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n853 Confession

n853 Confession

nSeeing the sparkling tears and streaks on Franca’s face, Lumian suddenly thought of his sister Aurore. He recalled the loneliness that always emanated from her when she gazed at the stars from the rooftop.

nHe also remembered the life he and Aurore had depended on each other in Cordu, the excruciating pain when his sister died and Cordu was destroyed, and the self-destructive impulses he had when he first arrived in Trier. Overcoming those emotions and rebuilding his social connections had started with Franca, Jenna, Charlie, and many tenants at the Auberge du Coq Doré.

nIn this world, there aren’t many people I care about anymore… Lumian sighed deeply.

nBack in Morora, he had engaged in mutual scheming against Julie, Albus Medici, and the others. Even when facing various dangers and conspiracies, he hadn’t sighed as much as he had in the past few days.

nHe often felt so troubled that he wanted to burn the world down.

nFranca’s words had struck a chord in him. He already knew what his answer would be, but he wanted to struggle a bit more.

nLooking at Franca, Lumian said with a bitter smile, “Caring doesn’t have to manifest in that way. Apart from Aurore, you and Jenna are the people I care about most.”

nFranca shook her head without hesitation. “No way! I would feel resentful, like an outsider!

n“You agreed to Jenna, so you have to agree to me too. Once you started this, you can’t take it back! You should have realized this when you made that decision. If you don’t balance the bowl filled with water, it will spill out!

n“As the leader of a team, you must remember three things when dealing with each member: “Fairness! Fairness! And damn fairness!”

n“But for this kind of matter…” Lumian responded instinctively, “If Anthony wants to sleep with me, do I have to agree too?”

n“You must agree!” Franca walked to the bed and looked down at Lumian sitting there, her voice fierce. “Who told you to sleep with Jenna first, unless Anthony doesn’t want to or you consider him a dispensable member of the team!”

nLumian rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on.

nWhat kind of strange logic is this…

nWhy does Franca always have so many bizarre ideas…

nLumian looked at Franca and said with a bitter smile, “Is this how you digested the Instigator potion?”

nBefore Franca could respond, he sighed again. “I agree.”

nHe added, “But I’m only speaking for myself. You’ll have to talk to Jenna about it yourself.”

nHe was referring to the threesome.

nFranca’s body suddenly swayed, as if she had briefly lost strength.

nHer expression slowly relaxed, and she said with a chuckle, “We’ll talk about it later. For now, I just want your agreement.”

n“And Jenna and I…” Lumian initially wanted to say that he and Jenna had only agreed until the Pleasure potion was digested, but he felt it wasn’t the right time to say this now.

nFranca, looking a bit tired, showed a teasing smile. “You haven’t said which choice you agreed to. I’m more looking forward to you becoming a Demoness of Despair, or me screwing you.”

n“The remaining choice,” Lumian answered helplessly.

nFranca let out a long breath. “That works too.”

nShe seemed to have lost her hard exterior, looking quite weak.

nShe waved her hand. “I’ll go rest now.”

n“I thought…” Lumian was slightly surprised.

nFranca rolled her eyes at him. “What did you think? I’ve been so shocked and hurt, feeling down for so long, my emotions and state are all over the place. How could I be in the mood for the deed? You’ve agreed, so just keep it in mind, and we’ll talk about it when I feel better.”

nMy mind and spirit need a break too… Lumian sighed silently.

nAfter watching Franca leave through the window, disappearing into the night outside, Lumian walked to the bedroom door and opened it.

nJenna was quietly sitting in the dark area of the living room.

nLumian wasn’t surprised by Jenna’s appearance; she had been watching Franca’s door, and Franca’s intense emotions made it hard not to be noticed or followed when she left.

n“I didn’t expect it to turn out this way.” Lumian sighed to Jenna.

nJenna stood up, smiling. “Although I didn’t expect it either, I thought about it for a while and felt like, maybe I could accept it. Just you and her, it’s much better than I anticipated.”

n“What did you anticipate?” Lumian quietly sighed with relief.

nJenna’s eyes held a mix of sadness, guilt, and pain as she said, “Franca losing her mind and trying to kill us.

n“I would agree but hide for a while, waiting until I have arranged Julien’s future before seeing her again.”

nLumian looked at Jenna for a few seconds, then sighed.

n“Since your mother’s death, you’ve had quite a bit of self-destructive tendencies. We thought we’d completely helped you overcome them, but it turns out a bit still lingered.”

nJenna’s eyes glistened as she looked at Lumian. “Aren’t you the same?”

nLumian met her gaze and after two seconds, couldn’t help but laugh. “Is this a support group for the broken?”

