The Anomaly Beyond The System

"Why are you crying...?"

Kanna asked in a quiet voice, carrying a strange concern hidden beneath her usually flat tone as she looked into his face.

At first, she had been surprised that he had finally woken up, but now... the sight before her left her even more stunned.

Lucian’s brows slowly drew together into a faint frown, and he tilted his head ever so slightly.

What... was she talking about?

For a brief moment, genuine confusion appeared on his face, but then—

He finally noticed the slight blurriness clouding his vision, and slowly, his hand rose toward his face.

The simple movement felt strangely unfamiliar, almost as though he had forgotten what it felt like to move his own body. But not thinking much of it...

He touched his fingers against his cheek, only to notice the dampness from the tears that were still flowing down his face.

"H-Huh? W-Why...?" Even before finishing the sentence, Lucian hurriedly wiped his eyes with the back of his hand, trying to forcefully brush the tears away.

But even after blinking several times, the tears simply continued falling, and no matter how many times he wiped them away...

They simply wouldn’t stop.

It almost felt as though a dam that had remained sealed for years had suddenly burst apart.

An unbearable tightness slowly spread throughout his chest. His breathing became increasingly uneven, making it harder to breathe with each passing second.

Lucian couldn’t understand it, but he was suddenly feeling so many raw, unfiltered emotions all at once.

He knew those memories had affected him.

How could they not?

Even though he had been pretending inside the darkness that nothing had happened, even after laughing and acting as though everything had been nothing more than old memories...

His body seemed to be betraying him now, completely drowning him in those feelings—especially with his Scarlett Bloodline amplifying his emotions and madness even further.

"W-Why won’t... they stop...?" His lips trembled, his voice coming out hoarse and broken as he continuously rubbed his eyes, but nothing changed.

For a brief instant, he genuinely wondered if something had gone wrong with him.

He didn’t understand.

Or rather... he failed to realise that it was simply him refusing to acknowledge the pain he was feeling.

Kanna stood motionless as she stared at the young man before her.

The same man who had stood arrogantly before the Duchess without the slightest fear.

The same person who had endured Vivienne’s relentless beatings for hours without once giving up...

Who had survived the Duchess’s brutal training and returned after two months of what she was certain had been worse than any torture imaginable, all without showing any visible signs of trauma...

That same arrogant man was now sitting before her, visibly shaking, tears streaming down his cheeks, as though some long-buried trauma had finally resurfaced.

He almost resembled... a child who had lost everything precious to him.

For a brief moment, she found herself unable to react.

But quickly gathering herself, she slowly stood up from the chair and walked toward him.

"Master Lucian..." she softly called out once again.

Her voice made Lucian slowly lift his head, only to realise she was now sitting right beside him on the bed.

He hadn’t even noticed or heard her move, her silent approach startling him.

Without a word, Kanna quietly raised her hand, a neatly folded white handkerchief resting upon her palm.

Slowly...

She reached it toward his face, intending to wipe away his tears herself.

"I-It’s fine, you... you don’t have to do that." Lucian immediately spoke in an intentionally firm tone, or at least tried to.

His voice came out much weaker than intended as he instinctively leaned his head back, turning his face away.

"I-I’m fine..."

For a second, Kanna simply looked into his eyes.

Then...

"Are you?"

Lucian froze.

His lips parted slightly, but no words came out.

He already knew the answer himself. He wasn’t fine, but pretending to be fine and acting tough... he would’ve been able to do that if he had been in his right state of mind.

Which he obviously wasn’t.

He could still vividly remember every single moment that had happened right after his birth, and each of those moments brought with them the emotions Aiden had felt, along with his own, leaving his mind in complete chaos.

Seeing his silence...

Kanna quietly raised the handkerchief once again, and seeing that he didn’t stop her, she gently wiped away the tears that continued flowing from the corners of his eyes, her movements surprisingly gentle.

Kanna herself didn’t fully understand why she was doing this.

Even though she addressed him as Master, that title meant very little, and she ultimately belonged entirely to the Duchess as her personal maid.

Her loyalty...

Her life...

Everything belonged to Lady Valentina Scarlett.

And yet... looking at Lucian in this state, she simply couldn’t bring herself to leave him alone.

The room fell silent as Lucian felt a little awkward by her actions, almost as though he had become a little child again.

Perhaps it was because of her touch, or perhaps he simply didn’t have any more tears left to shed, but Lucian could finally feel his vision becoming clearer.

He closed his eyes as he felt the soft fabric brush against his face, gently wiping away the lingering tears with surprising care.

Slowly, he opened his eyes once again, only to find her still looking at him with a concerned expression he had never seen on her face before.

There was confusion in her gaze as well, which was only natural. She had watched him sleep through the entire day, only for him to wake up crying as though he had experienced the worst nightmare imaginable.

