Chapter 191: The Untangled Knot

Chapter 191: Chapter 191: The Untangled Knot

The obtained results were not much different from what Jeremy had anticipated.

After receiving the Draconis Sword contract, Lucius’s backlash symptoms had indeed disappeared.

After trying repeatedly, the final conclusion was established: relying solely on the mark’s influence was not enough to suppress it, and relying solely on the Draconis Sword had no effect either.

It was imperative to combine the sword forged from Myriad Origin wood fused with Dragon race blood, along with the scent emitting from the soul-binding mark between the two of them, to suppress Lucius’s backlash within a certain limit.

Regarding this conclusion, Lucius had no special reaction. Lucius merely put the sword away, then casually brushed a speck of ash off his lapel, as if he had just listened to a weather forecast.

With the doubt resolved, Jeremy also did not pursue this topic any further.

At least before graduation, Jeremy was willing to be the antidote.

As for after graduation... he would cross that bridge when he came to it.

But if his memory served him right, the Divine Temple’s heir of this generation hailed from the Lunaris branch clan belonging to the Divine Forest in the Eastern continent.

And the Lunaris clan had close ties with the Clivein Ducal family in the Northern Territory.

Twenty years ago, two princesses of the Lunaris clan successively married the current Duke Clivein and the Duke’s older brother.

Mapping it out using the relationship chart of this generation, Raphael Clivein and the current Divine Temple heir... were cousins.

Lucius had also once said he carried a portion of the Lunaris bloodline. Coupled with the fact that Lucius had just personally pointed out the Divine Temple’s heir as his own older brother.

Then... Lucius clearly also came from the Clivein family.

The identity mystery that had been troublesome for a long time was unraveled in this very moment. Jeremy suddenly remembered the self-introduction of that consciousness entity within Lucius’s consciousness space last semester.

In other words... Cyril Clivein was probably this guy’s real name.

At this hour, the academy was bustling with people passing by. Even though they had avoided the crowd to turn onto a secluded narrow path, a few figures still occasionally popped up at the corners.

Jeremy suppressed his doubts, waiting until they stepped onto the bamboo path that was a mandatory route back to the dormitory. Only after confirming there was no one around did Jeremy speak up and ask directly.

Having reached this point, Lucius didn’t bother hiding it either, cooperatively admitting everything.

After talking for a while, Lucius even chimed in to add that he was not close to Raphael.

Jeremy indicated that he wasn’t asking about that point.

But thanks to that, Jeremy also understood the reason behind the bizarre atmosphere whenever those two crossed paths previously.

"Does Raphael also know about you bearing the Valmont family’s mark?"

"Mhm." Mentioning that person, Lucius’s expression noticeably faded: "He knows everything about the Divine Temple and my mark. After learning I forcibly erased the mark, that troublesome guy even made a bet with me."

Jeremy followed his words and asked: "Bet on what?"

"Bet on whether I would be influenced by the mark and walk toward the fated ending or not."

Jeremy roughly guessed what Raphael’s bet answer was.

Raphael was also someone bearing a mark, naturally knowing how deep that thing’s influence went. Let alone it being built upon the foundation of inherently having feelings for the other party.

But Lucius, perhaps, would truly be the exception.

Jeremy knew that continuing this topic would eventually involve himself, and it wouldn’t yield any results either. He initially intended to ignore it.

But Lucius abruptly stopped walking.

Jeremy, walking ahead, heard the movement and turned his body to look back.

And in that exact moment, without any warning sign, Lucius leaned in close.

The distance was instantly shortened, then shortened again. The sound of breathing also became uncomfortably clear.

Jeremy instinctively wanted to step back and dodge. But the other party merely swept his hand over the top of Jeremy’s head, and when the fingers pulled away, two dry bamboo leaves were pinched between them.

A deep and soft voice rang by his ear.

"At first, I bet that I wouldn’t be influenced. Most of those who knew the truth, upon hearing I repeatedly erased the mark, cursed me as a deranged traitor to the gods. I also never paid it any mind."

Lucius paused for a beat.

"But now, the loser of this bet seems to be me."

The voice deliberately lowered, making the gentleness within it even clearer.

But the implication of that sentence... was it the reluctance of having to compromise, or a belated awakening?

The depths of Jeremy’s eyes darkened slightly. By the time he looked up, he had restored his usual appearance.

He reached out and took the dry leaf from the other’s fingertips, letting it drift away with the wind.

And his words, too, felt as if carried over by the wind.

"I once asked you before if you liked me. Your answer was that you didn’t know."

