Forever, For Eternity
Lumiela was frustrated to the point of genuine hurt.
What do you mean it was all a misunderstanding? I nearly lost the use of my legs for life.
At first Lumiela had been impressed by Ian’s loyalty, but the more she thought about it, the stranger it seemed.
After all, what kind of person defended the very criminal who had kidnapped them?
It was only possible in the most extreme cases or when a deep attachment had already formed.
Lumiela, who had stayed glued to Ian’s side, knew perfectly well that he was an outsider inside the imperial palace.
Then… what could possibly be the reason?
She gazed at him with sorrowful eyes.
Ian, you’ve never been that good of a kid.
They hadn’t met often, yet she understood her younger brother’s general disposition all too well.
An extreme avoidant type.
Put kindly, he was quick-witted and likely to survive a long time. Put bluntly, he was the sort who hated taking responsibility.
People like that never acted unless they saw a clear, personal benefit.
Lumiela wasn’t judging him harshly because she disliked him. On the contrary, the fact that he resembled her so closely only made her like him more.
For this type of person, the line between good and evil was meaningless. They could wear any mask the situation demanded.
He’s more like an outsider walking the tightrope between sage and villain. A tragic human who thrashes between ideals and reality until he’s finally forced to choose one.
The fact that they shared blood and the pleasant days they had spent together played a part, but at the root, this was why Lumiela was drawn to Ian—an ambiguous human so much like herself.
Even if he postponed the choice, he never stopped moving. He kept questioning and agonizing, never knowing which direction he should take.
Most people, once lost, would sit down and wait for help. But these people never stopped, no matter how lost they became.
A boy of servant birth who could lie to a princess without batting an eye and survive a solo duel against a knight—at just a teenager’s age?
That can’t be explained by strength alone.
Lumiela knew better than anyone that Ian wasn’t particularly strong. Even now, pinned beneath her, he couldn’t offer the slightest resistance.
She could feel every ounce of her brother’s suffering as if it were her own—the sticky darkness clinging to his back, the desperate thrashing just to stay alive. Those brutal hardships were so vividly clear to her that…
I really, truly love him.
The very sight of him like that was so lovable she could hardly bear it.
But after what happened today, Lumiela’s thoughts had changed completely.
She had originally planned to make him her escort and keep him close, yet he was far more fragile than she had imagined.
Ian is still too weak.
Honestly, she had already guessed most of the truth. The place where Ian had fought was the Crescent Moon Palace. That left only one possible culprit.
Evangeline.
While he was unconscious, Serena the female knight had told her every detail of the situation. Lumiela had already taken care of everything.
All that remained was Ian’s well-being.
Had he not woken up today, Lumiela would have made Evangeline limp for the rest of her life. With her Magic Eye, she could inflict worse agony than any real injury whenever she wished.
She had only asked because she was worried and wanted to check for any hidden mastermind. Yet here he was, dodging the answer again?
A sorrow like her heart was being ripped apart filled her chest.
If it were anyone else it might be different, but not being trusted by Ian was truly… terrifying.
The mere thought that he might slip from her arms made her shudder.
If the words “I hate you” ever left his lips… she wasn’t sure what she would do.
Lumiela looked at him and asked once more.
“…Hm? Answer me. Do you dislike your noona that much?”
“T-that’s not it…”
After a long hesitation, Ian decided to tell the truth. Some instinct warned him that staying silent any longer would be dangerous.
Still… she wouldn’t actually kill her own sister, right?
Trusting in Lumiela’s character, he slowly opened his mouth.
“Actually, the Fourth Princess kidnapped me.”
The moment he spoke honestly, Lumiela’s arms loosened slightly. Yet she still held him down, staring at him from above.
The natural pressure she radiated, amplified by her Magic Eye, filled anyone she gazed upon with overwhelming tension. It was a tactic she used often when interrogating others.
Of course, what bothered Ian wasn’t her stare—it was the way her chest kept swaying.
Sway—
His eyes unconsciously followed the dynamic movement.
Hmm… maybe staying like this wouldn’t be so bad…?
While he entertained such idle thoughts, Lumiela pressed him again, clearly not finished.
“Fourth Princess your highness? Ian, Evangeline is your sister, isn’t she?”
She pointed out his use of honorifics. It was such a cute rebuke that he could have brushed it off easily.
