Chapter 316: I Prefer To Keep The Darkness To Myself
Nyx and Leona immediately rushed forward, their hearts pounding with terror.
They feared the worst—that this was some kind of curse Luca was experiencing, the same thing the Lamia Queen had suffered.
They were terrified to look at his vomit, certain they would see black blood and bone fragments and pieces of organs.
But when they finally looked, they were immensely relieved to see that it was just normal vomit.
Nothing special. Nothing supernatural.
Still, that didn’t make the situation any better.
Leona immediately began rubbing his back in gentle circles, trying to soothe him.
Lulu was so scared that tears were streaming down her face, her voice trembling as she asked,
"Luca, what’s wrong?! What’s happening to you?!"
But Luca didn’t seem to hear anything. He didn’t seem to feel anything.
He just continued to vomit, his body shivering violently, his face twisted in an expression of pure horror.
He kept going until basically everything in his stomach had come up and he was just dry heaving, his body trying to expel things that weren’t there anymore.
But even then, he looked utterly exhausted.
Sweat covered his entire body, soaking through his shirt. He was pale and weak, almost as if a single breath of wind would blow him away.
"Let’s quickly take him inside." Nyx said urgently, grabbing onto one of his arms.
Leona grabbed the other, and together they supported Luca’s weight as they guided him back into the house.
Lulu and Luna followed behind, their faces pale with fear.
They guided him back inside the house and laid him on the edge of his bed before sitting themselves right next to him.
Leona grabbed his hand, her voice filled with desperate concern.
"Luca, are you alright? Please tell me something!"
To see the same man she thought was the bravest person in the world look so utterly terrified was truly haunting for her.
It was as if something fundamental had broken inside him.
Even Nyx herself felt genuinely worried now. She held onto him tightly, almost as if she was afraid that Luca would just disappear if she let go.
Lulu was on the verge of a complete breakdown, tears streaming down her face as she kept repeating his name like a prayer.
"Luca! Luca! Luca!"
Luna had to comfort her while saying.
"It’s alright, Lulu. It’s alright. Nothing will happen to Luca."
But even as she said it, her own voice was trembling, her own heart filled with fear.
All four women tried their best to cheer him up, to coax him out of whatever dark place he had retreated to.
They spoke to him softly, tried to hold him, tried to remind him that he was safe and loved.
But Luca just sat on the bed, staring with a blank expression, seemingly unresponsive to any of their efforts.
It was as if his soul had left his body, leaving only an empty shell behind.
The family sank deeper and deeper into despair with each passing moment.
All they could do was sit close to him and hug him tightly.
But even that was a terrifying experience for them—he felt so cold right now, as if his heart had been carved out and replaced with a block of ice.
Still, they persisted.
They continued to hold him, talk to him, give him all the love and comfort he needed right now.
This was the same man who had been there for them in their worst moments.
The same man who had pulled them out of the abyss and pushed them out of the darkness when they had thought all hope was lost.
There was no way they were going to let him sink into that gray despair now.
And shockingly, their efforts seemed to be working!
The warmth and comfort from all four women hugging him from all sides—Leona and Nyx on both sides, Lulu and Luna behind him on the bed—seemed to have an effect.
Slowly, gradually, Luca began to regain some color in his eyes.
His face became less pale, his shivering slowly subsiding.
Finally, in a weak, barely audible voice, he spoke.
"Water...Can someone bring me water, please?"
Every single woman’s eyes lit up with relief.
Lulu immediately jumped off the bed. "I’ll get it, Luca! Just wait a second!"
She ran out and returned moments later with a bottle of water. Luca didn’t hesitate—he grabbed it and chugged it all down in one go before tossing the empty bottle aside.
"One more, please." He said, his voice still weak but stronger than before.
Lulu quickly went back and got another, and he chugged that one as well.
Leona, realizing this was going to take a while, brought the entire pack. One by one, Luca emptied at least a dozen bottles until finally he was full, the color slowly returning to his face.
Once he seemed to be in proper condition, Luna couldn’t help but ask.
"Are you alright, Luca? Do you need anything else?"
She was holding onto his hand tightly, as if afraid he might slip away again.
And finally—to everyone’s utter relief—Luca broke out into a smile.
It looked tired, drained of his usual energy, but it was a smile nonetheless.
"It’s alright, Luna." He said softly. "I’m completely alright now."
He gave her a gentle pat on the head.
"Sorry for scaring you."
The moment Luna heard those words and saw that he was truly back, she couldn’t hold back anymore.
"Luca!" She cried out, and she threw herself into his embrace, tears streaming down her face. "I was so scared! I was so scared something would happen to you! I thought I would lose you for a moment!"
Luca blinked in surprise, but before he could respond, Lulu also threw herself at him from the other side.
"Me too, me too!" She cried. "Without you, I would have been so lonely! You really scared me so much!"
Luca blinked again, completely baffled by the sudden onslaught of tears.
But then Leona, who had been trying so hard to maintain her composure also broke down.
She was trying to hold back the tears, but they came anyway, streaming down her cheeks as she joined the embrace.
"Don’t scare me like that, Luca!" She sobbed. "Don’t scare me like that again! Without you, how am I supposed to live my life?!"
