Chapter 51

EP.51 Aria Learns - 5

Leonardo's Mother

When Leo was about to turn 10, Ryn went out of town on a commission.

She boasted that this commission would allow her to live comfortably for a few months, and because Leo trusted his mother, he silently guarded the house.

By the time a month had passed, he thought it was as difficult as the pay. Mercenary work had hardships that were hard to grasp just by hearing about it.

By the time two months had passed, his worry had risen to his chin. Could she have been injured so badly that she couldn't return, or had she... abandoned him?

By the time three months had passed, Leonardo recalled the promise with his mother.

If there was no contact for three months, he would be as good as dead. So, he shouldn't have any more lingering thoughts.

Thus, the boy remembered the promise.

- I'll be back.

He went to find his mother, who had disappeared without keeping her promise.

It was still when he was around 10 years old.

***

Ariasfil's jealousy and even her anger towards Eilin had subsided.

It wasn't because of merciful feelings like forgiveness or tolerance.

There was only an undeniable, irrefutable, absolute despair left in Ariasfil.

"...Leo's parents..."

She knew the whole story from the village chief Anus. Why Leo left the village, what he searched for over three years, and what he had become.

"I apologize for investigating your personal matters without permission. But this proposal is sincere."

Leo, with a slightly stiff expression, asked in a cold tone.

"Do you mean to trade with my parents?"

"I don't intend to deny your criticism and contempt. This is an issue that can only be accepted regardless of my intentions."

But Eilin had already made up her mind. It wasn't just because she was ambitious.

"But I genuinely wanted to help you. I can't even imagine what you went through to gain such abilities and strength before you turned twenty."

Ariasfil thought Leo's strength and efforts were simply remarkable. She truly believed the effort he put in to achieve such strength was valuable.

But

Aria realized now.

There are people who cannot even be allowed to live if they don't exert effort.

She had always kept such a person close, yet she had merely giggled in love.

"That's why I didn't insist on a connection with our family. I want to respect your choice as an adult."

That's why she couldn't separate Leo from Eilin. It wasn't because of love or guilt.

She had no right to interfere from the beginning, and Leonardo had the right to choose.

She closed her heart in despair, and the aura around her ears and eyes gradually disappeared.

As the sound gradually faded,

"I'm sorry, but I must decline your offer."

His knight had made his choice.

"Indeed... Did it make you uncomfortable?"

"No. I know such favors and offers don't come easily. But even if someone who knows my family history suggested this, I would have declined."

His senses were now focused again.

"...Can I hear the reason?"

Leonardo answered without hesitation, as if it wasn't something to hesitate over from the beginning.

"Because that's how I keep my promises."

"Do you value the loyalty to your family?"

A decision like an ambitious person's, certainly a conclusion that would be reached if thought about calmly.

"It could be, but also to keep my promises to the people I care about."

But Leonardo was a strategist, not an ambitious person.

"My promise to the head of the family, my promise to Chris, even the servants in the family who have shown me kindness and formed connections are precious to me. I can't betray them."

The current boy cherishes the people who have made him who he is.

"Finding your parents, what do you think? If you want, I can consider changing the conditions..."

"And I have to keep my promise to my mother."

Leonardo's mother, Ryn, always made one promise before going out on mercenary work.

- Three months, no matter how long, it takes exactly three months to confirm if a person is dead. So, if I don't return after three months, consider me dead.

It was a straightforward and factual announcement to a child, yet Leonardo nodded and made the promise.

Ryn always returned within a week.

"I went out of the village and searched for my mother's traces for a year."

First, he went to the mercenary guild. If she had been declared dead, the family would have been notified, so he asked about it.

- ...Ryn has been missing for two months. We haven't found the body...

At the time, that was enough. Without a body, there was still hope.

"By the second year, I gave up. The world seemed to enjoy using euphemisms instead of giving clear answers, as if afraid of making me angry."

His mother's body never appeared, and her acquaintances had long given up on Ryn.

Leonardo was too young and too tired to cling to such a slim hope.

"Only then could I keep my promise to my mother. It took too long to accept it."

"..."

Eilin, Ariasfil, even the sage, and even Leo himself fell into a brief silence.

"If the power of the Temperius family could help find my parents' bodies, it would certainly be a fortunate thing. I want to bury my mother in a proper grave."

Leo's eyes were moist with a detached sadness. While one can't measure the pain of a parent losing a child, a child can't easily let go of a parent.

The boy was immersed in his sorrow.

"But... if, by any chance, my mother is still alive..."

The sorrow bubbled up a little. The calm, detached surface was disturbed by the bubbles.

"I don't know how to meet her. If it's true that she abandoned me, all the hard times and love I've had so far might turn into resentment, and I might not be able to forgive her..."

He knew his mother was dead because of the regression. He had no intention of denying it.

But the longing and lingering thoughts for his parents had long taken root in Leonardo's heart.

"...I'm sorry. I've made your wound worse with my clumsy methods."

