Chapter 47: I fought goblins

On his way home, Lucian suddenly remembered something.

He reached into the car’s glove compartment, where he had kept his phone, since his hands were too dirty to touch it.

He took out his phone and called Stella.

The ringing began.

Once, twice, then—

The number you are trying to reach is currently switched off.

“Again,” He grumbled in frustration.

He had been trying to call her for weeks, but to no avail.

Every time, her mobile was unreachable.

He frowned and dialed another number—Julia.

The call rang… and went unanswered.

“What the hell is going on with them?” His eyes narrowed.

He had been trying to get in contact with them for weeks, but hadn’t been able to reach either of them.

He had even tried texting her, but she hadn’t even read the messages.

Something had happened. And whatever it was, she wasn’t telling him.

As for Julia? She didn’t have any social media for him to message.

No presence online at all.

In this generation, that was almost unbelievable.

Lucian exhaled slowly through his nose.

He only wanted to warn them not to leave their houses.

He didn’t know when the apocalypse would start, didn’t know when the monsters would appear, or when the world would finally break.

His grip tightened around the phone.

‘Hopefully… she stays home.’

That was all he could hope for.

Thankfully, Stella rarely went out anyway, and with her riches, he doubted that anything would happen to her so soon.

Still…

He was worried… for both of them.

***

An hour later, Lucian finally reached home.

By then, the exhaustion had fully settled into his bones, and his muscles ached from the strain. He was barely keeping his eyes open, since all he wanted to do right now was collapse onto the bed and sleep.

But he didn’t.

Because he was hungry… and also because he wanted to take a bath before all of that.

He pressed the doorbell.

The chime echoed faintly from inside.

A few seconds passed—then the door swung open abruptly.

“Brother, what happened to you!”

Lia shouted.

Her expression instantly shifted the moment she saw him.

Shock, disbelief, and most of all… horror could be clearly across her face.

Lucian looked terrible.

His clothes were stiff with dried sweat, smeared with dirt, and stained by a dark green residue that hadn’t quite washed off—goblin blood.

He looked like he had been thrown into a gutter and then beaten up.

“Lucian!”

Seraphina’s voice followed, as she rushed over at Lia’s shout—only to freeze the moment she saw him.

Her eyes widened.

Lucian smiled wryly, a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.

He stepped inside and quietly shut the door behind him.

Lia snapped out of her shock and hurried forward, grabbing his shoulders.

“Where did you go?!” She demanded, her voice mixed with anger and most of all… fear.

“What did you do to yourself?!”

She again looked him up and down in disbelief.

“Lia, calm down.” Lucian said calmly.

Her eyes twitched.

Calm down?

Before she could explode, Seraphina spoke up.

“Lia. Let him breathe first.”

Her voice was gentle—but the look she gave Lucian was sharp, disapproving, and deeply worried.

Lucian’s gaze dropped, seeing that look, but he didn’t say anything.

After entering the living room, Seraphina turned to him, closing the distance between them.

“Now answer. Where did you go? And why do you look like this?”

Lia crossed her arms, and her foot tapped restlessly against the floor.

She was clearly trying to hold herself back.

Lucian scratched his cheek.

His mind raced.

‘What should I tell them? Should I lie? No… then what?’

If he lied convincingly, then this could end here.

But if the truth came out later…

‘Would they hate me for hiding it? Would they feel betrayed?’

The idea made his chest tighten.

‘Killing those goblins is easier than this.’

Lia tapped her foot louder, waiting for him to answer.

He opened his mouth before he could overthink it further.

“Would you believe me if I told you that I fought goblins?”

Silence.

Lia stared at him as if he had completely lost his mind.

Seraphina tilted her head slightly.

‘Goblin?’ she wondered.

‘What is that?’

“Brother,” Lia said flatly, blinking slowly.

“This is not a time to joke around. We are serious.”

Lucian sighed inwardly.

[What did you expect?] Akasha’s amused and trembling voice echoed in his head, like she was holding herself from bursting into laughter.

[“Oh! You fought a goblin?! How did the fight go? Did you win?” Is that what you thought would happen?]

‘I get it. That was stupid of me.’ Lucian replied inwardly as he ran a hand through his hair.

“Don’t believe me,” he muttered.

“You’ll soon understand.”

Neither of them had any idea what he meant.

That only made them more confused.

“Anyways, I am taking a bath.”

Before they could argue, he turned away and walked into the bathroom.

Seraphina watched him disappear, then slowly turned to Lia.

“…Who is this goblin?”

Lia blinked, then sighed and explained.

“It is a monster from anime and fantasy novels.”

Seraphina stared at her.

“A monster?”

Lia nodded reluctantly.

“So he was saying… that he fought something that doesn’t exist?”

“That’s… what it sounded like.”

They fell silent.

‘Couldn’t he have made up a better excuse?’

‘Why would he lie at all?’

Both of them wondered inwardly.

