"I have to take care of this idiot once again…",Aurelian looked at Lucian with tear-filled eyes.
"I made him lose his way near the forest, but… how?...how did he survive there!?
Not even hunters dare to go deep into that forest!"
Aurelian was sad and disappointed.He had to think of something else…or he would never be free of Lucian.
"Aurelian… child, I'm hoping you'll think about my suggestion",Father Ralnr said, tone hesitant.
Aurelian's beautiful face stiffened—
teeth grinding,
knuckles clenched.
"Never!..I..I would never become a priest!"
He stomped his foot, turned away, and walked up the steps leading to his room.
Father Ralnr reached out,
his left hand opening and closing again,
before lowering his head in disappointment.
"Young dreams…",he chuckled dryly, watching Aurelian's figure disappear.
Father Ralnr looked into Lucian's eyes — eyes that resembled those of a scared, mindless animal.The grip of his right hand finally loosened.
"Go sleep," he said with a gentle smile,
making simple gestures the weak-minded boy could understand.
Lucian crawled up the stairs, entering the same room as Aurelian.
"Why don't you just die…?"Aurelian didn't even bother looking at him"The whole purpose of your existence is pointless."
His fingers tangled in his golden hair as he absentmindedly played with it.
"Aey? And you decide whether someone should live or not!?..I take it back— you… you're an edgy kid!",Lucian's soul snapped from inside.
Aurelian's nose twitched smelling Lucain's unbearable scent, his gaze finally landed on him and he just pinched the bridge of his nose.
" You smell so bad and now I have to also clean the room cause of the dirt you brought with you...IDIOT!"
"My bad, kid… but my hands are tied. I can't do anything.",Lucian's soul felt a sense of regret.
Aurelian didn't even look angry.
He wore that usual expression of mild annoyance —but underneath it, he simply looked… tired of Lucian.
"But first… I have to clean you."Aurelian didn't even flinch as he said it,as if it were the most normal thing in the world.
"CLEAN? STAY AWAY FROM ME, KID!!"
Lucian's soul panicked at his words.The thought of being cleaned or… even being touched by another malemade him feel itchy —if souls could even feel that.
Aurelian stepped in front of a shelf and pulled out his spare tunic, sighing tiredly.
He gripped Lucian's hand and forced him to follow.
The foolish boy stumbled onto the ground without resistance, then clumsily walked beside him on unsteady legs.
"Brat, you got no sense of privacy, do ya?",Lucian felt the pain of being dragged.Aurelian's grip on his arm was tight, frustration clearly written on his face.
Step by step, they descended the stairs.
The kids were sleeping,and as always, the eternal sun still shone above,its light watching over all existence.
Forced steps… and then Lucian suddenly jumped onto Aurelian's back,his hands playing with Aurelian's smooth, shoulder-length golden hair.
"You…! You!"
Aurelian clicked his tongue, long accustomed to this kind of childish behavior.Meanwhile, Lucian's soul wanted to disappear into oblivion.
"Is this fool Lucian attracted to men? If it were that girl Miyu, I'd feel like heaven — but this
I'm a heterosexual male!",his soul sighed miserably.
Aurelian finally gave up, pouting as he took slow steps down the stairs,carefully trying not to fall.
Aurelian, with Lucian clinging to his back,finally entered the bathing house.It smelled of herbs and a faint scent of soap — not like normal soaps,
its only property was to form foam.
"Oi!! Don't touch me, you— that's… ga—"
Lucian's soul was screaming.He wanted to disappear from existence entirely.His masculine pride shattered at the thought of being undressed by another male.It felt unbearably awkward.
"You… you… why…?"
Aurelian's eyes widened.His blue eyes locked onto Lucian's thin body — the bruises, the scars.
His hands trembled violently.
Tears welled up as his mouth opened… then closed…as if he wanted to say something
but couldn't.
Aurelian silently prepared the brushes,applied a detoxifying paste to Lucian's injuries,and began washing him.His own clothes grew wet,
but he didn't speak a single word.
The guilt was written clearly on his face.
Foolish Lucian was simply enjoying the warmth of the hot water in the tub.Aurelian sat beside him, knees pulled to his chest,his expression conflicted under the dim light.
"Damn… it does feel good,"Lucian's soul admitted.The heat loosened the stiffness in his body,and the sensation alone made him never want to leave.
"Lucian… why did you have to become like this, huh?",Aurelian murmured,
his face half-shadowed by the orange glow of the bathhouse lanterns.
The foolish Lucian didn't even bother to respond.All he cared about was the warmth enveloping him.
But Lucian's soul caught every word —listening very carefully.
Was this foolish, alternative version of me…
not autistic from the start?
he mused.
The sight of Lucian's injuries never truly left Aurelian's mind.His grip around his knees tightened.
