Transmigrated Into a Cannon Fodder Phoenix, Stuck With the Ice Dragon-Chapter 64: The Same Lonely Fool

As I turned to leave for the car, Auren’s voice stopped me once again.

"Then... What is your name?"

The question hung in the air, quiet but heavy enough to make me pause.

I looked down at my feet, watching the tip of my shoe trace a line through the dirt. "My name?" I muttered under my breath, stalling.

For a moment, I thought about saying it... my real name but something in his uncertain tone, made me hesitate.

"Maybe..." I began softly, glancing up at him with a small, tired smile, "you can just call me Lady Drake. For now."

His brows furrowed slightly. "Lady Drake?"

"Yes." I nodded once. "As for my real name... I’m not sure if I should tell you."

I could feel his gaze on my back.

I let out a quiet sigh, my voice barely above a whisper. "It’s not that I don’t want to," I said. "It’s just... I don’t think I can believe anyone right now."

"Marek," I called softly.

He straightened immediately, lowering his hands from his ears. "My lady?" 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"Let’s go," I said, walking ahead without another glance.

====

From the moment the car entered the manor gates, I could already feel it. The air was colder and heavier. The faint chill of Lucian’s frost lingered everywhere, clinging to the walls, the ground, even the wind.

And I was right.

Because the moment I stepped out of the car, he was there, standing at the main door, his gaze sharp enough to cut through the distance between us.

"I told you to stay home..." His voice was low but firm as he descended the steps, each one measured and slow. "Where are you coming from?"

I didn’t answer. I couldn’t.

My chest felt too tight, my heart still raw from everything that had happened, from everything I’d heard.

So I ignored him.

I ignored his voice, his question, the sharpness in his tone. I walked straight past him, toward the door, my steps echoing in the silence.

"Seraphina."

His voice followed me, heavier now. I could hear the faint crunch of his steps behind mine.

"I’m talking to you."

And before I could take another step, his hand closed gently around my wrist, stopping me mid-stride.

The chill of his touch seeped through my skin, cold, but not painful. Just enough to make me stop breathing for a moment.

"I’m tired," I said quietly. "I want to rest."

Because really, what was I supposed to say?

That I met someone who looked exactly like me... down to the smallest detail?

That I ran to his office desperate for answers, only to overhear that he’d married me for my flame?

The words pressed hard against my chest, bitter and heavy.

And the cruelest part of it all?

After everything... the lies, the confusion, the heartbreak... I still came back here.

Back to him.

Because no matter how much I wanted to run, I was still that same lonely fool who had nowhere else to go even in this world.

Lucian didn’t press further. He let go of my wrist slowly, the cold of his touch lingering like frost long after his hand dropped away.

For a moment, silence hung between us, thick with everything left unsaid.

I took a small breath and turned toward the door again.

But before I could cross the threshold, his voice came from behind me, quieter this time.

"Marek," he said.

My heart stopped mid-beat.

I didn’t turn around, but my steps grew slower.

"Yes, my lord?" Marek’s tone was steady, but I could hear the caution beneath it. "Where were you two coming from? Tell me everything."

My hand curled into a fist at my side.

Of course. Marek was loyal... loyal enough to answer without skipping a detail. Every stop, every word, every place I shouldn’t have gone... he’d tell it all.

And me?

I kept walking, slower now, my heart pounding harder with every step.

Because I needed time. Time to think of something or anything that would sound like a reason and not an excuse.

A reason for why I’d gone there.

And why I’d left his office... without ever seeing him.

It took him thirty minutes.

Thirty long, quiet minutes before he finally found me — in our room.

But me? I still couldn’t face him.

I sat on the bathroom floor, back pressed against the bath tub, knees drawn to my chest. The faint scent of soap and cold marble filled the silence, heavy and sharp.

"Seraphina..."

His voice came from the other side, low and restrained. The door handle twisted once, twice, but the lock held.

He exhaled, the sound soft but full of frustration. "Open the door."

I didn’t answer. I didn’t even move.

Because I knew... if I did, if I looked at him right now, the truth, the anger and the shame in my chest might finally spill out.

"Open the door. Let’s talk." His voice was calm, but there was an edge to it now. "If you don’t open on the count of three... I will break this door."

Now that was a threat.

One... my pulse drummed in my ears.

Two... my knuckles went white where they clutched the tile.

Three...

The door crashed inward before I could decide. Wood splintered, warm air rushed in, and he was there, tall, composed, every inch the man who could freeze a room with a look. He didn’t shout. He didn’t rage. He simply stepped across the threshold and closed the space between us with a quiet that felt worse than yelling.

He looked at me for a long, measured second. Up close his face had that same unreadable calm, but his eyes were rough around the edges, looking tired but still searching.

"Why did you leave my office without meeting me?"

His voice was quiet, almost controlled, and then he crouched down, bringing himself to my level. The movement made the space between us shrink until I could see the faint glint of frost clinging to the cuff of his sleeve.

He locked eyes with me. "Is there something wrong? Marek told me you cried."

He reached for my cheek, gentle and careful but I moved first, slapping his hand away before it could touch me.

"Maybe you forgot," I said, my voice low, flat. "I couldn’t cry."