A Scandal Waiting To Happen

The fire crackled softly, casting flickering shadows on the cold walls of their temporary shelter. Diana sat close to the flames, her golden eyes staring blankly at the dancing embers, lost in thought.

She still didn't understand.

Why had no one stopped this?

Why had the courts remained silent?

This couldn't be the first time something like this had happened.

Across from her, Lucius leaned back against a pile of stolen documents, flipping through the pages with a lazy flick of his wrist. He could feel the weight in the air—the silence pressing down on her.

"You're thinking too much," he said, not looking up.

Diana didn't respond.

Lucius sighed, setting the papers aside. "Look, you don't get it because you still think like a royal. The courts don't move unless it benefits them. They know, they just don't care."

She finally looked up at him. "Then what's the point of them existing?"

Lucius smirked. "To keep people like us entertained, obviously."

Diana frowned at his nonchalant tone, but Lucius only shrugged. "You act like this is new. The nobles let Evermont do whatever he wants because he's useful to them. Even if they wanted to stop him, they wouldn't. It's an unspoken law. Just like me—I might be the Underworld King, but I can't control everyone. I can't just walk into another crime lord's den and demand they stop selling people. We all have our limits."

Diana's fingers curled into fists. "So you're saying nothing can be done?"

Lucius studied her for a moment.

For someone who had seen so much bloodshed, who had orchestrated so many things in the shadows, Diana was surprisingly naive in some ways.

No—that wasn't it.

She was desperate.

Desperate to believe that her actions mattered.

Lucius let out a breath, rubbing the back of his neck. "Look, I get it. But sometimes, shit happens, and we can't stop it."

Diana lowered her head, staring at her trembling hands.

I didn't stop it.

I just made it happen faster.

Lucius didn't know about her past life. He didn't know that this tragedy had already happened once before. He didn't know that the same people she had tried to save were always meant to die.

She thought she could change things.

She thought she could save them.

But she had only sped up their deaths.

A bitter laugh escaped her lips before she could stop it.

Lucius raised an eyebrow. "What's so funny?"

Diana shook her head, forcing a smile. "Nothing. Just… reality."

He watched her carefully. She's not telling me something.

But he didn't push.

Instead, he turned his attention back to the stolen documents in front of them.

"Anyway," he said, "we got what we came for. These files are a goldmine of illegal transactions. Not that it matters. The blame will fall on Count Rubein, as expected. Evermont will walk away clean."

Diana barely heard him. Her eyes had landed on a familiar seal pressed into one of the documents.

Her breath caught in her throat.

She knew that mark.

Lucius noticed her sudden reaction and frowned. "What? You recognize it?"

Diana didn't answer. Her hands were shaking as she opened the file.

And there it was.

The list of subjects.

Human experimentation.

Her vision blurred as she scanned the contents. Names, numbers, results—failed experiments, successful ones.

Her stomach twisted. Holy Empire.

She gritted her teeth. Of course.

She knew what this was. She had seen it before.

The Seventh Disaster.

A chimera. Created from human experiments conducted by the Holy Empire. It had ravaged the northern plains a year after the Second Calamity. The same plains where she stood now.

And when the Great War Alliance had formed, the Holy Empire had been too occupied dealing with their own monstrosity to be of any use.

Diana knew because she had been there.

She had been the one to kill it.

In her past life, she had fought that monster with her own hands. And only after its death had she learned the truth—that it had once been human.

Her chest tightened.

She needed to find the survivors.

Now.

Diana ran.

She pushed past the burned ruins, past the lingering scent of blood and smoke.

Lucius cursed and chased after her. "Oi, Diana! What the hell—"

She ignored him.

She reached the remaining children, those they had saved from the burning village. They huddled together near the remnants of a broken wall, their eyes empty, their bodies too weak to shiver.

Diana scanned their faces, searching.

Please… let him be here…

And then she saw him.

A boy with soft blonde hair and golden eyes.

Her breath hitched.

He was small—too thin, too pale. His expression was blank, completely devoid of emotion.

