The Hidden Monster of House Vale

Chapter 95: Chapter - 95 - What Love Feels Like

Anne had noticed something new about Lucien—he had become quite bold.

The reason for Lucien’s forwardness, his tendency to touch her without even asking, was pretty clear. First, Lucien was now in the Fourth Realm, the Abyss Core Realm. He had never encountered a single person who had reached that level—that was how rare it was. Because of this strength, one might say Lucien had become bold.

But the truth was, Lucien had always been like this. He simply didn’t think about consequences anymore. After all, he wasn’t even a human realm master now, was he?

Second, Lucien knew about Anne’s yin physique. He found it amusing to tease her. It was like they were people who were meant to be enemies but ended up knowing each other deeply. To put it simply, they had that kind of relationship.

The carriage was prepared, and they were all ready to depart for the Azurefall Empire. Princess Verna and her bodyguard Norrik had returned after getting ready. Now everyone wore common clothes—they couldn’t afford to reveal that they were nobles and royalty.

Lucien and Anne were in one carriage, while Norrik and Princess Verna decided to use another.

Anne was stepping inside but stopped midway, probably looking for something. Lucien waited outside, and then he pushed her inside.

”Move, bitch.”

”I was moving, you bastard! You didn’t have to push me—or were you looking for another reason to mess with me?”

”Shut up. Do you think I’m interested in bothering you? Just sit. Always picking a fight with me,” said Lucien.

”Yeah, fucker? Just a few moments ago you were grabbing me like you owned me,” said Anne.

”Yeah, yeah. Someday you’ll scream my name for something else. I’m going to sleep—don’t bother me,” said Lucien.

Far, far away in the land of Azurefall, Prince Andrin had reached his goal. He had reached his childhood friend.

He was tired—very tired. Traveling for more than a week had left his astral energy basically empty. But when he saw the house where he was supposed to be in this land of flowers, he felt relieved. Safe. After all, he had reached his goal.

Now it was only a matter of time before he would rule Valtheria.

But when he tried to knock on the door, his tiredness caught up to him. He immediately fell to the floor. Before falling unconscious, he could just see a woman—a figure he might recognize—and then there was nothing but darkness.

It would take time for his astral pool to refill again. But he didn’t have to worry about that. After all, he had reached his goal.

The carriage was running at full speed. Everyone was sleeping, but now Lucien had awakened.

When he saw that everyone was asleep, he decided this was the perfect time. He opened the door of the carriage and swung upward, reaching the carriage roof. He now stood there, the air making his hair flow.

’Since everyone is sleeping, this is the best time to use Void to reach Azurefall as soon as possible,’ thought Lucien.

Lucien spread his hands, opening a void in front of the carriage before swallowing it completely. Lucien was arrogant but not stupid—he wouldn’t just go around showing people his abilities just because he was strong.

Lucien lay down on the roof of the carriage because it felt nice and calm. He closed his eyes, but when he opened them, Anne was standing there.

She was a retainer of Princess Sylvie. Being able to wake up with a little noise was natural to her.

”What are you doing here in the middle of the night?” asked Anne.

”Just taking some air. Making my mind calm so a certain individual wouldn’t mess it up,” said Lucien sarcastically.

”Yeah, like I’ll believe that. Looking at the surroundings, it seems like we’re way too close to Azurefall—a day’s journey rather than the three or four days a normal carriage would have taken. Seems like you did something,” said Anne.

”Yeah, I did. Would you like to sit?” asked Lucien casually.

”Yeah, I’m getting bored. Seems like you have a question for me,” said Anne.

”Yeah, maybe I do,” said Lucien.

”Ask them. Don’t let it eat your mind,” said Anne.

”When you asked me what I think about Princess Verna—is it some plan that the royals came up with?” asked Lucien.

”I don’t have much information, and if I give you full information and you betray us, I’ll be a traitor again. But to answer your question—Queen Cynthia does want her daughter to marry you. She says things like you’re the only one who can save her,” said Anne.

Lucien was in deep thought.

”How does it feel to be in love?” asked Lucien.

It was an unexpected question from him, considering everyone knew that Lucien Vale had once proposed to Seraphina Thornveil and got royally rejected. So why this question?

Because Lucien Vale had fallen in love—but not Cedric, who lived inside his body.

But Anne decided to answer it since there was a time when she was madly in love with Prince Andrin.

”Well, it’s hard to describe. But the world becomes blurry, and everything becomes connected with that person. You start to notice them more and more before realizing that you can’t live without that person if you fall too deep. You start to expect that person’s good things, and their bad things—you start to bear things that you never expected to bear. You start to compromise on things that you never thought about, and before you realize it, you’re fighting for that person against the whole world,” said Anne, describing it while thinking about her time with Prince Andrin.

”And then that person stabs you in the back. It must be... unexpected,” said Lucien.

”Well, that’s true. What about you? Didn’t you ever fall in love? You have women all around,” asked Anne.

”When I slept with women or dual cultivated, there was no love. I always felt hollow—like a hole in my chest that I’m trying to fulfill, but it’s impossible to fulfill no matter how strong I become,” said Lucien, telling his genuine feelings.

And that was true. It wasn’t that Lucien didn’t want to fall in love—it was simply that he couldn’t. He knew that once he fell in love, his weakness would be created. And in this world, he wanted to prioritize himself. Only himself.

”That sounds like a sad way to live. But then, maybe you traded it for your godly powers. When I first met you, I never thought you would be this way. But I’m disappointed in a very good way. I thought you were just some asshole who became strong and had no ambitions, but I was wrong. Ever since we fought, you became crazy stronger, right?” said Anne.

”How can you tell? Do you have divine eyes or something?” asked Lucien.

”Not divine eyes. But I can see the cultivation realm of someone equal to me or lower than me—but not above me,” said Anne.

”Ohh. So why do you think I’m crazy strong?” asked Lucien.

”You might not know, but I’m a peak Spirit Forge Realm master. It means anyone who is equal to me, I can see their cultivation. Or lower than me. When we fought in the Trial of Imperial Succession, I could see that you were a Spirit Forge Realm master. But now I can’t see it—that means you’re above the Third Realm. And everyone knows no human has reached the Fourth Realm for centuries. So I’m assuming you know what I mean. How did you do this?” said Anne with a smile.

”Why don’t you try it? You’ll be in the Fourth Realm in no time,” said Lucien laughingly.

”Yeah, yeah, you bastard. I would need an Abyss Core physique to even try it—or maybe I should take yours,” said Anne.

”Try it, bitch,” said Lucien—not in a serious tone, but this was how their relationship was.

When Lucien and Anne looked ahead, they saw that the sky was blue. A moon could be seen—it was morning now.

The road they were on had a huge sea on the right side—a perfect blue sea. And in front of them, they could see the whole continent of houses. The beauty was so mesmerizing that even Lucien was unable to move his head.

”So this is Azurefall,” asked Lucien, still taking in all the beauty.