Chapter 57: Weight of Generosity
Lucien clearly hadn’t thought through what he wanted to do before acting. What had driven him was pity for the woman—he’d assumed she was simply seeking shelter for herself and her children.
He’d planned to help her and then head into the city, knowing he’d be dissatisfied with himself if he didn’t act.
However, this entire situation left him confronting something shocking about himself.
’I was selfish and stupid.’
From a young age, Lucien had lived a sheltered existence. Even when he attended school—the only environment that could have helped him understand society better—he didn’t experience it like other people did.
In fact, it was more accurate to say school attended him than he attended school.
He was born with a reclusive nature. He was hyper-observant of people, and because of this, Lucien couldn’t make friends. His word choices were bizarre, his speech pattern twisted as though he suffered from information overload and couldn’t properly process anything.
His head was a tangled mess.
Withdrawn from society, he was introduced to gaming as therapy. Over time, he improved, but his father never allowed too many people around him simultaneously. He was rarely permitted at family gatherings because his father feared the same breakdown happening again.
Throughout school, his father paid enough to secure a separate classroom—lecture halls that could hold thousands, but only Lucien would sit there with whoever was teaching him.
He had a custom timetable where he alone attended classes. People knew him in his major because he was always the best but never seen in class. The only people he knew were those who ranked second to him, or at least came close.