Lazy Salvation The Charade Begins

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Ashen hadn't thought through how this would go.

Bringing Lucia to et his family felt like bringing a wolf into the henhouse, except this wolf wore heels, carried a perfect smile, and changed faces faster than a stage actress switching masks mid-scene.

He kept telling himself it wasn't as dangerous as it seed. She'd promised no harmful lies. She was here to help. She was his partner.

He shot her a glance from the corner of his eye.

She walked beside him in a tailored pencil skirt and sheer blouse, her jacket draped loosely over her shoulders. Everything about her scread professional elegance, though her undone top button and the gleam in her eye cast a whole new aning to her look.

This was all fine and dandy, but...

'Why too...?'

Ashen resisted the urge to grab his collar and loosen it by whatever ans necessary.

He wore a shirt—plain white, tucked neatly into dark slacks, and it fit better than anything he'd worn in months, with the way it accentuated his newly ford muscles.

The tie was knotted too tightly; his jacket, with its polished lines and padded shoulders, felt less like clothing and more like a cage.

The trousers were sharp-creased, but each step tugged at seams that didn't want to move. Even his polished shoes pinched at his toes.

Wearing this when visiting his family felt wrong. 'Now, I'm not far behind those guys who wear a tuxedo at a barbecue,' he mused bitterly.

He tried recalling how Lucia had convinced him into this as he tugged at the button.

She had insisted. Appearances shift perspective, even when people don't an it.

"Wait."

As they approached the door, her voice suddenly halted them. She turned to face him before moving her long fingers to smooth his collar with clinical precision.

"Stop playing with the collar... now you're good to go."

Ashen's lips twitched. "Is this really necessary...?"

Lucia rang the bell and took a step back beside him, then replied in her usual stoic tone, though sohow, Ashen could hear the mocking behind it.

"No one deserves to see you look like you just crawled out of an alley when you have the ans to dress otherwise, even if they're your family."

That put a stopper to his protests.

A beat later, the door opened.

Ashen stiffened, and she took that opening to slide her hand into his, warm and firm, then pulled it against the swell of her chest as the door creaked open.

He was bewildered at first, but didn't bother pulling back as he rembered her supposed role in all this.

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Akidia appeared the mont the door opened, her apron dusted with flour. When she caught sight of Ashen, her whole face lit up.

"Ashen! Back so soon—" Her voice was too loud, too happy. Then her eyes caught the woman beside him, and the grin faltered into an awkward smile.

The first thing she noticed was how the woman kept holding onto her son's arm, pressing it to her chest as if it was her lifeline, followed by the way she dressed—the sleek pencil skirt, white blouse with the top button undone, stockings, and heels clicking softly against the floorboards.

And finally, the glasses frad her cool lapis lazuli eyes.

Lucia leaned in before the silence could thicken. "Hello, Mrs. Hart, it is nice to et you, finally. Ashen had spoken much about you." The stoic look was wiped away, and in its place a perfectly charming smile took hold.

'When did I speak much about my mother to her...? And where did the stoic look go? I swear I didn't blink.' Ashen's mind was full of question marks even though he maintained a blank expression outwardly.

Akidia smoothed her expression and wore a matching smile. "Hello...? Are you a friend of my son?" She didn't jump to conclusions first and decided to stay courteous, but let a bit of her confusion bleed into the greeting.

As expected, Lucia imdiately picked up on it.

"Forgive for barging in unannounced," she said, voice smooth as silk. "I'm Lucia Evernight. I work... closely with your son."

Akidia blinked, unsure whether to feel relieved or suspicious.

Her gaze flicked between Ashen's stiff shoulders and the woman's confident smile before she finally stepped aside. "Ah—of course, of course! Please, co in."

As they passed through the entryway, Akidia was caught between her instinct to fuss over her son and her polite reflexes as a hostess.

Lucia caught on to that, too.

"Don't let hold you from caring for your son, ma'am; I know it's been a while since he's been ho. I'm just shalessly tagging along here; you can ignore ."

She gently tipped the scales. With a subtle lean, she guided Akidia to sit on the sofa before going back for Ashen and parking him right beside her, taking the initiative as though she were the one being welcod.

With just a couple of sentences, she was able to figure Akidia out.

A clumsy but loving mother. Don't get between her and her son, and you won't hear a peep from her.

And as if to affirm her guess, Akidia didn't waste ti fawning over an increasingly embarrassed Ashen, who, despite the embarrassnt, went along indulgently.

'What a mama's boy...' Lucia faintly smirked as she took Ashen's other side, before naturally draping her fingers over his forearm.

"I know Ashen doesn't make it easy," she continued, smoothly blending into the conversation, her voice dipped in empathy, "but he's been working tirelessly. The job's demanding, dangerous, and the hours are brutal. It's not the kind of thing you can explain easily without making people worry."

Akidia's brows knit. "Dangerous?"

The word made Akidia's body freeze before she caught his hand and squeezed as hard as she could.

Lucia knew she was walking into a landmine by ntioning how dangerous his "work" could be, but felt this step was necessary for the future.

She could completely blindside the family now with nothing but lies, but if there ever ca a ti when they discovered the true nature of his job, they'd only feel betrayed. Ashen's relationship with his family might regress and even beco worse than it is now.

And Lucia clearly rembered her directive: Only harmless lies.

"Of course. Testing classified equipnt always is." Her tone was light, almost breezy, but it carried weight. "That's why the half-year contract is structured the way it is. To keep our workers safe, they're kept on-site during the testing phase. That way there will be no distractions... and of course no risk of information slipping."

She leaned in, lowering her voice conspiratorially. "Even family visits and calls are restricted. I know it sounds harsh, but it's the best way to make sure he cos ho alive."

"…Alive…? So that ans there's a chance he won't co back…?" Akidia murmured. Ashen flicked a subtle glance at Lucia, curious how she planned to climb out of the pit she had just dug for them.

At so point, Hans and Lapis walked in, and Lucia took the lull in the conversation to introduce herself.

With the polite yet awkward greetings out of the way, she leaned back to her seat next to Ashen and was about to continue her clinging...

But the sharp looks that honed in on her the mont her dérriere hit the sofa and her thigh brushed against him made her reconsider.

She cast a discreet look at the source of the gazes and found Hans already looking past her, casting a contemptuous look at his son, but Lapis's eyes were still focused on her, as if daring her to cling one centiter closer.