The air was forced out of Lucian's lungs as he fell to the floor. He gasped for breath and clutched his stomach in pain.
His body felt like it was going to crumble under its weight, but he endured it. He didn't want to look weak in front of Celine, but the contrast between their strength was too big to ignore.
As expected of another Rochefort. They were a crazy lot. But this was a different kind of crazy.
He lifted his gaze to see a faint glow of Edmund's skin fade away. Someone had gone through the knight training and already reached the gold rank it seemed.
Celine's reaction was more on the "cold" side than "scared for Lucian's safety" side.
She grabbed Edmund by the ear and pulled, "Before my eyes go blind from the amount of stupidity you possess in your head, apologize and ask him for forgiveness."
Edmund tried to pull himself free, but it was no use. "But he hit me first!"
"I would have hit you too if he didn't get ahead of me," Celine replied, squeezing harder, "If mother found out you were hiding under my skirt, I would be the one on the ground coughing up blood."
"Okay, okay, I'm sorry," Edmund apologized, rubbing his ear as Celine released her grip.
"So it's not an occurring thing?" Lucian asked, referring to Edmund hiding under Celine's skirt.
"It's the first and last time," Edmund swore with his right hand raised, "I'm sorry, I overreacted."
"Don't apologize. It sounds strange for a noble to apologize to a commoner," Lucian said as Celine helped him stand up, "I'm sorry, too. I shouldn't have hit you in the first place."
Edmund frowned at Lucian's words, "Why does your apology sound so familiar? Did she teach you that?"
Lucian glanced at Celine, adjusting his answer to her expression, "Maybe... I don't remember."
He didn't remember Celine teaching him how to apologize, the opposite. From Edmund's reaction, she probably passed on Lucian's words to her brother.
It was a strange situation, to see the duke's children acting so casually around him, without any regard to their rank or status. Did they treat this as a game?
Just like that. They made up faster than his parents would after fighting over who loved the other more.
Celine clearly wanted to bridge the gap between their worlds. She saw it as a puddle she could easily jump over. But Lucian saw it for what it was. A chasm that could swallow them whole if they were not careful.
"Now go to mother before she sends the guards to look for you," Celine said, sending her brother away. She then turned to the cabinet with first-aid supplies, "Sit down, let's treat that wound."
Lucian sat on the sofa, and she took a chair and placed it in front of him. Her eyes were fixed on his stomach as she rolled up his shirt to reveal the bruise.
"...Someone had been training, huh?" she muttered to herself, "No wonder you are throwing punches like you own the world. Since when were you a brawler, hm?"
"..." Lucian hissed in pain as she put ointment on his stomach, his cheeks feeling a bit hot. "Shouldn't you be worried? I'm hurt, you know."
He noticed a split second of hesitation in her hand, followed by a moment of silence, before she answered him, "Would worrying help the pain go away? If not, I might as well help you recover faster."
"..." Lucian faked a sob, trying to get some pity out of her, "I believe a kiss will make the pain go away faster. It's a common cure for your beloved's bruises, you know."
Celine looked up at him, her gaze softening a bit, "Is it?"
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A few days later…
Edmund exceeded Lucian's expectations in terms of talent.
Under the new identity (another Lucian Arclight), Edmund's grasp of Lucian's business and methods was impressive, and he was already starting to make his own decisions, showing his leadership skills in coming up with a new perfume line inside Lucian's workshop.
Lucian sulked above his desk, writing down the numbers that the boy gave him.
'I'm being replaced by a newcomer that has no experience whatsoever,' Lucian thought to himself. The thought was so depressing that if he had a tail, it would be lifelessly hanging down.
"What's wrong?" Edmund asked, noticing Lucian's gloomy expression, "Did I do something wrong?"
"..." Lucian looked at him for a moment, before shaking his head. "Is the job I give you too easy?" he asked instead of answering the question. He was not used to have the smartest person in the room not being him, "You can tell me if you're bored."
"Huh? What are you talking about?" Edmund questioned, fixing his commoner's attire, "It's relaxing to work like this. It's simple. I just do what I am told, and I'm done for the day. I wish I could stay here forever, to be honest. How about you take over the Rochefort family and I become Lucian like the others?" he asked jokingly.
"Is being a Rochefort that troublesome?" Lucian asked, thinking of Celine. They had a strange freedom to come and go as they pleased. It certainly didn't seem like it was that bad.
"I don't know how much information my sister shared with you, but I'll tell you one thing," Edmund said, leaning in closer, "Learning the way of a commoner is more of a survival lesson than an escape from the real world, Lucian."
That's when Lucian started to take notice of the way the boy carried himself, the way he walked, the way he talked. The subtle mannerisms that marked Edmund as a noble have been slowly disappearing over the past month. He was a fast learner, and he was picking up on the customs of his surroundings.
Edmund wasn't here for an incognito holiday. He was here to learn how to blend in with the masses, by himself and with no support, like a commoner, not as a noble with a bodyguard.
Edmund's stomach grumbled at that moment, and the both of them turned their attention to it.
"I'm also hungry, so let's go get something to eat," Lucian said, standing up from his seat, "Or is the food too low quality for your taste?" he asked when Edmund remained seated.
"Hunger is a distraction, a distraction is a weakness, a weakness is a mistake, a mistake can cost your life," Edmund mumbled to himself, probably quoting some family teachings, "I'm good. You can go."