“Come on, even so…”
The moment he tried to explain,
“Why? Were you about to say it’s because you’re a servant, or that you didn’t know until now so it can’t be helped…?”
Lumiela narrowed her eyes and cut him off.
Huh…?
Ian was genuinely flustered. It sounded as if she had read his exact thoughts.
Did she already use her Magic Eye on me? But her eyes look normal…
His expression stiffened. Seeing that she had seized the initiative, Lumiela’s mood soared.
Right as she gave her chest another pleasant shake, Ian’s mouth opened slowly.
“…Actually, I’ve always thought my only real family was you, noona.”
“Eh…? W-what do you mean?”
Lumiela was thrown off by his expression. He was clearly wearing a bitter smile.
“When I was in the most danger, when things were hardest… I thought of you, noona.”
“…………”
Hold it in.
Lumiela fought to keep the corners of her mouth from rising. Yet her body honestly pressed closer and closer to him.
“S-so…?”
Her voice was thick with anticipation as she urged him on.
“I originally planned to reveal that I was royalty too and clear up the misunderstanding, but the more I thought about it, the more wrong it felt. If I revealed my identity for no reason, it would only cause trouble for you, noona. And rather than family I never even knew existed, I believe only you truly care about me. So I have only one real family.”
Ian stared straight into her eyes. The meaning was clear: it was her.
“I seeee…”
The statement was riddled with contradictions. Lumiela’s iron logic screamed that there were countless points to refute, yet her body was already trembling with excitement, drenched in pleasure.
The decisive reason she believed his sincerity was simple.
Because I hypnotized him to be honest with me. This is Ian’s true heart.
A younger brother who trusted her, who relied on her. A younger brother who, even at the brink of death, worried about causing her trouble. That faith, that trust, was so precious and lovable that…
Lumiela pulled him into a tight embrace.
“Ugh, noona…?”
Ah, God.
Why have You only let us meet now?
Such a precious, lovable younger brother…
Lumiela’s left eye slowly shifted to a soft pink.
I’ll never let you go. For life. Forever.
“Ahaha. Ian, Ian…!”
She kept repeating his name as she laughed, utterly lost in bliss.
Ian, flustered, simply surrendered himself to her embrace, though he felt a little bewildered.
What is this…?
He hadn’t expected her reaction to be quite so intense. He spent the time absentmindedly enjoying the plush sensation of her body.
“She’s dead.”
“What did you say?”
“…Didn’t you hear me? I said Lumiela unnie is already dead.”
“Why are you talking like that?”
When Serena gritted her teeth and reached for her sword, Olivia wore a bitter smile.
“It’s not exactly good news, so…”
“....”
Serena could fully understand how Olivia felt. After all, she herself had lost everything in the blink of an eye.
“Sigh… sorry. I went too far.”
Serena thought she shouldn’t have asked. Just as she was about to leave, Olivia spoke again.
“Lumiela unnie was never really a good person.”
Olivia gazed at the crumbling sky and dug through her memories.
“She always loved standing above others and ruling over them… and she never once showed a smile. She was truly the incarnation of coldness.”
“If not for Alex—no, if that ‘fake’ hadn’t existed, the next emperor might have been unnie…? Well, that all fell apart because of Evangeline anyway. Haha.”
She let out a short, hollow laugh before continuing with a desolate expression.
“But even so, that same unnie tried to save everyone until the very end. Surprising, isn’t it? For someone who seemed colder than anyone else in the world.”
When Olivia tried to speak again, Serena interrupted with a question.
“…Sorry for killing the mood, but didn’t you say the First Princess is still alive? I heard she’s at the ‘end’ of the continent…”
Olivia gave a small chuckle.
“Alive? Can you really call that being alive…?”
The end of the continent.
In Infinite Ghost Valley, no human could survive. The fact that Lumiela was there meant only one thing.
“Serena, you said you were in the Infinite Abyss too, didn’t you? Then you should understand what it means to survive there.”
A hell where no one could escape until a single survivor remained—the Infinite Abyss.
Infinite Ghost Valley operated under very similar laws. The only difference was that its scale far surpassed human comprehension.
It was a living hell, a place where all manner of monstrous deities collided and clashed.
Even if Lumiela was somehow still alive, could she truly still be called Lumiela?