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Chapter 4: The divine revelation

Chapter 4: The divine revelation

The family’s herbalist arrived quickly, followed by Aldric’s parents and several servants called in to assist. The room that had been spacious suddenly felt cramped, with everyone crowding around the bed, looking at Leviana as though witnessing a miracle that shouldn’t have been possible.

After checking her heartbeat, mana, and the condition of her soul, the elderly herbalist kept staring at the spirit stone in his hand, his expression a mix of astonishment and bewilderment.

"Her consciousness has truly returned, and a large crack has appeared in the seal around her soul. However, Lady Leviana’s body has lain motionless for five years, and her soul and flesh have not yet fully harmonized. In the coming period, she will need to sleep at least twenty hours a day, and her conscious time must not exceed four hours."

Aldric’s mother immediately asked: "How long until she recovers?"

"I cannot say for certain. It could be several months, or it could be several years. If she’s forced to move or use mana, her condition will worsen, and her soul may once again fall into a deep sleep."

Hearing those words, the worry on Aldric’s face stiffened slightly.

It was only a very small change, but Leviana still saw it clearly.

When he’d learned she was awake, Aldric had immediately performed his act of deep devotion, but the moment he heard the recovery could take years, the impatience in his eyes could no longer be fully concealed.

In her previous life, she hadn’t noticed these details.

Back then, Leviana had just escaped the vegetative state, her mind in chaos, her body wracked with pain, and she’d been led along by everyone’s words. She had believed Aldric truly waited for her all five years, believed this family had spent countless medicines to save her, and had even felt guilty for becoming a burden.

After that, Aldric used the pretext of helping her recover to gradually plant his people inside Leviana’s family.

He took control of the merchant guild.

Seized the private army.

Replaced every steward loyal to her father with his own people.

By the time Leviana’s parents realized something was wrong, more than half the power within the family had already been swallowed by him.

The day the family fell, the sky was stained red by fire.

Leviana remembered her father kneeling on the steps of the great hall, a sword through his chest. Even in death, he had still tried to lift his head to look at Aldric, asking why he had betrayed the family’s trust.

Her mother lay not far away, eyes still open, the marks of binding magic still visible on her throat.

Aldric sat in the chair that had belonged to her father, using a cloth to wipe the blood from his hands before saying calmly:

"Don’t look at me like that. This family was always a reward that belonged to my storyline."

By the time Leviana arrived, everything was already too late.

Her parents were dead.

The family crest had been smashed.

The loyal retainers had been executed or had fled.

And the magic veins within her body quickly became Aldric’s next target.

This time, it wasn’t too late.

Her parents were still alive.

The family’s banner had not yet been torn down.

And Aldric didn’t know that the woman lying before him had already seen how it all ended.

The head of the family stood beside the bed, and only after hearing the herbalist confirm that Leviana was in no immediate danger did he offer a warm smile.

"It’s a good thing you’ve woken. Everyone has been very worried these past five years. Aldric especially has been having people search for suitable medicines and herbalists all along."

Aldric stepped forward, smoothly picking up the thread: "As long as you can recover, none of that is worth mentioning."

Leviana looked at him for a moment, then asked: "How long have you been taking care of me?"

Aldric paused very briefly, then answered with composure: "I have to train at the academy, so I couldn’t always be by your side, but I still regularly checked on your condition."

"How often?"

The room fell silent.

Aldric hadn’t expected her to press so thoroughly right after waking. He couldn’t tell the truth: that in five years, the number of times he’d set foot in this room could be counted on one hand, and that each visit had never been out of concern for her.

His mother quickly spoke up to bail him out: "Leviana, Aldric still has to train and handle a great many family affairs. Small matters like daily care are naturally left to servants."

Leviana gave a slight nod and didn’t press further.

Her concession made Aldric breathe easier, but he didn’t know that Leviana had silently committed every answer to memory.

She didn’t need to expose him right now.

A Son of Fate couldn’t be defeated with just a few arguments. Someone like Aldric always received the world’s favoritism; when danger struck, someone would come to his rescue, and if he lost one fortuitous encounter, another would quickly appear.

To kill him, she had to be patient.

First, recover her body.

Then protect her parents.

Keep Lathel by her side.

And only then, step by step, strip away everything Aldric relied upon to stand above everyone else.

