Shattered Innocence: Transmigrated Into a Novel as an Extra - Chapter 498

Chapter 498: Don’t do this right now
“What do you think about him?”

Aeliana remained silent for a moment.

Her father’s golden eyes were sharp, unwavering, waiting for an answer. But she didn’t speak immediately. Instead, she let her thoughts settle.

Because this wasn’t a simple question.

This was him asking her to measure Lucavion. To weigh him. To decide what he was.

And that—

That wasn’t easy.

Her fingers curled slightly against her sleeve as her mind drifted back.

To their first meeting.

To the ridiculous way he had introduced himself.

To the way he had looked at her—not with pity, not with hesitation, but as if she was just another person.

To the way he had infuriated her within minutes of knowing him.

‘He’s annoying.’

That had been her first impression. And it had remained true.

He was pushy, he was reckless, he had no sense of restraint.

But…

That wasn’t all he was.

Aeliana thought of the way he had fought.

How he had thrown himself at danger without hesitation.

How he had never treated her like something fragile.

How he had understood—far too much, far too quickly.

He had seen right through Madeleina. Had torn her apart with words alone.

He had known about her illness when no one else had. Had understood it, explained it, unraveled the mystery surrounding it with an ease that should have been impossible.

He had saved her.

‘He’s dangerous.’

Not in the way her father was. Not in the way the nobility played their games.

No—Lucavion was dangerous in an entirely different way.

Because he knew things.

Because he made things happen.

Because the moment he stepped into her life, everything—everything—began to shift.

He didn’t move with caution.

He didn’t move carefully like a noble weighing their steps.

No.

Lucavion moved with certainty.

And that was what made him terrifying.

Aeliana exhaled slowly, her gaze flickering toward the door where he had just left.

‘What do I think of him?’

She already knew the answer.

‘He’s someone I will never forgive.’

And yet—

‘He’s also someone I will never let go.’

Her lips curled ever so slightly before she turned back to her father, her expression schooled into something unreadable.

“He is….”

Aeliana’s voice trailed off, her mind unraveling the countless memories, the weight of their words, the unshakable presence he had left behind in her life.

Lucavion.

That bastard.

The one who had infuriated her from the very first moment.

The one who had seen her—truly seen her—without hesitation, without fear.

The one who had given her anger when she needed it most.

The one who had made her fight.

Her fingers curled tighter against her sleeve.

She thought of his smirks, his arrogance, his reckless insanity.

She thought of his impossible strength, the way he never faltered even when his body was breaking.

She thought of the fire he had ignited inside her, the way he had made her want to live, to fight, to stand.

And more than anything—

She thought of his words.

“Just listen to me once.”

“I prepared this solely for you.”

“Don’t you dare go hollow on me.”

He had never let her go.

Not when she was sinking, not when she was lost, not even when she had screamed that she hated him.

Lucavion had forced his way into her life, into her carefully built walls, into every part of her that she had wanted to keep untouched.

And now—

Now, she could never undo it.

Aeliana exhaled softly, her golden eyes flickering up to meet her father’s, steady and unwavering.

“He is…”

She paused, the weight of her own realization pressing down on her.

Then, quietly—

“Different.”

Her father’s gaze sharpened.

“Different?”

Aeliana nodded slowly.

“Yes.”

There was no better way to describe it.

Lucavion was unlike anyone she had ever met.

Unlike the nobles with their careful words and hidden daggers.

Unlike the knights who bowed and obeyed, who never questioned the world as it was.

Unlike the people who had pitied her, who had whispered behind her back, who had waited for her to break.

He was different.

And that difference had changed her.

Her father’s expression remained unreadable.

He studied her carefully, as if weighing something in his mind.

Then, after a long pause, he finally spoke.

“Do you trust him?”

Aeliana hesitated.

Because that…

That wasn’t an easy answer.

Trust?

No.

Not entirely.

Not yet.

But—

She couldn’t let him go.

Aeliana’s lips parted slightly, but no words came out.

Do I trust him?

Her first instinct was to say no.

She couldn’t trust him.

Not after everything.

Not after the lies, the manipulation, the way he had played her, used her, forced her to hate him.

Not after the way he had thrown himself between her and death without hesitation.

Not after the way he had stood there, injured to his bones, still fighting.

Not after the way she had held his cold hand, listening to him mumble in his sleep, hearing a piece of the weight he carried.

Not after all that.

“I don’t trust him.”

The words left her lips, quiet but firm.

Her father’s golden eyes didn’t waver.

And then—

“You’re lying to yourself.”

Aeliana’s gaze snapped up, eyebrows furrowing.

“What?”

The Duke leaned back slightly, studying her with that same cold, analytical expression he always wore. The one that stripped away every mask, every excuse, every carefully constructed wall.

“You say you don’t trust him,” he murmured.

“You showed him your face.”

The words were quiet. Steady.

But they struck.

Aeliana flinched, her fingers tightening slightly against her sleeve.

Her father’s golden eyes didn’t miss a single thing. “Indeed, you did. And you did it willingly, even when your scars were still there.”

Aeliana’s lips parted slightly, but she said nothing.

Because—he was right.

She had never shown anyone.

Not her father.

Not the healers.

Not even herself, if she could help it.

She had hidden. Beneath veils, behind doors, away from the world that had once adored her.

And yet—

She had shown him.

Lucavion.

“You never showed them to anyone,” her father continued, voice unwavering. “You even hid them from me.”

His words carried no resentment. No blame.

Only fact.

Aeliana inhaled sharply, her mind drifting back to that moment.

That night.

The cold air against her skin.

The way she had expected disgust.

And the way he had given none.

‘He didn’t even blink.’

He had simply spoken. Steady. Resolute.

That had been the first time she had let someone see her.

Because he had made her listen.

A heavy sigh left her lips, her shoulders sinking slightly.

“Haaah…”

She was lying to herself.

But—so what?

It didn’t matter.

None of this mattered.

Lucavion was just—just—

“Do you know how you look when you look at him, Aeliana?”

Her father’s voice broke through her thoughts like a blade cutting through silk.

Aeliana’s eyes snapped up, her expression tightening. “What?”

Duke Thaddeus tilted his head slightly, his golden eyes sharp. “Even though you were in your room all that time…”

“I wonder why?”

It was a cold snap back.

Aeliana’s breath hitched at her father’s words, but her glare only sharpened. “You don’t get to say that now.”

Duke Thaddeus exhaled quietly, his golden eyes holding an unreadable weight. “Even then, you are still my daughter.”

Her lips twisted. A scoff, sharp and bitter, nearly escaped. Now he wanted to play the part of a father? Now, when the damage had already been done? The hypocrisy was almost laughable.

“And I know you well,” he added.

Aeliana’s fingers curled against the fabric of her sleeve, pressing hard enough that her knuckles ached. ‘Do you, really?’

For years, she had been nothing but a political piece to him. An investment, a fragile thing that needed to be placed somewhere useful before she broke completely. That had been his way of “knowing” her—through value assessments, through careful calculations of worth.

“Really? Now you’re my father?” Her voice was dangerously quiet, but the fury coiling beneath it was unmistakable.

The Duke’s expression didn’t waver. He had always been a man of control, a figure who moved with precise, deliberate weight, but for once, there was something that almost resembled… regret. Almost. But it wasn’t enough.

“Aeliana,” he murmured, a hint of warning in his tone. “Don’t do this right now.”