Chapter 22
Just moments ago, when Lucas left the greenhouse, Leon had looked so gloomy that he thought there would be no playful tricks today, leaving him disappointed. But what was this? As soon as Lucas stepped out, Leon let out a sharp whistle.
When Jerry swiftly flew over and perched on his small shoulder, Leon spoke.
“Listen carefully from now on. We’re going to tell a tiny little lie.”
Jerry flapped his wings in protest, but Leon remained firm.
“Yesterday, Lucas didn’t come until the sun had almost set. You both want to be with him too, don’t you?”
At those words, Jerry had no choice but to stop flapping. Lulu, who had quietly approached, also curled up beside Leon, seemingly convinced by the idea of staying close to Lucas.
“Lulu, you think so too, right?”
As if responding, Lulu thumped his tail against the ground.
“We were born with special powers. You two are half-monster and half-animal, while I’m half-animal and half-human.”
What exactly that had to do with lying to Lucas was unclear, but if the clever Leon said so, then it must be true. After all, there had never been a dull moment when following Leon’s lead.
“I have a feeling today will take a while. Lucas looked so downhearted. So, let’s surprise him. Imagine how happy he’d be if a bird he thought was injured suddenly flew up as if nothing happened. Don’t you think so?”
Lulu and Jerry, who had been listening quietly, nodded in agreement. Their plan for the day was now complete.
Step, step.
Hearing Lucas’s footsteps approaching faster, Jerry held his breath as if playing dead. Then, Leon’s voice rang out.
“Over here. It’s over here.”
Lucas followed Leon’s pointing finger and looked down. The normally restless great-billed bird, which could barely stay still, was now lying limp.
“Oh dear, what happened? Where did it get hurt…?”
Just as Lucas reached out to touch Jerry’s wing, Jerry suddenly flapped his wings and soared straight up to the greenhouse ceiling. His movements were so strong that it was impossible to believe he had been injured.
As Lucas stared up at the ceiling in disbelief, Leon innocently remarked,
“I guess he felt stronger because you’re here, Lucas. Just like me. I feel stronger when you’re around.”
Leon nodded, his golden eyes sparkling.
Narrowing his eyes, Lucas looked at him carefully before raising a finger with a swift motion. Completely unaware of Lucas’s suspicion, Jerry, who had been flying around the greenhouse, obediently fluttered down and perched on his fingertip.
“Jerry, were you really hurt? You weren’t just playing a trick to trouble His Highness, were you?”
Jerry flapped his wings in protest as if to say he was being falsely accused, while Lulu nervously paced around them. But Leon simply gazed at Lucas with an expression of complete innocence.
Looking at the suspicious trio, Lucas quickly pieced together what had happened. With a gentle but thorough touch, he examined Jerry’s body. Fortunately, not a single feather was missing.
As I expected.
Confirming that his guess had been right, Lucas let out an exasperated chuckle. It reminded him too much of the tricks he used to play as a child to get his parents’ attention. Lately, he had been caught up in overdue work, leaving little time to spend with Leon. Perhaps Leon had simply missed him.
Still, he couldn’t just let Leon wander around aimlessly, especially considering how unpredictable his transformations were. The greenhouse, filled with things to entertain him, had seemed like the safest option. Yet, in that time, it appeared that Leon had recruited both Lulu and Jerry into his schemes.
“Lucas, is Jerry okay?”
“Yes, fortunately, he doesn’t seem to be injured.”
Leon let out a relieved sigh, pressing a hand to his chest. But when his eyes met Lucas’s, he flashed a bright smile.
Lucas returned the smile but crouched in front of Leon with a stern expression. He understood the mischief, but some things still needed to be addressed.
“Leon. Did Jerry and Lulu really fight, and did Jerry actually get hurt?”
“…No…”
As soon as he saw Lucas’s serious gaze, Leon quickly caught on to the shift in mood and confessed, lowering his head. With his eyes glancing up hesitantly, he looked just like a guilty puppy that had been caught misbehaving. Lucas suppressed a chuckle before continuing.