Diana's knees hit the snow as she knelt before him.

"What's your name?" she whispered.

The boy tilted his head, his gaze empty. "Zero."

Her heart clenched.

Jackpot.

This was him.

The boy she had once killed.

The chimera from the future—the one created by the Holy Empire's twisted experiments.

Lucius finally caught up, panting. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

Then he saw the boy.

And he froze.

Diana reached out slowly, cupping the child's face. He didn't flinch, didn't react.

His skin was cold.

She smiled softly, forcing back the ache in her chest. "Not anymore," she said. "Your name is Evan now."

For the first time, the boy blinked. As if confused.

Lucius, meanwhile, was staring at them with an unreadable expression.

And then, suddenly—

"Oh, hell no."

Diana turned to him, puzzled. "What?"

Lucius pointed a shaking finger at the child. "He has your eye color."

She blinked. "And?"

"And he has my hair color."

Diana frowned. "What are you—"

Lucius ran a hand down his face. "Diana. This kid looks like us."

Diana opened her mouth—then froze.

She turned back to Evan, really looking at him this time.

Her golden eyes.

Lucius's dark hair.

Oh.

Oh no.

Lucius groaned, dragging a hand through his hair. "You do realize what this means, right?"

Diana swallowed. "It's just a coincidence."

Lucius shot her a flat look. "You don't believe in coincidences."

Diana glanced down at Evan, who was still staring at her with that eerily blank expression.

Lucius muttered a curse. "Rumors are definitely going to spread."

Diana sighed.

She had come here expecting war. Expecting to fight monsters and corruption.

Instead, she had apparently adopted one.

*****

The fire crackled softly in the corner, casting a warm glow over the small room. Diana sat cross-legged on the bed, her golden eyes fixed on the boy sitting stiffly on her lap.

Evan was bigger and taller than Lucien, yet somehow, Diana had managed to get the boy to sit quietly as she gently dried his damp blonde hair with a towel. His body was rigid, his muscles tensed as if expecting something terrible to happen at any moment.

Diana hummed softly, brushing his hair with her fingers. "Relax," she murmured. "You're safe here."

Evan didn't reply. He barely moved, his blank golden eyes staring at the floor. He didn't even seem to register the warmth of the fire, nor the soft bed beneath him.

Lucius, who was leaning against the wall, had been reading the stolen documents. He had planned to keep himself busy investigating the experiments, but the more he observed the scene before him, the more he found himself just... staring.

The way Diana patiently combed Evan's hair.

The way the boy flinched at every small movement, only for Diana to soothe him with a gentle touch.

The way she coaxed him to drink warm milk and pulled a blanket around his shoulders like a protective shield.

It was unsettling.

And frustrating.

Lucius rubbed his temples. "Shit."

Diana glanced at him. "What?"

Lucius let out a long sigh and tossed the document onto the table. "We already dropped off most of the kids at orphanages along the way, but this one..." His eyes narrowed at Evan. "This one is going to be a problem."

Diana arched a brow. "Why?"

"Why? Are you serious?" Lucius gestured wildly toward Evan. "First of all, the kid has blonde hair and golden eyes. Do I need to remind you who else has blonde hair and golden eyes?"

Diana tilted her head innocently. "Me?"

Lucius groaned. "You and me, Diana. Look at him! If we walk into the capital like this, what do you think people are going to assume?!"

Diana blinked, then looked down at Evan, who was still emotionless, still eerily silent.

Lucius was right.

The boy had her golden eyes and Lucius's blonde hair.

A perfect mix of both of them.

A smirk tugged at Diana's lips. "Ah, I see."

Lucius threw up his hands. "Thank you! Finally, you're seeing the problem!"

Instead of looking worried, Diana laughed. "Isn't it funny?"

Lucius froze. "...Funny?"

Diana grinned, shifting Evan slightly so she could meet Lucius's horrified gaze. "Think about it. The Emperor, Cassian, had a fling during our engagement and loved Liliana so much he gave her everything. His children are around the same age as Evan—two years older than Lucien, right?"

