Lucien leaned back in the taxi, eyes half-closed as he processed everything that had just happened. The moment he warned them, that girl—Esther—had already marked him as a threat. He could feel it clearly. That kind of gaze… it wasn't something a child should have.
Still, he wasn't surprised.
From the very beginning, he had planned to deal with her anyway.
What annoyed him more was the family itself. The father and that brat son—arrogance practically dripping from them. Even if he spelled everything out, they wouldn't believe a single word. People like that only trusted what they wanted to see.
Kate was different.
She was kind, sincere… and she had helped him when he needed it most. That alone was enough reason for him to at least try.
Lucien exhaled slowly, his gaze turning colder.
He already knew how this would play out.
A clueless husband. A manipulated household. A wolf in sheep's clothing slowly tearing everything apart from the inside.
If things followed the same path, the man would end up dead, the son wouldn't fare much better, and only the mother and the younger daughter would barely survive.
A typical horror story.
Pathetic.
But what made him pause wasn't the situation itself—it was the system's warning.
"Be extremely careful."
Lucien frowned slightly.
Careful? Of her?
That didn't make sense.
Compared to Mary Shaw, Esther was nothing. She wasn't a ghost, not a demon—just a twisted human hiding behind a child's appearance. Physically, she was weak. If he wanted, he could knock her out with a single strike.
So why the warning?
The taxi came to a stop outside his shop, pulling him out of his thoughts. He paid the driver and stepped out, the evening air brushing lightly against his face.
As he walked back, his mind kept turning.
Mary Shaw had been a seventy-year-old vengeful spirit, powerful enough to terrorize an entire town. Even then, the system hadn't emphasized danger like this.
But now… for someone like Esther?
Something was off.
Very off.
Lucien stopped for a moment outside his shop, eyes narrowing slightly.
"This isn't just about her…"
Muttering to himself, he pushed the door open and stepped inside.
The familiar scent of old wood and dust greeted him. For once, the shop was completely empty, silent enough that even his footsteps echoed faintly.
He didn't bother sitting.
Instead, he went straight to the shelf and pulled out the Complete Book of Talismans.
Brute force wasn't always the best solution. Sure, beating her up would be satisfying—but in this world, that kind of action would bring more trouble than results. One wrong move, and he'd end up being labeled a criminal instead.
Talismans… were cleaner.
More subtle.
And far more effective.
A faint smile appeared on his lips as he flipped open the book.
To Westerners, this kind of thing was pure mystery. Fear of the unknown was deeply rooted in them. Sometimes, even a simple trick could make them hesitate.
And hesitation… was enough.
As he focused, the familiar notification appeared in his mind.
He had made progress again.
Knowledge began to settle in his head—methods, strokes, techniques. Things that had felt complicated before now started to make sense.
Lucien's eyes sharpened.
"So that's how it works…"
All those rituals—burning incense, calming the mind, sensing energy—they weren't meaningless steps. They were preparation. A way to connect, to guide that invisible force into form.
Most people would get stuck at the very first step.
Sensing energy.
Without that, everything else was useless.
But for him… that wasn't a problem.
He grabbed three incense sticks, lit them, and placed them carefully in the holder. Then he picked up the brush.
The shop fell into complete silence.
Time passed slowly.
At first, nothing happened.
Then—
A faint trace of energy brushed against him.
Lucien's eyes snapped open.
"There it is."
Without hesitation, he dipped the brush into ink and began to draw.
His movements were steady, controlled. Every stroke flowed into the next without pause. It felt unfamiliar, yet strangely natural at the same time.
A few moments later, he lifted the brush.
The talisman was complete.
Lucien stared at it for a second, then let out a slow breath.
"…Not bad."
For a first attempt, it was surprisingly smooth.
But luck didn't stay forever.
His next attempt failed halfway through, the energy dispersing before he could finish. The third one collapsed at the final stroke.
Lucien didn't get frustrated.
Instead, he simply reset his posture and tried again.
Time passed unnoticed.
By the time he stopped, four completed talismans lay on the table.
His fingers felt slightly numb, his body heavy with exhaustion, but his expression remained calm.
This was just the beginning.
He glanced at the clock on the wall.
11:00 AM.
Only then did he realize—he hadn't eaten anything since last night.
"…No wonder."
Shaking his head lightly, Lucien stood up and stretched. The quiet shop around him felt almost too empty.
Not a single customer.
He didn't know whether to laugh or sigh.
Leaving the talismans on the table, Lucien walked toward the kitchen. If nothing else, at least his cooking skills had improved in this place. Compared to the so-called "Chinese food" outside, his own meals were far more reliable.
As he started preparing something simple, his thoughts drifted back.
Esther.
The warning.
The strange unease.
A faint smirk slowly formed on his lips.
"If you really want to come after me…"
His eyes darkened slightly.
"Then try."