#4

[Did you return safely to the North?]

Leonia squeezed her eyes shut the moment she read the first line of the letter.

Why did I leave you behind?

Should she go bring her now?

Leonia missed Scandia. Just reading one line made it feel like Scandia was right next to her, whispering. Naturally, she recalled their last kiss, and her fingers unconsciously grazed her lips.

[I was so glad we could meet that day.]

Scandia’s letter seemed to have been written right after their final goodbye.

[Would you hate me if I said I think about that moment every day?]

At that line, Leonia nearly slammed her head into the nightstand.

“...I love perverts too much!”

Of course, he’s my man!

Unable to contain her excitement, Leonia pounded her fists into the poor bed.

To think he'd wonder if she’d hate him for thinking about that moment. Unbelievable. If anything, whenever she thought of that day, she wanted to drag Scandia to her side and kiss, nibble, and lick him to pieces. The fact that she couldn’t made her reality all the more tragic.

Her frustration translated into her fists—each strike pressing the mattress dangerously inward.

Barely managing to calm herself, Leonia resumed reading.

[Winter is approaching soon. Please be careful when heading ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) out for the monster hunt.]

[I know my concern is unnecessary. You are stronger than anyone.]

[And yet, I can’t stop worrying. I don’t know why.]

Hoo... Leonia let out a deep sigh.

“...I know why.”

It’s because you like me.

Her ears burned. She hadn’t felt this embarrassed even when they kissed in the capital.

I didn’t think I’d come to like him this much...

It still amazed her how deeply she felt. They had only met a handful of times—barely enough to count on ten fingers.

At first, she’d teased Scandia with playful expectation, and Scandia had found her amusing.

But somewhere along the line, they had been drawn to each other.

Ugh, wicked man.

How dare he charm her like this?

Next time I see him, I’m checking his back for sure.

He was definitely a tiger with nine tails.

By now, Leonia couldn’t imagine anyone but Scandia. And she was certain the feeling was mutual.

Should I just go with a kidnapping marriage?

If Ferio kept opposing the marriage, she was seriously considering just abducting this solid, adorable thing.

[We’ve recently begun preparations to move up my brother’s crown prince appointment ceremony.]

That line suddenly caught Leonia’s attention.

...Move it up?

It wasn’t what she remembered. When she’d been in the capital, Prince Chrisetos’ appointment ceremony had been scheduled for late next spring.

Did something happen?

That date had already been considered quite soon. Leonia tilted her head.

Now that I think about it...

Leonia realized something: Scandia and Chrisetos were similar to her and her soon-to-be sibling. They were half-siblings, with different fathers. On paper, she and “Muscley” only had different mothers.

Guess that makes me the same now.

While reading the letter on her back, Leonia found herself now sitting up on the bed.

......

Her mood sank again. A feeling she had just pushed down came welling back up, throwing her heart into turmoil once more.

“...Hm?”

Then her eyes caught a sentence that comforted her shaken heart.

[I’ll come to see you.] 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

Tomorrow.

Scandia was coming to the North.

***

“A bright and vigorous morning!”

Leonia was bursting with energy from the crack of dawn.

“Did you sleep well?”

Connie, arriving to wake her, carried a basin of warm water. Leonia being inexplicably cheerful wasn’t unusual, so she wasn’t surprised.

While Connie poured hot water from the kettle into the bowl, Leonia opened the window to let in fresh air.

“The morning sun is so warm and dazzling!”

“Young Miss, it’s not even six o’clock yet.”

The North, having entered early winter, received its morning light quite late. The dim light outside was only from the estate’s plaza streetlamps.

“My heart is dazzling, so it’s fine!”

But to Leonia’s eyes, the world sparkled.

Connie, watching her particularly peppy young lady today, sensed trouble ahead for the Duke and Duchess. It was the intuition of someone who had raised Leonia since childhood.

But regardless of what Connie thought—

I’m going to see Boom-Boom today!

Leonia’s reflection in the window beamed with joy.

Lately, her heart had been unsettled. Scandia’s sudden arrival brought immense comfort. Even just receiving the letter yesterday had melted away all her worries like spring snow.

But melted snow leaves puddles—and Leonia planned to exchange passion with Scandia as hot as summer, to evaporate even those.

