Chapter 44: What the Stars Shouldn’t Have Shown

The Hale estate gates opened the moment Victoria’s car approached. A servant bowed deeply as she stepped out.

"Welcome home, Miss Victoria."

"Where is my mother?"

"She is waiting in the garden."

Victoria walked along the familiar stone path until the garden came into view. Beneath a wide tree, Evelyn Hale sat on a wooden bench with a teacup in her hands. The afternoon light filtered through the leaves, soft and golden.

The moment Evelyn noticed her daughter, she set the cup down and stood up with a bright smile.

"My precious girl!"

She pulled Victoria into a warm hug that lasted a few seconds longer than necessary.

"How are you? Why didn’t you come see me after your marriage? I heard you and Daemon visited Lucien, but you didn’t even stop by here. Hmph."

Victoria smiled helplessly and sat down beside her.

"We only went to see Lucien for a specific reason. Work came up suddenly, so I left early. And Daemon isn’t with me right now. He doesn’t know yet that he has such a clingy mother-in-law."

Evelyn puffed her cheeks in an exaggerated pout.

"I only act like this with my sweet daughter." Then her eyes gleamed. "Next time, bring Daemon with you. I want to talk to him properly."

"I will."

Evelyn’s expression softened into something more serious.

"Do you know why I asked you to come today?"

Victoria tilted her head. "I was wondering."

"As expected, you haven’t heard yet." Evelyn smiled proudly. "Lucien is getting married next month."

Victoria blinked.

"What? Who’s the unlucky woman who agreed to marry him?"

"Don’t say it like that. He’s a good boy. He just... prefers staying inside all day."

"Exactly. He needs to fix that habit."

Evelyn nodded in agreement, then continued, "The girl is Yuna Kang. Rosalind’s daughter."

Victoria didn’t look surprised. Ever since they were children, everyone in the family had half-expected Lucien and Yuna to end up together.

"Tomorrow I’m going to the Haneul Republic to meet Uncle Kang Min-jee for work," Victoria said. "If I have time, I’ll try to see Yuna as well."

Evelyn nodded approvingly.

At that moment the garden door burst open.

"Hey, Vic!"

Lucien strode in with his usual energetic grin.

"I heard everything! Can I come to Haneul with you? I want to see Yuna... and Uncle too, of course."

Victoria gave him a flat look, then sighed.

"Fine. I’ll message you the details. We leave tomorrow morning. We’ll probably stay three days at most."

"Nice!"

Evelyn suddenly stood up and brushed imaginary dust from her dress.

"You two catch up. I have a few things to take care of."

The moment their mother disappeared, Lucien dropped onto the bench beside Victoria and lowered his voice.

"So... where’s Daemon? And what happened with that girl Kassia? Did he find her?"

Victoria’s expression instantly cooled.

"Don’t ask me about him right now. I’m not in the mood."

Lucien raised an eyebrow. "What happened?"

Victoria hesitated. For a few seconds she stared at the garden path. Finally she spoke, her voice quieter than usual.

"I don’t know where he is. He said he would come back in a few days. I can’t even reach him. My friends disappeared with him too. All three of them."

Lucien stared at her, then let out a short laugh.

"He said he’d come back, right? Then why are you whining like a schoolgirl?"

Victoria’s head snapped toward him, eyes sharp.

Lucien only grinned wider.

"Just admit it. You miss him. You can’t even stay away from him for one day, can you?"

Victoria’s face flushed with a mixture of anger and embarrassment. She finally snapped.

"So what if I miss him?! I want to go with him! Is that a crime?!"

Lucien’s smirk turned positively evil.

"If you do what I ask, maybe I can help you."

Victoria narrowed her eyes. "What do you want?"

Lucien rubbed his hands together like a cartoon villain.

"I want you and Daemon to dance at my wedding."

Victoria stared at him.

"...That’s it?"

"That’s it."

She clicked her tongue. "Fine."

"Great!" Lucien straightened up. "You forgot what my power actually is, didn’t you?"

Victoria’s expression stiffened. She knew exactly what Astral Resonance could do. The idea of spying on Daemon felt wrong, like a lack of trust. She hesitated.

Lucien frowned when he saw her expression.

"Don’t overthink it. He’s your husband. You have every right to know if he’s safe. Come on."

Victoria finally exhaled and nodded.

"Just tell me if he’s okay. And if possible... check whether Sana and Roxanna are with him."

"I don’t know who Roxanna is, but I definitely know that loud-mouthed Sana. Leave it to me."

Lucien pulled a strip of red cloth from his pocket and tied it firmly over his eyes. He placed two fingers against his temple.

"Astral Resonance."

His breathing slowed. In his mind, the world fell away. Stars streaked past at impossible speed as his consciousness searched across vast distances. Finding Daemon took longer than usual—far longer. The connection felt strangely distant, as if it was reaching somewhere that wasn’t entirely on Earth.

Finally the image stabilized.

Lucien’s voice came out a little strained.

"Found him. He’s in an open field... looks like a forest, but the greenery is too vivid. Full of flowers. Mountains in the background. I’ve never seen a place like this on Earth."

Victoria leaned forward slightly.

"And?"

"He’s with two women. One of them is definitely Sana."

Victoria’s eye twitched.

"That snarky bitch..."

Lucien continued describing the scene—until his voice suddenly cut off.

Sweat beaded on his forehead under the red cloth.

Victoria noticed immediately. "What? What is it?"

Lucien’s mouth opened, then closed. His face went through several complicated expressions at once.

In the vision, Daemon was kissing a black-haired woman quite thoroughly. Sana stood a few steps away with a deeply complicated look that mixed disappointment and jealousy.

Lucien ripped the cloth off his eyes and sucked in a sharp breath.

Victoria stared at him expectantly.

"Well? Tell me what you saw."

Lucien’s soul left his body for a moment.

If I tell her the truth, she’s going to explode and somehow it will become my fault.

If I don’t tell her, she’ll definitely notice I’m hiding something and then she’ll break my legs.

Why did I open my big mouth?

I should have stayed in my room playing games and watching anime. How did I end up in this situation?

Internally, Lucien was already writing his will.

Outwardly, he forced a stiff smile that looked more like a grimace.

Victoria’s crimson eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Lucien."

"Y-Yes?"

"What exactly did you see?"

Lucien laughed nervously, the sound cracking in the middle.

"Well... the good news is... he’s alive and healthy!"

Victoria’s stare grew heavier.

Lucien’s shoulders slumped in complete defeat.

I’m so dead.