Seeing Lucien effortlessly silence Ludmila and Svetlana with just a few words, Cecilia realizes she still doesn’t understand him at all.
He seems so simple to understand at first glance – a lust-driven devil, a loving brother to his sisters, a son concerned about his mother...
But the way he handles the Sins, and now displaying such a cold and determined side, not to ntion his dominating personality which reveals an incredible power when that beautiful golden glow appears in his eyes.
As she contemplates this, Cecilia can’t help but rember the sensations that the mysterious red-haired woman made her feel.
And she feels fear.
"Huh?" But then Cecilia feels the gentle touch of Alia, who holds her hand.
"Don’t worry," Alia whispers to her mother. "You are family, and Lucien loves our family."
"Love?" Cecilia can’t help but rember the ti when her life was filled with love, before the Silver Legion and before Michael.
The journey has been hard to get here, but Cecilia knows that she can finally breathe a sigh of relief. Her daughter is back with her, and now she can have the new beginning that the mysterious red-haired woman ntioned.
But that new beginning is already threatened, not by the elven war, but by the even more dangerous enemies Lucien ntioned.
She instinctively looks at him and finds confidence and security in his calm blue eyes.
"I’m sorry for being so direct with you," Lucien speaks amiably. "You’re clearly emotional recalling your story, and I just dropped this shit over your shoulders..."
Cecilia appreciates Lucien’s concern for her emotional state, but she doesn’t like being underestimated.
"I’m not so fragile," she comnts confidently. "Everything I’ve done in the last thirty years has been fighting, so war is not unfamiliar to ."
After hearing Cecilia’s story and seeing her emotional reaction, Lucien respects her sacrifices and decisions, though he can’t simply forget all the pain she caused Alia.
But now he doesn’t have ti to dwell on punishing her, as he needs more information. "Can you tell what happened here when you arrived? How did Michael get involved in the elf war?"
Cecilia quickly explains. "I thought things couldn’t get stranger, but it all... it happened so fast..."
"We erged from the portals, hundreds of thousands of us, and were quickly noticed by the elves as we tried to figure out where we were," she recounts.
"Then she appeared..." Cecilia rembers another mysterious woman she t. "The Queen of the Dark Elves."
Upon hearing Cecilia ntion Ekaterina, both Ludmila and Svetlana tense up.
"Did she attack you or threaten you?" Alia asks.
Cecilia shakes her head with a puzzled expression. "I have no idea what Michael did, and I think not even he knows, but sohow, she seed to be waiting for him..."
"Waiting for him??" Lucien is confused and sowhat upset.
"Yes, it certainly seed like that," Cecilia elaborates. "She didn’t question him or anything, but accepted him as her husband... the damn King of Dark Elves... Michael, a despicable piece of shit!"
Cecilia’s indignation is shared by all of Lucien’s sisters and by Lucien himself. While Ludmila remains silent, Svetlana inadvertently speaks her thoughts aloud. "It was because of the prophecy!"
All eyes turn to Svetlana, who imdiately regrets having spoken.
"What prophecy?" Lucien asks in a friendly tone.
The elf is visibly confused about his intentions and hesitates out of fear, but then he smiles at her. "I just want to understand what’s happening; I don’t wish to harm your Queen."
While Svetlana tries to resist Lucien’s charm, now aware of his dangerousness, Ludmila expresses her opinion.
"That’s just nonsense, sothing that never made sense and still doesn’t," she comnts skeptically.
"It’s not true!" Svetlana quickly exclaims, looking at Ludmila with an upset expression. "People like you always think they’re superior... guess what? Your white hair doesn’t make you better than !"
"You spoiled brat!" Ludmila loses her patience with Svetlana and almost tries to pull her ear as if scolding a child.
But Lucien separates them before they start fighting. "What the hell is going on here? Are you children?"
Svetlana pouts like a real child, but Ludmila looks remorseful as painful mories resurface.
"Sorry," she says to Lucien. "It’s just that this sort of thing is what divided our people and started this war over a thousand years ago."
He looks confused. "A prophecy?"
"Not just that," Ludmila responds. "Our entire people were trapped in archaic customs and superstitions that limited us."
Svetlana can’t stay silent hearing those words. "Traditions, you an the history of our ancestors and a way of doing things that brought us here."
