Lucifer closed the door behind him and remained there for a moment, his hand still resting against the wood. The corridor outside had finally gone quiet, and the silence felt almost unfamiliar after the strange tension that had followed him through the estate all afternoon.
He had managed to leave the Ancestral Hall without another word from Evelyn.
That alone was worth a brief moment of relief.
She had not stopped him. She had not asked questions. She had simply watched him walk away with those sharp, measuring eyes that had long since replaced the quiet gaze of the girl he remembered. Evelyn Valemount had grown into someone far more dangerous than the child who once followed him through the estate gardens.
Lucifer had always preferred enemies who made their hostility obvious.
Evelyn was not that kind of person.
He pushed himself away from the door and crossed the room slowly before sitting down on the edge of his bed. His elbows rested on his knees while his fingers laced together loosely.
Tonight mattered, because it would be the first time since his return that he would sit at the table as family again.
The thought carried a bitter irony.
For weeks he had carried the memory of that day in the back of his mind.
Just a hall filled with people who knew him.
People who had watched him grow up.
And yet the distance between them had never felt greater.
The accusation had come first, followed by explanations. Voices had risen and fallen while the truth twisted somewhere in the middle of it all.
Lucifer had stood there through every moment of it, waiting for someone to ask the simplest question.
What actually happened?
No one did. Not even his own family, who had been present there.
People who had the authority to challenge the situation if they wished.
Nobody even bothered to give him a chance to explain anything.
But they had remained silent.
And Lucifer had stood there while the weight of their silence settled over him like a verdict already decided.
The anger that memory stirred had cooled over time, but it had never truly disappeared.
Lucifer leaned back slightly and rubbed his forehead.
A couple of weeks had passed since that day.
Two months of training until his muscles failed.
Weeks of exhaustion that left little room for resentment.
Eventually he had begun to understand.
If Rowan Obsidian Valcrest had openly defended him from the beginning, the entire situation might have escalated beyond control. The Monarch had been watching closely.
If the Duke of Valcrest had challenged the accusation too aggressively, the Monarch might have taken it as defiance rather than loyalty.
And when a Monarch hardened their stance, survival became optional even for a Duke's heir like him.
Lucifer understood the logic now.
The Valcrest council had likely advised restraint. Submission to the process until the storm passed.
And it had worked wonderfully.
The Monarch had withdrawn.
Lucifer had survived the whole ordeal.
But understanding the reason did not erase the sting.
They had never asked for his side of the story.
Not even once had he been given the chance to explain himself, even privately.
Even his own mother had not been present during the hearing.
Ironically, the Monarch who judged him had shown him more fairness than his own family.
Lucifer exhaled quietly.
I was an asshole.
That much he could admit without difficulty.
For years he had behaved exactly the way people expected him to behave. He had been cruel and arrogant, always careless with the feelings of others.
Suspicion had not appeared out of nowhere.
Still…
Couldn't they have trusted him once?
Just once?
He had spent far too much of his life apologizing. Trying to be smaller, quieter, easier to tolerate.
He would not do that anymore.
If they loved him but did not trust him, that was their decision.
He would not beg for belief.
He would prove his worth or fail.
But it would happen on his terms.
A knock interrupted the silence.
"Enter."
The door opened smoothly.
Amelia stepped inside with the calm composure she always carried. Her posture remained perfectly straight, hands folded neatly in front of her waist as though she had been carved into place.
"Lucifer," she said. "Everyone is waiting downstairs."
Lucifer rose from the bed.
"Then we shouldn't keep them waiting."
---
The dining hall was quieter than he remembered.
Only family members were present tonight, seated around the long table beneath the tall chandeliers that cast a warm golden light over the polished wood.
Rowan Obsidian Valcrest sat at the head of the table.
Even seated, the Duke's presence seemed to dominate the entire room. His posture was relaxed, but there was nothing casual about him. Rowan had always carried the quiet gravity of someone who had stood on battlefields where hesitation meant death.
Clara sat beside him.
Her hands were folded together so tightly that the tension in her fingers was obvious even from across the table. She was sitting on her own custom hover chair, specially designed for her convenience.
Aunt Ariel watched everything with open curiosity.
Sebastian looked as if he had not yet decided whether he should feel relieved or nervous.
Evelyn sat further down the table, composed and elegant, the Countess of Valemount rather than the quiet girl Lucifer once knew.