"It's fine. I won't join the Temperius family, and I plan to bury my bones in Reinhart."

Saying it was fine, he threw a blunt statement, which both drew a line and helped erase her guilt.

"Your loyalty to the family is admirable. It's a pity I can't recruit someone of your caliber."

"Family loyalty, of course, that's part of it."

Leonardo smiled and said.

"I can't leave Aria alone."

A radiant smile, contrasting with his previous demeanor.

"I want to be by Aria's side."

A smile without a trace of worry or sorrow.

Ariasfil, who was far away, blushed at his words. When their gazes met, she quickly hid her face.

But Leonardo, being far away, couldn't see the blush she hurriedly hid.

"...The heavens are truly indifferent. If I had met you first, the Temperius family would surely have thrived."

"Then I should thank the heavens. They've given me the fortune to be by Aria's side."

Now even her ears were red, and Ariasfil quickly withdrew the aura from her ears. Too moved by the person, she stopped looking at the boy's face.

"What a troublesome man."

"Many people say that. I'll get up first, then."

"Wait, there's more to say."

At this, Leonardo looked a bit flustered. Was there still a trick up her sleeve?

"Don't worry. I'm not trying to persuade you."

She also emptied her cold teacup and left a small warning.

"I and the other tower masters will report this corruption to the Magic Association. Of course, the punished mages will be the same. This is the first time such a large-scale incident has occurred in the tower."

While there are countless punishments for corruption and crimes, reporting several years' worth of crimes at once will lead to a large-scale cleanup.

It will be complicated and difficult for the family and the tower to handle.

"It will be quite chaotic."

"Yes, it will be chaotic. And such chaos often leads to even more madness."

She added one more fact.

"Recently, there have been many more disappearances around the tower. The number of victims is still low, but it's suspicious because the targets are mages."

"...Black mages?"

At his quick guess and assumption, Eilin looked at Leo with a slightly surprised expression. But then she smiled, as if there was nothing to be surprised about.

"I have my suspicions. Normally, I would investigate, but with this incident, I can't return immediately."

"Does that mean the black mages will act again in the meantime?"

"...I can't be sure, but it's a possibility. When the tower masters leave for disciplinary procedures, an increase in crime is a natural phenomenon."

It would be too much to expect one of the other tower masters to guard the tower, given the scale of the incident. If problems arise in the tower I manage and the defense or explanation is delayed, I would have to take full responsibility.

"Just a warning to be careful. I don't think you or your lady will be easily caught, though."

"Thank you for your concern. If I have any leads, I'll let you know."

"What a troublesome thank you."

With that, Leo left the cafe.

[Will you be okay?]

<...There's no guarantee that the body will still be there.>

Leonardo didn't give up after just two years. It was just that the more he searched, the more obvious the proof of her death became, so he stopped.

<It's time to overcome it.>

[Is that so? Then it's fine.]

It was a rather bland and boring exchange.

But it was comforting for that reason.

[Isn't that Aria?]

"...Oh? Is it?"

Ariasfil was walking in the nearby town, apparently looking for him.

"Lady!!"

Leo ran happily towards Aria.

"Uh? Leo...?"

But Aria looked a bit tired. More so than Leo, who had participated in the battle.

"...A...Are you okay?"

"Uh? Yeah..."

Clearly, she wasn't fine. She was still panting, and her gaze was unfocused, similar to mana exhaustion.

'...Could it be because of me...'

Did she push herself so hard to find him? To waste so much mana... for him...

"...Lady, let me carry you. In your current state..."

"No, I'm fine. You also pushed yourself earlier..."

And there was another reason for Aria's fatigue.

'I used too much mana focusing on the conversation earlier...'

Aria had only wasted aura to spy more clearly and cleanly.

"Don't... Huh...?!"

At the sound, Aria looked at Leo.

A clear moan.

It was too sensual to be a groan of pain,

too erotic to be a scream of fear,

a moan of desire.

"...Leo...?"

"I... I'm sorry. I accidentally... while trying to support you..."

Leo quickly removed his hand from her chest. It seemed he had accidentally touched her while trying to support her.

"Ah~"

A relaxed smile came naturally. Seeing Leonardo, who was always thorough and composed, flustered made her feel as if all her fatigue had vanished.

"Really? I'm fine~"

A playful, seductive smile, and Aria grabbed Leo's arm.

"Huh? What...?"

Then she inserted his solid arm between her cleavage and wrapped it around, completely binding his arm.

The soft skin and plump fat felt so good, it was almost overwhelming.

"Hey...! Just a moment...!! This is...!!"

"Why? Can't you even support me like this?"

A question so casual it was almost cheeky.

This wasn't support, but...

The mountain-like presence pressing on his arms stimulated every nerve of the boy.

The young girl had developed a figure rivaling a mature woman in just a few years.

Enough to move even a stone-hearted boy.

At that moment, Aria learned.

The heart of this insensitive man.

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