Gunmage-Chapter 207: The self aware lunatic

Selaphiel let out a wide smile.

"Do I?"

She asked, her voice light but her eyes gleaming with something unreadable.

Aveline stared at her cautiously, lips pressing into a line as she pondered her answer. After a pause, she finally spoke—though her voice held hesitation.

"...Yes, you do."

But Lugh knew better.

If the woman herself was saying it, then the truth was far worse. There were problems. Deeper ones. Ones hidden behind the quirks he had already noticed. What could be more terrifying than an insane person?

A self-aware lunatic.

He mumbled the words to himself, his voice barely audible.

Then his thoughts drifted—unbidden—to Isolde. Her strange behavior. The way she sometimes referred to him as Lucas, the name of his long-dead father.

She hadn’t exhibited any anomalies lately, but did that mean the issue had disappeared?

Most likely not.

And if one followed Selaphiel’s way of thinking, then Isolde’s actions could only be considered barely acceptable—if not a warning sign in themselves.

Lugh hummed to himself, quietly, before turning toward the two women.

"Is there any special relationship between the Caldreth family and... slipping minds?"

Both ladies turned to him.

Aveline’s eyes narrowed. He was most likely—no, definitely—talking about her mother.

Selaphiel, however, remained unreadable. Lugh couldn’t get a read on her, which was unusual. She tilted her head, studying him.

"House Caldreth?"

She echoed.

"Why are you asking that?"

There was no graceful way out now.

Lugh adjusted his tone, speaking with feigned ease.

"Oh, nothing much. I just noticed some odd things about her, that’s all."

He let the words hang in the air, then added,

"I also noticed some odd things about her daughters as well."

He didn’t clarify further, letting the silence stretch.

"Hey!"

Aveline snapped, eyes wide with offense.

"What do you mean by that? We don’t have any issues!"

’Sorry, Aveline,’

Lugh thought,

’but you have the biggest problems of them all.’

He hadn’t forgotten how she snuck out at night—not to head into the city like her sisters—but to hunt animals in the woods beyond their estate gardens.

Like a rabid beast.

Aveline hadn’t stopped speaking, her tone rising with indignation.

"Rather, you’re the one with issues."

Lugh turned to look at her, his face suddenly unreadable. His expression sharpened into something cold and strange, eyes filled with something difficult to name.

His voice deepened.

"Issues,"

He repeated slowly, as if tasting the word on his tongue.

"What... issues do I have?"

"See?"

Aveline exclaimed, frustrated.

"You’re doing it again!"

Lugh blinked. He genuinely looked confused.

"What are you talking about?"

She crossed her arms.

"It’s your personality,"

She said firmly.

"Every single time I speak to you, it’s like meeting a different person. Only the face is the same. Nothing else. Not your gestures. Not your body language. Not even the words you like to use. And sometimes..."

She hesitated, her voice faltering before she finished.

"...It’s like there’s nobody there at all."

Lugh looked at her in silence. Selaphiel, too, seemed unusually quiet. She was paying close attention now, content to watch—something that didn’t suit the image he had of her in his mind.

And that fact, in itself, was suspicious.

Which just further went to completely debunk Aveline’s theory.

"Ridiculous,"

Lugh finally muttered, turning his gaze out the window. The scenery blurred past. They had already traveled quite a distance. It wouldn’t take long before they arrived at Cross Manor.

"What is ridiculous about it?"

Aveline pressed.

He answered without turning.

"Humans are inherently complex creatures. A single person leaves different, diverse impressions on others. To some, you’re gloomy. To others, you’re funny. A person may see you as open-minded, while another might think of you as arrogant. Thus, different faces are created."

He glanced briefly at her.

"A simple example would be you—and your group of... ’friends.’ Those kids admire you. You might as well be a saint to them. But their parents? They see you as a scheming devil. A threat that shouldn’t be left to fester."

He paused.

"Thus, two personalities, depending on the observer, are created for you with no further input on your side. Therefore, I think it’s wrong to say there are any problems with me in particular when it’s something unique to human nature as a whole."

Aveline was quiet for a moment, then smiled.

"You completely missed the point though."

Lugh glanced at her again, this time with a question in his eyes.

She explained,

"I never said anything about other people’s perspectives of you. I only spoke about my own. You launched into an explanation of something entirely different—hence proving my point."

"Proving your point? How?"

She tapped her chin thoughtfully.

"Let’s see..."

She searched for an example. Then her eyes lit up.

"Ah! For one—the Lugh from two hours ago. The one who, through provocation, clever play, and intimidation, managed to draw and dominate the attention of everyone in the room—that Lugh would’ve understood what I meant immediately. He wouldn’t have wasted time explaining a completely different concept."

Lugh blinked.

"I don’t understand you."

"Are you sure?"

She asked softly.

His frown deepened. Did he understand what she was saying?

He thought he did... or didn’t he?

Then suddenly, his face twisted in discomfort. A sharp, piercing headache struck. He clutched the side of his face and lowered his head, eyes clenched shut.

A low groan escaped him.

After a while, he spoke again, voice hoarse and unsteady.

"I’m... not sure."

An uncomfortable silence filled the carriage.

’And so the anomalies surface,’

Selaphiel thought, her smile gone.

Aveline stared at him, concern flickering in her eyes. Her grandmother’s words echoed back to her—words spoken just minutes ago.

"The deeper one delves into it—the more their mind unravels. Magic is, by its nature, a deviation from the natural."

And Lugh... was nothing if not a powerful mage. She was right, Aveline realized with a sinking feeling.

She didn’t need any prompting. She didn’t even look at Selaphiel. She simply kept her mouth shut, afraid to intensify whatever strange condition had just gripped Lugh.

After a while, his voice broke the silence again, low and distant—like someone speaking from inside a dream.

"...Continue."

The source of this c𝓸ntent is fr(e)𝒆novelkiss