"You seem closer to her now."

She spoke in a soft voice but Lucian—

For some reason, his instincts were sensing danger.

He followed her gaze.

"Sarah?"

"Yes, the tanned woman."

Evelyn nodded.

"Well... that is one way to identify her."

"She did not like you yesterday."

"Most people need time."

"And now?"

"Now she dislikes me with greater understanding."

Lucian answered with a light smile, Evelyn however, only narrowed her eyes.

"So you two talked?"

"We shared a traumatic experience."

"What kind of traumatic experience?"

Her brows rose slightly.

Lucian thought about the basement, the artifacts, Sarah’s horrified face, and the way she had almost lost her mind watching him train.

Then he smiled.

"Team bonding."

"I see."

Evelyn nodded.

Though Lucian could see that wasn’t a normal I see.

’I see’s are never normal.

"Heeeh? Is that jealousy I sense?"

He confronted her directly with a grin and Evelyn—

"Yes."

She nodded so quickly that Lucian actually paused.

Evelyn started walking again.

"I do not want my bodyguard getting too close to others.

You are here for my safety."

Lucian walked behind her.

"Ah. So it’s professional jealousy."

"Exactly."

"That is a relief. For a moment, I thought you were trying to monopolize me."

Evelyn glanced at him.

"And if I was?"

She asked and Lucian’s smile grew.

"Then I would have to warn you that I am very difficult to manage."

"Is that so..."

Evelyn paused and looked at him.

Lucian looked at her.

The two stared at each other in silence for a few seconds.

"You are quite strange, you know that?"

Evelyn broke the silence as she looked into Lucian’s bright purple eyes. Lucian looked back into hers, but then he just smiled playfully.

"Why of course.

I have a reputation to maintain."

Evelyn blinked, somewhat surprised by the answer, but then she laughed.

The two began walking again and after a few steps—

"Were you always like this?"

She asked.

"Handsome?"

"Careless."

"Also yes."

Lucian nodded with a smile.

"I do not believe you."

"Really? Have you not talked to my team?"

"As if I’d believe anything they say."

"You don’t like my team very much, do you?"

"I just find their attitude towards you disrespectful, they are judging you from the outer self you show to the world, without even trying to look inside."

"Look inside?"

Lucian paused at those words, then, he slowly leaned towards Evelyn, looked right into her eyes and—

"Are you saying you looked inside?

What did you see?"

He whispered in a dangerously seductive tone.

And Evelyn—

"A man who pretends nothing bothers him."

She answered as if she had been waiting to say it for a long time.

"And you are quite terrible at pretending too."

"Terrible, huh? I need better acting lessons."

Lucian smiled.

"You should ask me. I have experience."

He laughed at those words, then he nodded.

"That you do."

Evelyn looked at him, then, a question came to her mind naturally.

"Did your family teach you that?"

And the instant it did, Lucian’s smile faltered for a short second, he hid it well, but Evelyn, who was outright staring at his face all this while, noticed it.

"I’m sorry, that was too personal."

She apologised.

Lucian looked at her, then he answered in a quiet tone.

"No. My parents did not teach me to pretend."

Evelyn looked at him, he still had a smile on his face, but the smile was... a lot weaker now.

"They were...

They were good people, my parents."

Lucian smiled at the memory that forced itself into his mind despite him constantly trying to stop it, then, he continued speaking.

"My mother worried too much, about everything really. Whether I ate enough, slept enough, or if I trained too hard."

His smile widened for a moment as he shook his head.

"She could turn breathing into a health concern if she tried hard enough."

Evelyn smiled faintly.

"And your father?"

"He pretended to be calmer than her."

Lucian looked down.

"He was not.

He just... hid it better."

He spoke in a low voice, feeling a lump form in his throat. He couldn’t even activate Red Quiet to shut these bursts of emotion down.

"They... worried because I was weak."

"You?"

Evelyn glanced at him. Lucian looked at her and smiled.

"Yes, me."

"You do not look weak."

"I was."

He nodded.

"I was..."

He wanted to explain his situation, how he trained for years and saw no results, how nothing ever came to him no matter how hard he worked for it but...

He couldn’t form those words, so he just...

"I was... very weak.

A disappointment to people really."

"And your parents?"

"They never made me feel like that."

Lucian smiled.

"Others did. Teachers, relatives, doctors, trainers, everyone had their own version of what was wrong with me.

But my parents..."

He took a small breath as he recalled the only two people who cherished him with their all and—

"They only worried."

He barely spoke out those words as the lump in his throat got stronger.

Evelyn looked at him, into his eyes that were battling the tears with all their might, trying to hide them as much as possible.

She noticed the past tense in Lucian’s words, she wanted to avoid it, but the more she looked into his violet eyes, the more she felt like she needed to talk to him.

"Are they...?"

"Dead."

Evelyn flinched at those words, but then she carried herself and stepped closer.

"What happened?"

She couldn’t help but ask.

Lucian remained silent for a long moment. Even in the state he was in, he knew he couldn’t tell her the truth. Honestly, he didn’t even know why he was talking in the first place but he—

"They died because someone wanted something from us."

Evelyn’s fingers tightened.

She looked into his eyes and... she could see it all.

Grief, pain, sadness, emptiness and...

Anger.

"And... you saw it?"

She guessed, Lucian’s eyes moved to her, the anger inside them flared and that gave Evelyn the answer she needed.

"I... I am sorry."

She lowered her head.

Lucian looked at her, then he noticed his own state, then suddenly—

"Haaahhh... this is why personal questions are dangerous. One moment we are discussing your jealousy, the next you are apologising for something that wasn’t even under your control.

Tsk tsk, we should just stick to your jealous self, I quite liked it."

He laughed.

Evelyn looked at him in surprise.

The grief, the pain, the emptiness and the anger in his eyes, all disappeared as if they were never there in the first place. His smile too, returned to its usual, arrogant manner.

She couldn’t help but be awed at how sudden the change was, but... she didn’t push any further.

Not right now.

"Yes. I should have started with easier questions."

She smiled, then she looked at him and—

"So? What’s your favorite food?"

"Anything expensive that I am not paying for."

"Favorite color?"

"Purple, obviously.

I am committed to the theme."

Lucian pointed at his eyes and Evelyn laughed out loud.

"Do you have any hobbies?"

"Annoying serious people."

"That one I believe."

Evelyn laughed even harder, Lucian smiled. The two continued walking, not caring about everything that was happening outside the glass walls.

This continued for a good while until Clara appeared at the garden entrance and—

"Miss Starling, it’s time to leave."