Even though curiosity lingered within Kanna’s black eyes, she didn’t ask him a single question about the reason for his breakdown, as it wasn’t her place to pry into his personal life.

After making sure his face was as clean as before, she glanced at his handsome features, which still carried a surprising vulnerability.

She was just about to stand up and move back when—

Suddenly, Lucian grabbed her wrist.

Kanna blinked, staring at him with a trace of confusion appearing on her usually emotionless face.

"Mas—"

Before she could even finish speaking, Lucian suddenly pulled her toward him, catching her completely off balance.

Kanna’s eyes widened as her body fell softly against his chest, and before she could even understand what had happened, Lucian’s arms quickly wrapped tightly around her.

"...Master Lucian?" Her voice came out slightly startled before returning to its usual flat tone, and her eyes narrowed ever so slightly.

Then...

"...Don’t leave me."

A trembling voice escaped from Lucian’s lips, surprising both him and the maid.

She looked up at his face for a brief moment, noticing the distant look in his eyes, before slowly lowering her gaze toward herself, watching the pair of arms wrapped tightly around her body.

"..."

Still...

She didn’t care about his words and initially wanted to pull herself free from his embrace.

But...

For some reason...

She didn’t.

’What... what am I doing?’

She silently questioned herself before slowly raising her hands and gently patting his back, as though soothing a frightened child—because for some strange reason, Lucian truly felt like one right now.

Her eyes narrowed slightly as she became aware of the warmth radiating from his body through her clothes.

It felt...

Strangely comforting.

Lucian himself remained completely confused, his thoughts an absolute mess.

Had he really just said that?

Was that really him who had spoken?

Lucian...?

Or...

Aiden?

Or were those merely the lingering influence of the memories, causing him to behave like this?

He honestly didn’t know, and though he found it concerning, he tried to shake the thoughts away.

Gradually... he lowered his head.

Watching the maid who was awkwardly trying to comfort him in her own silent way, he only realised after hugging her just how small she felt within his arms.

But despite snapping out of his thoughts...

He didn’t let go.

"Why does it feel... like I’ve met you before?"

His quiet voice broke the silence once more as his palms rested gently against her back.

Kanna slowly looked up at him again, confusion clearly evident in her eyes.

She had heard him say this before as well, but she didn’t know what he really meant, since she had never personally met him before arriving here.

But Lucian couldn’t shake the feeling that he had experienced this same warmth before, this same softness, sometime in the past.

Closing his eyes, Lucian took a slow, deep breath, forcing himself to calm down.

Minutes passed, and during that time, he gradually managed to settle the raging storm inside his heart, finally regaining some control over his chaotic emotions.

Throughout it all, Kanna neither complained nor tried to move away.

She remained within his embrace, almost absent-mindedly, as though she herself had become lost in the strange, unfamiliar sensation she was feeling.

’Is it... embarrassment?’ she quietly questioned herself, not bothering to dwell on it.

She simply continued awkwardly patting his back, and only after feeling his trembling finally disappear did she gradually come to a stop.

She quietly adjusted her posture, sitting a little more comfortably, yet still made no attempt to leave.

Because even she couldn’t help but feel a strange sense of comfort settling within her heart... though she would never voice it aloud.

After a few more seconds passed in a strangely peaceful silence...

Kanna’s gaze drifted almost absent-mindedly toward Lucian’s neck, sensing the faint, intoxicating scent radiating from the warmth of his skin.

Almost instantly, the memory resurfaced.

The scent of his blood when he had caused a commotion together with Lia.

While Lia had been drinking his blood, even from several metres away...

Kanna had nearly lost control because of the sweet, almost intoxicating scent drifting from it.

Even now...

She still remembered it perfectly.

’...What kind of blood does he have?’

She knew that many people—even vampires—possessed different types of blood, and some were considered a true delicacy among vampire nobility.

But when it came to Lucian...

Something about his blood felt fundamentally different.

Without even realising it...

She slowly leaned closer.

Because his clothes were still damp with sweat, she could faintly feel the warmth radiating from beneath his pale skin.

Her eyes flickered violently from their natural black to a bright crimson before shifting back again and again, revealing the internal struggle as she desperately tried to restrain herself.

’Just... once...’

Her breathing unconsciously slowed.

’...What would he taste like?’ she thought hazily, lightly licking her lips.

Her usually emotionless eyes slowly filled with an unfamiliar hunger.

Meanwhile...

Lucian remained completely lost in his own thoughts, utterly unaware of the struggle raging within the woman resting in his arms, whom he had somehow unknowingly driven into such a state.

Kanna’s lips slightly parted, and her face gradually moved closer... closer toward the exposed skin of his pale neck, her crimson eyes completely fixed upon it.

But just as both of them were lost in their own worlds—

"Lucian... when ar—"

A feminine voice suddenly echoed softly from outside as the door slowly opened, only to stop abruptly.

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