"You don’t-" Ludmila has many argunts to defend her beliefs, but she realizes she’s acting foolishly trying to argue with soone like Svetlana.
Then the elder elf sighs and contains her emotions.
Lucien wants to understand more about the past of the Dark Elves to help them have a better future, but now he’s more curious about this prophecy and how it connected the Elven Queen to Michael.
So he gently holds Svetlana’s hand, making her feel at ease. "Tell about this prophecy."
Svetlana is frustrated with Lucien for making her feel such conflicting emotions towards him; this mix of admiration, fear, and attraction is driving her crazy.
But with no other options, she tells him everything he wants to know. "I don’t know when this prophecy erged or who created it, but..."
She tries to recall the exact words and speaks seriously. "The legend says that one day our people would face a great catastrophe, and only a Human King alongside our most powerful Queen could save us."
Those words surprise Lucien, his sisters, and even the Sins.
"Human King??" Eve asks in a tone clearly indignant. "Is this shit really about Michael??"
Lucien and the others try to make sense of this revelation, but no matter how much they think about it, the only Human King they can think of now is Michael.
The group can only think of one explanation and cast apologetic glances towards Lucien.
He understands what they’re thinking, but his view differs. "She said in the letter and to Cecilia that she owed Michael nothing more."
"But who else could be behind this besides your mother?" Envy vocalizes the question lingering in the minds of the other Sins.
Lucien feels frustrated as everything seems to always lead to the sa end, where his mother appears to be the most manipulative figure of all.
He doesn’t see the irony in how she leaves him just as confused as he leaves his victims before they officially beco part of his family.
As Lucien’s faith in his mother’s good intentions begins to waver again, Ludmila seems to think of sothing.
"Wait," she’s been pondering this and now seems even more certain. "Sothing’s not right."
Everyone is puzzled and watches as she walks over to so shelves in the corner of the room.
The shelves are filled with old books, and Ludmila quickly starts picking up and flipping through several of them.
Everyone has the sa question, but Cecilia voices it. "What are you looking for?"
Ludmila remains focused on the books while responding. "This stupid prophecy is one of the oldest legends of our people... I’m sure there must be a copy here..."
As everyone watches Ludmila curiously, she flips through various books until she finds a large, dusty to and exclaims, "Found it!"
She quickly opens the book, flipping through its pages, unconcerned about the cloud of dust that rises.
After browsing several pages, she reaches the section she was looking for and gently runs her finger over the lines.
"Darkest period... deadliest enemies... brink of the abyss..." Ludmila reads various parts of the page aloud until she reaches the exact point she was seeking.
"Here," she announces while picking up the book and looking toward the group.
"The Dark Elves will need their most determined Queen ever, and only with the help of a King with human blood, will they overco this crisis and lead their people to a new era of endless prosperity."
Svetlana doesn’t understand why Ludmila read the prophecy she just ntioned, but Lucien and his sisters imdiately grasp its implication.
"It doesn’t necessarily an a Human King," Eve is the first to comnt.
"Exactly," Ludmila confirms, giving Svetlana a disapproving look. "I told you not to take what this girl says seriously. She doesn’t even know the stupid legends she believes."
"Hey!" Svetlana protests. "It’s not a stupid legend, and I still don’t understand how a King with Human blood wouldn’t be, obviously, Human."
Ludmila instinctively looks at Lucien with a thoughtful expression, as do the other girls.
Then Lust materializes beside him and smiles confidently. "Lucien is primarily a Demon, but he’s also a Dragon, and—"
"Son of a Human," Envy interjects before Lust can finish. "He has a share of Human blood."
This revelation sparks a new realization among the group, shifting the interpretation of the prophecy in a potentially significant way.
Svetlana’s understanding dawns, and now thinking about it, the comparison between Lucien and Michael becos inevitable. It’s clear who could potentially assist her Queen in leading the Dark Elves to the promised era of endless prosperity.
While Ludmila remains skeptical about putting faith in a prophecy, Svetlana is astonished by the new realization. "Damn, is this prophecy about you???"
However, unlike the young elf, Lucien and his sisters are not at all surprised by this revelation.
"Of course, things would turn out like this here as well," Lust comnts.
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