The mont Lucius stepped past the gilded doors, he took in the entire venue.
He stopped, inhaling deeply.
The air was scented with roses and multiple high cost perfus.
The ceiling stretched forever, painted with a mural of the nation’s founding.
Gold-trimd pillars lined the walls, mirrors reflecting back an infinite repeat of wealth and power.
It was... perfect.
Too perfect.
Slow, elegant music flowed from a live orchestra set in the corner, each note threading through the room like silk.
Couples glided across the polished dance floor, dresses twirling, suits gleaming.
It was the kind of place Lucius would have scoffed at in his old world.
It was one of British parties.
The kind of party he’d only seen in movies, where multiple wealthy people would show off everything they had.
Now, he was walking right into the middle of it.
He adjusted his cufflinks, more to give his hands sothing to do than out of actual necessity.
Beside him, Vanessa moved with a smile on her face as she waved at people.
Lucius caught himself grinning.
They made an entrance, no doubt about it.
"Do you want to go to the dance stage?" he asked lightly, tilting his head toward the couples.
Vanessa’s response was imdiate: she slipped her hand from his arm, scowling faintly.
"I don’t want another trending post," she muttered, eyes darting away.
Lucius chuckled under his breath.
He knew exactly what she was referring to — the date post he’d made a month ago.
Yes, it had blown up.
Yes, it had gotten a hundred million views.
And yes, it had split his entire fanbase straight down the middle: Vanessa stans versus Luna stans.
It hadn’t even been a bad split.
If anything, engagent had skyrocketed.
But Vanessa still bristled at the mory, cheeks faintly pink.
He leaned in just enough to tease. "Co on, you’d look cute."
His hand landed gently on her shoulder, the grin still tugging his lips.
But before Vanessa could retort, another hand cut in.
A large, masculine one.
Lucius blinked, pulling back instinctively.
He’d turned off his Infinity; after all, who in their right mind would try sothing inside the Council’s most prestigious event?
Yet here was this massive hand prying his off Vanessa.
He followed the arm up.
And up.
And up.
The man standing before him towered at least half a head taller than Lucius — and Lucius was no small figure at six feet.
He was broad-shouldered, chest like a fortress wall, dressed in a suit that strained slightly at the seams.
The man’s voice rumbled like distant thunder. "I don’t think it’s appropriate to romance your Guild Master out in public, young Hohenberg. Have so respect."
Lucius stared.
His mind went perfectly flat.
Then the only thought that surfaced was: Who the fuck is this fucker?
Romancing his Guild Master?
Vanessa was literally his sugar mommy, not the other way around.
What the hell kind of logic was this guy on?
"Eh?" Lucius said bluntly, arching a brow. "Who the fuck are you?"
The man didn’t flinch.
His jaw tightened, as though swallowing down the insult.
Mana being leaking out of his body as he stared down at the Space Awakener.
"He’s Supre Man," Vanessa whispered quickly, her tone was completely dismissive though, "Just ignore him. He gets like this sotis"
Lucius froze.
His lips twitched.
Supre Man?
He actually had to bite his cheek to stop himself from laughing out loud.
He rembered the guy now — an S-rank Awakener, who wasn’t even in the original story but he had a cringe ass na.
He had power, no doubt about it. But Supre Man?
’Why would anyone pick that? You had infinite options. And you went with a Walmart-brand superhero title?’
Actually Walmart didn’t really exist in this world but still the na was funny in this day and age.
Still, as he studied the guy, sothing else clicked.
’Does he... does he have a crush on Vanessa?’
Lucius tilted his head back, scanning the man’s face.
Sure enough, despite the stone-cold voice, Supre Man’s cheeks were faintly pink.
His eyes, ant to be hard and disapproving, kept flicking toward Vanessa with an awkward, boyish softness.
Lucius’s lips twitched again.
’Guess my intuition was wrong. This is so TikTok POV shit. Big scary giant secretly in love with the short woman.’
He never thought he’d witness it in real life.
"Well, he touches like that all the ti," Vanessa said coolly, not missing a beat. "We’re really close."
"Un." Supre Man nodded.
The awkward blush remained, but the edge in his tone faded.
He didn’t even argue the point.
"Did you have anything you wanted to ask?" Vanessa prompted.
She’d only seen the man in inter-Guild etings before, and even then, only briefly.
For a mont, Supre Man hesitated.
Then he pointed toward the dance floor.
A smile blood across his face. "Would you like to dance with ?"
Lucius closed his eyes and sighed.
’You poor, poor fool.’
Vanessa’s body language changed instantly.
She was comfortable around Lucius but when it ca to public displays, especially with strangers, her guard slamd up like a fortress gate.
"I’m sorry," she said politely, bowing her head slightly. "But I’ll have to decline. I really can’t dance."
It was a lie.
Lucius knew it.
Vanessa knew it.
But it was also the cleanest way to reject him without humiliating him in front of the entire ballroom.
He was still an S-rank, after all.
The deflation on Supre Man’s face was almost comical.
His smile faltered, eyes dimming, shoulders drooping slightly as though the weight of his own muscles suddenly pressed down.
He nodded once, sharply, and turned away.
Each step he took shook the floor faintly, the ground seeming to groan under his weight.
It was like watching a giant sulk back to his mountain cave.
Lucius muttered under his breath, "Fucking giant."
His eyes followed the man’s back until the crowd swallowed him.
Just as he turned back to Vanessa, another smooth voice slipped through the air.
"Ah, so we et again, Lucius~"
Lucius stiffened.
’Fuck my life.’
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