Every gaze turned toward him as he entered.
Lucifer stopped beside his chair and inhaled slowly before greeting them one by one.
He bowed slightly toward Rowan.
"Patriarch."
Then toward Clara.
"Mother."
A smaller nod toward Ariel.
"Aunt."
Ariel blinked, clearly surprised by the formality.
Lucifer had never addressed her like that before.
He gave Sebastian a brief nod.
Then Evelyn.
Her eyes met his without expression.
Lucifer took his seat.
Amelia moved silently to stand behind him.
The scent of food drifted across the table.
Lucifer picked up his utensils and began eating.
At first he maintained the careful manners expected of a noble dinner.
Then hunger took over him almost instantly.
The first plate disappeared quickly, followed by the second and the third.
Lucifer barely noticed the silence that had fallen around the table as he continued eating with relentless focus. Weeks of training and constant movement had burned through the reserves of a body that had never properly recovered from awakening.
He tore through the meal with quiet efficiency, finishing portions that would have been enough for two people without slowing down.
Clara had lifted her utensils at the beginning of the meal.
She lowered them again after watching Lucifer empty another plate.
Sebastian stared openly.
Even Ariel's expression shifted from curiosity to something closer to disbelief.
Lucifer only became aware of the attention when he reached for another piece of bread and realized that no one else had touched their food yet.
His hands paused only briefly before he continued eating.
Eventually Rowan began eating as well, which finally allowed the others to do the same.
Still, their eyes kept drifting back to Lucifer.
Plate after plate disappeared until the last of the food on his side of the table was gone.
Only then did Lucifer lean back in his chair.
For the first time since leaving the house, he felt full.
The silence stretched long enough that it became uncomfortable.
Rowan spoke first.
"So," the Duke said calmly, "I heard you awakened."
Lucifer nodded.
"Yes."
Clara leaned forward immediately.
"Lucifer… what exactly happened?"
Rowan lifted a hand slightly to steady the conversation.
"Explain."
Lucifer set his utensils down and met his father's gaze.
"When my Origin awakened," he said evenly, "my bloodline activated at the same time."
That immediately caught everyone's attention.
Ariel frowned.
"That shouldn't happen."
"It usually doesn't," Lucifer replied. "Most people awaken their Origin first. Bloodlines appear later."
He raised one hand above the table.
Dark mana gathered slowly at his fingertips.
It twisted like smoke, unstable and heavy, the air around it feeling slightly distorted.
Sebastian leaned forward.
Clara inhaled sharply.
Lucifer watched their reactions calmly.
"My bloodline lets me use dark mana with ease."
The energy flickered once before he dismissed it.
For a moment his hand was empty.
Then he activated his Origin Card.
Clean mana appeared again, calm and steady.
Two completely different energies.
Two completely different presences.
The contrast was obvious.
The room fell silent.
"I can use both," Lucifer said simply. "Normal mana and chaotic dark mana."
Ariel leaned back slightly.
"That… shouldn't be possible either."
Lucifer gave a small shrug.
"It is for me."
He tapped his chest lightly.
"The problem is that both awakened together. My body tried to handle two different energies at once. That damaged my soul a little."
Clara's voice softened.
"Is it dangerous?"
Lucifer shook his head.
"Not immediately. But it slowed my recovery. That's why it took months before I could return."
Rowan studied him carefully.
"You expect us to believe you can control both energies."
Lucifer met his father's gaze.
"I already am."
Rowan leaned forward slightly.
"Then you will explain something else."
Lucifer waited.
"You disappeared for months."
Lucifer did not look away.
"I was on vacation."
Rowan's eyes narrowed slightly.
"And now you return awakened."
Lucifer shrugged faintly.
"Sometimes running away improves your luck."
The silence sharpened.
Neither of them looked away.
Then something appeared on Lucifer's shoulder.
Nox blinked at the table.
Then immediately lunged toward the food.
Lucifer closed his eyes.
"Nox."
The monkey froze mid-bite.
His cheeks were already stuffed.
Then he turned proudly toward the table.
"Papa!"
Ariel burst into laughter.
Sebastian looked completely stunned.
Clara blinked in confusion.
Lucifer sighed in resignation.
Rowan simply watched the monkey quietly.
And somehow that silent observation felt heavier than any lecture.