"I think I will return now." Mordred said softly, motioning toward Crakos.
From start to finish, the #1 Demon Lord hadn't said a word and had simply observed things. Though he received many looks and several auras were constantly locked onto him, the Demon Lord always remained calm, restraining his own.
Leonel nodded lightly. He knew that Mordred had gone through a lot today. The wounds she had suffered in her past couldn't be cured so quickly, but Leonel felt content that they were going in the right direction.
He and Mordred practically knew everything about one another. In many ways, Leonel felt that he was closer to her than he had ever been to James. Seeing her slowly coming back to her family left him feeling happy.
"What's with that smile?" Mordred teased. "Is big sis very beautiful?"
Leonel coughed, not knowing how to respond. But, his predictable reaction left the Demon Empress giggling.
Just as Mordred was about to turn to leave, Leonel suddenly spoke out.
"Demo – Em, I take you to be one of my close friends now. I just wanted you to know that."
Mordred's steps froze, looking back toward Leonel with surprise.
Seeing those clear, pale green eyes and that handsome, charismatic smile, she felt her heart shudder. For some reason, she felt her tears well up in her eyes.
She quickly dried them with a subtle use of Force, not letting them fall. Then, just as quickly as she had almost cried, she smiled a charming smile.
"Big sis has more to teach you about women. Rule number one is to not make them cry."
Mordred strolled away under the escort of several guards, clicking her tongue as though she was still reprimanding Leonel. But, in response, Leonel only chuckled.
"You must be happy having such a beautiful friend, hm?"
Aina's voice disrupted Leonel's mood, causing his coughing fit to return.
"… It's fine, I'm pretty sure Em only likes women anyway." Leonel quickly recovered.
"So you mean that if she liked men instead you'd be happier?"
"Ah…"
Leonel had been checkmated once again. He didn't know how all his insane thinking speed and people skills couldn't find him a path out of this.
Luckily, he then heard Aina begin to giggle to herself, the soft bells of her laughter warming his heart.
He didn't know when Aina got such a teasing side to her. The two sides Leonel knew were either the overly shy Aina or the bloody killer Aina.
What he didn't know was that Aina had no choice but to begin teasing Leonel like this. Before, it felt as though Leonel was always the one causing her to be flustered. Getting back at him now made her feel much better.
Maybe even Aina herself didn't realize that in order to tease Leonel like this, she had to play into the fact they were a couple. Who knows how she'd react if she realized what her jokes meant…
Leonel suddenly sighed, thinking back to Arthur and Guinevere.
"… Do you think we'd ever grow apart like that?" He suddenly asked.
Aina froze. She hadn't even thought through herself what she felt for Leonel, she didn't even believe she had the time to think of such things now.
Being presented so suddenly with such a loaded question left her not knowing what to say for a long time.
"… Is it possible for you to grow distant from me?"
Aina asked a question back herself.
Maybe deep down she was also afraid of such a possibility. Leonel had pursued her so doggedly for years. She couldn't help but admit to herself that she thought he would have given up on her a long time ago.
During those days, her best friends were Yuri and Savahn. Savahn especially used to always say that men were just like that. They loved the chase, but the moment they got something, they would soon grow bored and leave it behind for other things.
Though Aina never really took much of her rants seriously, she had to admit to herself that thinking of this might have subconsciously been one of the reason she also never tried to respond to Leonel.
This had left her in a perpetual cycle where she never said yes but also never said no…
She never quite understood why Leonel was so infatuated with her. She hadn't been the most beautiful in their school, and now she was even further from that reality thanks to these scars. It was even possible that the reason she hadn't shut down Leonel's line of questioning like she would have usually done was precisely because she could no longer bury her curiosity…
However, Leonel's response left her completely shaken.
"Yes. Yes, I could grow apart from you."
Aina couldn't explain it, but she felt as though her whole world was collapsing at that very moment. Her mind swam, her vision even blurring.
She hadn't expected a particular answer, but what she absolutely never expected was for a response to be able to flip her world upside down like this.
The feeling was so real and undeniable that even she couldn't mistake what it was any longer.
It hurt. Like a twisting knife at her heart, it tore her apart.
Her vision blurred. But, it was hard to tell if it was due to tears or if it was the foggy state her mind had entered.
"But…" Leonel continued. "… That's if and only if you stop trusting me."
Aina's breath, hitched and hiccupped like she couldn't hear Leonel at all. It felt as though she couldn't breathe enough air, as though there wasn't enough oxygen in the world. Every huff she took felt filled with smoke.
"Aina."
Leonel frowned, gripping onto Aina's hands.
In her panicked state, she tried to shake Leonel's arms off her. She used such force that Leonel was almost thrown across the room. But, he held onto her tightly, gripping the sides of her face and forcing her to look at him.
By this point, Leonel had already put up a [Light Refraction] spell. He hadn't expected Aina to react so violently, but the last thing she needed now was to be seen by others.
Aina struggled, but Leonel didn't let her slip away.
"Aina."
Leonel's deep, rumbling voice seemed to finally cut deep enough, shaking Aina out of her panicked state.
"I am a person who severs his emotions easily when I find a logical reason to do so. The only reason it was hard for me to kill for a long time was? because I felt my life was worth the same as anyone else's. So, why should I kill them just for me to survive? Sometimes I even fear that one day I really will feel that I am better than others and will no longer have a reason to hold back...
"However, at the same time, for a very long while, I believed that my mother had abandoned me. Since the day I drew that conclusion, I never thought of her, dreamed of her, or pined after her."
The more Leonel spoke, the more Aina seemed to calm down. The rushing tides of her heart slowed to a normal ebb and flow, her breathing slowly returning to normal.
Leonel eased his hands away, his gaze becoming much more gentle.
"I know that you have a heavy burden on your heart. All I want you to know is that I'm here to bear it with you. I just want you to trust me, lean on me. Never go off on your own and do something stupid because I will not come to save you. Do you understand me?"
Aina's pupils trembled.
Where were the words of romance? Where were the talks of running through the fires of hell and smashing the gates of heaven to make it back to her?
But, no… These weren't the words that Leonel spoke.
"As long as you trust me, place your whole faith in me, lean on me like I will lean on you… If you can do this, I swear on my life that I will never leave your side."
The tears in Aina's eyes could no longer be held back. They fell like an endless flood. This time, she knew exactly why her vision had blurred.
And, maybe it was exactly because her vision blurred that she couldn't react in time. Before she knew what was happening, she felt something hot and heavy press over her lips.
Her heart seemed to explode. Feelings she had never felt before kept bubbling forth.
Warmth. Sweetness. Anxiousness.
As though butterfly wings had spread within her chest, she felt like she was floating on a cloud.
...
[Author's Note below (12/9/21)!]