Lucia Thames: Eden Thames' Stepsister

As soon as she heard my approval, the door opened. Lucia entered my room with a blank and worried expression.

My initial interpretation of Lucia upon first reading was that of a spoiled, moody noblewoman who blamed Eden Thames for the misfortunes in her life.

It's hard to hate Lucia once you know her background.

But, I also find it hard to sympathize with her.

Especially since I already knew that Lucia was part of the group that killed Eden Thames.

I'm not sure if her reason for coming here was to check on my condition and plan my murder again, or for some other reason to eliminate me; I really have no idea.

It's hard to guess what this character is thinking, especially when I'm already in the finished story and at the end of the story.

"Your Majesty Eden."

Lucia bowed, paying her respects with the graceful manner of a noblewoman.

I remained in my place, not moving an inch as a way to maintain my composure.

Lucia must not know that I was hiding my fear.

"Why did you come here?"

Lucia raised an eyebrow, looking at me with an innocent expression.

"Do I need a reason to visit my brother?"

Under normal circumstances, I might have been touched by Lucia's answer.

But in my current situation, I remained vigilant.

Lucia couldn't come here solely out of concern for her stepbrother.

Throughout her life, Lucia had spent her life hating Eden, so she couldn't come for such a ridiculous reason.

Stay calm, Alfred, I muttered to myself. If I were Eden Thames, what would I do?

I closed my eyes, trying to imagine myself as Eden Thames.

"Is that so?" I put on a neutral expression that I thought resembled Eden Thames, facing Lucia as I organized the documents I was working on. "I'm touched. If there's nothing else you need to do, you should leave now."

I was certain I was portraying Eden Thames well. But what happened next was unexpected. Lucia's eyes welled up when she saw me.

Before I realized it, Lucia had run toward me and jumped into my arms, hugging me tightly until I lost my words.

"Brother!"

I didn't know how to respond. Both my hands were still hanging in the air, too afraid to return Lucia's hug. To others, I might have looked stiff and unaccustomed to such things.

But deep down, I was terrified. I didn't know what tactics Lucia would use to kill me. After all, in this story, Lucia was one of the people who wanted me dead.

But from another perspective, I think Eden's stiff response would be the perfect image for Eden's character.

"I was so worried sick when I heard you were dying..."

Nonsense. You couldn't possibly be worried about me, I muttered to myself. Weren't you the one who helped plan Eden's murder? I bet you were laughing with joy when you heard the news of Eden's death.

"As soon as Richardson told me you had regained consciousness, I rushed here."

That's also impossible, I commented to myself. If you truly cared, you should have come here on the first day I regained consciousness.

"I wish I could say that, but the journey from our small cabin by the Charlotte River to here takes three days, so I only arrived today. And I rushed straight to your room."

Ah, that's true. I was too fixated on what Lucia was doing that I forgot one important thing.

Lucia had already escaped the kingdom and was safely ensconced in a riverside royal cabin on the Charlotte River as the coup took place.

It's quite far from the kingdom, so it takes at least five days to get here.

But in this story, Lucia was in such a hurry to arrive as soon as she heard the news that Eden had died.

Only for another reason. Because she wanted to take my position.

Now, what was the reason Lucia came in such a hurry? Surely it wasn't because of my death, since the fact is I replaced Eden by returning to life in this body.

I slowly released her embrace from me, guiding her to sit beside me on the chair.

"Brother …"

I watched Lucia clutching the side of her skirt until the knuckles of both her hands turned white, lowering her head.

For me, it was difficult to portray Eden as rigid yet deeply concerned about her step-sister, who never even realized it until the end of her life.

You're too kind, Eden, I muttered softly to myself. And people still think you're a criminal even after everything you've done for them. That's not fair...

Lucia looked up, and I saw that she had started crying. Her expression reminded me of my younger sister whenever she cried.

My hand moved on its own. Without realizing it, I wiped the tears from Lucia's chubby cheeks with my thumb.

I'm amazed by you, Eden, I murmured to myself. How can you do something like this without feeling the slightest bit tired?

"Lucia..." I gently stroked the top of Lucia's head. Honestly, I was a little surprised at how soft her hair was. Is this because Lucia is a noblewoman? "Why are you crying?"

For a moment, her tear-filled eyes looked at me in wonder. When I realized she was surprised because I had stroked her hair, I immediately withdrew my hand and resumed my usual flat, stiff expression.

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry..." Lucia said between sobs, wiping her tears, no longer looking at me in wonder as before. "I already know everything."

"Know? Know what?" I furrowed my brows in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"I've read everything," Lucia said again between sobs.

"What did you read?" I asked, even more confused. Is there anyone who can explain to me what's happening?

"I'm talking about this."

***