Luca was utterly bewildered by the sight of three crying women clinging to him. He turned toward Nyx, the only one who wasn’t currently bawling her eyes out, and gave her a forced smile.
"Come on, Nyx." He said weakly. "Tell them it’s alright. Tell them there’s no need to worry."
He was certain that Nyx, with her usual composure, would support his side.
But to his shock and dismay, Nyx’s beautiful eyes were also tearing up.
And then, without warning, she threw herself into the embrace as well, her shoulders shaking with silent sobs.
Though she didn’t speak a single word, it was obvious that she too had been terrified beyond measure and was now overwhelmingly relieved to see that he was fine.
Luca stared down at four crying women, all of them making his already wet shirt even wetter.
He didn’t know what to say.
But nonetheless, a warm feeling spread through his chest.
Seeing all four of them so scared for him, so worried about his well-being—it touched something deep inside him.
He couldn’t help but smile, gently patting each of their heads in turn.
"It’s alright, you guys" He said softly. "I’m totally fine."
He chuckled weakly as he cheekily added,
"I am the Hero after all—sent by the goddess herself. I’m not going to die just because I vomited once or twice."
This only made them cry even harder.
But Luca didn’t care. He just hugged them and comforted them one by one, like a loving husband would do.
Finally, after some coaxing, the four elves separated themselves from him while wiping their tears.
They all felt incredibly embarrassed—technically Luca was the sick one, the one who had such a horrible reaction. But instead, they were the ones crying, and they were the ones being comforted.
Even Nyx herself couldn’t help but blush when she thought about this.
Luca chuckled at their reactions.
"Before you ask anything." He said, his voice returning to its usual confident timbre. "I can honestly say that I’m fine right now."
To prove his point, his hands slid under Leona’s dress, causing her to gasp in dismay as he began to finger her pussy. With his other hand, he reached under Lulu’s skirt, making her blush with shame.
"I can go round after round with all four of you right now to prove it!"
Luca declared shamelessly.
"You can see for yourself that your husband is as tough as ox."
His lewd movements and dirty words had the intended effect.
All four women realized that Luca really was back!
The same shameless, perverted, confident Hero they knew and loved. There was no need to worry anymore!
Luca slowly pulled his hands back, his expression shifting to something more solemn.
A wry smile crossed his face as he said,
"As for what happened..."
All four women looked at him closely, waiting to hear what he would say.
"I want to say that it’s nothing at all—no big issue. But that would obviously be a lie."
He chuckled sarcastically. "And there’s no way you would believe it."
All four women nodded their heads firmly. They would definitely smack him on the head for saying such a blatant lie.
Luca looked at them deeply, his eyes filled with something unreadable before saying,
"But unfortunately, despite that, I really can’t say anything to you right now."
All four women blinked in surprise.
"Of course!" Luca quickly added. "It’s not that I don’t trust you or anything! It’s just..."
He paused, searching for the right words.
"It’s a matter that I would much rather keep to myself—a darkness that I won’t want anyone else to be a part of."
He let out a hollow chuckle, his eyes growing gloomy.
"I mean, just think about it."
"The Lamia Queen probably only had a glimpse into me—just a tiny fraction of what I truly am. And she had such a severe reaction."
He looked at all four of them, his expression somber.
"So you can only imagine, why I would want to prefer to keep something like that to myself."
The women exchanged glances.
Every single one of them wanted to argue—to tell him that they didn’t mind, that they wanted to know about this darkness inside him, that it was their duty as his wives to share his burdens.
Not to mention the fact that until today, they had no knowledge of Luca’s past at all.
But seeing his solemn gaze, the way he looked at them with such painful sincerity, they knew that nothing could be done right now.
If Luca didn’t want to talk, they couldn’t force him.
Leona folded her hands, her expression stern.
"Fine." She said firmly. "If you really don’t want to say anything, then there’s no need."
But then she leaned down toward him, her eyes intense.
"However." She continued, her voice softening. "If you ever feel this way again, if you ever feel sick or whatever you’re going through..."
"...know that you have your family by your side."
All three of the other women nodded in agreement.
"And not just this family right here."
Leona spread her arms out wide.
"The entire village is behind you. You have over a hundred elves, young and old who are willing to listen to you and share your burdens."
"Never forget that!"
"What’s the use of having so many wives if there’s no one to talk to?" Luna puffed out her cheeks. "I’ll definitely be angry if you hold it all in and cause such a scene again!"
"Even if you don’t want to talk to me, you can talk to my chickens!"
Lulu said this in a proud manner, a cheeky smile spreading across her face.
"They listen to all your problems. And who knows..."
She added with a wink.
"...they might even give you a solution to it all!"
The entire family burst into laughter at that absurd suggestion.
And just like that, the darkness that had swept over them was washed away.
The room was filled with warmth and love, a bright, wholesome family united in their care for one another.
Luca looked around at the four women who had just been crying over him and despite everything he felt a deep, profound sense of gratitude.
This was his family.
These were the people who would stand by him no matter what. Who would hold him when he was weak, comfort him when he was scared, and love him when he felt unlovable.
He truly was the luckiest man in the world.
