EWOWMAIBTYPF Chapter 210

Chapter 210

 

“Who are you…?”

I looked up at Lucio in confusion and tried to quickly sit up. But the grip on my wrist tightened.

“Don’t move.”

His cold, commanding tone made me flinch. My heart pounded as if it would explode.

Without realizing it, I held my breath and watched him carefully.

His eyes felt completely unfamiliar.

‘Even when I snuck into the duke’s mansion long ago, I never saw him look like this…’

Lucio, who had been staring down at me with eyes cold as ice, suddenly furrowed his brow.

Instinctively, I asked, “What’s wrong? Are you in pain?”

“…”

“Lucio?”

“Ha.”

And before I could even finish calling his name, he clicked his tongue.

“Which kingdom sent you?”

“…What?”

I couldn’t hide my bewilderment at the random question and asked cautiously,

“Are you… joking right now?”

Lucio did have a mischievous side. Maybe he was just pretending to worry me…

“Answer me.”

But when I looked into his coldly sharpened eyes and saw none of his usual warmth in his face, I could no longer deny the truth.

As possible explanations for Lucio’s state flashed through my mind, my heart hardened.

I hurriedly pushed him away.

A moment ago, I had been caught off guard, but if I set my mind to it, escaping from his grip was nothing.

Easily slipping out from beneath him, I reached for the bell on the bedside table the moment he opened his mouth to speak, and rang it furiously.

The sound of the bell rang loud and sharp through the otherwise quiet mansion.

Lucio, clearly convinced I was an intruder, looked surprised by my actions and tried to restrain me again with an impatient hand.

Even as he grabbed me, I kept shaking the bell. As we struggled and I ended up pinned beneath him again…

Crash! 

The door burst open with a loud noise.

And in came the very people Lucio had been waiting to see—his entire family.

 

***

 

After Nyx had arrived, Lia immediately contacted the marquisate to cancel the dinner appointment.

But once they heard that Lucio had returned seriously injured, they couldn’t just sit still. The former marquis, the grand duke and duchess, and Ascart had all come over to the duke’s estate to comfort the family.

Given the gravity of the situation, no one objected to Lia staying alone by Lucio’s side.

But everyone’s minds were still half in Lucio’s room, so when the sound of a bell suddenly rang out, Lia’s family raced there like lightning.

And what they saw was…

“You ******! How dare you harass my granddaughter?!”

The former marquis, eyes blazing, saw Lia lying on the bed frantically ringing the bell, with Lucio on top of her, and immediately charged in and threw Lucio to the floor.

Lia, finally snapping out of her daze, saw the grand duke and Ascart preparing magic with dangerous looks on their faces and rushed to stop them.

“Wait!”

“Move aside, child!”

“Yeah, Adriana! Let me handle that monster!”

“I said stop! It’s not what you think!”

“What do you mean it’s not?! You rang the bell!”

“That’s not why I—”

“Enough!”

Lia tried to explain, but her voice was drowned out by the sharp voice of the grand duchess. Grabbing Lia’s arm, the grand duchess demanded,

“Adriana! Even after this, you still want to defend him?”

On Lia’s wrist, where Lucio had grabbed her moments ago, was a red mark.

The grand duchess’s eyes gleamed with rage. It felt like an explosion was about to go off.

“What on earth is going on…?”

Lucio, who had been thrown to the floor, held his head and slowly got up, dazed.

“Why are the grand duke and grand duchess, and the former marquis, all in my room? And… Ascart?”

“Why do you think, you punk?!”

“Why is this woman calling you her brother?”

As soon as Lucio finished speaking, a heavy silence fell over the room like a bucket of cold water.

Even Ascart, who usually lacked awareness, realized something was wrong and asked in a stunned voice,

“What… what did you just call Lia? ‘This woman’?”

“…Lia?”

“Yes, my sister Lia! Adriana Belus!”

Lucio frowned as he repeated the name slowly, as if hearing it for the first time.

He muttered her full name like it was unfamiliar, then said:

“Ascart, if she’s your sister, then…”

His voice trailed off as he looked back and forth between Lia and the grand duchess. Only then did he seem to realize how similar the two looked.

He spoke, looking a bit flustered.

“When did you find the Grand Princess of Belus? Of course, it’s something to celebrate, but…”

Thud.

Only then did the people in the room fully realize something was truly wrong with Lucio.

While everyone stood in shocked silence, too stunned to speak, Ascart sprang forward and grabbed Lucio by the shoulders.

He seemed to have forgotten how he was growling at him just moments ago, and asked anxiously,

“Lucio! They said you were badly hurt—did the princess hit your head or something? Is that why you’re not in your right mind?”