***

Meanwhile, Lucian stood under the shower, washing off all the dirt and blood.

He didn’t have many injuries—just some small cuts and bruises that would heal in a few days.

And with his awakening, they might heal even faster.

[Couldn’t you have come up with a better reason?] Akasha asked dryly.

“I didn’t know what to tell them… if I gave a half-assed answer, they’d chase me for the truth… or worse, hate me.”

His fists clenched.

“And I cannot let them dislike me in any way.”

Akasha went silent for a while.

She sighed inwardly.

[‘He sometimes really overthinks about these sorts of things.’] She thought to herself, but didn’t say it out loud.

Rather—

[Do you think they would believe you now? They will even be more suspicious.]

“You are right.”

Lucian sighed, tilting his head back and letting the water cascade down his face.

‘What’s done is done. No use crying over spilled milk.’

After cleaning himself, disinfecting and bandaging his wounds, and changing into fresh clothes, he stepped back into the living room.

Lia and Seraphina were sitting on the couch.

He could clearly feel the tension in the air.

The entire room was quiet.

Lucian sighed and sat beside Lia.

Neither of them looked at him—clearly still upset.

“Sorry,” Lucian muttered sincerely.

They both turned toward him.

“Forget what I said earlier,” he continued with difficulty.

“I know you’re worried. But… I can’t tell you right now.”

As Akasha said, they wouldn’t believe him even if he told them the truth, and they might even feel distrust towards him.

And he couldn’t let that happen.

Call him insecure, or whatever, he didn’t care—because he knew that might be the truth.

They will soon understand the situation anyway.

Lia’s brows furrowed as she looked at him in worry.

Seraphina watched him for a moment, then moved closer and sat beside him on his left.

She gently took his hand, her slender fingers wrapping around his.

“Is it something dangerous?” she asked softly.

Her voice carried more fear than accusation.

“Something… criminal?”

At her question, Lia’s eyes widened, and she hastily looked at him, clearly wanting an answer.

Lucian shook his head immediately

“No.”

Lia sighed in relief—but Seraphina kept watching him.

Lucian lowered his eyes for a second, then raised them again to meet her gaze.

“Dangerous? No… not at all.” He forced a small smile.

Lia finally relaxed.

But Seraphina didn’t.

‘He’s lying,’ she thought quietly, but didn’t say anything else.

His face said it clearly, his fake smile screamed that he was lying.

Even Lucian knew she could tell.

And that was why he lied.

If he told the truth, then Lia might explode, literally.

But he knew his mother. She wouldn’t talk now, but might ask him later.

And that is what she did.

Seraphina nodded slowly.

“Good.”

She didn’t press further for now.

Inwardly, she was worried, and many questions filled her mind.

Still, he was fine.

Just then, a low rumble came from Lucian’s stomach.

They all looked at each other… then chuckled.

“I’ll prepare something.” Seraphina said as she stood up.

Before leaving, she cupped his cheek and studied him for a moment.

Her fingers brushed his cheeks lightly.

Lucian smiled faintly, feeling a bit guilty.

Even after lying, she was still taking care of him.

But before he could be happy, she grabbed his ear and twisted it sharply.

“Ah!” Lucian cried out, looking at her.

“Don’t make stupid excuses again… goblin or whatever that was.”

Saying that, she went to the kitchen.

Lia looked at her go, then leaned against Lucian’s shoulder.

“Did you really have to say that?” she whispered.

“Couldn’t you come up with a better lie?”

She was talking about his goblin excuse.

“Sorry,” Lucian muttered in a very low voice.

His eyes blinked repeatedly.

He was exhausted, tired, and sleepy.

Maybe that was the reason for his stupid excuse.

But it didn’t matter now.

Noticing his drooping eyes, Lia smiled slyly as a mischievous glint appeared in her eyes.

“Why don’t you sleep on my lap… if you want to?” she whispered teasingly.

She wanted to see him get flustered, to refuse, but instead—

“Mm.”

Lucian hummed softly, gently resting his head on her lap, and closed his eyes.

Lia froze instantly.

“W-what are you doing?!”

Lucian opened one eye and looked up at her.

“Didn’t you tell me to?”

He smiled faintly and closed his eyes again, one of his hands resting on her thigh.

Tiredness took over him, and he fell asleep within seconds.

Lia’s face burned red.

“I… just said that… as a… joke.” She muttered.

Realising she had spoken out, she quickly checked him.

He was already asleep.

She sighed in relief.

Then slowly… she smiled.

Her fingers hesitantly reached down and poked his cheek, feeling the warmth of his skin.

Her fingers ran through his hair, careful not to wake him up.

She stared at his face for a while.

‘Why does he look even more handsome?’ He thought absentmindedly, as she looked at his face, at his eyelashes, his nose, his well-defined jawline.

And right now, he looked so peaceful, so… unguarded.

Lia swallowed.

His fingers unconsciously brushed on her thigh, making her tremble slightly.

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