Lucius squinted. "...Yeah?"

Diana leaned forward, her smirk growing. "So how about I have an illegitimate child too?"

Lucius choked. "What?"

Diana shrugged. "If people want to call me a lovesick fool, why not give them a real scandal to talk about? Liliana was a mere commoner, but she became the Emperor's beloved mistress. And I? I had a fling with the Underworld King."

Lucius's jaw dropped. "Diana, what the fuck?"

She laughed. "What? It's a good counterattack. If they accuse me of still loving the Emperor, I'll just let them think I had my own affair. Doesn't that make us equal?"

"No!" Lucius shouted. "No, that is not how this works!"

Diana tilted her head. "Why not?"

"Because!" Lucius gestured wildly at Evan again. "This kid is going to be a walking scandal! The moment people see him, they'll think we—" He stopped, his face contorting in frustration. "Why am I the only one worrying about this?!"

Diana just looked amused. She turned back to Evan, gently adjusting his blanket. "Lucien won't mind having a smart older brother."

Lucius nearly threw something. "That is not the point!"

Diana knew Lucien wouldn't mind.

In the future, Evan had grown into someone with a terrifying affinity for dark magic and poison. A natural-born alchemist.

Having him on their side was far better than leaving him to be used as a weapon.

Lucius, still pacing back and forth, was muttering to himself. "This is insane. This is absolutely insane. I just know rumors are going to spread. The Emperor is going to be pissed. The nobles will have a field day. And—why am I the one acting like a responsible adult here?!"

Diana grinned. "Because it's fun watching you panic."

Lucius stopped mid-step, glaring at her.

She was enjoying this.

Of course she was.

Lucius groaned, dragging a hand down his face. "I hate you."

"You love me," Diana said sweetly.

"I really don't."

Evan, still sitting silently on Diana's lap, blinked and tilted his head slightly, as if confused by their bickering.

Lucius let out another long sigh and rubbed his temples. "Fine. Whatever. But if this kid causes a scandal, you're dealing with it."

Diana smiled. "Of course."

Lucius didn't believe her for a second.

Despite all his complaints, Lucius found himself helping.

He didn't know why.

One moment he was grumbling about the situation, the next, he was the one washing the kid's face, making sure his wounds were treated, and ensuring he had warm clothes.

Lucius had lived most of his life in the underworld. He had seen orphans before. Starving, terrified, desperate kids.

But Evan was different.

He didn't react.

No flinching when hands reached toward him. No tears, no anger. Nothing.

Just blank stares.

Lucius handed Evan a piece of bread. The boy looked at it, then at Lucius.

Lucius frowned. "Eat."

Evan hesitated.

Lucius sighed and took a bite himself, chewing exaggeratedly. "See? Not poisoned."

Evan stared a moment longer before cautiously taking the bread.

Lucius watched as the boy chewed slowly, his expression still unreadable.

He had dealt with broken people before. But this...

This kid wasn't just traumatized.

He had been stripped of everything.

His body, his memories—he probably didn't even know what it meant to be human anymore.

Lucius ran a hand through his hair. "Shit."

Diana, sitting nearby, glanced over. "What now?"

Lucius gestured toward Evan. "This kid is a disaster waiting to happen."

Diana smirked. "Welcome to my world."

Lucius scowled. "Don't welcome me. I don't want to be here."

Yet, despite his complaints, Lucius found himself making sure Evan was comfortable.

He tucked extra blankets around him when Diana wasn't looking.

He made sure the food wasn't too hot or too cold.

He even adjusted the pillow under Evan's head when the boy finally lay down to sleep.

Lucius stared at his own hands.

What the hell am I doing?

This wasn't his problem.

Yet here he was, acting like some kind of father figure.

Diana, lying on her side with a smug expression, watched him in amusement.

"You know," she said casually, "if you keep this up, people might start thinking you actually care."

Lucius scowled at her. "Shut up."

Diana just laughed.