts with a small smile.
“I didn’t know Mei for long either. But I just… felt it. That she’s trustworthy. It’s instinct.”
Serdian scoffed.
“Sounds more like the kind of sentiment that gets you stabbed in the back.”
Lucillea shrugged.
“Maybe. But if you’re always afraid of betrayal and hold back, you’ll never make any friends at all.”
Like you.
Serdian’s eyes darkened as he muttered,
“I don’t need friends.”
“That’s just how you feel now. But what about your ‘future’ self? Will you still feel the same way?”
Future you will go through hell trying to save allies and gather talent.
But Serdian remained firm.
“I don’t even know if I’ll survive tomorrow. Why should I worry about my distant future?”
“Really? I thought you’d be the type to plan things carefully. Didn’t you already map out everything for after your coming-of-age ceremony?”
“……”
His smooth brow wrinkled deeply.
Lucillea beamed at the sight of his distorted expression.
“What? Did I hit a nerve?”
“You—”
“You were about to say, ‘What do you know about me?’ again, weren’t you?”
“……”
“Curious?”
“……”
“If you’re curious—”
“……”
Heh-heh. Lucillea smiled warmly as she stepped closer.
“Let’s be friends! Friends, friends!”
Serdian recoiled as if dodging filth.
“……”
“……”
Watching him retreat, Lucillea muttered,
“Come on. Do I look like some kind of monster? Why are you backing away?”
“I’m not going to be your friend, so stay back.”
“You’ll regret this. I’m actually super useful.”
“I don’t keep people around based on their usefulness.”
Oh-ho. Now that was a line. Just like a male lead.
Lucillea’s eyes sparkled as she stepped forward again.
“Wow. That was so cool!”
Totally male-lead-worthy!
“That’s it. I have to be your friend!”
“What?!”
If you don’t care about usefulness, then great! Keep me close!
‘That way, when the time comes to cut my throat, maybe you’ll hesitate two or three times.’
Lucillea grinned brightly, holding out her hand.
“Come on, let’s shake on it—friendship sealed!”
Serdian’s answer was immediate.
“Get lost.”
Get lost. Get lost… get lost…
“……”
His cold, tightly clenched voice echoed through the quiet library.
