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she pondered, her steps steady but her mind swimming with the image. Lucavion\'s face had been so brief, that passing regret gone as quickly as it appeared, yet it lingered with her. The way his hand had rested lightly on Riken\'s shoulder, how he\'d referred to them as "lost little lambs"… it was a softness he usually masked with sarcasm or indifference. But she wouldn\'t bring it up. She wouldn\'t dig.

Instead, she kept her gaze forward, her posture composed as her mind turned the question over. The lights of the city cast an amber glow on the cobbled streets, and Lucavion walked with his usual ease beside her, seeming almost oblivious to her introspection. Finally, he spoke, his voice pulling her from her thoughts.

"So, still worrying about Mariel\'s new charges?" he asked, voice casual but with that ever-present hint of knowing.

Valeria looked ahead, her voice measured. "I\'m not worried about them. Miss Mariel\'s capable. They\'ll be in better hands with her than they would with anyone else." She paused, her tone quieter. "But… you looked almost regretful."

Lucavion didn\'t respond immediately, instead glancing at her with a faint, knowing smirk. He shrugged, tucking his hands into his pockets. "They\'re not the first kids I\'ve seen who had their world taken apart," he said lightly, though there was an edge beneath the words. "But that\'s just life, isn\'t it? Not everyone gets to keep what they care about."

Valeria\'s lips tightened, a restrained retort ready, but she swallowed it down. Instead, she simply nodded, keeping her voice steady. "That may be true, but… it\'s not nothing, what you did today."

Lucavion\'s smirk softened, his gaze flickering with a momentary warmth. "It is not nothing….. I guess that is true." He mumbled to himself.

They continued in silence, their steps echoing softly on the cobblestone streets, and Valeria felt a quiet shift within herself, like the stirring of a question she could not ignore. Seeing Lucavion—a man who often dismissed the world\'s woes with a smirk or a shrug—show even a faint glimmer of realization affected her. She was reminded of the countless times she had thrown herself into her own path, fixated on her family\'s expectations, her desire to prove herself, and her ambitions. But for all her focus, had she ever truly taken in the lives around her?

\'

If this path is just about my own glory, am I no better than the adventurers I dismissed for chasing coin and fame?\'

she wondered. It wasn\'t an unfamiliar thought, but it weighed on her differently tonight. If her knighthood was for something larger, shouldn\'t that "something" extend beyond her own honor?

Her gaze drifted to Lucavion again, lingering in brief, almost unconscious glances. There was something unsettling about him—his carelessness, the way he defied every rule and lived without the bounds of duty. Yet, here he was, taking these two children to Mariel, offering them a sliver of hope he might deny he even believed in himself.

A flicker of understanding crossed his face as if he sensed her scrutiny. He tilted his head with a bemused expression. "What\'s that look, Valeria?" he asked, his tone teasing, though a trace of genuine curiosity hid beneath.

Caught off-guard, she looked away, a faint flush warming her cheeks. "Nothing," she said, but the denial felt hollow. She let out a slow breath, then ventured, "It\'s just… you\'ve been full of surprises lately."

Lucavion\'s gaze sharpened, his usual smirk fading as he regarded her with genuine curiosity. "Surprises?" he echoed, the word lingering with unexpected interest. "What do you mean?"

Valeria hesitated, glancing away briefly, feeling a bit exposed under the weight of his attention. Still, she felt compelled to answer. "I didn\'t expect you to be… this kind of person," she admitted, the words falling quietly. "You always struck me as someone different."

Lucavion\'s brows lifted, intrigued. "Different how?"

She thought carefully, choosing her words as her gaze traced the ground between them. "Someone spoiled," she began, then paused, risking a glance at him, "…and someone who doesn\'t care about anything in this world."

At the word

spoiled

, she saw a faint, almost imperceptible change in his expression. It was subtle—a flicker in his eyes, a slight tightening of his jaw, gone as quickly as it appeared. But Valeria noticed, and a curious thought took root in her mind.

Lucavion\'s smirk returned, this time carrying a trace of irony. "And that\'s exactly what I am," he said, his voice smooth, offering no protest or denial.

Valeria studied him closely, catching the hint of something buried deeper within his words, though he cloaked it well. There was more to his reaction than he was letting on. But instead of pressing further, she merely nodded, absorbing the insight for herself.

"Well, if that\'s the case," she murmured, "then maybe I\'ve misjudged you."

He shrugged, the faint smirk lingering as he turned his gaze forward. "Maybe you have," he said lightly, though there was a glimmer of something unreadable in his eyes. "After all, this wouldn\'t be the first time that you have done so."

Valeria\'s thoughts drifted back to the first time she had met Lucavion in Rackenshore. She had been sent there with a specific purpose: to find Korvan, a powerful bandit leader whose defeat would bring her much-needed credit and recognition. Yet, upon arriving, she was greeted not by the infamous Korvan but by the unexpected news that he had already been bested—and by Lucavion, of all people.

At the time, she had refused to believe it. Lucavion\'s easy confidence, the smirk he wore as if he owned the world, made her think he was nothing but a fraud. She\'d even challenged him on it, demanding proof that he was the one responsible. But he had met her suspicion with the same ironic smile and a calm assurance that soon left her without a doubt—Lucavion was the real deal.

And here they were, weeks later. The road they had traveled together since Rackenshore was a strange one, full of clashes, surprising moments, and insights she\'d never expected. She\'d learned more from him than she had in an entire year as a knight, from the power of unorthodox methods to the value of embracing uncertainty.

Her gaze lingered on him, reflecting on the unlikely partnership that had emerged. Lucavion noticed her look, an amused eyebrow-raising. "Lost in thought? I\'d hate to think I\'m boring you already," he teased, though his tone was gentler than usual.

"Far from it," she replied, her voice soft. "I was just… remembering how we met."

Lucavion chuckled. "Ah, Rackenshore. You looked so convinced I was bluffing about Korvan. I\'d never seen someone draw their sword so fast," he said, his smirk widening.

Valeria gave him a sidelong look, a small, reluctant smile tugging at her lips. "In my defense, you didn\'t look like much of a knight. But I suppose I\'ve learned not to judge a book by its cover," she murmured, her tone thoughtful. She glanced down the street, her mind sifting through all the moments they\'d shared, all the unexpected things she had witnessed.

"Surprising, isn\'t it?" Lucavion said, his gaze drifting forward. "How paths cross in ways you don\'t plan for."

Valeria nodded, feeling the truth of his words as they continued through the dim streets. And though she knew her journey was far from over, she found a strange comfort in the fact that, for now, her path was entwined with his.

\'Really…\'

she mused, casting another glance Lucavion\'s way. Why was that? She couldn\'t understand it—how his presence had become such a constant, so natural. She\'d once found his attitude insufferable, yet now the idea of him not being there felt strange, hollow even. Ridiculous. As if being without him would somehow make her path… dull.

\'No, absolutely not,\'

she thought firmly, brushing the notion aside. There was nothing "natural" about wanting his company—her pride couldn\'t allow it. She was a knight, and he was, well… Lucavion. Unpredictable, insufferably smug, a man who bent rules as if they were suggestions. She had no business even entertaining the idea that she\'d miss him. He was merely a distraction, someone she\'d never take seriously.

But as she stole another fleeting look at him, her thoughts quieted, though her heart felt oddly heavy.

Just like that the two returned to their rooms, only to witness a scene that they were not expecting.

Or rather, Valeria was not expecting would be much more true.

"From now on, we can not welcome you here."

Since the innkeeper of the inn that they were staying in refused to let the two of them stay in the same place.