Honkai Impact: My Power Grows When Valkyries Fall For Me — Chapter 23

Chapter 23: Kiana

The moment Kiana’s suspicious gaze landed on him, Lucian’s heart gave a heavy thud.

‘This girl,’he thought, a flicker of panic rising within him.’Does she have the nose of a bloodhound?’

Bronya’s scent? That seemed impossible. Bronya barely had any discernible scent to begin with, let alone one that could cling to him so stubbornly. Then again, after holding her in his arms for an entire night… perhaps it wasn’t so impossible after all.

He kept his expression carefully neutral, feigning a moment of thought before answering. “I was in a rush when I left this morning. Maybe I picked up something from the laundromat downstairs?”

Kiana didn’t reply at once. She continued to stare at him, her brilliant blue eyes narrowed with a suspicion that cut deeper than any blade. The same strange palpitation she’d felt in her dream seemed to echo faintly in her chest, intertwining with the unfamiliar scent clinging to Lucian.

To put it simply, she didn’t believe a word he said.

“Is that really all?”

Refusing to let him off the hook, Kiana leaned in, her face so close he could feel the warmth of her breath. She took another careful sniff.

“It’s faint, but that’s definitely not laundry detergent or incense…”

She took half a step back, planting her hands on her hips. Her eyes were filled with inquiry, highlighted by a sour note she couldn’t quite conceal. “Spill it! Did you secretly meet another girl? Did you hug her?”

“What are you even thinking?” Lucian chuckled, a helpless smile touching his lips as he lightly flicked her forehead. “Besides a certain overly energetic girl, who else would barge into my apartment first thing in the morning?”

“Ouch!” Kiana yelped, covering her forehead with a pout. The suspicion in her eyes finally began to recede. “Hmph, who knows. You have the kind of face that attracts trouble…” she muttered, the sourness in her tone now unmistakable.

A playful impulse stirred in Lucian’s chest. He deliberately drew out his words, “Oh? So Kiana was worried about that?”

“Who—who’s worried!” she retorted instantly, her reaction as swift as a cat whose tail had been stepped on. A furious blush crept up her cheeks. “I’m just… concerned! As a friend! What if some bad woman takes advantage of you?!”

Lucian raised an eyebrow, the amusement in his eyes deepening. “For example? Someone like you, Kiana?”

She glared at him, incensed. “How am I bad?!” she declared. “I’m a peerless, one-of-a-kind good woman! The kind you couldn’t find even if you searched with a lantern!”

Looking at Kiana with her feathers all ruffled, Lucian couldn’t help but feel a wave of affection. This girl was just too easy to tease.

“Alright, alright, I’ll stop joking,” he soothed, reaching out to ruffle her soft, silver hair before casually withdrawing his hand. “Kiana is the best.”

Stunned by the sudden, intimate gesture, Kiana turned her head away, a hint of flustered discomfort in her posture. “…You’d better know it.”

Lucian smiled. “You don’t have to help with your class booth today? Did you just come to wander around?”

“Mhm. I was too busy yesterday, so I didn’t get to see many of the stalls.”

“That’s perfect, then. Want to look around together? I haven’t seen much either.”

“Okay! I want to go to the oden stall over there first…”

——————

Time flowed onward.

The setting sun once again painted the sky in hues of orange and red. Across the campus, students began to pack up their stalls, and the lively grounds of St. Freya Academy gradually settled into a comfortable tranquility.

Lucian and Kiana walked side-by-side on their way home. Kiana was clutching an astronaut-themed Honkai Beast plushie—her grand prize for the day. She had entered an eating contest and utterly demolished the competition, winning the doll by eating three more hamburgers than the second-place finisher.

She fiddled with the tiny helmet on the Honkai Beast’s head, occasionally stealing glances at the young man beside her. The evening breeze gently tousled his slightly messy black hair. His sunglasses hid his expression, revealing only the faint, perpetual curve of his lips. He walked at a leisurely pace, seemingly lost in his own world.

“Hey, Lucian, what are you planning to do when we get back?”

“Hmm… probably just rest. I didn’t sleep well last night…”

“Didn’t sleep well?” Kiana’s brow furrowed again as she studied his obviously tired profile.

‘Didn’t sleep well last night… has an unfamiliar scent on him today… speaks hesitantly… won’t meet my eyes…’ The pieces clicked together in her mind.

