Chapter 394: Chapter 394 – Shield from Darkness!

The soft murmur of the lake returned to the forefront as silence settled between them once again, the gentle lapping of water against stone carrying a calm that contrasted with the weight of the conversation they had just shared. The breeze moved lightly through the trees, brushing past them as if trying to ease the tension that lingered unspoken in the air.

Luca let out a quiet sigh.

“There’s no need for you to know the bad parts,” he said, his tone softer now, almost careful. “Is there?”

The woman’s lips immediately formed a small pout, her brows knitting together in mild protest as she looked away toward the lake, clearly dissatisfied with his answer.

But only for a moment.

The resistance in her expression slowly faded as she exhaled lightly, her shoulders relaxing as if she had decided, reluctantly, to let it go.

She lowered her hand from his face and rested it beside her, her gaze drifting back toward the horizon where the water met the distant trees.

“You can tell me anything,” she said quietly.

Her voice carried no hesitation.

“No matter what it is… there is no darkness I haven’t seen.”

Luca turned his head slightly, his eyes settling on her profile.

There was no arrogance in her words.

No exaggeration.

Just a quiet truth she had long accepted.

For a moment, he said nothing.

Then—

He spoke.

“Then let there be some of that darkness I can shield you from.”

His voice was calm.

Steady.

“However small it is.”

The words hung in the air between them.

She blinked.

Surprise flickered across her face, her eyes shifting toward him as though trying to confirm she had heard him correctly.

And then—

She laughed.

Not loudly.

Not mockingly.

But softly, warmly, as if something within her had been caught off guard in the most unexpected way.

A faint tear gathered at the corner of her eye, and with a small, almost absent-minded motion, she flicked it away with her finger.

Luca watched her, slightly puzzled.

“What?” he asked, raising a brow. “You don’t believe me?”

She shook her head gently, her laughter fading as her expression softened.

“I do,” she said.

There was no doubt in her voice.

“It’s just that…”

She paused, her gaze lowering for a brief moment before lifting again to meet his.

“…no one has ever said something like that to me before.”

The admission was quiet.

Yet it carried more weight than anything else she had said.

Luca smiled.

Not teasing.

Not light.

But genuine.

For a brief moment, neither of them spoke.

They simply looked at each other, the silence between them no longer awkward, no longer uncertain—just still, and shared.

Then, after a while, she shifted slightly, her tone returning to something lighter, though her eyes still held a trace of that earlier softness.

“So…”

She tilted her head just a little, studying him.

“You can at least tell me what you were so worried about while coming here… right?”

The question lingered gently in the air between them, carried along by the soft rustling of leaves and the quiet ripples of the lake.

Luca blinked, a hint of surprise crossing his face as he looked at her.

“How do you know I was thinking about something?” he asked, his tone lightly curious, though there was a trace of something more thoughtful beneath it.

She smiled.

Not teasing.

Not smug.

Just… knowing.

“Didn’t you say before,” she replied, her voice calm and warm, “that you tend to find me whenever you’re worried about something?”

The words settled easily between them.

Luca let out a small hum, his gaze drifting momentarily toward the lake as he nodded.

“…Hmm.”

He couldn’t deny that.

It wasn’t something he had consciously realized until she said it—but now that she had, it felt strangely obvious.

Still—

His expression grew slightly hesitant.

“But…” he began, his brows knitting faintly as he turned back toward her, “…I don’t know if I should share something like this with you…”

He paused.

Then, noticing the slight shift in her expression—just enough to hint she might misunderstand—he quickly added,

“I mean—it’s about someone else’s personal life.”

The clarification came a little faster than he intended.

She watched him for a moment.

Then her expression softened again.

“Then just tell me the gist of it,” she said simply. “You don’t need to go into detail.”

There was no pressure in her voice.

No insistence.

Just an open invitation.

Luca fell silent.

His gaze lowered slightly as he thought it over, weighing the words carefully in his mind.

After a moment—

He nodded.

“…Alright.”

He exhaled slowly, organizing his thoughts before finally speaking.

“There’s this friend of mine…”

Luca hesitated for a brief moment after beginning, as though carefully choosing how much he should say and how much he should leave unsaid.

Then he continued, his voice quieter now, more thoughtful.

“She was… let’s just say… too obsessed with someone,” he said slowly. “So much that her entire world revolved around that person.”

His gaze drifted toward the lake again, following the ripples as they spread outward.

“No one else mattered,” he added after a pause. “Not even herself… she never placed anything above him.”

A faint tension crept into his expression as he went on.

“And recently… she came across something.”

His fingers curled slightly against his knee.

“Something that forced her to face her deepest fear.”

He exhaled lightly.