Seeing that Leviana had stopped asking questions, the head of the family moved on to a more important matter.

"There’s something you should know. After you fell into your coma, there was a small change to the betrothal between you and Aldric."

Leviana looked at him, deliberately letting confusion show on her face.

"A change?"

"Because at the time no one knew whether you could ever wake, and the betrothal between the two families couldn’t be annulled, we temporarily had Lathel take over Aldric’s responsibilities."

Leviana’s gaze slowly shifted to the person standing beside the bed.

Lathel didn’t look at her.

He had already guessed what was coming next.

Now that Leviana was awake, the family would certainly switch the betrothal back to Aldric. He had only been a stand-in during the time she couldn’t move; now he was no longer needed.

Lathel didn’t feel surprised.

There was even a faint sense of relief inside him.

Once the betrothal was annulled, he could leave this family. The savings he’d put aside over three years weren’t much, but if he went to a small town, he could still rent a room and find work at a restaurant, a stable, or a merchant caravan.

As long as he worked hard, he wouldn’t starve.

The head of the family continued: "Now that you’re awake, we can restore the betrothal to its original state. Of course, there’s no rush. You can rest for a few days first."

Aldric smiled at Leviana.

"I’ll wait for you to recover. After all, what was always mine will eventually return to where it belongs."

A sentence that sounded perfectly normal on the surface.

But Leviana caught the strange confidence hidden underneath.

He didn’t say the betrothal belonged to the two of them.

He said she was something that belonged to him.

Just like her magic veins, her family’s assets, and every fortuitous encounter Aldric had stolen in the previous life.

Leviana didn’t answer right away.

She couldn’t immediately declare Lathel as her betrothed, because in everyone’s eyes, she had barely had any connection with him before falling into her coma. The transfer of the betrothal to Lathel had also happened while she was in a vegetative state.

If she showed too much, they would suspect she had been able to hear and understand everything during those five years.

That secret was currently her greatest advantage.

"I’ve only just woken."

Leviana closed her eyes for a moment, her voice carrying a weariness that was entirely genuine. "My body can’t move, and my memory is very disoriented. I don’t want to decide anything about the betrothal right now."

The head of the family frowned slightly.

Aldric’s mother hurried to speak: "Of course no one is forcing you to decide immediately. But the betrothal originally belonged to Aldric; restoring it would simply be putting things back where they belong."

Leviana looked at her.

"Then wait until my father arrives."

The woman’s expression shifted slightly.

"A matter between two families naturally requires both sides to decide together. Until my family’s people arrive, no one is to change anything on the betrothal."

Leviana’s voice was very weak, but her stance was clear enough that no one could pretend not to understand.

The head of the family was silent for a few seconds before nodding.

"Very well. I’ll have someone send word."

Hearing that, memories of her parents surfaced in Leviana’s mind.

In the previous life, it was precisely a letter from this family that had lured her father to the capital without adequate guards. Aldric then arranged an ambush and, under the pretext of protecting her father, planted his people even deeper inside her family.

This time, she would not let them repeat that plan.

But for now, Leviana couldn’t say too much.

She had to wait for her people to arrive.

Had to see her parents alive.

Had to personally check how many people inside the family had already been bought by Aldric.

The herbalist examined the spirit stone one more time, then said: "Lady Leviana cannot stay awake for much longer. It would be best to let her rest immediately. During the first few days, her time awake may not even reach a full hour."

Everyone began preparing to leave the room.

Aldric still stood by the bed, speaking gently: "Just rest. I’ll come visit often."

Leviana didn’t respond to him, only looking toward Lathel.

"The person who took care of me these past three years was him, wasn’t it?"

The head of the family hesitated slightly before answering: "Most of the daily work was handled by Lathel."

"Then let him continue."

Aldric immediately frowned. "Leviana, now that you’re awake, we can find more professional attendants. He doesn’t understand medicine. Keeping him here may not be appropriate."

"The herbalist just said my condition is very fragile and my routine shouldn’t be changed carelessly."

Leviana looked at the elderly herbalist.

"Isn’t that right?"

He hadn’t expected the question to suddenly turn to him, but after thinking it over, he still nodded. "Someone who has spent three years caring for the young lady naturally understands her body’s condition better than a newcomer. At least during the initial period, keeping the same caretaker would be safer."

