Chapter 30: An Idiot With Healing Ability

"But..." Lumi gulped, her brows knitting together. "The plant is protected. I mean... no one can just bring it out or take it from its natural habitat without permission."

She hesitated before continuing.

"Riverspine Vine usually grows in places where Anomaly energy has accumulated for a long time, like abandoned areas, contaminated zones, or Dungeons where Anomalies frequently appear. So technically, it can grow in the wild..."

Her expression became more serious.

"But those places are dangerous, and because Riverspine is considered a restricted Anomaly plant, harvesting it without authorization is strictly prohibited."

Lumi looked at Evan.

"That’s why it’s rare to find it outside those areas. You can’t just grow it anywhere, and getting a healthy vine from an Anomaly zone isn’t easy either."

Evan suddenly swung the steering wheel to the side and pulled the car over onto a quiet side road. ℴ

Before Lumi could ask what was wrong, he took out his phone and called Darian.

The call connected almost immediately.

Evan went straight to the point.

"Check my father’s whereabouts last week, every day, starting from the day I told him about the ceremony..." He paused, his expression turning colder. "Alexandra too."

The moment the call ended, Evan turned to look at Lumi, who was waiting patiently.

"Hungry, or do you think you could hold out for another hour?"

Evan’s question made Lumi tilt her head in confusion. If she had to be honest, she was very hungry, indeed.

She had barely eaten anything that morning, and until now, she hadn’t even had a sip of water.

Noticing the question mark on her face, Evan sighed weakly.

"I’m probably being selfish... You must be hungry, right? Let’s go eat first, then we’ll go back to my place..."

"Your place?" She blinked furiously. "You mean your parents’ place?"

"You mean... your place?" she repeated, still not convinced she had heard him correctly.

Evan took a deep breath.

"My place. I have my own home..." He bit his lower lip before continuing, "Don’t worry... I’m not suddenly going to go into a Rampage... and kiss you out of nowhere."

That was exactly what she had been concerned about.

Lumi’s eyes widened slightly.

’Can he read my mind?!’

She immediately looked away, her face heating up as the memory of what happened on the rooftop came rushing back to her.

She had been worried about that too, but she certainly wasn’t going to admit it out loud.

"I—I wasn’t worried about that..." she mumbled.

"Yeah, you didn’t need to..." He smiled very subtly before starting to drive again.

After driving for a while, Evan finally pulled the car into the parking area of a nearby restaurant.

Lumi looked out the window, slightly surprised. She had expected him to take her somewhere connected to the Caesar family, but this place seemed much quieter and more private.

Evan turned off the engine and stepped out of the car. "Wait here."

Lumi obediently stayed inside as he walked around to the back and opened the trunk. He took out a jacket and a small medical kit before closing it again.

Then he walked around to Lumi’s side and opened the door.

"Since we’re in a rush... let’s wear this for now, and let me check your wound." He handed her the jacket.

Lumi looked down at herself and finally remembered the state she was in. Her dress was still damp, wrinkled, and stained from everything that had happened at the hospital, while dried blood remained near the wound on her forehead.

She quietly took the jacket. "Thank you..."

Evan crouched slightly beside the open car door and opened the medical kit. "Let me see."

Lumi hesitated for a moment before leaning closer.

Evan carefully examined the wound on her forehead, his expression becoming slightly darker when he saw the dried blood. "You should have had this treated earlier."

"Ah..." Lumi touched the wound. "This kind of wound heals itself quickly... so I didn’t give it much thought." She smiled awkwardly again.

But Evan was already frowning hard. "Heals itself?"

Lumi nodded quickly. "Mm..."

"Since when?" He carefully moved some of her hair away from the wound, examining it more closely and his eyes widened, "You have some kind of healing ability?"

Realising too late, Lumi suddenly covered her mouth, "No—I mean..." she paused, couldn’t come out with the best excuse.

She had been eight years old when she first discovered it.

She had fallen from a tree while playing with Celestine, scraping her knee badly against the ground. She remembered crying from the pain, only to notice that the wound had stopped bleeding far sooner than it should have.

By the next day, the injury had already faded to a faint mark.

Celestine had been there when it happened, and she had been the one to warn Lumi not to tell anyone.

She reminded Lumi repeatedly that people with healing abilities were often taken away from their families, their abilities considered too valuable to be left unused. Even their blood could be collected for medical purposes if their healing properties were strong enough.

So Lumi kept it a secret. For years, no one knew about her healing ability. Not even her parents.

Evan looked at her with an unreadable expression, his eyes lingering on her face for a moment.

Lumi’s eyelashes trembled.

"Are you going to take me away...?" The question came out quietly, almost as if she was afraid of the answer.

Evan’s brows furrowed slightly. "Take you away?"

Lumi lowered her gaze, her fingers tightening around the edge of his jacket.

"Because of my healing ability..." She swallowed. "Will you tell someone about it?"

"Tell who?" Evan didn’t quite understand.

"Celestine said, if they knew about my healing ability, they would drain my blood to save others... I mean... I could do that..." Her voice trembled. "But would it hurt? Or would I die if they took too much?"

She bit her lip, her panic growing with every word.

Evan closed his eyes for a moment, his expression darkening. "No one is going to take you away."

Lumi slowly looked at him.

"And yes, your healing ability is rare. The Empire is actually short on Guides who possess genuine healing abilities." He paused, making sure she was listening. "But whoever told you they could simply drain your blood and use it to heal other people was either lying to you or didn’t understand how healing Guides work."

"Then... my blood can’t heal people?"

"Not like that." Evan shook his head.

"A healing Guide’s ability comes from their Guiding energy. Your blood might contain traces of that energy, but it isn’t the source of your ability. Taking your blood wouldn’t suddenly give someone else your healing ability."

Lumi stared at him. "So... they wouldn’t need my blood?"

"No." His answer was immediate.

"And even if someone wanted to study your blood for research, they would need your consent or proper authorization. No one gets to take you away and use you however they want simply because you possess a rare ability."

Lumi’s shoulders slowly relaxed. "Really...?"

Evan frowned at her.

"Are you an idiot?" Evan stared at her in disbelief. "Did you really believe someone would drain your blood just because you have that kind of ability?"