n“Yes.” Jenna pointed to the door. “I’ll go talk to Franca. We’ll exchange our ailments in a few days.”

n“Okay.” Lumian nodded gently.

n…

nInside Apartment 702 at 9 Rue Orosai.

nFranca lay back in the armchair, her eyes open, gently rocking with the chair’s movement.

nKnock! Knock! Knock!

nShe heard the knocking and realized someone was outside.

nIn this state, I could easily be assassinated… Franca reflected on herself, stood up, and walked to the door.

nShe could guess who was outside.

nSure enough, she saw Jenna with her Vampire makeup.

nFranca opened her mouth, unsure what to say, and just stepped aside to let Jenna in.

nAfter Jenna sat on the single sofa, she smiled at Franca, who had returned to the armchair.

n“I heard your conversation with Lumian.”

nFranca’s face, which had been somewhat pale, quickly turned red.

nEmbarrassing!

nHow embarrassing!

nSo embarrassing she wanted to crawl into a hole!

nJenna laughed softly. “Actually, I also looked forward to those other two choices more.”

nFranca could only give a sheepish chuckle.

nJenna looked at her seriously. “I can tell there were other thoughts behind that last choice. Can you tell me what they were?”

nFranca remained silent for a few seconds before speaking up, “That bastard Lumian must have told you it was only until the Pleasure potion was digested. I know him!”

nAs she spoke, Franca felt a bit indignant on Jenna’s behalf.

nThen, she sighed. “If I joined now, in this state, Lumian would definitely feel awkward and not set a time limit. For fairness, he shouldn’t propose one to you either.”

nJenna closed her eyes briefly, as if being blown by the wind.

nShe looked at Franca with unusually gentle eyes and said with a bitter smile, “But that’s just a false realization. I can’t deceive myself.”

n“False is better than nothing. If it lasts long enough, it might become real,” Franca showed a self-mocking smile, “For a long time, even knowing it’s false is better, it helps us digest the potion.”

nLooking at Jenna, Franca suddenly felt a surge of emotion and had a lot to say, “Maybe I’m a coward. I’ve liked you for a long time, but I’ve never dared to truly pursue you or express my feelings. I’ve always been indecisive about this, retreating every day.”

nIn the current atmosphere, Franca suddenly found it wasn’t hard to say the words “I like you.”

nThis unexpected ease made her even sadder.

nJenna looked at Franca without any anger or words.

nShe could feel that what Franca truly wanted to say was yet to come.

nAfter a brief pause, Franca clenched her teeth and uttered, “I’ve been hiding something from you. I-I was originally a man.”

n“I know,” Jenna replied calmly, her eyes showing some encouragement, “The Witch potion.”

n“You did know.” Franca wasn’t surprised. She mustered her courage and continued, “There’s something else. I-I’m not from this world. I transmigrated from another world. I-I took over this body.”

nJenna exclaimed in surprise, “Another world?”

nA thought suddenly struck her. “The one with the Underworld Daoist and the Celestial Master?”

nHaving worked together for so long, Franca often forgot whether she had told Jenna about these things, so Jenna knew these terms but didn’t understand what they represented, considering them as powerful beings.

n“Yes, and also Resurrection Island.” After revealing this secret, Franca felt much lighter.

nJenna had a look of sudden realization. “No wonder you were so agitated when you got Harrison’s information…”

n“So, you understand why I’ve been eager to summon the Armored Shadow?”

nFranca asked nervously, “You, you don’t mind that I took someone else’s body, do you?”

n“Why should I mind? Unless it’s the Franca I know being replaced,” Jenna responded with amusement, clearly expressing her stance.

nFranca relaxed completely, almost collapsing into the armchair.

nJenna thought for a moment and probed, “Lumian’s sister and those mysticism gathering attendees with strange codenames, are they from your world too?”

n“Yes, but I can’t tell you more. I can only talk about my part,” Franca said with a sigh. “I used to dream of going home, returning to my world. So every time I had the impulse to step towards you, I couldn’t help but ask myself, can you bear her future? When there’s a chance to go home, would you stay for her? Taking her to an unfamiliar world, wouldn’t that be too cruel? Would she be willing to go, could she go…”

n“Each time I asked those questions, I retreated…

n“I was always so conflicted, never taking any real action.”

nJenna listened gently, and when Franca finished, she smiled and said, “You’re one of the kindest people I’ve ever met. I’m glad you were with me through the toughest times.”

nShe looked at Franca and hesitated for a moment before asking, “Do you still think about going home now?”

nFranca fell silent. The crimson moonlight outside had dimmed at some point.

nAfter a few seconds, Franca answered in a low voice, “Yes.”

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