Reincarnated as Duke’s Heir
Copyright© 2025 by TheSmartOne
Chapter 20: A human
Lucas felt a deep, primal sense of crisis.
His entire body screamed at him to run.
But the worst part?
He didn’t even know why.
There was no immediate danger. No sudden attack. Thania wasn’t moving toward him, wasn’t radiating killing intent. And yet, something deep within him, something instinctual, was ringing like a warning bell.
A danger he couldn’t see.
A predator he couldn’t comprehend.
But Lucas was not the same person he used to be.
He had changed.
Running wasn’t an option.
So instead, he looked directly into Thania’s eerily composed face and met her unsettling smile head-on. His voice was steady, sharp, devoid of hesitation.
“Did I do something funny, or did you just remember a joke?”
A pause. Then he tilted his head, feigning curiosity.
“If it’s the latter, do share. It’s frustrating when only one person is smiling, don’t you think?”
There was no childish innocence in his voice anymore. No attempt to act his age. His mother was gone. There was no one left who cared how a five-year-old should behave.
So he will act according to his mental age.
And Thania?
She just stood there. Watching.
Then, slowly, she adjusted her posture—subtle, deliberate, calculated. The eerie tension lingering in the air dispersed as if it had never existed. Her expression relaxed, her aura softened.
‘Not yet... ‘ she told herself. ‘I have to hold back my feelings.’
If she pushed too hard now, he would retreat. He would grow distant. Worse—he might run. And that was unacceptable.
She needed him close.
So she exhaled quietly, slipping into normalcy. Trying to go back to her usual self.
Because Lucas was no ordinary existence.
And something like him? Had to be hers.
She simply needed to be patient. Step by step, she would guide him. Gain his trust. Open his heart.
And once she did—
He would never leave her side.
Her mind spun rapidly, calculating. What did he want the most?
Vengeance.
He wanted the destruction of the Sylvaris Empire. The empire that had burned his home, slaughtered his people, shattered his life.
Would he come to her if she simply gave it to him?
Would he accept her if she marched there herself, erased every noble, every soldier, and turned them into her undead after that give him the control over them?
Would he look at her the way she wanted him to?
Would he—
Thania’s thoughts ground to a halt as her gaze returned to Lucas.
She studied him, taking in the quiet storm behind his ashen eyes.
No.
She had her answer.
He wouldn’t accept it.
His hatred burned too deeply.
He didn’t just want revenge. He wanted to carve it with his own hands. To be the one to end them.
If she took that away from him, if she stripped him of his vengeance, he would resent her. Or maybe even be the next target of his hatred.
That was not an option.
Then I will be behind him, she decided. I will aid him. I will shield him if necessary.
But she would never take his revenge.
Instead, she would be his protector.
She would ensure that no one—no one—claimed him. Not even Death itself.