“You look pretty good for a man who lived underground for five years.” - Lucian noted with a grin.
“They say: “no news, already good news.” - Adalyn shrugged.
She could not even imagine that one day she would talk to this man so casually, almost in a friendly way.
[Although he is essentially the king of the underworld.]
[In appearance, he is a typical official with a pen in his hand, lost among paperwork, but in fact, he is a man who quietly lives off murder.]
[Anyone would call him a villain. But without him, Adaline's escape would not have been perfect.]
He got her an anesthetic. He obtained the very drug that made her breath stop so much that it was possible to pass her off as dead.
He smuggled the unconscious Adaline abroad.
He even made a mannequin “corpse” to put in the coffin.
[He did everything.]
[Yes, she herself asked for this, but Lucian did everything.]
To some extent, he was like the fairy godmother from the fairy tale about Cinderella.
[It’s good that I saved him then and covered the debt.]
Adaline used people at the right moment, like parts of a complex mechanism, acting along the storyline.
[By the way, did Lucian have an affair with the main character?]
[He had to lose all his polish and charisma, dissolve in unconditional devotion to the Saint.]
[But here he is - calm, confident. And not a sign of the idiot in love.]
[She prepared everything for the ideal love of the main characters.] But Adaline knew only too well how stubborn and destructive the course of the plot could be.
[It is possible that Lucian is somehow involved.]
[Then I’ll ask carefully.]
[He wouldn't say anything just like that. You'll have to pretend that she's not interested and ask questions in between.]
Lucian was a useful but expensive "friend".
“However, I did contact you sometimes, Lloyd.”
“It’s hard to call it a “connection.” You just sent me lists of what you needed."
Adalyn smiled shyly:
“Sorry. But you yourself were never particularly interested in how I was doing, right?”
“...Well, in general, yes.”
They didn't have the type of relationship where every little detail in life was discussed, so Adaline's apology was more of a formality.
“But thanks anyway. Thanks to you, I learned about my mother’s death.”
“Oh, now I’ve learned to speak politely.”
Hiding from the world, Adaline consoled herself with the thought that her disappearance brought relief to everyone.
That her family would be fine just if she left.
But as soon as she rejoiced at the happy ending of the heroes, the news of her mother’s death arrived, as if a mockery of her naive hopes.
She did not regret her faked death. But she felt guilty before her family, who loved her.
After she realized that the world was a romance and began to prepare for her death, Adaline was unable to get close to her family.
She knew they were worried, but she didn't have the strength to turn back.
She must have hurt them.
“At least I could lay flowers...thank you for that.”
“So now you’re going to disappear just by putting down a flower? You said: you will return when the Saint gets married.”
“I’m officially dead here. I planned to sneak back and forth... It would be strange if the dead woman suddenly returned.”
“If you want to restore your identity, there are ways.”
“Is it necessary?”
[Yes, she wanted to see her family. But she didn't want to cause any turmoil in their lives.]
[Five years is the term.]
[People, most likely, have already recovered and continue to live. Why turn everything over again?]
“So you will hide again without seeing anyone?”
"Exactly. I don’t want to confuse anyone.”
“Why not ask your ex-fiance for help? He would handle everything without making too much noise.”
“He's already married. He probably forgot about his “dead” bride a long time ago...”
A quiet smile flashed across Adaline's lips.
The last time she saw him, he was crying.
And the thought that he might now be happy brought her some strange relief.
“Hmm...” Lucian chuckled.
[He always smiles like he knows something...]