Chapter 124: Confidence… or arrogance?

Both Kanna and the Duchess sitting upon the throne fell silent.

The chamber, already heavy, seemed to sink further into silence after Lucian’s words left his mouth.

Kanna’s gaze instantly shifted toward him, and even her naturally emotionless eyes widened just a bit.

She had expected many things, but she never imagined this madman would ask the Duchess to train him—especially in such a casual manner.

The Duchess herself hadn’t expected to ask for such a wish.

It was so absurdly audacious that for a moment, she simply looked at him without a word.

She was genuinely amused now.

Then slowly, the corners of her lips curled upward, and a faint laugh escaped her throat as she leaned slightly against the throne.

Her golden eyes narrowed with interest.

“You truly have the guts… huh?” she asked softly, almost sounding entertained.

Lucian stood there silently, though a small anticipated smile had unconsciously appeared on his face as well.

His heart was beating fast, caught between danger and a strange sense of excitement.

And seeing that expression amused her more.

“But why,” she asked calmly.

“Why do you think I would even bother wasting my time over you?”

The small smile on Lucian’s face faltered, his brows furrowing in confusion.

“Because—”

Before he could say anything, she suddenly interrupted.

“Boy…”

Her sharp voice suddenly echoed through the bedroom chambers.

The smile on her face slowly disappeared, the warmth within her expression replaced by a calm indifference.

Her golden eyes shifted once again, the gold dissolving to blood-red.

And in the very next moment—

An overwhelming amount of killing intent exploded from her body.

Lucian froze where he stood.

His pupils contracted sharply.

It felt as though countless invisible hands had wrapped around his body all at once, gripping him tightly enough to crush his bones.

His breathing instantly turned uneven, and cold sweat dripped from his forehead.

Every instinct inside him screamed the same thing.

Move—

And you die.

“It seems I’ve shown you far too much kindness. So much so… that you’ve started taking me for granted.”

Lucian’s body trembled as her voice echoed in his ears.

Her arm rested lazily over the throne’s armrest while the fingers of her other hand tapped softly against the opposite side in a slow rhythm.

“What exactly do you even have to offer me… that makes you think you can ask for a favor?”

Her crimson eyes pierced directly through him.

“You are currently here not because of you…”

Her lips curled mockingly.

“But because of the blood you possess.”

Lucian’s expression instantly darkened.

A cold feeling crept into his chest.

‘Does she know about…’

The thought barely formed before the woman spoke again, her next words clearing his suspicion.

“If not for the bloodline of my clan that you’ve gained from your sister… you would’ve been dead a long time ago.”

Lucian’s tense expression subtly relaxed, only to tighten again as the pressure intensified even further.

“Gh…!”

His breathing shook violently.

“And despite all of that… you think you can ask for a favor?”

The air around the Duchess trembled faintly.

“Akgh…!”

Lucian’s entire body trembled violently as the pressure on him intensified.

His knees nearly gave out as pain shot through his body.

But despite all of that—

His eyes never moved away from her face, never once moving away from those terrifying crimson eyes staring at him.

“Heh.”

An uncertain chuckle escaped his lips.

Now—

Lucian was absolutely certain about his decision.

If he truly wanted to become stronger…

If he truly wanted power that no one could trample over…

Then—

‘No matter what… I have to obtain this woman’s strength.’

Even if it destroyed him.

Even if it leads to his death this instant.

Because… he had already courted death twice.

Then—

Step.

His trembling legs moved as he took an uncertain step forward, the sound of his boots hitting the floor echoing throughout the silent chamber.

“You… you are right…” Lucian spoke shakily, his breathing rough and uneven.

“You are absolutely right… I’m… nothing before you…”

He forced another trembling step forward, then another.

With each step, the crushing pressure intensified again as though rejecting his movement entirely.

His entire being screamed at him to stop this ridiculous behavior and go no further.

Prompting him to bow down.

To lower his head.

To beg for mercy before the monstrous existence sitting before him.

But none of those thoughts even crossed his mind, not once.

Step.

Step.

Blood slowly dripped from the corner of his lips, and his vision trembled faintly.

Yet he kept moving.

The only thing filling his mind was one single thought.

‘Someone stronger than me is standing before me…’ he thought inwardly as his eyes locked onto the woman before him.

The Duchess’s expression shifted faintly, and an imperceptible smile crept across her face.

Something dangerous flickered within her crimson gaze as she watched the reckless boy walking before her.

Blood trickled from his lips down to his chin slowly.

His legs trembled violently under the overwhelming pressure.

And yet—

There was something else on his face.

Something that caused even her to raise her brows in surprise.

A wide smile slowly creeping across Lucian’s face.

A smile almost flickering with madness.

Kanna stood silently nearby, completely stunned now.

The killing intent was focused entirely on Lucian, so she herself wasn’t affected by it.

Her emotionless eyes flickered faintly with genuine disbelief.