Aldric couldn’t argue back.

If he continued to object, it would be no different from admitting he wanted to push Lathel out even knowing it wasn’t in Leviana’s best interest.

In the end, he could only force a smile.

"If that’s what you want, let him stay."

Aldric looked at Lathel, a flash of coldness passing through his eyes.

"After all, an insignificant character like him can’t change anything."

No one understood what that sentence meant.

Lathel simply assumed Aldric was reminding him of his place.

Leviana understood better than anyone.

Aldric truly believed Lathel didn’t matter.

Believed that even if a few minor details changed, the "storyline" would ultimately deliver everything back into his hands.

She very much wanted to see the look on Aldric’s face on the day he realized the character he’d looked down on the most was the one who could destroy his entire fate.

Everyone filed out of the room one by one. Before leaving, the head of the family reminded Lathel to watch for any changes in Leviana and to immediately notify the herbalist if anything went wrong.

The door finally closed.

Only Lathel and Leviana remained in the room.

With no one else around, Lathel picked up the small board and wrote: "You don’t need to keep me here. The family can find someone who’d take better care of you."

Leviana looked at the words, then looked at him.

"You don’t want to stay?"

Lathel shook his head and wrote again: "That’s not it. But now that you’re awake, Aldric will take care of you."

Leviana nearly laughed out loud.

Aldric, take care of her?

That man didn’t even want to stand in this room for too long because he thought it reeked of death. In the previous life, after she’d lost all her strength, he’d even said that a person with no value left had no right to stand beside the "protagonist."

But Leviana couldn’t speak the truth, and only asked softly: "You took care of me for three years, and now you want to hand me off to someone else?"

Lathel looked at her for a long time.

He didn’t know how to answer.

In the end, he set the board down and used his finger to write on Leviana’s palm, just as he had done for the past three years.

"I’ll stay until you’re better."

Leviana gently tightened her grip.

That one sentence was enough.

An overwhelming drowsiness swept in quickly. Her body had reached its limit, and her consciousness began to blur, but Leviana still struggled to keep her eyes open and look at Lathel a little longer.

At that very moment, lines of pale golden text suddenly appeared in midair.

Lathel had no reaction.

He was still leaning down to adjust the blanket for her, as if he couldn’t see anything at all.

Leviana froze.

The text didn’t belong to any form of magic she had ever known, yet it carried a sacred, warm aura that made her soul relax of its own accord.

[The Bearer of Fortune has awakened.]

[Special Fate: Child of Fortune has been unlocked.]

[Those who sincerely remain by his side shall receive the protection of blessed fortune.]

[You have become the first person chosen by the Fortune Star Halo.]

The instant the final line appeared, the chaotic mana within Leviana’s body suddenly calmed. The soul and flesh that had been rejecting each other slowly found a point of balance, and the pain that had persisted since she woke eased noticeably.

Leviana looked at the text, then looked at Lathel.

He still had no idea what had just happened.

He even assumed she was staring into empty space because her mind hadn’t fully cleared yet.

Lathel reached out to pull the bell cord and call for the herbalist, but Leviana gently caught his finger.

The corner of her lips curved into the faintest of smiles.

She didn’t know what "Special Fate" or "Fortune Star Halo" meant, much less why those lines of text had appeared only before her eyes.

But she understood one thing.

This was the answer of the gods.

In the previous life, Aldric had relied on fate to steal everything.

Her magic veins.

Her parents.

Her family.

And finally, Lathel’s life.

But this time, fate had delivered someone else.

Someone who couldn’t see his own power.

Someone who only wanted to live in peace, yet could bring blessed fortune to all who sincerely stayed by his side.

Leviana slowly closed her eyes, letting the drowsiness pull her consciousness into darkness. Before she slipped entirely into sleep, her fingers still held tightly to Lathel’s hand.

On the surface, the corner of her lips still held a gentle smile.

But deep within her consciousness, Leviana’s voice was so cold that even the soul itself seemed to freeze.

Aldric...

Everything you stole from me in the last life, this time I will make you pay back every single thing.

Magic veins.

Power.

Family.

Even the fortuitous encounters you always believed were destined for the "protagonist."

And in the end...

Even your fate itself.