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For a split second, she didn\'t know how to react. Her heart fluttered unexpectedly, a strange, unfamiliar feeling creeping into her chest. Her face grew hot, though she quickly suppressed it, clenching her jaw to maintain her composure.

"W-what?" Valeria managed to stammer, the word slipping out before she could stop it. Her heart thudded in her chest, and for the first time in a long while, she felt truly off-balance.

Lucavion didn\'t answer immediately. Instead, he simply looked at her with that same casual smile, his head tilted slightly, palm resting on his cheek, elbow propped on the table as if they were having the most ordinary conversation. But there was something in his gaze—something far less teasing than usual. His eyes were softer, studying her in a way that felt… foreign.

Why was he looking at her like that? It wasn\'t the mocking, infuriating grin she\'d come to expect. There was something else behind his eyes, something she couldn\'t quite place. It made her heart flutter again, much to her frustration.

Valeria felt her breath catch. This whole situation felt wrong, unfamiliar. She was used to combat, strategy, duty. Not… whatever this was.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" she asked, her voice quieter than she intended.

Lucavion blinked, as if her question had brought him back to the present moment. His smile returned, a little softer this time. "Just thinking," he said casually, "I just remembered someone like you."

Valeria\'s brow furrowed. "Someone like me? What kind of person was that?"

Her question hung in the air, and for the first time in their exchange, she felt unsettled. Lucavion had a way of acting like he knew her—knew more than he let on. His carefree mask usually irritated her, but now, something deeper stirred beneath his words.

"Ah, he was..." Lucavion began, his eyes momentarily distant, as though recalling something far away. Valeria noticed the subtle shift in his voice, the way his usual teasing edge seemed to soften.

"...someone who was always under someone\'s expectations," Lucavion continued, his words quiet but deliberate. "He lived his life to fulfill them. Never really his own." He glanced at her, his gaze piercing in a way that made Valeria\'s breath catch.

For a moment, Valeria could only stare, surprised by the truth in his words. Is that... me?

It struck her deeply. She had spent her entire life being molded by duty—by the expectations of her family, her role as a knight, and the legacy she was bound to uphold. Every decision she made, every action, was calculated to align with those expectations. But her own desires, her own path? They were things she had pushed aside, locked away behind the walls of her duty.

"Why are you telling me this?" Valeria\'s voice was barely above a whisper, her guard lowered for a moment as she processed the weight of his words.

Lucavion gave a small, almost wistful smile. "Because," he said, leaning back slightly, "I recognize it in you. The way you carry yourself, always so serious. You remind me of him." His gaze lingered on her for a second longer than she expected, and for once, it wasn\'t mocking or playful—it was something else. Something more solemn.

Valeria\'s heart skipped a beat as she felt the odd familiarity in his words, as if he were speaking to a part of her that she had tried to ignore. She quickly straightened her posture, shaking off the momentary lapse in her composure. "I\'m not like that," she said defensively, her voice firmer than before. "I chose this life. No one forced it on me."

Lucavion\'s smirk returned, but this time it was gentler, lacking his usual sharpness. "Maybe. But sometimes, the hardest chains to break are the ones we put on ourselves."

Valeria frowned, unsettled by how easily he seemed to see through her. How did he know? How could he speak so casually about the weight she bore, as if it were a common thing to him?

For once, she didn\'t have a quick retort. Instead, she looked away, her thoughts swirling with memories of her strict training, her father\'s unwavering expectations, and the constant pressure to live up to the Olarion name.

"Is that what happened to him?" she asked, her voice softer now. "Did he... ever break free?"

Lucavion\'s eyes clouded for a brief moment, a shadow of something dark passing over his features.

But then his smile returned. "Who knows?" he said, his voice light, but the weight of his earlier words still hung in the air.

Valeria couldn\'t help but feel a pang of frustration. It was as if, once again, he was dodging her question, slipping through her grasp just when she thought she might get a straight answer. It was always like this with him—one moment, he would seem to reveal something deeper, something real, only to pull back behind that infuriating smirk. She hated how it made her feel—both intrigued and unsettled.

Her mind raced, trying to make sense of the sudden shift in his mood. The way his smile had faltered, even if just for a moment, made her think there was more to his story—something he wasn\'t telling her. But before she could voice her thoughts, before she could press him further, the soft clinking of plates interrupted them.

The innkeeper approached, carrying their meals with a steady hand. "Here you go," she said, setting the plates down before them with practiced ease. The rich aroma of roasted meat and freshly baked bread filled the air, momentarily distracting Valeria from the conversation.

She glanced down at the plate, her mind still lingering on Lucavion\'s cryptic words. The opportunity to press him on the matter had slipped through her fingers, and she felt a flicker of annoyance. For now, the moment was lost.

Lucavion, however, seemed perfectly content with the interruption. He picked up his fork, his grin widening as he looked at the food. "Ah, finally! I was beginning to think they\'d forgotten about us," he said with exaggerated relief, as if nothing serious had just transpired between them.

Valeria shot him a sidelong glance, her lips pressed into a thin line. He was always like this—avoiding anything too serious, evading questions that touched too closely on things that mattered. But she wasn\'t going to let him off the hook so easily next time. For now, though, she resigned herself to the meal in front of her, pushing the unanswered questions to the back of her mind.

The Iron Matron stood nearby, observing them with her usual stern gaze, and Valeria felt the tension from earlier no longer existing. Perhaps it was better to focus on the meal and let the conversation drift. She had a feeling Lucavion would reveal what he wanted on his own time, and forcing it wouldn\'t get her anywhere.

Still, as Valeria took a slow, deliberate bite of her meal, her curiosity gnawed at her, refusing to be silenced. She chewed thoughtfully, her eyes flicking back to Lucavion, who was already halfway through his plate, eating with a casual ease that made her wonder if anything ever truly bothered him.

"Why have you joined this tournament?" she asked, her voice cutting through the quiet moment between them.

Lucavion paused, his fork hovering just above his plate. Slowly, he raised his head, his eyes meeting hers with an intensity that surprised her. For a moment, there was silence between them, his gaze sharp and unreadable, as if he were weighing how much to reveal.

Then, with a smirk that almost felt rehearsed, he leaned back in his chair, eyes still locked on hers. "Why?" he repeated, as if amused by the question. "Simple. I wanted to make a name for myself. Show the world what I\'m capable of."

Valeria narrowed her eyes slightly, sensing there was more beneath his flippant response.

Lucavion shrugged, twirling his fork between his fingers. "A man of my caliber—well, it would be a waste for someone like me to remain unknown, right? I\'ve got the skills, the talent. Might as well put them to good use and let the world see what I\'m made of." His tone was casual, almost boastful, but there was a flicker of something deeper behind his words.

Valeria felt herself cringe slightly at his self-aggrandizing statement. Typical Lucavion—always finding a way to turn any serious conversation into a stage for his own amusement. Yet, despite the exaggerated confidence in his tone, Valeria couldn\'t shake the feeling that there was another reason he was here, something he wasn\'t saying.

She studied him for a moment, watching the way he tried to pass off his answer with that infuriating grin. "Is that all?" she asked, her voice soft but probing.

"Yep, that is all. What else is there? Fame, fortune, glory. That\'s what these tournaments are about, aren\'t they?"

Valeria wasn\'t convinced. There was something in his answer that felt too... easy, too practiced, though before she could question further, he asked to her this time.

"Now that you asked your question, it is my turn. Why have you joined this tournament?"