Chapter 115: Unexpected Defense

“Lucia, you’re back?”

Hearing footsteps approach from the corridor, Imeline, still lost in thought, felt a pang of unease.

She instinctively looked towards the door. Sure enough, Lovelenica had returned with Lucia. Imeline immediately rose from the sofa and hurried to Lucia’s side.

“How did it go? What did the Mage say? Did Julie continue to act so unreasonably?”

“No.”

Lucia shook her head, reassuring Imeline, before continuing.

“The Mage has reported the matter of the scores to the Church. We only need to await their decision.”

“Is that so… It’s good that they didn’t blame you. Get some rest for now.”

After feeling satisfied by Lucia’s words, Imeline turned her gaze, still indignant, towards Lovelenica, who had accompanied Lucia back.

Her tone was filled with resentment as she questioned her.

“Lovelenica! Can’t you be a little gentler with Lucia? She was just standing up for you! She only got angry because she heard Julie insulting you. How could you hit her?”

“Tsk… As a member of the Royal Family, do you truly not understand such a basic principle? If I hadn’t disciplined Lucia for threatening Julie, do you think the matter would have concluded so easily?”

Lovelenica shot Imeline an annoyed glance, a wave of impatience washing over her. Given the escalating tension, had she not intervened to quell everyone present, a full-blown fight might well have erupted.

Such a conflict would not only disqualify both parties from the current assessment but also reignite the animosity between the Crimson Family and the Royal Family.

It was common knowledge that the Crimson Family wielded immense power, ranking as the most influential noble house in the Arcadia Kingdom, second only to the Royal Family itself.

Both the Royal Family and the Crimson Family were formidable powers. A direct confrontation between Imeline, a royal, and Julie, a Crimson, would inevitably escalate into a full-blown aristocratic dispute, plunging the kingdom into turmoil.

Should these two families erupt into conflict, Lovelenica’s plans—whether to use Lucia to defeat Liliana or to seize the Crimson Skull—would be severely hampered at every turn.

Naturally, she could not permit such an outcome.

Lucia, for her part, did not object to Lovelenica, but simply sat nearby, listening intently.

Seeing the two women begin to quarrel once more, Lucia decided to take the initiative, admitting her mistake and attempting to calm Imeline.

“Imeline… there’s no need to speak on my behalf. It was my fault.”

“Of course I know what happened just now…”

Imeline clenched her small fists. Attestor had already discussed the situation with her earlier, and Imeline understood the reasoning behind it.

She knew Lovelenica had done nothing wrong; she simply felt it was unfair to Lucia.

“But Lucia was clearly defending you… Wasn’t simply stopping her enough?”

“Hmph, ask yourself: would merely stopping her truly have prevented you two from continuing?”

Lovelenica scoffed inwardly. Imeline was truly too childish. She was simply upset that Lucia had been hit.

As a member of the Royal Family, how could she hope to lead the Arcadia Kingdom with such an immature disposition?

In the original story, Attestor’s death had significantly impacted both their personalities: Lucia had become less impulsive, and Imeline had outgrown her childishness.

However, under Lovelenica’s protection, they had not experienced such a traumatic event. Thus, it was highly probable that their characters would remain unchanged.

“If I had merely stopped Lucia, you two would likely have continued arguing right in front of me… Wait a moment…”

Lovelenica paused mid-sentence, belatedly realizing the true implication of Imeline’s words. She inquired cautiously.

“…Are you saying Lucia was trying to defend me, which is why she couldn’t help but act?”

“What else could it be!?”

Hearing Lovelenica’s question, Imeline felt a surge of anger.

“Didn’t Lucia only try to act when that person was insulting you!?”

“…”

This time, it was Lovelenica who fell silent.

In truth, Lovelenica had genuinely overlooked this detail. When she arrived, the atmosphere between the two parties was already incredibly tense.

She hadn’t heard what Julie had said beforehand; she had only witnessed Lucia suddenly erupt after she and Julie exchanged a few insults.

At the time, Lovelenica had assumed Lucia had simply been provoked beyond her limits by Julie, finally losing her composure.

She hadn’t paid much attention to the fact that Lucia seemed to be acting impulsively out of a desire to defend her.

Lovelenica herself had been somewhat agitated then, having lost both her patience and her attention to detail, finding both sides equally troublesome.

Recalling it now, Lucia had indeed flared up immediately after Julie began insulting her. Lovelenica had mistakenly believed this was merely a secondary cause for Lucia’s impulsiveness, unaware it was the primary one.

After all, even Lovelenica herself hadn’t been angered by Julie’s words. She could tell Julie was the one driven to her breaking point by their verbal exchange, almost revealing Liliana’s existence.

Julie’s distraught state had even struck Lovelenica as amusing. If Julie had truly let slip such a secret, her mother, Theresa, or her father, who was currently away at war, might swiftly meet an untimely demise.

The main issue was that Lovelenica hadn’t felt any anger upon hearing Julie’s words; in fact, she found Julie’s attacks utterly devoid of impact, merely the flailing performance of a clown after being cornered.

It was for this reason that she had failed to realize Lucia had truly lost her composure out of a desire to protect her.

“Sigh.”

Lovelenica let out a soft sigh and glanced at Lucia. She saw Lucia, after Imeline’s outburst, silently bury her head, seemingly afraid to look at Lovelenica.

Lovelenica had genuinely not expected Lucia to lose her composure for such a reason. Yet, upon reflection, it was entirely consistent with her character.

Judging from their two previous missions, Lucia was, in fact, quite impulsive and reckless. She had been unable to tolerate the Fallen Nun’s taunts, directly executing her.

Similarly, after Rachel summoned the giant enemy, Lucia had been inclined to let the titan rampage through the district, pursuing Rachel. From this perspective, it was hardly surprising that she would act out of a desire to protect someone.

However, Lovelenica had never once imagined that ‘someone’ would be herself.

Lucia hung her head low. She now worried that her actions might have caused Lovelenica trouble. Regardless of whether her intentions were good or bad, her method had certainly been flawed.

After such a commotion, Lovelenica would likely face continued scrutiny and targeting from others within her family upon her return.

Just as Lucia was consumed by self-reproach, she suddenly felt a warm sensation on the top of her head.

“Sigh…”

Lovelenica gently stroked Lucia’s small head. Feeling the warm touch, Lucia slowly lifted her gaze, her eyes brightening slightly as she looked at Lovelenica before her.

“So, you did that because you couldn’t stand her insulting me?”