"It's my fault… I… I'm a sinner…"
Aurelian mumbled into his knees.
The guilt of leaving Lucian on purpose gnawed at his stomach,eating him alive from the inside.
Foolish Lucian stood up at the edge of the modest tub,placing all his weight on the side.
If it weren't for Aurelian's back serving as support— and for Lucian's frail, feather-light body —the entire tub would have collapsed.
Instead, water simply dripped onto Aurelian.
Drip. Drip.
Aurelian looked up to see Lucian
staring down at him with a confused expression,a sheepish smile glued to his face.
Aurelian's eyebrows twitched,his pupils shrinking to pinpoints as he realized what was about to happen.
"N-No— Lucian, you idiot— don't try—!"
In a panic, Aurelian rolled away from where he was sitting, just as Lucian leapt like a baby eagle on its first flight...only to crash face-first onto the floor.
Lucian was laughing and crying at the same time,blood dripping from his nose.
"I–Idiot!!"
Aurelian screamed.
Meanwhile, Lucian's soul felt the exact same pain as the original owner of this body.
He couldn't wrap his head around how this boy managed to survive to the age of fifteen.
He was like a bear who would purposely step on a bear trap just because it looked shiny.
No one could understand the mind of this foolish boy.
Aurelian, panicked, hugged Lucian tightly, rubbing his back.He tore a piece of his own tunic and pressed it against Lucian's bleeding nose.
"Ugh… my life sucks.And you… why do you have to be so much trouble?"
Aurelian's voice cracked with heavy breaths.
His face was stiff, eyes wide, locked onto Lucian's smiling face.
"Aww, what's the meaning of all this…?
Why can't I just disappear, or reincarnate, or achieve nirvana?
Instead I'm stuck here, in the body of a special boy,
trapped inside — feeling everything but nothing good…
It's… it's worse than hell!"
Lucian's soul was drowning in existential dread.
Aurelian dried Lucian and then dressed him in some clean clothes.Lucian, still holding the cloth to his nose, looked at Aurelian with shining eyes and leaned into a tight hug, cuddling him like a puppy clinging to its owner.
"STOP! HE'S A MAN! AND I— WHY DIDN'T YOU DO THE SAME THING WITH THAT KITTY!?",Lucian's soul begged for salvation.
Aurelian hesitated for a moment.
He was a year older than Lucian — sixteen — taller, steadier.He looked down at the frail, puppy-like boy,eyes softening before guilt bit into him.
"Lucian… I committed a sin.From the start, I always saw you as a burden…something cursed onto me by the heavens. I… I…"
Aurelian 's mouth opened and closed,
Finally words came out as his lips moved .
"I tried to abandon you in the forest.I hoped you would never come back...When I left you, I ran… and tried to never look back… but…"
Aurelian's hands trembled for a moment
before his arms slowly wrapped around Lucian.
"I'm sorry… I'm really sorry.I always saw you as a burden I had to carry.You got hurt… I never meant it!
I… I'm an orphan just like you.
Nobody cares for us…
but from this day on—
I, Aurelian…"
—pause—
"…I'll take care of you like my younger brother."
Lucian's soul felt a storm of complex emotions.He couldn't help but be touched by Aurelian's sincerity.
"Geez… if I were you, I would've gotten rid of such trouble a long time ago.
It's not like you'd be caught by a CCTV camera in this medieval or Victorian world,"
he snickered inwardly…
…but inside,he was deeply moved by Aurelian's words.
Some peaceful days passed.
Aurelian was always annoyed by Lucian's unpredictable, distracting actions.
Usually, the fool played with the orphans —
and sometimes Miyu visited the orphanage,
spending most of her time sticking to Lucian.
"Tch… why you? Get yourself a husband already!...Why keep coming here, you old lady!..Get lost, beastman!"
Aurelian muttered, brows twitching at the sight of Lucian and Miyu together.
"Beastman!? You little… dwarf!"
Miyu glared at him.
"And I'm NOT old! I'm just… 19…so stop calling me an old lady!"
she muttered, her feline ears twitching aggressively.
Days kept passing,
and Lucian's soul felt calm and oddly blissful.
He wasn't in control,
but life… felt interesting.
He was enjoying it because boredom never existed in this foolish body.
Doing risky, stupid things —
and always having Miyu, Aurelian, and Father Ralnr protect him —
made life feel warm for once.
He thought it would always stay like this.
But one day… everything changed.
Knock! Knock!
"It's open! Just move the handle!"
Aurelian called from his room, studying alone.
Lucian was nowhere to be seen —
a rare opportunity for him to focus.
"Okay then!"
A soft female voice — unfamiliar — replied.
The door opened.
Aurelian's eyes widened.