Interlude: Luke – Part 04
Luke had been silent for a while now.
“What is Cecily to you?”
Lisa’s gaze suddenly caught his attention. His apprentice was watching him with clear, calculating eyes. She had the look of someone waiting for the right moment, the way a fighter might brace themselves before landing a decisive blow.
So when Lisa finally spoke, Luke already had a rough idea of what would come next.
“You can’t answer,” Lisa’s voice was tinged with just a hint of tension, “out of respect for Liza. Is that it?”
“No.” His answer was instant. It was a question that demanded an immediate reply. “It has nothing to do with Liza.”
It wasn’t about Liza. But just saying her name pulled Luke back to the past, stirring distant memories. The image of his childhood friend burned in his mind, vivid as ever.
Liza Oakwood. Three years ago, she was killed. He couldn’t save her, a girl who had meant everything to him.
He had been attracted to her. That much was true. Despite being swept up by her free-spirited nature, he had genuinely loved her. Her whimsical smile was enough to make him happy, and he’d even dreamed of forging the finest katana for her one day, if that was what she desired.
But those feelings belonged to the past. He had no intention of filling the void left by her death with something else. His feelings for her, regret included, remained deeply buried in his heart. He had come to accept the harsh truth that Liza was gone. And it was that acceptance that now drove his dedication to the forging of the Sacred Sword.
Liza had nothing to do with this.
“No, that’s not it.”
The problem wasn’t with Liza.
The problem’s with me.
Cecily Campbell. The rookie knight who was always bugging him to make her a sword. She was very reckless, always needed babysitting, and impossible to ignore. Right now, they were just acquaintances. Nothing more, nothing less.
As he’d told Lisa and the ladies, he had no intention of letting things develop with her. He would stop it before it could even start.
Because he…
“Is there another reason, besides Liza?”
“Yes.”
Lisa didn’t press further. Maybe she already knew. Her gaze fixed on a single point on his face, as if she’d already put the pieces together. Luke held her gaze.
“I understand.” Lisa nodded, then added, “Talking to a giant idiot like you is completely pointless.”
“What?” Luke blinked, caught off guard.
“I’m done. Stay right there and reflect on how stupid you really are.”
There was a hint of anger in Lisa’s voice. She exhaled sharply, then turned to face Patty and Fio.
“Hey, Patty. What’s Cecily like to you?”
“Me?” Patty said, clearly surprised by the question. But then her lips curved into a knowing smile. “She can be a bit of an airhead at times, but when it really matters, she always comes through. She makes you believe she’ll come through for you. And of course, she’s got her share of charm.”
“And you, Fio?”
Fio clearly caught on as well. She grinned. “I’m proud of her. Her resilience? I like to think I had a hand in shaping that. What about you, Lisa?”
“I think Cecily’s amazing! She’s approachable, brave, always looking ahead, and she values protecting others above all. She’s just so cool, and I really admire her. I want to be like her someday.”
Wait a minute.
Luke watched them in disbelief. A voice inside him snarled, This is insane.
The complicated thoughts he’d been wrestling with evaporated in an instant, replaced by raw emotion. Maybe not as bad as Lisa earlier, but he must also be out of his mind.
“You’re serious? You actually believe that?”
All three turned their eyes on him, but he couldn’t stay quiet. He refused to let their words stand.
“She comes through when it matters? She’s resilient? Approachable, brave, always looking ahead, and cool? Give me a break. Are you sure we’re talking about the same person here? No way in hell.”
Once he started, the words came out in a flood.
“Cecily just pushes herself too hard. She talks big, tries to do things way beyond her ability, and ends up getting hurt. And yet, she keeps going. What’s worse is she somehow makes it work. She’s skilled enough to fool herself into thinking she can handle it, so she keeps repeating the same mistakes. She can’t read the room, she’s dumb, and she can only charge straight ahead. She can’t stand, more than anything, seeing someone else get hurt.”
Luke would never agree.
Even if Cecily had taken down demons and Inhumans, stood unflinching before the most powerful people across the continent, jumped off cliffs and towers to save her friends, or threw herself in harm’s way to protect someone somewhere—no matter how many times he saw her do all these things, Luke refused to recognize her as anything special.
To Luke Ainsworth, Cecily Campbell wasn’t someone to be praised, admired, or envied.
“She’s just a—”
A reckless, stubborn, impulsive girl with a good heart, trying to carry more than she could handle despite her small frame. And because of that, he couldn’t leave her alone. He always ended up watching her, feeling like he had to protect her.
A normal, one-of-a-kind girl.
“Just a woman.”
“Finally speaking your mind, huh, Ainsworth?”
It was almost as if they’d been waiting for him to say that. Caught off guard again, Luke was speechless.
Patty smiled and stood up. “So you do get it. That’s a relief.”
