Chapter 18. I Want to Become a Knight

A yawn ripped out of Lucilline's mouth.

"You're tired, Lucilline?" Azalea asked. His white locks of hair had shuffled down to reveal his amethyst purple eyes, which shone with care and concern.

After the night of ghost hunting, Lucilline and Daphnne decided to stop ignoring Azalea. They went back to normal circumstances. Naturally, Azalea was happy. However—something was different. He could tell. Perhaps, it was because of the presence of a chestnut brown-haired nobleman beside him...

"Did you sleep well, Lucilline?" Percival asked. His hazel brown eyes squinted with joy, and his locks of chestnut brown hair swayed in the classroom.

Lucilline just groggily wiped his eyes. "I'm fine."

It was lunchtime. Lucilline, Azalea, Daphnne, and Percival had stayed in the former two's classroom. They took their boxes of lunch, and decisively ate.

"Aren't you going to eat anything, Lucilline?" Daphnne perked up.

She noticed how the black-haired nobleman just sat there tiredly.

Hearing that question, Lucilline just shook his head. He was not in the mood to eat anything. His stomach almost never followed the normal schedule that other teenagers' did.

"At least eat something, Lucilline." Azalea was concerned. If you don't eat anything, you will go hungry!

Lucilline just huffed and didn't move. His golden eyes peeked curiously at the white-haired teenage boy, who gazed with a stern expression. For some odd reason, Lucilline felt like Azalea was quite similar to his maidservant; Willow.

"...fine." Lucilline grumbled.

Even though he had absolutely no appetite since last night's nightmare, Lucilline couldn't help but submit underneath those violet eyes. It felt like Azalea was disappointed in him.

"Lucilline can eat my share of food!" Daphnne offered.

Her hair was tied in a ponytail, with her streaks of chestnut brown hair shining golden in the afternoon sun. Daphnne smiled encouragingly.

"What do you have..." Lucilline peered curiously at her food.

He met with the sight of a sandwich, with cheap bread, and moldy-coloured cheese. Black lines ran down the black-haired nobleman's face. There was no way he'll eat such a thing...!

"N-No thank you." Lucilline stammered.

"Oh, then it's your loss." Daphnne half-heartedly explained, then wolfed down her disgusting sandwich. She licked the crumbs off her face, and savoured the taste with a smile.

Lucilline, "..." How are you able to eat such a thing like that?

Seeing his hesitation, Azalea decided to make up for the silence. He coughed, pressing a fist against his mouth. "If you don't mind, Lucilline, we can share my lunch." Azalea pushed forward his lunch, which consisted of the same moldy sandwich that Daphnne had.

At that point, Lucilline wondered if Azalea was dumb at heart.

Why would I accept your lunch, when I just declined Daphnne's—who has the same lunch as you?

"How about my lunch?" Percival piped in, just in the nick of time. He swore that he just saw Lucilline let out a sigh of relief, as if he'd just been saved from a horrible fate.

Lucilline smiled, and didn't even need to think twice. "Sure."

Percival is the eldest and only son of Grand Duke Delta! He's a nobleman; there's no way he wouldn't have a good lunch!

"Here." Percival smiled, like a ray of sunshine. "It may not be much, but I hope that Lucilline will enjoy."

Lucilline's pair of golden eyes had trailed at the table, where Percival's plate of small tomatoes sat. Once again, the black-haired nobleman understood to never underestimate the power of unluckiness. "W-What is this?" He pointed.

...just tomatoes?

"My father wants me to be a prim and proper nobleman," Percival smiled, "Therefore, I should get used to eating little and having a tight diet."

Lucilline felt like his world just collapsed.

He gasped, "Does your father think that you're a maiden?"

Percival choked on those words. Although it's true that he eats little just like a maiden on their diet, but...

"Enough," Lucilline sighed. "You guys should just eat your fill." There's no way I'm going to share a lunch with any of you. I'd rather go hungry for the entire day.

Lucilline watched the rest of his friends eat their "lunch". Just from watching them, Lucilline had completely lost his appetite.

All of a sudden, he felt something soft brush past his shoulders. Out of his instincts, Lucilline tensed up. "Who's there?" He whipped his head around, only to meet a pair of confused violet eyes. "E-Eh?" Lucilline recognized the person who brushed past him—they were a young teenage girl.

"You're..." The girl had long violet hair, while her bangs hid her eyes from sight.

Lucilline's eyes brightened, "November?"