“What if… that person never saw her the same way?” he continued, his words slowing as he tried to put the feeling into something understandable. “What if… to him… she was just someone like everyone else?”

He shook his head faintly.

“I don’t really know how to explain it properly,” he admitted. “But… yeah.”

There was a brief pause before he spoke again.

“And that… broke her.”

His voice softened further.

“She stopped talking,” he said. “Stopped reacting… stopped… being herself.”

His brows knit slightly as the memory surfaced more clearly.

“She almost looked like… a soulless doll.”

The words lingered heavily between them.

Then, after a moment, he added quietly,

“I met her today… after some time.”

His gaze lowered.

“She looked okay,” he said, though the uncertainty in his tone made the statement fragile. “She even said she was fine…”

He paused.

But…

The word remained unfinished.

Before he could continue, the woman beside him spoke gently, her voice filling the silence as if she had already understood the rest.

“…You’re not sure if she is really okay.”

Luca glanced at her.

Then nodded slowly.

“…Hmm.”

The woman remained quiet for a moment after Luca finished speaking, her gaze resting on the lake as if she were letting his words settle fully before responding.

Then, without turning toward him, she asked softly,

“So… what do you wish to do now?”

Luca let out a slow breath, his shoulders lowering slightly as he shook his head.

“I… don’t know.”

There was no hesitation in his answer.

Just honesty.

She nodded faintly, as though she had expected that.

Then she spoke again, her voice calm and measured, carrying a quiet certainty.

“If I were to suggest something…”

A brief pause followed.

“…I would say—just let her be.”

Luca turned his head toward her, a hint of surprise crossing his face at the simplicity of her answer.

She, however, didn’t look at him.

Her eyes remained fixed on the distant sky, where the fading light of evening had begun to give way to the deeper shades of night.

“If she has truly closed herself off the way you described,” she continued, “then trying to force her to open up will not help you… and it will not help her either.”

Her fingers moved lightly against the surface of the stone beneath her, tracing absent patterns as she spoke.

“The fear she is facing…” she said quietly, “is something she needs to confront on her own.”

Luca listened without interrupting.

“If you try to pull her out of it,” she went on, her tone gentle yet firm, “you might succeed for a moment… but it won’t last.”

She finally shifted slightly, though her gaze still did not meet his.

“She will end up relying on you again,” she added. “And while that is not necessarily a bad thing…”

A small pause lingered.

“…it means she hasn’t truly overcome anything.”

The wind picked up softly, brushing past them as her voice continued, steady and thoughtful.

“If you really want her to grow,” she said, “then she needs to find her way out of that darkness herself.”

Her expression softened slightly.

“You can stay near,” she added quietly. “You can make sure she doesn’t fall too far.”

“But don’t drag her out of it.”

“Let her walk out on her own.”

Silence followed her words.

Luca looked down slightly, his thoughts turning inward as he processed what she had said.

It wasn’t what he had expected to hear.

But…

It made sense.

A quiet sigh escaped him as he leaned back slightly, his gaze drifting once more toward the lake.

“…I’ll think about it,” he said after a moment.

She nodded once.

Neither of them spoke again.

The sky above had darkened completely now, the last traces of evening replaced by the quiet embrace of night. The lake reflected the faint glow of distant lights from the academy, its surface calm and undisturbed as the world around them seemed to slow.

They sat there in silence, side by side, the conversation settling into something unspoken yet understood.

After a while, Luca took a deeper breath and pushed himself up from where he sat.

“Alright,” he said lightly, brushing his hands against his clothes. “I guess it’s time for me to leave.”

The woman nodded, her gaze still resting ahead.

“Take care of yourself,” she said softly. “And don’t think too much about it.”

A faint smile appeared on Luca’s face as he nodded in return.

“…I’ll try.”

With that, he turned and began walking away, his steps quiet as he left the lakeside behind, the night air following him as his thoughts slowly began to settle.

The academy pathways lay quiet under the soft embrace of night, illuminated only by scattered lanterns that cast warm pools of light along the stone walkways. The lively energy of the day had long faded, replaced by a calm stillness broken only by the occasional rustle of leaves and the distant echo of footsteps.

Luca walked alone.

His pace was steady, but his mind was anything but.

Fragments of the conversation at the lake lingered, intertwining with the thoughts he had tried to suppress earlier. The quiet advice, the understanding in her voice, the unspoken weight behind her words—all of it settled into him more deeply with each step he took.

He exhaled slowly.

Then, almost to himself, he muttered—

“…Now there is one thing I ought to do.”

His gaze lifted slightly, focusing ahead as a hint of resolve began to replace the earlier uncertainty in his expression.

A brief pause followed.

“…Let’s just hope she is free.”

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