“What are you talking about?”
“You just said all that, and you still don’t understand?” Fio stood too, shaking her head. “You denied it so much, but now the mask is off. What you said could only mean one thing.”
He saw Cecily as a woman. Not just as a capable knight, but simply, unmistakably, as a woman.
“But for some reason, you don’t seem interested in dating her. If you ask me, that’s impossible. We all know Cecily’s just a regular woman. You went on and on about it yourself. A man who feels that way isn’t going to stay neutral forever.”
Luke fell silent.
Fio laughed before turning to leave. “I bet your patience is running out sooner than you think.”
“It’s up to you and Cecily now,” Patty said, turning away. “She can be a bit too serious and stubborn at times, but honestly, I’m relieved. You’re a much better match for her than some perfect guy.”
“Show us the man you are, Luke Ainsworth.”
With that, they both left the house.
Luke turned to Lisa.
“I’ll go see them off,” she said, heading toward the door. She paused just before stepping out, glancing back at Luke.
“I think I know why you won’t date Cecily.”
Luke’s right eye twinged, but he ignored it.
“And I think you’re wrong. I’ll never accept such a stupid reason. Because I know the feelings you have for each other aren’t that simple. They’re not that cheap. Believe me, I know. I haven’t been your apprentice for three years for nothing.” Right before leaving, she added, “Don’t you ever give up.”
Lisa disappeared beyond the door, and the storm passed.
Cecily’s struggle at the government office dragged on. Despite being on the verge of tears after pouring her heart out, reality soon pulled her back. The tears dried up, only to be replaced by a different kind of sorrow.
It was around this time that Patty came by the break room, offering help with the wording for Cecily’s report. And for that she was incredibly grateful.
However, Patty surprised her with an odd question.
“Can you dance, Cecily?”
“Wh-What?! Oh, no, I… can’t. Why do you ask?”
“Don’t worry about it. But you’ve danced before, right?”
How did she know?
“I danced once… but I wasn’t very good at it. I ended up stepping on my partner’s feet.”
Saying it brought back the memory of the ball where she danced with Luke. It had been a wonderful night, and her only regret was that she hadn’t danced better.
“Well, if you want, I could teach you sometime.”
“That would be great… but where’s this coming from?”
“To polish your feminine side. Make you so beautiful that he won’t be able to stop himself.”
Cecily exchanged a confused glance with Aria.
The report wasn’t finished until evening, but the sense of liberation from escaping that paperwork hell was immense.
When Cecily and Aria returned home to the Campbell residence, they found the place oddly noisy. Curious, Cecily stepped through the door to find her mother, Lucy, and the housekeeper Fio pulling clothes out of the wardrobe, debating heatedly over them.
“Isn’t this a bit too… revealing for Cecily? It shows quite a bit of cleavage.”
“Not at all. If anything, it’s not enough. She has a great figure, and she should wear clothes that show it off. Trust me, plenty of men will be turning their heads.”
“I see.”
“What are you two doing?”
“Oh, Cecily! Perfect timing.” Fio grabbed Cecily’s hand with a grin. “Remember how you mentioned needing a dress? Well, we were just picking one out for you.”
“I did ask about a dress, but… honestly, I don’t think I’ll have many chances to wear it.”
“Idiot. Better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.” Fio laughed heartily. “Polish your feminine side while you can. It will come in handy someday.”
Cecily and Aria exchanged another confused glance.
Once the boisterous women had left, an almost unbearable silence fell over the house.
Luke slumped into the chair, looking completely drained. It felt like he’d spent a lifetime under stress. He wouldn’t be exaggerating to say his life had just been shortened.
“What do they think they’re doing?” he groaned as he stared up at the ceiling. “I know already. You don’t have to tell me.”
It was intrusive, annoying, and completely pointless. They asked questions he had already considered, and he’d reached his own conclusions in private long ago.
He would bury his feelings. Lock them away, hide them, pretend they didn’t exist.
It had taken him a lot of effort to do that. But now—now they barged in, opening the lid he had so carefully sealed. And now, his mind was a mess.
“What am I supposed to do with this?” he muttered, burying his face in his hands.
The feelings wouldn’t stop. The emotions he had kept bottled up for so long came crashing over him. His cheeks, pressed into his palms, burned with heat.
Right. He had already realized it long ago.
“I know.”
He knew. He knew, all too well, that he was hopelessly attracted to her. In fact, he was so aware of it that it was starting to become a problem.
“Fuck this.”
Cursing didn’t lift his frustration. His mood didn’t calm. It was clear that he wouldn’t be able to work today. No way he could focus on forging. There was no way he’d be able to make a proper katana now.
The emotions he’d suppressed had spilled over, and nothing could bring his focus back.
“I like her so much, damn it.”
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