Shattered Innocence: Transmigrated Into a Novel as an Extra

Chapter 502: Anne

Chapter 502: Anne

'Hah… it really could have gone badly, couldn't it?'

Lucavion let the thought settle as he walked, his steps light yet measured against the vast marble corridors of the Thaddeus mansion. The place was too big—elegant, refined, built for grandeur rather than comfort. Ornate chandeliers cast their glow over towering stone archways, their cold brilliance making the space feel more like a monument than a home.

'Then again, I suppose that is befitting of the strongest duchy. This place is even bigger than that one.'

His fingers twitched at the memory, but he brushed it aside, focusing on the now.

He had expected resistance—expected scrutiny, doubt, even outright rejection. The Duke had hesitated, his gaze a steely weight pressing down, searching for the cracks in Lucavion's intentions. He had seen through the surface, through the words meant to imply rather than state, and yet—he had still agreed.

'Honor, was it? A nobleman's sense of duty? Or…' Lucavion exhaled, rubbing at his temple. 'Perhaps something else entirely. Thaddeus is no fool. He knew I was maneuvering him into a position where refusal would be more troublesome than acceptance. Yet, despite that, he still took the bait.'

That should have been the end of it. Should have.

But his mind wouldn't stop picking apart the possibilities.

'He could have just refused outright. Told me my background was too dubious, that my words were too carefully chosen. He could have ignored the Starlight Mana I revealed—dismissed it as a trick, a cheap display, or something meant to deceive. He could have simply found everything about me too much and abandoned all pretense of honor.'

And yet, none of that had happened.

Instead, the pieces had fallen exactly where he needed them to. Not without obstacles, of course—nothing ever went smoothly, not in a world like this. But most of those had been managed. No, most of those had been thanks to—

"…Little Ember."