At that moment, Allen, who had been standing at a distance, rushed forward, pushing Ascart aside.

“Bro, I got it! You’ve got amnesia! That has to be it!”

Excited, he shouted, claiming it matched exactly what he’d read in popular novels in the library.

“Now you’re gonna say and do all kinds of hurtful things to Lia—no, to my future sister-in-law. Like, ‘I loved someone like you?!’ And then later, you’ll bump your head somewhere. Then bang! You come to your senses, and beg for forgiveness, saying you were crazy and that she’s the only one you’ve ever loved!”

“I’m sure of it! That’s how these stories always go!”

Finishing his impromptu book review, Allen proudly lifted his chin.

The duchess turned to her immature second son with a stern face.

“Allen, do you think this is funny?”

“No, I just wanted to warn him not to do anything he’d regret…”

Allen looked genuinely wronged.

His voice carried sincerity.

Allen, who normally respected and admired his older brother more than anyone else, didn’t want Lucio to get into a mess he’d later regret.

Even so, Allen glanced at Lia. He was worried she might misunderstand him after what their mother said.

Thankfully, Lia forced a small smile, her lips twitching in gratitude. She understood that Allen’s warning wasn’t just for Lucio’s sake, he also didn’t want her to be hurt.

As Allen let out a quiet sigh of relief, Lucio mumbled with a confused expression,

“Allen, what on earth are you talking about…”

But Lucio, being sharp, began to gradually piece things together from the serious mood and everyone’s reactions.

“So you’re saying… I really did lose my memory?”

The idea was so absurd that even as he asked, Lucio let out a disbelieving laugh, brushing his hair back with frustration—until he froze.

“…Future sister-in-law?”

He scoffed and looked at Lia as if the whole situation was too ridiculous to believe.

“Don’t tell me… the Grand Princess of Belus is…”

“She’s your lover!”

“You’re about to get engaged!”

Before Lucio could finish, the duchess and Allen shouted back one after another.

Allen, having been beaten to the punch, stared at his mother in disbelief. The duchess awkwardly cleared her throat and looked away.

Even while scolding her younger son, she too had been worried Lucio might act thoughtlessly toward Lia.

Lucio, seeing Allen’s wounded expression as if asking, Then why did you yell at me?, rubbed his forehead.

He couldn’t even believe the Grand Princess of Belus had returned alive, but to hear she was his lover?

That was harder to accept than the idea of memory loss. And on top of that…

“If you’re going to joke, at least try to make it believable. Even if my mind is addled, unless my memory is completely wrong, the Grand Princess of Belus is eight years younger than me. You really think I’d be crazy enough to…”

Whack!

At that moment, the Duke of Elard—who until now had remained silent, watching his son with a serious expression—struck Lucio on the back of the head.

Lucio stared at his father in disbelief. Never, even as a child, had he been hit like that.

But the duke didn’t spare him a glance and instead turned to Lia.

“Don’t take to heart the words of someone whose mind is scrambled. Just let them in one ear and out the other. Got it?”

Lia nodded at the duke’s concern, understanding that he was worried she might have been hurt.

But truthfully, she was doing better than expected.

What worried her more was whether Lucio could handle everything once the truth came to light.

And right now—what was more concerning than anything was the back of Lucio’s head, which had just taken a hit. As she quietly observed the dazed Lucio, Lia let out a small sigh.

The duchess, Allen, and even her own family were all seriously considering that Lucio might have lost his memory from the head injury. Honestly, Lia herself had been unsure when she first rang the bell.

But now, she was almost certain that wasn’t the case.

If it was just a head injury, he might forget many things, but not her and only her. Especially since he recognized everyone else instantly.

More than anything…

Lia turned to look at Diana, who still hadn’t stepped into the room and was standing frozen at the door.

Diana had always promised she’d be furious if Lucio ever upset Lia. She’d even said she’d hit him twice hard if needed.

But now, in this situation—when Diana should’ve already walloped him twice—she wasn’t moving at all.

That alone was proof enough: this wasn’t just memory loss.

“I knew it… even the devil recognized it.”

Just then, Diana, who had been standing with her head bowed, muttered in a terrified voice.

Everyone turned to her in shock, but Diana, now in a panic, continued.

“That greedy soul… there’s no way the devil would have left it alone…”

“Diana.”

“Sister, what should we do? Brother’s soul—it’s definitely… this is definitely the princess’s aura!”

“Diana, calm down and tell us slowly.”

Prompted by Lia’s voice, Diana bit her lip, trying to compose herself.

Her eyes filled with tears as she said,

“I think the princess… made a contract with a devil.”

To get her hands on Big Brother.

 

Next update will be on Friday (⁠ ⁠◜⁠‿⁠◝⁠ ⁠)