The Anomaly Beyond The System

Seraphina had just finished her breakfast and was sitting inside her hotel room, thinking through the information she had asked Kanna to gather.

Her gaze gradually drifted toward the window, watching the bright blue sky stretching above as white clouds lazily drifted overhead, carried by a gentle morning breeze.

’He... he might be able to find out about me.’

The sudden thought surfaced inside her mind, and almost instantly, she felt her heart begin beating faster.

Her fingers unconsciously tightened against the bedsheet, and a cold fear gripped her heart, making her breathing grow heavier.

But only a few moments later, Seraphina quickly shook her head, forcing those thoughts away.

Now wasn’t the time to think about that.

Her eyes then shifted toward the wall beside her, knowing Lucian was staying in the room next to hers.

’Is he still sleeping...?’

A small crease formed between her brows.

It had been over twenty-four hours since he had gone to his room to rest, and although she knew his body needed sleep, something still felt wrong.

Perhaps she was simply worrying too much, but even so, she couldn’t stop herself from becoming concerned.

Without thinking any further, she stood up from the bed before walking toward Lucian’s room.

Yesterday, she had already tried entering once.

However, the door had been locked from the outside, and even after asking Kanna—who could simply enter through her shadow powers—the maid had firmly refused to let her inside, no matter how much she insisted.

More than that, Kanna hadn’t even left his room for hours.

Thinking the same thing would happen this time as well, Seraphina reached out for the handle and twisted it.

Click.

To her surprise, it opened.

Without wasting another second, she pushed the door open and hurried inside, the worry for her son overwhelming every other thought.

"Lucian... when ar—"

Her voice suddenly stopped.

The unfinished words froze upon her lips, and her body went completely still as the scene before her entered her eyes.

Lucian was sitting quietly on his bed, a blanket covering the lower half of his body.

However... that wasn’t what had stolen her voice.

A woman dressed in a black maid uniform was currently within his embrace, held tightly in his arms as Lucian’s hands gently rested against her lower back. Their bodies were pressed closely together.

Kanna’s lips were slightly parted, her face leaning dangerously close to Lucian’s pale, inviting neck—

Her now-crimson eyes suddenly widened the instant they landed upon Seraphina, who stood frozen at the doorway with a shocked expression, her mouth still slightly parted.

Kanna immediately shut her mouth.

Almost as if waking from a trance, she abruptly pulled her face away from Lucian’s neck.

’What was I doing...?!’ she screamed frantically inside her mind.

She was far more horrified by her own actions than by Seraphina’s sudden entrance.

Her thoughts instantly descended into complete chaos, the memory of how she had nearly given in to the intoxicating scent of his blood still fresh in her mind.

Lucian’s body flinched slightly upon hearing the familiar voice.

A voice...

One he had been longing to hear for what had felt like countless years.

He slowly opened his eyes, gradually loosening his arms around Kanna before turning his head toward the doorway.

There he found Seraphina standing motionless, her beautiful eyes wide with shock, her lips slightly parted, surprise clearly written across her face.

"W-What are you both... doing...?" Her uncertain voice trailed off as her gaze shifted between the two of them once again.

Kanna suddenly realised that she was still sitting within Lucian’s embrace.

Heat instantly spread across her face—though it showed no outward change—and without wasting another second, she hurriedly yet carefully pulled herself away from his chest.

She quickly stood up from the bed, intending to move away before the awkwardness became even worse.

But just as she was about to take another step—

"Thank you," Lucian’s gentle whisper reached her ears, his sincere tone carrying unmistakable gratitude. He was genuinely thankful that Kanna hadn’t pushed him away after his strange request, since any ordinary woman would naturally feel uncomfortable if someone suddenly pulled them into an embrace like that.

Even he himself still couldn’t believe what he had done, and now that he thought about it... a trace of guilt quietly surfaced across his expression.

For a brief moment, Kanna paused, her black eyes resting upon the faint guilt lingering on his face.

Then...

Without saying a single word, she looked away before quietly straightening her maid uniform, returning to her usual composed posture.

For some reason, she couldn’t help but feel something strange... an unfamiliar emptiness settling within her heart as she separated herself from his warmth.

Lucian didn’t speak either, quietly watching her while trying to gather his own scattered thoughts.

Then—

"Lucian."

Seraphina’s cold voice echoed throughout the room, abruptly breaking the strange atmosphere that had settled and pulling them back to reality.

Both Lucian and Kanna instinctively flinched.

Lucian immediately turned his head toward her.

