Shattered Innocence: Transmigrated Into a Novel as an Extra - Chapter 547

Chapter 547: A ride and confession (4)
“I just kissed the person I love. Any problem with that?”

Lucavion flinched.

His grip on the reins tightened, his entire body locked in place as if those words had struck him harder than a blade to the chest.

His lips parted slightly, as if searching for a response—some excuse, some diversion, anything.

But—

“…Stop it.”

His voice was low. A warning.

But Aeliana laughed.

Not cruelly. Not mockingly.

Softly. Warmly.

“Why?” she mused, tilting her head against his shoulder. “Can’t handle it?”

Silence.

Nothing but the sound of their breathing, the distant rustling of the wind, the quiet hum of Aether shifting beneath them.

Aeliana’s own heart was pounding, her pulse thrumming so loudly she was sure he could hear it.

But—

She could feel his heart too.

Thudding just as fast.

Matching hers.

Slowly, she curled her arms around his chest again, hugging him from behind, pressing herself against him like she was trying to merge their heartbeats into one.

Lucavion didn’t move.

Didn’t push her away.

Didn’t run.

And Aeliana—

She knew.

She knew.

“I know,” she murmured, her voice steady, unwavering. “You have things you need to do. Something that’s haunting you, even now.”

She felt the way his breath hitched.

The way his body tensed—just slightly.

She wasn’t wrong.

Aeliana’s arms tightened around him, her warmth pressing against his back, grounding him in a way he wasn’t sure he had ever felt before.

Lucavion kept his gaze ahead, his lips slightly parted, his breath still unsteady. But she could feel it—how his fingers had loosened just slightly on the reins, how his muscles were no longer wound as tight as before.

Even if he wouldn’t say it—

He was listening.

She exhaled softly, tilting her head so her cheek rested against his back.

“You’ve talked about the promise you made to your master,” she murmured. “But that’s not all of it, is it?”

Lucavion didn’t answer.

Didn’t even shift.

But Aeliana knew.

“There’s something else,” she continued. “Something you need to face. Something from the past.”

The wind carried her words between them, soft yet unwavering, as Aether started to move again—slowly, this time. A steady, rhythmic pace, as if even she understood that this was not a moment to be rushed.

Lucavion exhaled through his nose, his posture easy—too easy. The kind of ease that meant he was deliberately masking something.

“I know you don’t want to talk about it,” Aeliana mumbled. “But I can see.”

He always did this.

Hid behind that lazy smirk. Covered his wounds with arrogance, with wit, with playfulness—just enough to make it seem like there was nothing beneath the surface.

But she had watched him for too long.

She knew when he was smiling for real and when he was just trying to keep something buried.

And right now—

Right now, she could see it.

She wasn’t going to force him.

He would talk about it when he was ready. When he felt comfortable. When the weight of it became too much to bear alone.

Aeliana exhaled softly, pressing her cheek lightly against his back.

“I want to help you,” she murmured.

Lucavion’s fingers tensed slightly around the reins.

She could feel it—the way her words reached him, even if he didn’t say anything.

“Not as the heir of the Thaddeus Duchy.”

Her arms curled a little tighter around his waist, her voice steadier now, carrying something heavier, something real.

“Just as Aeliana.”

The woman who had once given up on living.

The woman he had saved.

The woman who had now decided—

To save him.

Lucavion remained silent, but she didn’t need him to speak.

Because she knew.

He was strong—strong enough to carry his burdens alone. Strong enough to believe he could handle everything by himself.

But—

“Inwardly,” she murmured, “both of us know you can’t do it alone.”

Lucavion inhaled sharply.

Aeliana smirked, tilting her head slightly.

“I will walk the path beside you,” she said.

Lucavion let out a breath through his nose, his voice carrying the faintest edge of something unreadable.

“Beside me?”

Aeliana grinned. “Yes. Beside you.”

Then, softer—more certain.