“But… that only applies to now,” Lucian continued shakily as he took another step forward.

“I am weak…” He uttered those words with clear disgust visible on his face.

For a brief moment, the Duchess’s smile softened at his words, as though they had reminded her of something from the past.

But still—

The pressure didn’t lessen, and instead, it only continued increasing the closer he walked toward her.

“I know that. But I’m sure…”

Slowly, he closed the remaining distance, now standing directly before her throne.

His legs trembled so violently that they looked moments from giving out under the crushing pressure, yet still, he refused to kneel.

No matter what.

His glowing crimson eyes continued staring directly into hers without wavering.

“I’m sure…” Lucian repeated softly through rough breaths.

“One day…”

The blood-red glow within his eyes deepened.

“…I’ll surpass you.”

Lucian himself didn’t fully understand where he was getting this confidence—the confidence that was almost borderline arrogance.

Just a short while ago, he had been trapped inside that enormous worm’s stomach, struggling merely to survive.

He had no affinity, no monstrous high talent that stood above others of which he could be proud of.

No absurdly overpowered cheat that would’ve made his words believable.

It was almost as though he were bluffing before a monster far beyond his reach, and that was exactly how he looked to Kanna after hearing that ridiculous claim.

But…

Both Lucian and the Duchess sitting on the throne could feel the genuine confidence in his voice.

It sounded as if he was telling the absolute truth… or maybe he was simply insane enough to mistake delusion for truth.

“Oh?” The woman let out a faint sound of surprise as she tilted her head up toward him.

Yet soon after, a trace of annoyance flickered across her face, because with Lucian standing so close before her, she had to look slightly upward to maintain eye contact.

Her fingers tapped lightly against the armrest once more, and instantly—

The pressure crushing Lucian increased tenfold.

Lucian’s vision blurred faintly, his legs shaking violently.

“Gh…!”

His vision blurred violently, and his legs shook uncontrollably beneath him.

But just as he was about to collapse completely—

He suddenly bent forward and tightly grabbed the armrest of her throne.

His fingers dug into it desperately as he forced himself to remain standing.

The Duchess was once again surprised.

Then, despite Lucian now standing only a few inches away from her, she asked calmly.

“Do you know how many people died after saying those exact same words to me?”

Slowly, she leaned back against the throne, the movement causing her dress to tighten around her figure and accentuate her curves more clearly beneath the dim light filling the chamber.

Then she crossed her arms beneath her chest leisurely, which made her large breasts shift softly before settling down.

Lucian’s gaze flickered downward instinctively for the briefest second, making the woman’s eyes sharpen dangerously.

But before the atmosphere could turn worse—

Lucian moved his gaze back toward her face.

Her expression relaxed faintly as she continued, though the dangerous glimmer within her eyes didn’t disappear entirely.

“The number of people who’ve claimed to be stronger than me or even surpass me… all of them are 6 feet under the ground now. Or were eaten alive by crows.”

She wasn’t trying to sound arrogant or to intimidate him.

She was merely stating a fact.

A simple truth born from countless years standing above others.

And one day, Lucian would come to realise just how terrifying that truth was.

“That doesn’t matter…” Lucian muttered through ragged breaths.

The Duchess sighed softly.

“Boy…”

Before she could continue speaking—

“Tell me something,” Lucian suddenly cut in.

“How many people have been this… close to you in all your life? Standing… even after saying all that to you?”

The Duchess went silent for a few seconds.

Then—

“Don’t know. Don’t remember,” she replied with a careless shrug, too unconcerned to remember such trivial things.

Lucian’s lips twitched. He bit harder into his lower lip unconsciously, and blood immediately flowed down his chin.

The metallic scent spread faintly through the air.

The Duchess’s gaze lingered over the blood as her crimson eyes glowed a bit brighter.

“If you cannot train me…”

A smile crept up Lucian’s face once again as he slowly lowered his body.

Until his face was only inches away from hers.

“Then that means… you are afraid that I’ll surpass you.”

The moment those words left his mouth—

The pressure crushing him vanished completely.

Lucian nearly staggered forward from the loss of weight before he caught himself at the last moment.

“Haha…”

But his attention was instantly grabbed by the sudden, weird laugh.

And the moment he saw the Duchess’s face—

His eyes froze slightly.

The Duchess’s expression had completely changed.

There was a strange glint in her crimson eyes now. Slowly, her lips twitched faintly before stretching wider and wider.

Then suddenly—

“HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA…!!!”

Her loud, wild laughter exploded throughout the chamber, violent enough to make the walls tremble and Lucian’s ears ring from how deafening it was.

Anyone witnessing this scene would have immediately thought the woman was a complete maniac as she looked utterly insane while laughing like that.

Yet in Lucian’s mind…

‘Her smile is beautiful…’

The thought surfaced unconsciously in his mind as he watched the beautiful yet maniacal expression on her face.