"Now I am asking that exact same question again. Has your answer changed?"

Lucius lowered his eyes to look at him: "What if it has?"

Having known each other for so long, the moment Jeremy met those icy blue eyes, so clear that one could see to the bottom, he understood what the other was about to bring up.

However...

"I hope it has not."

Jeremy said directly, not avoiding his gaze either.

The moment he saw the gloominess surface in those eyes, Jeremy added another sentence.

"...At least before graduation, I hope we maintain the status quo."

Hearing that, Lucius’s expression, which had been gradually fading, was visibly tinged with a bit of surprise to the naked eye.

"Does Noan mean it will be fine after graduation? Regardless of what it is?" Lucius switched back to his smiling, sly fox demeanor.

"...No. And don’t call me by my intimate name anymore, it sounds weird."

Let alone him, even Jeremy felt a bit unnatural.

This was the first time Jeremy had deviated from his predetermined plans.

No matter how much this face suited his aesthetics, it shouldn’t have reached this extent.

But whatever. Words already spoken cannot be taken back.

Let it be.

Everything can wait until graduation to be discussed.

Perhaps, letting some things change was also not a bad choice.

Seeing Lucius edging closer again, Jeremy didn’t give him a chance to drag the conversation out, turning around and continuing toward the dormitory.

A certain someone slowed his pace, following beside him.

After walking for a distance, the excessively quiet atmosphere became slightly awkward.

From the corner of his eye, Jeremy glanced over and opened a new topic.

"If your name in the Northern Territory is exactly the same as the one you mentioned in the consciousness space, then what about Lucius D’Arsy? Did you borrow someone else’s identity?"

"The surname comes from a Viscount family at the border. Because I dreaded trouble, I enrolled under the identity of his adopted son. As for Lucius, it isn’t a fake name either. My name in the Northern Territory and in the Lunaris territory are not the same. The name on the Lunaris side, translated into the empire’s language, is exactly Lucius."

"Then from now on, should I call you Lucius or Cyril?"

"Whatever makes you happy."

"Aren’t you afraid of blowing your cover?"

"Never have been. Hiding it was merely because I found it troublesome. Anyway, the bedbugs in the academy are not few."

"So it’s still whatever makes me happy?"

"Your happiness is the most important thing."

"Nothing but honeyed words."

"Every single word is sincere."

"Then I’ll call you Whiner."

"...I don’t want that."

Several underclassmen and upperclassmen passing by: ...The academy prohibits romance, thank you very much.

Waiting until the two had gone far, a few first-year students hiding in the corner finally retracted their gazes, putting their heads together to cheer.

"Wow! That upperclassman just now was the Captain of the Eclipse Team, right? It definitely was!"

"That’s right, it’s that genius upperclassman! I didn’t expect him to be even better than the rumors in real life. I’ll tell you an inside scoop: I heard their team was thrown into the Wasteland to train right from their first year. This year, they even brought back clues related to the survival of the entire continent."

"Really?"

"It’s true. Those clues are already in the waiting period for publication; in two days, we’ll know everything."

"So amazing, as expected of the Valmont family’s bloodline."

"Exactly. Before, I also heard that the rumors about Young Master Sylas of the Valmont family were slandered by the Crown Prince. A true-to-name bullying incident, and..."

"Shh!"

The former was interrupted before finishing the sentence.

The companion lowered their voice, speaking cautiously.

"Stop talking. We just need to know it in our hearts. After that Crown Prince woke up in the first half of the semester, he was exposed for colluding with the evil cult. I heard that after being placed under house arrest by the royal family, he went crazy, and in two months, he will be dethroned. I fear he won’t live much longer either... In general, it’s better to mention him less now, avoiding bringing disaster upon ourselves."

"That’s true... But Young Master Sylas is truly too pitiful. Being misunderstood, slandered, and bullied for so long, how miserable it must have been."

"Sigh, indeed. But now that the truth has been exposed, everyone knows everything. Waiting until he wakes up, what he will see will only be light. I hope that guilty bunch will also have to endure their rightful share."

"Agreed. Anyway, let’s stop discussing this. Speaking of which, what must we do to become as outstanding as those Eclipse Team upperclassmen? Their innate Spirit Covenants clearly weren’t high, yet they turned out like that. If their Spirit Covenants were even higher, how formidable would they be?"

"Yeah. In this life, I only need to be half as outstanding as them, and that would be great enough."

"The road is still long, let’s just keep trying. Fantasizing is also useless."

"That’s true too."