The moment his eyes fully landed upon Seraphina, he saw her standing near the doorway with her arms crossed beneath her chest, her icy-blue eyes quietly observing them with a mixture of confusion, horror... and, at the same time, a hint of irritation after seeing her son completely forget about her presence.

’...Is that the reason the room was locked...?’ she thought uncertainly, her mind naturally wandering somewhere it probably shouldn’t.

Completely unaware of what was going through her mind, Lucian’s tense expression gradually softened.

The moment he looked at Seraphina... everything else around him seemed to disappear—even Kanna—and a gentle smile slowly appeared across his face.

"Mom... you finally came."

His words immediately caused Seraphina’s brows to knit together. She had expected embarrassment, horror, or even guilt.

But instead...

There was a strange yet unmistakable affection and longing in both his expression and his voice, leaving both her and Kanna confused.

’Did he dream about his childhood...?’ Kanna thought, quietly observing Lucian, whose attention remained entirely fixed upon Seraphina, the faint smile on his face carrying an unusual amount of happiness.

From the information she had gathered, she already knew almost everything that had happened during his childhood, as well as nearly everything else in Lucian’s life—though she had only investigated it after Seren had adopted him, under her orders.

Without waiting another second, Lucian pushed the blanket aside and hurriedly rushed toward Seraphina.

At least...

He tried to.

But the moment he took his first step, then another...

His legs suddenly tangled together, causing his body to lurch forward. He almost fell face-first onto the floor, barely managing to catch himself at the very last moment.

His movements looked strangely clumsy... and awkward.

After remaining trapped inside the body of a child for almost nine long years, Lucian had nearly forgotten what it felt like to properly control his own body.

"Lucian!"

Seraphina immediately rushed toward him, her earlier confusion instantly giving way to worry as she grabbed his shoulders before he could lose his balance once again.

But before she could even help him steady himself—

Lucian suddenly wrapped both of his arms tightly around her, completely catching her off guard.

Her body froze.

"I missed you," he mumbled quietly, feeling the warmth he had once lost after that incident... after failing her and unknowingly sending her to the mental asylum because of his own actions.

"W-What?" Seraphina quietly muttered in confusion, completely caught off guard by his sudden behaviour.

Kanna quietly watched the two of them, inwardly feeling that her conclusion had probably been correct.

He might have truly experienced a terrible nightmare, one vivid enough to make him behave like this.

For a brief moment, Seraphina remained completely still.

Then, she slowly raised her hand and gently patted his back.

A small smile immediately reached Lucian’s lips.

He leaned back slightly, looking at her with a genuinely happy smile.

"Why are you suddenly behaving like a child?" Seraphina asked, unable to hide the faint amused smile forming across her own lips.

Lucian didn’t answer.

He simply continued smiling.

Then, without any warning, he hugged her once again, this time even more tightly, as though he was afraid she might disappear all over again.

Only after a long while, reluctantly forcing himself to calm down, did he slowly loosen his arms and finally step back.

As he did, his balance momentarily faltered, causing Seraphina to instinctively grab his hand before he could stumble.

"What happened?" she asked with visible concern, carefully guiding him back toward the bed before helping him sit down on the mattress.

Lucian let out a small, awkward smile.

"N-Nothing... maybe I slept a bit too much."

"You did," Seraphina immediately replied, her expression becoming slightly more serious.

"Are you sure you should be sleeping that much? It’s been an entire day."

Hearing her words, Lucian instinctively glanced toward the window, noticing that he had truly woken up the following morning.

Rather than feeling surprised, however, he felt relieved.

He had only been unconscious for a single day... not the nine long years he had experienced while trapped inside that memory.

To everyone else...

Only one day had passed.

Yet for him...

It had been an entirely different lifetime.

"I know you’re now a vampire, but still..." Seraphina continued, noticing the absent look in his eyes, as though his thoughts were somewhere far away.

Seeing him lost in thought, she leaned forward and gently poked his cheek, pulling him back to reality.

He once again gave her an awkward smile, one that felt completely different from the confident, almost mischievous demeanour he had shown yesterday.

It was as though he had changed completely overnight.

And somehow...

She didn’t feel like it was a good change.

She couldn’t help but feel that something inside him had changed, because the way he looked at her now felt... strange.

Almost as though she were something fragile that might shatter if he wasn’t careful enough.

Seraphina blinked, the thought leaving her slightly puzzled.

’Maybe I’m just imagining it...?’

Her gaze slowly shifted toward Kanna.

The moment their eyes met, the faint smile lingering on Seraphina’s face gradually disappeared, her expression turning icy cold once again.

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