“Well, the reason is a bit complicated,” Lucian began, “Kiana, please don’t ask for now…”

She had opened her mouth to press him, but his words brushed her off before she could even begin. Kiana bit her lower lip, a familiar frustration rising.

Again. It was happening again.

Every time she touched upon certain topics, Lucian would shut down, refusing to answer and keeping their relationship at a frustrating, uncomfortable distance.

Suddenly, the incident from the morning resurfaced, that lingering feeling of unease. That unfamiliar scent… it was faint, but she just couldn’t forget it.

No, it wasn’t just a scent. It was more like a trace, a feeling left behind by someone else… someone who had been very, very close to him.

What was Lucian hiding from her?

The realization pricked her heart like a tiny thorn, making her inexplicably irritable.

“…”

Kiana stopped in her tracks, her hand shooting out to tug on the corner of his sleeve.

Feeling the slight pull on his clothes, Lucian paused and turned around. “…What’s wrong?” His voice softened, sensing the sudden shift in her mood.

Kiana didn’t answer right away. Her grip on his sleeve tightened. After several long seconds, she spoke, her voice muffled.

“…You lied to me.”

It wasn’t a question, but a statement, tinged with a deep sense of grievance.

The faint smile on Lucian’s face slowly vanished.

Looking at Kiana’s complex expression—a mixture of hurt, anger, and disappointment—he realized that his repeated attempts at concealment had finally carved a rift between them.

Instead of a denial or another flimsy excuse, Kiana heard the young man before her let out a soft, defeated sigh. It was a light sound, yet it brushed against her tense heartstrings like a feather, making them tremble.

“Sigh…”

Lucian fell silent again. He had no idea how to fix this. Staring into Kiana’s wounded eyes, he felt utterly lost for the first time. The feeling was foreign to him. Whether facing Otto’s machinations or handling unexpected crises on missions, he could always remain calm, always find a solution. He had even started to believe he was quite capable.

But now, looking at Kiana, he understood.

He wasn’t all-powerful. When it came to matters of the heart, he was as clueless as a new recruit stepping onto the battlefield for the very first time.

What was he supposed to say? Come up with a smoother excuse to placate her? Coax her with a gentler tone? The thought alone felt wrong, dishonest. He found he couldn’t bring himself to do it.

“…I’m sorry.”

Finally, the words that escaped his lips were a dry, utterly clumsy apology, devoid of any explanation or preamble. He avoided her gaze, revealing his helplessness to her for the first time.

He opened his mouth, trying to organize his thoughts, but his mind was a chaotic mess. “I really… haven’t been completely honest.”

He saw her eyelashes tremble, her lips pressing into a tight line.

“I haven’t told you everything, Kiana. I’ve kept many things from you.”

“Last night,” he admitted, “someone did come to see me.”

“Not an enemy, but not exactly a friend… at least, not yet. Something happened between us… something that will take time to resolve.”

He paused, taking off his sunglasses and forcing himself to meet her gaze. He needed her to see the truth in his eyes.

“I kept it from you, but not because I don’t trust you, Kiana.” His voice was low, laced with an earnest sincerity that was almost painful. “It’s precisely because I care about you so much.”

“I didn’t want you to worry about me. And I especially didn’t want you to get involved in my troubles before you had to.”

“…”

Staring at Lucian’s clumsy, heartfelt explanation, Kiana found the accusations dying on her tongue.

He hid things because he cared too much. He kept secrets because he didn’t want her to worry or face danger. The reason was like a piece of candy wrapped in a bitter coating, crashing unexpectedly into the softest part of her heart. The grievance and suspicion that had been churning inside her were thrown into disarray by his raw vulnerability.

The sour feeling hadn’t vanished completely, but a different emotion—softer, more heart-wrenching—now took precedence.

She looked at his face, so close to hers, and saw her own reflection in the depths of his purple eyes. Her heart skipped a beat.

“…Idiot.”

Kiana muttered the word under her breath. Then, in a sudden, fluid motion, she threw her arms around his neck, letting the Honkai Beast plushie fall forgotten to the ground. She launched herself into his embrace, her slender arms locking around his neck, forcing him to look at her.

“From now on,” she declared, her voice fierce and unwavering, “you are not allowed to lie to me again.”

Lucian’s body went rigid.

Time seemed to freeze in that single, breathless moment.

“…”

—At that moment, the only thought in my mind was that if I didn’t kiss her in the next second, I would die.