Indeed, the girl was November, who was with Miss A. to burn that cursed book in the laboratory room. "Ah," November had brushed her bangs aside, "Sorry, did I bump into you?"

"No, it's fine." Lucilline shook his head.

The remaining of his friends had stopped eating. Their eyes trailed over to look at November, who tensed up at the contact.

"I was in a rush," November bowed her head. "I've heard some exciting news from Miss A., so I was kind of excited..."

Daphnne was curious. "What kind of news was it?"

November looked at the chestnut brown-haired girl, whose iris blue eyes shone bright like the surface of garden pools on a warm afternoon. November fell silent, with shadows muddling across her face.

"November...?" Daphnne tilted her head in confusion.

The violet-haired girl then perked back up.

"Sorry," November waved her hands around rashly. "I was just thinking of something... I was in a daze. Oh yeah, what was I about to say again?"

Daphnne smiled, "Something about exciting news."

"Oh, I remember now." November smiled, with a bead of sweat dripping down from her forehead. "Miss A. said that the academy is going to host a sword-fighting tournament, where all students get to attend. I heard that the winner gets to receive a good sum of money from Grand Duke Leinhart!"

Grand Duke Leinhart... Lucilline's eyes flashed some interest.

Grand Duke Leinhart was the last of the three Grand Dukes in Lydia Kingdom. He had no offsprings and no wife, so therefore, he was childless.

Many of the older generations advised him to get married, or to at least get a child. However, even until now, Grand Duke Leinhart still has no offspring—not even an adoption.

"That sounds promising." Percival piped up.

"Will you be attending the tournament, Eldest Young Master Delta?" Daphnne asked.

Percival shook his head. "I don't need the money."

Daphnne understood. "Oh yeah, you're a child of Grand Duke Delta. There's no reason for you to go that far just for a little bit money.... Hahahaha."

"Then, you won't participate either, Lucilline?" She looked at the said-person.

Lucilline shrugged. "Depends if I'm interested."

"I'm going to participate!" Azalea stated. His locks of white hair had curled at the ends from his excitement. "My dream is to become a knight. If I want to achieve this dream, then my first step is to prove my worth! A sword-fighting tournament is the perfect place to settle it!"

Lucilline was surprised at the white-haired man's enthusiasm.

Slowly, his eyes bent, and his lips curved. "Then you better do a good job."

"Of course!" Azalea pumped his fist.

*****

Lucilline slumped over his desk.

He had returned back to Duke Rubius' mansion. Sprawled upon his desk were stacks of paper. He was writing continuously, without stop. By his side was Willow, who double checked his work with keen precision. She smiled in satisfaction, seeing that everything was correct and in place.

"That's it for today, Young Master." Willow stacked the papers into a pile. She clipped them with paper clips, to avoid them from falling out of place.

Lucilline stretched on his chair.

The black circles underneath his eyes were darker than usual.

As a maidservant with keen precision, Willow noticed it immediately. "Would you like to get some rest, Young Master? I can brew you a cup of tea."

Lucilline declined with a wave. "No need."

He only wanted to think about the dream he had last night. The taste of his mother's blood still lingered in his mouth, heavy and pungent. It made him want to puke everything out from his stomach, until there was nothing left.

Lucilline covered his mouth with his black laced glove.

"Young Master, are you alright?" Willow asked, concern written across her face.

"It's fine." Lucilline nodded.

The copper bell hung on his wrist had rung twice. As if it brought some sort of magic, the taste of blood in Lucilline's mouth had vanished. His feeling of nausea was cleansed into nothingness.

His pale face had colour again.

Knock knock

The door to his study was knocked. Lucilline yawned, "Come in."

Augustine entered, closing the door behind his step. His butler attire fit well around his muscular-proportioned body. "Lucilline, you don't look so good." Augustine noticed the black circles underneath the villain's eyes. He remembered the change that the villain had undergone in the novel.

When the villain got black circles, he began to stalk the heroine, beat up the male leads, and became a villainous person.

"Is that so." Lucilline scoffed. "I'm used to being told that I'm good-looking, so your news is such a surprise to me." His words seethed sarcasm.

He shifted around in his chair, while stretching. "Oh right, have I mentioned this yet? I've heard that my school is hosting a sword fighting tournament, where the winner will receive a great sum of money from Grand Duke Leinhart. The tournament is happening in about a month. I wonder if I should participate... probably shouldn't..."

Lucilline suddenly paused. He noticed that Augustine seemed unsettled. "Butler Augustine? You alright?"

Augustine bowed his head. "Sorry, it's just that..."

