Ashen didn't have to wait long to see the enchanting figure of the pinkette.
The moment her eyes fell on him, she strode with her usual confident walk, hips swaying subtly with each step, until she reached his table. Pulling a chair and sitting without ceremony, close enough that he could catch the faint scent of her perfume, she uttered at last, "I hope I didn't keep you waiting long. Digging up info from just a name and a physical description took longer than expected."
"It's fine." Ashen's face finally softened a fraction at her company, some of the tension bleeding from his shoulders. "I was kind of sorting out my thoughts myself, so it was a convenient delay."
"Is that so?" Lucia murmured, her eyes tracking over his features… the tightness around his mouth, the coldness in his gaze. She leaned forward slightly, elbows on the table, bringing them closer. "It seems that this turn of events rather rattled you, so let's just jump into the details."
"Let's." He nodded, fingers drumming once, not bothering to dispute her observation.
"This man, Roland, you actually know him."
"I do…?" His brow arched.
"Remember that day we signed our partnership contract. It was also your last day in the tutorial phase."
"Ah…" The words jogged Ashen's memory enough for him to remember that one cheeky recruiter who came between them to stir murky waters. He rubbed his jaw, thinking back.
'Yes… his name was also Roland, if I recall correctly…'
Ashen also remembered how he'd almost gone with him just to spite Lucia back then, and only his twin soul's warning made him go back.
"Is he targeting my family just because of that squabble…?" His voice dropped lower.
Lucia shook her head. "People can indeed be that petty, but recruiters like Roland don't have the time or patience to act on it. Your sister was targeted for another reason."
Ashen thought of what could make one target that cheerful, bright woman. He leaned back, arm draped over the back of his chair. First, she wasn't a dreg, the primary social circle targeted by Seravellians.
Then, he thought of Alice, and how she was singled out for her unusual intellect and visionary mind.
While his sister was actually gifted athletically, with even a few medals in fencing, she was just one of many, so he didn't think it was her competence that had her singled out.
"It's because of you."
Lucia spoke at last, seeing his increasingly confused expression. She reached across the table, fingers brushing his wrist briefly before pulling back.
"Ah shit… of course it's me…" He dragged a hand through his hair, frustration evident. "What did I do this time?"
"You didn't do anything bad per se… In fact, quite the opposite." Lucia took his cup without asking and brought it to her lips for a sip. Her eyes never left his as she tasted his coffee. "You were so good that your fame spread to the other domains…"
"And now, that fame reached the ears of those profiteers. Obviously, they wouldn't try to scam you because they fear our retaliation, but your family is an easier target…"
Ashen shook his head, jaw tightening. "No… this still leaves a lot of holes. Isn't targeting normal Esperrian citizens banned now? And what makes these profiteers think I would spare them if they targeted my family instead of me?"
His fist clenched on the table between them.
"Scamming a normal citizen is forbidden, true. But persuading them after explaining the dangers is still a free game. How do you think Alice was brought over?" Lucia set the cup down.
"Of course, every recruiter has a limited quota for this kind of recruiting, and failing to persuade the target has its own penalties, but many still go for it if the person truly deserves the trouble."
"A good example is Alice's recruiter. That guy catapulted to be the most successful recruiter in the Wrath Domain after he brought her over."
She leaned in closer, voice dropping. "Anyhow, this makes their actions lawful, thus granting them its protection. That is also why they don't fear you. You can't just disregard everything and murder them, after all."
"But why her?!" His voice cracked. "My sister is just a little angel… she wouldn't harm a fly…"
Lucia shot him a strange look, one eyebrow arched skeptically, lips quirking despite herself.
She'd seen his "little angel" of a sister beat down men twice her size in an unofficial fencing match. The video had gone viral with millions of views and all kinds of praise, but none of them had called her an angel.
She looked more like a Rakshasa than an angel.
"I don't know about her being an angel…" Lucia's fingers drummed on the table, drawing his attention. "But I already explained the reason they reached for her. It's because of you." She pointed her slender finger at him, the gesture almost accusatory.
"In Seravelle, it's common sense that generally, if one sibling is talented in one area, his other siblings won't be far off. Even if their talents don't align, they would be gifted in one way or another."
"That's also the primary reason why noble families in Seravelle hold authority with an iron fist. Their descendants always kept a certain level of talent, and there's never been a generation that's been lacking."
Ashen finally let out a defeated sigh, shoulders sagging.
So it was because of him after all.
'Wait.'
His eyes suddenly hardened. 'It's not me. It's them. Who gives them the right to use my family for their rise? Do they think I'm some toothless tiger?'
'Fuck. Not on my watch. I'll show them who they've messed with…'
Ashen's blood kept boiling the more he thought about it. Lifting his nearly bloodshot eyes, he looked sideways and asked, "Is there a way to deal with them?"