“You’ll see. When that time comes, you’ll have no excuse to avoid me anymore.”

Lucavion exhaled, his body shifting slightly as if adjusting to something he wasn’t quite ready to accept.

“…I’m not avoiding you.”

Aeliana chuckled. “Really?”

She shifted, her golden eyes glinting as she tilted her head up toward him.

“Then why don’t you give me an answer?”

Lucavion was quiet for a long moment.

Then—

His voice, low and steady, carried through the night.

“My answer was there when I didn’t push you away, wasn’t it?”

Aeliana paused.

Her grip around him didn’t loosen, but she stared at him now, her lips pressing into a thin line.

‘This bastard.’

Did he really think that was enough?

Her golden eyes narrowed.

“Do you think something that lame is enough of an answer?”

Lucavion let out a quiet, breathy laugh.

But then—

His voice lowered, something different threading through it.

“Do you think,” he murmured, “I would go to such lengths—risk my own life—just to save someone I didn’t care about?”

Aeliana’s breath hitched.

It looked like an answer, but …

Aeliana wasn’t convinced.

Not yet.

Her grip didn’t loosen, but her fingers twitched slightly against his coat, frustration flickering beneath her golden gaze.

“You didn’t even know me,” she murmured, her voice quieter now, but no less firm. “How could you even care about me?”

Lucavion let out a small, breathy chuckle—low, almost amused.

And then—

“If I said,” he mused, tilting his head slightly, “that I knew about you before even meeting you… would you believe me?”

Aeliana stilled.

Her breath caught in her throat, her heart stuttering for a moment.

Because—

He wasn’t joking.

His voice wasn’t teasing, wasn’t dripping with that usual arrogance.

He was serious.

Aeliana swallowed, her voice coming out slower this time.

“…I would.”

Lucavion exhaled lightly, a faint smirk curling at the edges of his lips.

“You would?”

Aeliana smirked right back. “You, Lucavion, don’t lie.”

Lucavion let out another soft chuckle, shaking his head slightly.

“…Well.” His voice dropped just slightly, something quieter laced beneath it. “That’s your answer, then.”

Aeliana’s fingers tightened against his coat.

“The stars told you?”

Lucavion hummed. “Something like that…” He trailed off, as if considering something, then exhaled. “A bit hard to explain.”

Aeliana sighed, rolling her eyes.

“I know, I know,” she muttered, resting her chin against his shoulder again. “You and your cryptic answers…”

Lucavion smirked. “Wouldn’t be fun if I gave you everything, would it?”

Aeliana clicked her tongue.

“Tch. Bastard.”

But—

She smiled.

Aeliana sighed softly, settling against his back again.

The gentle rhythm of Aether’s slow gait, the warmth of Lucavion’s body beneath her fingers, the quiet hum of the night air—it all made her feel… content.

And then—

Her mind began to wander.

First—

The date today…

A perfectly normal night, yet one she was sure she’d remember for the rest of her life.

Then—

Meetings.

Her father, seated at his grand desk, his sharp gaze scanning over a report detailing Lucavion’s latest feats. The moment this bastard made a bigger name for himself, she knew her father would call for him.

Would gauge him. Would assess what kind of man he truly was.

She could see it already—her father’s piercing eyes flicking between them, his tone low, serious.

“This man… you truly believe he is worth standing beside?”

And Aeliana, standing tall, unflinching—

“Yes.”

Then—

Marriage.

A grand, ridiculous wedding. A ceremony so extravagant that every single noble who had once sneered at her, pitied her, detested her—

Would be forced to watch her.

Watch her walk down the aisle, radiant in gold and white, her beauty unmatched. Watch her stand beside him, the man who had captured her heart, the man who had defied fate for her.

They would whisper, they would envy.

And she—

She would win.

And then—

Three kids.

Aeliana smiled dreamily, her grip around him tightening just slightly.

“…Three kids.”

————A/N————

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