Once her morning grooming was done with Connie’s help, Leonia headed straight for the training grounds.

“Good morning, my beasts!”

“They’re still my beasts.”

Ferio, who had arrived at the training grounds first, gave his daughter a disapproving glance as she tried to charm the knights.

“Did my grumpy but dashing dad sleep well?”

Leonia ignored him completely and kissed Ferio on the cheek.

“...What’s gotten into you today?”

Ferio gave her a light kiss back and asked.

“I get nervous when you’re this excited.”

“Everyone has days like this!”

“You didn’t even yell at my nagging...”

Were the glaciers melting?

Ferio was honestly getting creeped out. Even his suspicious stare didn’t faze the little beast, who focused on her morning training with zest.

“Okay, who wants to spar with me? I’m on fire today!”

Leonia swung her wooden sword enthusiastically, looking for a sparring partner.

“Warm up first.”

Naturally, Ferio intervened.

Just as she had promised, Leonia completed her training successfully. She even managed, for the first time, to spot a gap in Ferio’s guard and attempted to strike with her wooden sword.

Though the attempt failed, it was still a milestone.

This is the power of Boom-Boom!

That alone earned her a rare compliment from Ferio. Given how strict he was about injury-prone training like swordplay, it meant a lot.

“Lalala~”

Humming cheerfully, Leonia stopped by the underground prison.

The dark, musty dungeon reeked of mold and stale air. Leonia grabbed a wooden rod hanging on the wall. As golden mist rose in her dark pupils, the rod ignited into flame.

Whoosh—a red torch flared up, illuminating the pitch-black prison.

“Have you been well?”

Her bright voice echoed inside.

At the spot where Leonia stopped, someone was imprisoned. The rusted iron bars alone reeked of blood.

But beyond them was an even fouler, more revolting stench.

Leonia held the torch closer to the bars.

“My, how rude not to answer.”

She clicked her tongue. A perfect imitation of Ferio.

“....”

Something stirred, emitting a faint sound. But it was barely a groan, so weak and fractured it could hardly be called a voice.

“You talk worse than my baby secretary.”

Leonia crouched and nudged the torch inside the bars.

Gradually, the shadows revealed their figure—an old man with white hair, bound hand and foot, collapsed on the floor.

On closer inspection, he was too young to be called an old man. Yet his body bore more exhaustion and suffering than any elder.

His limbs were twisted and bent in unnatural directions, like a wet rag wrung out with brute force, then clumsily flattened.

His face was especially indescribable. If one had to attempt it—his features looked torn apart and reassembled randomly. His face was like an expensive porcelain sculpture shattered on purpose, then pieced back together with visible cracks.

It was no wonder he could barely speak.

He was emaciated from barely eating.

At times, he’d convulse with his eyes rolled back, as if gripped by unknown fear.

“That pretty face of yours...”

Leonia rested her chin in her palm and murmured sympathetically.

“Did you leave it behind at the Gate?”

“....”

“How was it, feeling the power of a god firsthand? It must’ve been too much for a mere human to handle.”

Distortion. Suspension. Rejection of existence.

“Remus Olor.”

Leonia personally uttered the vile name.

As promised, the divine power had spat him out. But the Gate left its reluctant traces all over his body.

His body and mind had been grotesquely twisted inside the Gate. That was the distortion.

He had been forcibly halted—his flesh and bones crushed into stillness—suffering unbearable pain. That was the suspension.

Then he was returned to his original state. The rejection of existence.

And then distortion again. Then another suspension. Then yet another reset by rejection of existence.

Dozens of times.

Hundreds. Thousands.

Perhaps for an eternity within a single moment.

The once-praised handsome man was gone. What remained before Leonia was the result of chasing divine power and falling.

Remus, writhing in his cell, was worth less than the twitch of a squashed bug.

“Today, you see...”

Leonia stood and hung the torch on the wall.

“I need to have a lovely day with Boom-Boom. If anything goes wrong, I’ll be sad.”

She wanted to meet Scandia with a heart completely free of shame.

“So I’m here for a little ritual.”

From the wall, she selected a pair of light, beautifully crafted torture knives. They were custom-made by Ferio, just for her.

She tested the grip in both hands, smiled with satisfaction—

And stepped inside the bars.