"There may be." She nodded composedly in contrast to his barely restrained demeanor, though her hand moved to rest atop his clenched fist in a bid to ground him with her touch. "But it depends on the end outcome you want."
Ashen knew that calm was only surface-deep. He didn't mistake it for indifference. If anything, a poison far deadlier than his rage might have been brewing behind her placid facade.
"The only outcome I want is to keep her out of Seravelle." He answered, turning his hand to briefly squeeze hers before releasing. Then, more slowly, he added, "And if she somehow ends up there, I don't want her anywhere near the Wrath Domain."
Lucia took in his words, her thumb having traced once over his knuckles before he let go. She closed her eyes briefly, weighing the paths available to her. When she opened them again, she said, "Your second request is easy. As for keeping her out entirely… it can be done." A pause. "Temporarily."
"Why is that?" He leaned forward, closing more distance between them. "Will they use force?"
That was the only answer Ashen could see that they would employ to bring her over.
"No." Lucia shook her head in denial, hair shifting across her shoulders. "It's much more insidious than that."
She mirrored his lean, bringing them close enough to speak lower. "You see… the most dangerous kind of people aren't the ones who lie to your face or use violence so that you do their bidding. It's the one who tells you the truth, just slightly twisted."
Her voice dropped further, almost a murmur. "We call them manipulators."
"They won't waste time arguing with you. They won't control you by force, nor will they go to great lengths to convince you."
"Instead…" She gestured gracefully with one hand, drawing his eyes. "They will agree with whatever you say, nodding while you speak, making you feel understood… but along the way, they stir your thoughts where they want them to be."
"One well-placed word here. A good suggestion there. And by the time they have you where they wanted, you won't even notice a thing."
Her eyes unwaveringly held his. "Because it wasn't them who convinced you. The idea came from you, so it is you who convinced yourself."
"They…" Her lips curved slightly, sardonic. "They're just harmless bystanders cheering you on as you walk a road of their own making."
"That is a real manipulator."
She looked at him right in the eye, their faces now barely inches apart across the small table. "And every recruiter is a professional manipulator."
"You don't realize it yet, but I bet your sister already believes that your life is in danger whenever you disappear to that unknown place."
Ashen's breathing grew heavier.
"She will also believe that if she went there, she'd be of great assistance."
"I would even go as far as say that she thinks her presence can make the difference between your life and death."
Lucia's hand returned to cover his again. "Your relationship with your sister is great, right? Do you think she'd stay still?"
"You can convince her to stay for now… but for how long? Everything she believes is truth after all, only slightly… twisted."
"Sooner or later, you'll run out of arguments to stop her with, and the inevitable will happen."
Her fingers tightened on his. "The poison has already seeped through, and now it only needs time to erupt."
"That's why I said temporarily."
Hearing her reasoning, Ashen slumped in his chair, the fight draining out of him.
He wanted to argue, but he could only be convinced. If it was the Lapis he knew, the moment he left for Seravelle and he was unable to supervise her, she'd try to follow.
She was just like that. Ordinarily obedient but incredibly stubborn when she thought something or someone meant harm to him.
'How could I have forgotten…?'
His eyes glazed over.
'I live in a world where beasts roam everywhere, and if they're not, then they're beasts still… just donning human skin.'
'Cornelia already explained it. Laws are only for the strong to keep the weak in line. So why am I angry that they're lawless? How could I forget this simple fact?'
'Lucia's words are only a reminder of what I witnessed and experienced. Wasn't I also duped like a retard when I was at my lowest? So how could I…?'
'How…?'
He dropped his gaze, staring at nothing.
'No… Why…? Why am I not doing anything about it?!'
'Do I need to repeat what happened in the first timeline?! Can I only wake up when I taste loss?!!'
Feeling increasingly hollow, he finally asked himself…
'Can I only react and not act…?'
From Lucia's side, she sat transfixed as she watched his drastic transformation… from resignation bleeding into bitter anger, collapsing into despair, and then finally settling into something else entirely.
Iron-clad conviction.
When he lifted his gaze to meet hers, she felt her breath catch. Those resolute golden orbs seemed to shine brightly for a moment, burning with purpose, and that sudden smile… it carried the weight of someone who'd made a decision that would reshape everything.
Her heart stuttered in her chest.
"Lucia, what do you say about creating a secret organization…?" he asked, suddenly cheerful.
She was so absorbed in that look, a look that made it seem this man would never lose anything again, that he would bend the world itself before allowing fate to take from him, that she didn't fully hear the question.
Her body responded before her mind caught up. She leaned closer, drawn in like a moth to flame, lips parting slightly.
Then, she nodded dazedly, not entirely certain what she was agreeing to.
What she knew for sure was that she would unconditionally agree to anything as long as he asked her with that same look.
Her hand was still covering his on the table, and she realized distantly that her thumb was tracing small circles over his skin.
She didn't stop.