Don't confiscate my identity as a human race

Chapter 522 - 495: Lanci Hyperion Talia’s Summer Flame_1

The curtain in the bedroom was tightly drawn, dimming the room further after the door was closed.

Lanci lay motionless on the carpet, only able to feel the soft touch of the cotton fabric against his back.

Although he wouldn’t experience too much emotional turmoil from feeling shame, he could smell the near-exploding emotions on him from Hyperion and Talia.

Lanci didn’t react for quite some time. His heartbeat was quite accelerated, but mostly he was simply stunned.

Even now, he hadn’t expected things to develop this way.

He had completely no idea what Talia would do next.

If Talia does something rash, them dying together like this wasn’t beyond the realm of possibility.

Lanci’s mouth was covered now, and he couldn’t even speak out, he could only leave things to fate.

"Tata, will you give Lanci a chance to explain?"

Hyperion was lying on Lanci, her voice shaking. She was enduring a sense of shame that was about to kill her and, retaining her rationality, she called out as quickly as she could.

Even if she was just sandwiched between Lanci and Tata, she could feel that their three heartbeats were in total chaos.

Hyperion couldn’t see Tata’s expression, she only knew that Tata’s mood was even more unstable than hers. Even up till now, Tata still hadn’t let go of Lanci, resulting in all three of them being in a deadlock, none of them able to move.

There was no response for a long time.

Afterwards, Hyperion, holding back a degree of shame that was about to explode, simply buried her head and hugged Lanci a bit tighter.

She knew her cheeks were very hot, because she could feel the coldness of Lanci’s ears and Talia’s backhand.

But she could only show through her actions and attitude that, if Tata was to perish together with Lanci, she, as the one stuck in between, wouldn’t want to live on either.

She didn’t know how many seconds had passed.

"..."

In the end, Talia, with eyes interwoven with resentment and pain, slowly opened the hand gripping Lanci’s cheek.

She looked at the slender yet determined figure of Hyperion, and it felt like Hyperion was suddenly very far from her, even though Hyperion was her most beloved. At that moment, it felt like she had transformed into a stranger.

But Talia still hadn’t moved. It was as if she had lost her strength all at once, and she didn’t know what to do.

Or perhaps letting go of Lanci wasn’t her true intention. She was simply following Hyperion’s call, making her, unwilling as she was, release Lanci by the time she came to her senses.

Laying on the ground, Lanci could finally breathe easily. Next to his ears were strands of black and silver hair mixing together, and there was also a strand of grey hair hanging down without moving away from his cheek. He couldn’t even differentiate which hair was causing him the itch.

He managed to heave a sigh of relief, and at the same time, he felt Hyperion’s breathing gradually calming down, and her nerves also relaxed.

However, when he refocused his gaze...

Talia was still looking at him.

Those eyes filled with resentment and confusion, with a hint of unwillingness, were as if they had to seek an answer from him.

Even though she knew that he might lie, she needed Lanci to tell her a lie that would deceive her.

On one side of the bedroom...

Cat boss was hiding in the corner of the bed, sneakily watching the three on the floor.

It was actually the most nervous one!

It was scared that the three humans it has raised would blow up together.

Back when they were in the Boss Cat Restaurant, it was wondering why these three could be so harmonious during winter, without any hint of a battlefield. It turned out that the three of them only have large fights!

It was even afraid that after returning to the Boss Cat Restaurant, these three would often cause explosive fights. Its small restaurant really couldn’t take that! And it would even involve Antanas, Sinola, and Pranay!

The Cat boss shrank behind the bed timidly, fearing that it would be noticed by the three of them, and then they would silence it.

It knew it should have run away at the start, but it was curious and, despite shivering all over, it couldn’t resist wanting to see what would happen today!

On the other side of the carpet...

Talia looked at Lanci, her eyes gradually filled with disappointment.

"So, you’ve always hated me."

It seemed as though Talia had finally come to a conclusion, and she stated this question in a declarative tone.

True indeed.

In the peaceful year she spent living in the Hutton Kingdom, she got to know humans whom she could call friends, and gradually realized that being a woman of her character made her difficult to get along with.

Only gentle souls like Hyperion and Asina could accept her.

Lanci had always been good to her, she knew that.

However, she was often too stingy with the kindness she should have shown him, and was mostly resistant to him.

It would make perfect sense for him to dislike her.

From the very beginning, their relationship was nothing more than a mutually beneficial deal; they had unintentionally become friends who could tolerate each other.

"When I first saw the shadow beneath that gray cloak, I thought it belonged to a poor old woman. It was not until I looked closer that I realized it was actually a beautiful lady. While I was painting, the stark contrast made me laugh. By the time I came to my senses, I realized that it was I who had been deeply drawn to her. Before I knew it, I had already finished this painting..."

Lanci began to speak slowly, his emerald-green eyes filled with a hint of unease and he averted his gaze.

"..."

Talia watched him, her golden eyes reflecting Lanci’s image, brightening slightly.

This was the first time she saw him speaking half-truths, lacking his usual confidence.

But what she discerned was the truth.

"...Beautiful?"

Talia murmured to herself.

"Yes..."

Lanci replied in a tone that carried a hint of complaint.

Even though it was the truth, saying it out loud made him feel somewhat embarrassed.

He could never anticipate Talia’s actions, like he could never shake this bane of his life, and he had to admit defeat.

Talia’s demeanor noticeably softened, her gaze also shifting away.

She felt a sense of guilt.

Although Lanci and Hyperion were both smart, she wasn’t a fool.

She noticed that the relationship between Hyperion and Lanci had changed after half a year.

Hyperion had found someone special.

Even though she shouldn’t compete with Hyperion for anything, Talia felt genuinely happy about Lanci’s compliment. This happiness made her feel even guiltier and perhaps because it is in her nature, this guilt also gave her a vague sense of thrill.

She shouldn’t.

She really shouldn’t.

"..."

After wrestling with her feelings.

"You’re not allowed to say things like that anymore."

Talia said softly.

Her meaning was that she hoped Lanci could wholly dedicate his heart to Hyperion.

"..."

Upon hearing this, Hyperion finally felt relieved.

She was sure that Tata was emotionally stable now.

However...

Even though it was just an act.

When Hyperion heard Lanci admit that Tata was beautiful, she should’ve been pleased since she thought the same.

But since just now, she didn’t understand why there was a weird taste in her heart. She couldn’t see Lanci and Tata’s expressions, but she felt an inappropriate ambiguity in the air between them. And thinking back to the portrait Lanci had earnestly drawn of Tata, that unnamed emotion in her heart started to magnify.