What? I Actually Reincarnated As Stepping Stone In Another World?

In the Hallway of the Underground Room

Arthur and Lucia walked side by side, with Arthur pretending to be injured. Lucia put her arm on his shoulder and helped him walk.

"Do you really need to do this?" Arthur sighed helplessly.

He wasn't actually injured and even felt like he could run a hundred meters quickly.

However, he knew Lucia was worried, and he was sure she wouldn't believe him if he told her he was only pretending.

"After all, her mind must be filled with heroic fantasies of justice, just like in the stories," Arthur thought to himself.

But how could he be so sure? Perhaps it was because he had read about Abel doing exactly what he was doing now in a novel, and Abel had easily won Lucia's heart when she was in a desperate state.

However, it will happen in the future, and Arthur has already beaten Abel to the first chance to meet Lucia.

Still, he knew he had to remain vigilant and never let his guard down.

After all, Abel would likely come to Balka, and the chance for him to meet Lucia still existed.

If he wanted to change his destiny, he needed to prevent that from happening.

At the very least, Arthur had to win Lucia's affection, just like Abel did in the novel.

"No!"

"You got hurt for saving me and defending justice!"

"Of course, I can't let you walk alone with such a terrible wound on your body!"

Lucia's words were filled with anger, but as Arthur looked at her cute face, he saw only concern and worry.

"Little girl, I am not the bringer of justice that you imagine me to be," Arthur rolled his eyes and said to himself.

He shook his head and decided not to continue the conversation. After all, he had to keep up the act until the end, which wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

Suddenly, he remembered something and turned his gaze to Lucia.

"By the way, Lucia, how did you end up getting captured by this illegal slave trader?" Arthur asked, pretending to be curious.

"Me?"

"I don't know." Lucia shook her small head and spoke softly.

"Don't know?"

"What do you mean?" Arthur asked.

Lucia was silent for a moment, and her cute face looked nervous as if she were hesitant to say it.

"I-I was out playing and was suddenly captured by the slave trader!" Lucia said nervously.

As he noticed Lucia's reaction, Arthur pretended to frown, deep in thought.

"So, let me get this straight, Lucia," Arthur said, pretending to be thoughtful.

"You were playing and suddenly got kidnapped?"

"That doesn't make sense, does it?" he continued.

"There are many people in the Rozen territory, and a kidnapping operation like that would definitely attract the attention of passersby, especially for a little girl like you."

Lucia's face turned pale as Arthur spoke, and she quickly averted her gaze.

"There are two possibilities as to why you were kidnapped," Arthur continued.

"Firstly, you're not from Rozen, and you were kidnapped while you were lost and playing."

"The second is that you are the daughter of a nobleman, and your kidnapping was planned." Arthur said as he looked at Lucia.

His violet eyes seemed to be able to make people who looked at him fall into a bewildering enchantment.

Lucia was also dazed for a moment as Arthur's eyes looked into hers.

"No! No! I'm not a noble! I'm just a commoner!" Lucia immediately came to her senses and shook her head hastily.

Lucia felt panic in her heart now!

She planned not to tell Arthur her true identity, and of course, she had her reasons.

She had no friends in the imperial palace; her Empress mother had passed away a few months ago due to her illness, leaving her with nobody who truly cared about her.

Only her father doted on her wholeheartedly in the palace, but she knew that he had heavy duties and always spent his time taking care of the Empire, leaving him no time to play with her.

Furthermore, she felt that her father's affection seemed strange and very different from her mother's, but she didn't think much of it.

Therefore, she was afraid that if her identity was revealed, Arthur would distance himself from her and not want to be her friend.

She also knew that Arthur was an ordinary person with no noble status, and she didn't want to lose her chance with him because of her revealed identity.

"No!"

"I can't reveal my identity!"

"Otherwise, Arthur will stay away from me!" Lucia said it in her heart in a panic, and her face flushed with embarrassment.

After all, she had actually never lied since childhood, which caused her to feel nervous the first time she lied.

"Really?"

"However, ordinary people wouldn't wear such fancy clothes, right?" Arthur said teasingly, and his gaze went to the dress Lucia was wearing.

The dress looked shabby and dirty, but still, it was impossible for a commoner to use it.

Hearing this, Lucia immediately panicked and got nervous.

"This is just a cheap, fake dress!"

"There's no way I can afford it!" She turned her gaze sideways so that Arthur wouldn't see her face redden with embarrassment.

Arthur smiled slyly, and his heart was filled with happiness.

"Sure enough, this little girl doesn't want to reveal her identity!"

Arthur said it in his heart with a funny expression.

He had already guessed that Lucia would definitely not reveal her identity as the daughter of the Balka Emperor.

Of course, this was the same as in the novel when Abel met her.

And as for the reason, he didn't know the specifics, but he guessed it must be because she was afraid that he would stay away from her if her identity was revealed.

At first, he introduced himself without his surname, and he also added the line that he was just an ordinary person, so he knew that this was a matter of identity.

"Oh, that's right, there's no way you're a noble."

"I believe so." Arthur smiled and spoke lightly.

Hearing this, Lucia immediately turned her gaze to Arthur, and her face was full of excitement.

"Right! I'm just a commoner!" Lucia spoke in a confident tone, and her eyes were full of happiness.

Arthur turned his gaze to his right side and chuckled.

"You're so stupid at lying," Arthur said in his heart and shook his head.

"What are you laughing at?" Lucia puffed up her cheeks like a cute little hamster.

"Nothing, just remembering something funny." Arthur lied without changing his facial expression.

"Humm." Lucia gave a small snort at Arthur's perfunctory answer.

Suddenly, as if thinking of something, Lucia immediately looked at Arthur and asked with panic on her face, "Y-You said this is in Rozen? Duke Asvold's territory?!"