Akashic Records of the Bastard Child Engaged to a Goddess

Lumiere & Lucretia Arc

---

(POV: Lumiere)

After finishing healing Lucretia's chest, the dull glow of my healing magic slowly dissipating, I observed her as she adjusted her tunic in another corner of the darkly lit cave.

Well, it was my tunic, but I don't think there'd be any need in collecting it back from her.

The faint light from the torch I created flickered.

"Are the pains really gone?" I asked.

Lucretia moved closer to the light, her tunic now perfectly in place. She turned to face me, a gentle smile gracing her lips. "Yes," she replied, her voice filled with gratitude. "It doesn't hurt anymore. Thank you."

I rose from where I had been sitting, my hand resting comfortably on my waist. "It's good to hear," I said, relieved.

The power of healing always came with a sense of accomplishment, a joy in being able to alleviate someone's pain.

If only the same thing worked for Ravenna...

Lucretia's eyes lingered on me for a moment. I think her gaze hesitated.

"Um... Were you... I mean, are you okay with not wearing a shirt?" she stammered, a blush tinting her cheeks.

Confused by her response, I glanced down at my bare chest before meeting her gaze again. "Oh, yeah," I replied, a nonchalant shrug following my words. "I don't mind. I can handle it."

Lucretia seemed taken aback by my casualness. "Woah, that's crazy," she exclaimed. "Is your resistance to cold really that high?"

I raised an eyebrow, scratching the back of my head. "I suppose they are a little high," I admitted with a humble tone. "But it doesn't mean I'm completely resistant to cold. Surviving in winter doesn't make me impervious to all cold situations."

Her chin rested in her hand, a thoughtful expression on her face. "Well, if you can endure the harshest winters, then you can probably handle any other intense cold situation. That's already impressive," she said, her eyes narrowing as she closely observed me.

I felt a slight discomfort under her scrutiny, my gaze shifting slightly.

One thing I didn't like to talk about, was all the skills I had under my belt, it made me uncomfortable. And for someone who was as inquisitive as Lucretia, telling her the faintest details about how strong you were would likely push her to find out more.

Not ready for that sort of privacy invasion, sigh.

"Can we stop talking about my skills? It's kind of... awkward," I mumbled.

Lucretia seemed taken aback by my request. "O-okay," she stammered with her uncertain voice.

There was a momentary silence.

Lucretia's eyes searched mine, to me, she looked looked a little confused and at the same time, surprised. "Wait, you mean... you knew I was in trouble and you came here to save me?" she asked.

I sighed, my gaze dropping to the ground. "No, that's not what I meant," I replied softly, regret instantly pulled on my tone. "When Raxe and Simone came to me, asking for help to rescue you, I initially declined. I told them that you were likely dead and there was no use putting in the effort to save you."

There was no use in lying to her...

At some point, Simone would tell her and even if Simone decided not to tell her because I saved Lucretia now, I wouldn't be able to live with such a lie.

If she was going to hear about this from anyone, then it had to be me.

Lucretia gasped, her eyes widening. "You... you said that?" her voice was barely audible.

I nodded, my eyes still locked on the floor. "Yes, I did. Simone and I got into a small argument, and she... she slapped me," I confessed, an embarrassed chuckle escaping my lips. "It seems I have a knack for troubling women."

Lucretia's gaze dropped, she was definitely sad, or maybe even disappointed or disgusted. "I see," she murmured softly, her thoughts seemingly scattered.

To be honest, I'd also be disgusted with myself.

"So, why... Why did you change your mind to come save me...?"

"I wasn't forced to, I wanted to," I told her.

She immediately smiled. "Then, that means..."

I raised my head, meeting her eyes once again. "But you shouldn't think I came here to save you out of some grand sense of heroism," I said, my tone serious. "I didn't have any hope or even believe that you were alive. My intention was to come here and retrieve your corpse."

Lucretia's smile slowly transformed into a frown. "So, you came here knowing I might already be gone," she said.

I shook my head, my expression solemn. "I didn't even hope," I corrected her. "But despite that, I still came here. Not because I thought I could save you, but because I wanted to bring some kind of closure to your subordinates."

Lucretia stuttered and told me, her voice trembling, "B... Bu... But you still risked your life for something you didn't even believe in." Her eyes searched mine.

It was as if she was searching for some sort of emotional response from me.

Maybe something that would make me feel her words more deeply.

But I really did, however, I wasn't going to give myself the reward of an easy win this time.

Sometimes, I felt like this 『Beginner's Luck』 of mine was a curse. It made everything so simple for me, and because of that it made me never really learn from my mistakes because I had so few.

I could never progress in life if it kept happening.

So the more times this skill tried to make things easier for me, I'd make it ten times harder as well.

I looked away, a cloud of self-deprecation washing over me. "You don't have to look at it like that," I said with my sad voice. "I'm just a horrible person, aren't I?"

Without waiting for her response, I turned away and made my way towards the mouth of the cave, drawn to the sight of the snow still rushing through the lands. The wind whipped through the air, carrying the echoes of our conversation.

I sighed, the discussion was bearing down against my chest.

We were silent for what felt like an eternity, neither of us daring to break the stillness. The howling of the blizzard outside seemed to fade into the background, leaving only the deafening sound of our thoughts.

About six minutes passed.

Suddenly, I turned and walked back into the cave, breaking the silence. "We should get going," I said. "The blizzard seems to have reduced."

Lucretia nodded gently and followed my lead as we prepared to leave the safety of the cave. I extended my hand, creating a small ball of water that hovered in my palm. With a controlled propulsion, I shot the water towards the fire I had created earlier. The water collided with the flames and the dying embers sizzled out, morphing into a cloud of steam.

We were about to step out into the frigid world.

I was caught off guard as Lucretia hugged me tightly from behind. "What are you doing?" I stammered.

She clung to me even tighter, her voice soft and filled with sincerity. "Just be quiet," she whispered. "I know you're not a horrible person, not in the slightest. My heart tells me that you are kind and good. I may not know much about you, but I trust my instincts. I trust my instincts enough to be sure that the Lumiere I met ten years ago is still the same man that won my heart... I was too proud to say that before, but I can say it now."

I could feel her chest pressing against the back of my head and her arms enveloping me in a warm embrace. The unexpected gesture left me speechless, unsure of how to respond to such vulnerability.

It was hard to talk, hard to understand and even hard to breathe.

There was so much going on in my mind; what I knew and what I didn't know... What I felt and what I couldn't feel... What I asked, and what I couldn't ask.

All these tugged against my chest, begging and forcing me to say something, to say anything. But I just didn't know what to say in the end, because in a sense, I lost.

I wanted to make a reason, any reason that would make me hate myself, but Lucretia defeated all that with her actions alone.

The one woman I never thought would get me out of my slump did.

Because as I thought about this, Lucretia said these words to me...

"Lumiere, I can proudly admit... That I shamelessly love you."

I'd heard these words a lot of times from a lot of women, but this was the first time that these words saved me.

It was the first time that these words pulled me out of the darkness I was in.

It gave me a reason to move forward.