“Even if you miss me, you shouldn’t lie about someone being hurt or worse. It makes people worry. Do you understand?”
“…Yes.”
Lucas, thinking that Leon had understood enough, shifted to a lighter tone.
“By the way, how did you become so close with Jerry? He’s quite the troublemaker, so I never actually introduced him to you.”
“Jerry… At first, I thought he hated me. But when I kept whistling, he started coming to me. And when I held out my finger, he would perch on it.”
As Leon lifted his finger, Jerry demonstratively hopped onto it. It was surprising how well he balanced there, given how small Leon’s hands were.
Was it a show of loyalty to his little partner-in-mischief? Or was it due to Leon’s special power?
Jerry had been in the greenhouse for quite some time, yet he had never warmed up to Michelle or Sion so easily. It was understandable, considering the wounds he carried—being half-monster had made him a target of human hostility.
And yet, he had opened his heart to Leon in no time.
What if Leon’s curse included the ability to tame monsters?
Lucas, having reached that thought, shook his head. He was getting ahead of himself without any proof.
Jerry’s special bond with Leon was likely born out of curiosity rather than anything supernatural. Whether it was truly due to Leon’s power would require more observation.
Was it because of the turmoil in his heart? Or was it the lingering thoughts of the unknown power hidden within Leon’s curse? That night, Lucas was plagued by nightmares he had not suffered in a long time.
He stood there, unmoving, silently witnessing it all.
“A recessive omega, huh… Can’t even sell this one.”
Words from the director, incomprehensible to him back then.
“Still, if we want to keep getting government funding, it’s better to have at least one of these kids in the mix.”
Then came the voice of the caretaker.
As the conversation unfolded, a young Kim Woo-jin sat curled up in the corner of a room. Slowly, he lifted his head, lips parting as if he had something to say. Lucas, watching this from his dream, wanted to stop him.
Don’t resist. It’ll only get you a beating.
But the words that left the boy’s mouth were completely different from what Lucas had expected.
“I’ll skip dinner. I’m not hungry, Teacher.”
It was only upon hearing that response that Lucas was reminded of his own past.
Yes… Even when faced with injustice, I was a child who never so much as groaned in protest. I worried for nothing.
“Oh, is that so?”
“Yes.”
Obediently answering, Kim Woo-jin left the room. While the highly valuable children with dominant genes ate their meals, he filled his stomach with tap water.
Suddenly, it felt as if his entire body had been submerged in water. The surroundings spun rapidly.
His breath caught. His head felt light. The ground beneath him seemed to collapse.
But he let the dizziness take over—he was used to it by now. Nightmares had haunted him for too long.
When Lucas opened his eyes, he found himself standing in a snowy field.
It was the night he had gone out in search of his sister, who had yet to return. If his memories were correct, Sion had been by his side then. But now, there was no one.
Following the small, dotted trail of blood across the white snow, he ventured deeper into the black forest, praying with each step.
“Please, let my sister be safe…”
With every heavy step sinking into the snow, he prayed.
But the further he walked, the only thing that greeted him were those crimson eyes.
And when he finally reached the end of that path, he saw it.
His sister, lying on the ground, her leg wounded terribly.
“Mi… Michelle!”
Lucas stood there, watching his younger self cry out in despair.
A child too foolish to realize how futile his cries were.
What would happen next in this nightmare? Would Michelle suddenly blame him before dying? Would a monster appear to devour them both? Or perhaps—
The world suddenly flipped upside down.
Darkness engulfed him.
When Lucas opened his eyes again, he was staring into the void.
How much had he struggled in his sleep? His body was drenched in sweat.
“…….”
He placed a hand on his chest, trying to steady his breath. That was when something suddenly appeared before his eyes.
A pale, clear face—Leon.
Leon was watching him as if he had seen everything from the beginning.
His golden eyes gleamed in the dim light, sharp and piercing.
For a brief moment, it felt as if he could read Lucas’s very thoughts.
In that instant, Leon’s gaze was no longer that of a child.
It was the gaze of a predator.
Lucas, who had never feared any monster he had faced, felt his heart pound violently.
His eyes widened as he stared at Leon.
