Luciano woke up in a hard bed with severe body ache and a hoarse groan due to pain only to realize he was in an unknown place. The last thing he remembered was the sharp sting of a blade caused by one of the assassins who attacked his troop, probably sent by Emiliano.

"Where..." He could only wonder as he felt his body weak and feverish, and the ache of his injuries pulsed through him like a constant reminder of what had happened. He could barely make sense of where he was—he didn’t recognize the room around him, a dim, sweet-scented space filled with strange books and stuff. His vision cleared slowly as he saw a silhouette of a woman standing with a tray in her hands at the threshold of the room he was resting in.

"I see, you're awake now." Her voice perked his ears up as he glanced up at her face. The air around her seemed to shimmer faintly, and her long black hair cascaded from her shoulders like a waterfall. She looked at him with almost a flat expression as if she was judging him.

Luciano stirred, groaning in pain as he tried to sit up, but his body felt heavy, as if the very act of moving might cause him to break. The lady, noticing his discomfort, stepped forward to help him, her movements slow and meticulous. She placed the tray on the nightstand beside him—a collection of potions, bandages, and ointments.

As she placed the tray filled with medical equipment on the nightstand and sat on the bed beside his limp body, he couldn't hold back and ended up speaking.

"Where am I..." His voice came out hoarse, barely more than a raspy whisper.