Willow's eyes widened in surprise. That heathen usually never apologizes... what's wrong with him?

"You have black eye circles." Augustine blurted.

Lucilline, "..." Pardon? (ಠ⌣ಠ)

"I'm afraid that the plot might be advancing." Augustine stated. "In the novel, after Lucilline gets black circles, he is more... prone to stalking the heroine... and you know the rest."

Augustine fidgeted with his fingers, which were littered in callouses and rough skin.

"Now that you've mentioned the sword fighting tournament, it is actually... a major event in the novel. During the sword fighting tournament, Lucilline... you," Augustine felt guilty for some unknown reason. "You weren't exactly the nicest person."

Lucilline arched an eyebrow. "Oh." He stood up from his chair, "Do you mean that I'll start becoming a villain, or of some sort?"

Instead of agreeing, Augustine just shook his head. "That's... not exactly the case."

He explained, "In the novel, you stalked the heroine, beat up the male leads, worked with the demons, and also brought ruin to Lydia Kingdom. The first step of this was getting black circles, then stalking the heroine. You've gotten your black circles, but... I don't think that it's possible for you to stalk the heroine."

Lucilline was stunned. "Why not?"

Even though he really hadn't been stalking anyone, why would his butler say that it wasn't possible?

"Umm... I've been keeping this from you for a while." Augustine mumbled. "I forgot to mention who the main characters of the novel were."

Lucilline huffed. "Then let's hear it."

A long silence deterred in the study room.

Augustine's chest heaved up and down. After a good minute, he mustered up his courage, and announced, "The heroine is actually one of your friends... Daphnne, and the male lead is... also one of your friends; namely Azalea."

A heavy pressure descended.

For some reason, Augustine felt like Lucilline's pair of golden eyes appeared as if he was a sly cat, stalking him in the shadows and waiting for his chance to pounce.

Shadows muddled across Lucilline's face.

Willow bowed her head in conflict. She bit her finger nails, "So you just mean that my Young Master was hanging around people... who will kill him in the future?"

"Willow." A stern voice came out from the shadows.

Lucilline's beautiful and once gentle face had become strict, and as sharp as the tip of an iceberg. "They're good people. You know that. After all, you've seen them personally, haven't you? The only reason why they killed me in the novel..." His eyes drooped, "Was because of my evil schemes."

"Young Master!" Willow cried. "Have you come to accept yourself as the villain from the novel? I don't believe that Young Master could've done such a thing!"

Augustine watched the two babble on and on.

His butler suit had wrapped uncomfortably tight onto his skin, making him feel as if an invisible force was slowly strangling him, pummelling his chest, and suffocating him second by second.

"Azalea and Daphnne are good people. I... I'm not." Lucilline half-heartedly smiled.

Willow's brows had creased. "I won't allow you to self-deprecate yourself, Young Master. Clearly, you're a wonderful person, so why can't you see it-"

"Enough." A low and deep-baritone voice had interrupted the two.

Lucilline and Willow were both stunned, turning to look at the reincarnator.

Augustine always wore a stone-face; handsome but cold. This time, shadows contoured his chin, making him appear striking and contrasting against the shadows. His tanned skin had a masculine appeal, with a sweet mellow skin tone. "Both of you are right, so why are you two arguing like children?"

Lucilline and Willow fell silent.

"Didn't I already say that I will prevent Lucilline from becoming a villain?" Augustine asked.

Upon hearing that, both the Master and servant looked at him in surprise. "I will take full responsibility for Lucilline's future." Augustine declared. "This is because I believe that he's a good person. I won't allow him to become a villain, and that's that. After all, I did read the novel."

Lucilline pursed his lips. He seemed to have underestimated Augustine.

"You originally wanted to kill me, now you want to save me?" He asked.

Augustine looked at him as if it was obvious. "Group K wants to kill you to save Lydia Kingdom. Group M wants the main characters to kill you. And I... I just want to save you."

Silence descended once again.

All of a sudden, a hearty laugh came from the back. Willow snuck behind Augustine, and gave him a harsh slap on his back. "Great speech, Butler Augustine! You took the words right from my mouth!" Augustine almost couldn't feel his back from that slap.

Willow turned to look at Lucilline. "Young Master, do not worry. With me and Butler Augustine, you will for sure never become a villain!"

Lucilline was in a daze.

If Azalea wants to become a knight, then I... I want to become a good person. He seemed to remember the words from his latest dream. A good person, just like her; my mother, Rachelle Rubius.