31. It Wasn’t Just My Imagination
“Stay at home. I’ll look around and come back.”
With that short exchange, Leon left the house.
Despite Mary’s warning, I figured I’d prepare something while he was gone, so I was quietly fussing in the kitchen. Just then, Leon returned with both hands full.
“You waited, right? Since I was out anyway, I picked up some groceries.”
But this time, it wasn’t ready-made food.
“Dinner time’s coming up, so I’ll cook something.”
“You’re going to cook? Yourself?”
“Yeah. I’m a good cook.”
“What?!”
That doesn’t suit him at all.
More than slicing ingredients, he looks like the type who’d butcher them entirely.
“What’s with that reaction? Am I really that untrustworthy?”
“It’s just so unexpected… I mean, why are you even good at cooking?”
I mean, someone like Joshua, or um, Joshua… basically, he seems like the type to boss around Joshua.
I’ve only ever seen Joshua get dragged around by him, so no one else comes to mind.
Leon’s so used to giving orders that he just doesn’t seem like someone who’d do things himself.
“When you’re out in the field where someone might kill you any second, how can you trust anyone else to cook for you?”
“Oh.”
“Rather than being suspicious every meal, it’s better to just cook for myself.”
I suddenly pictured him wandering a battlefield and fell quiet.
But he didn’t seem fazed. He casually approached the kitchen.
“What about you? Do you cook?”
Before I could answer, Leon’s gaze landed on the cutting board where I was slicing vegetables.
“Doesn’t look like it.”
“I can handle simple stuff. Mr. Nox taught me a few recipes.”
“Hmm. So you were learning survival skills, huh? Sit down. This’ll take a while.”
“I’ll help.”
“No thanks. I get the feeling you’ll ruin it.”
Leon chuckled teasingly and picked up a piece of carrot I’d cut.
I thought I’d diced it into squares, but somehow it turned into a diamond shape and disappeared into his mouth.
“I may not look it, but presentation matters to me.”
“…It’s delicious? Why is it delicious?”
I was shocked the moment I tasted the beef stew Leon served.
It smelled good, but all he’d done was toss ingredients into a giant pot and boil them, so I hadn’t expected much.
But it was really good.
The seasoning was perfect, the broth was rich and deep, and the beef was soft and tender.
“Why is it? That’s kind of insulting.”
“Hehe.”
Still smiling with the spoon in my mouth, I giggled.
Leon gave a small smile and slid a basket of bread toward me.
“Baguette and some long, thin loaves.
Ficelle was pretty good. Campagne’s a bit hard though.”
“Oh, the bakery with the green sign on the corner? My goal is to get a job there.”
“That’s… modest.”
“I need to earn money. Gotta survive.”
“Why a bakery, though?”
“They give away leftover bread after closing.”
“…You are a noble, right?”
He wrinkled his nose, but I just smiled.
At the same time, I tore the baguette in half with a crisp snap.
Honestly, it’s hard to even remember what living like a noble felt like anymore.
“Just because you’re born into a noble family doesn’t mean you get to live like one. Everyone’s got their own story they can’t really talk about, right?”
The fact that I got dumped and kicked out is already so widely known, it hardly counts as a secret anymore.
“…True.”
Leon dipped the ficelle into the stew and brought it to his mouth.
There was a crunchy sound as it broke, but not a single crumb scattered.
Surprisingly, his table manners were impeccable.
Refined, clean, and graceful.
The best example I’d ever seen of proper dining etiquette had been Demian, and Leon was right up there beside him.
What a strange guy.
Rough, but polite. Playful, but never crosses the line.
He acts like he doesn’t care, but then suddenly takes care of me.
Every time we meet, he surprises me—but some things never change.
Out of habit, my eyes shifted toward his chest.
“….”
But the silver padlock was still silent.
And I realized once again that he still thought of me as just someone he knew.
“I think I’ll be able to sleep comfortably for once tonight.”
After seeing Leon off, I headed lightly up the stairs to the second-floor bedroom.
Leon had thoroughly checked around the house and inside to make sure everything was safe.
He even left something for breakfast, so I could sleep in without worry.
I was halfway up the stairs when the small candle lamp by the front door flickered out.
“Huh? Did a window open?”
Startled, I turned back, and something seemed to move in the pitch-black shadows.
It was so dark I couldn’t make out the shape, but I could feel it.
“…Ah.”
The hair on my arms stood up. I got goosebumps.
Leon said there was nothing there. Could it be a ghost?
“If I go now, I might still catch up to Leon.”
I hurried down the stairs.
As soon as I grabbed the front doorknob and opened it, a sharp clash of metal rang out in the night.
“Leon?!”
“Get inside, Sienna!”
Leon shouted as he clashed swords with an unfamiliar intruder.
In the moonlight, I saw silver hair fluttering in my direction.
“You’ve got time to be distracted?”
Two blades gleamed and clashed again, slicing through the night air.
Leon pushed against the intruder’s sword with force, causing him to stagger backward.
Even then, the intruder’s eyes stayed fixed on me.
The street was too dim to see clearly, but every time the silver-haired figure moved under the streetlight, I could make out the glimmer of his pale hair and his eyes—bright like midday sunlight.
“What are you?”
“……”
“Silent, huh.”
“……”
“Interesting.”
Leon grinned fiercely, but the intruder still said nothing.
His thinner blade curved tightly like a drawn bow and flew toward Leon’s face.
Leon twisted just enough to dodge it by a hair and swung his sword wide.
His blade cut across the intruder’s side.
“Urgh.”
The man dropped to one knee, clutching his side and glaring at me.
His golden eyes burned into me so intensely, I instinctively stepped back.
Just as Leon’s sword came flying at him again, the man rolled across the ground, narrowly avoiding it.
He jumped up and fled.
“Leon!”
“You really don’t listen, do you?”
Despite that intense sword fight, Leon wasn’t even breathing hard.
It had all happened so fast and in such darkness that I couldn’t really see how he fought, but I was relieved he was unharmed.
But that relief quickly turned to fear.
“W-what if he comes back with others?”
“Hmm… I don’t think so.”
“How can you be sure?”
“His sword style… Anyway, not that group.”
He had a hunch but didn’t sound certain.
Leon sheathed his sword and looked in the direction the silver-haired man had fled.
He brushed back his tousled black hair and smiled faintly, as if he’d found something amusing.
He’d been smiling during the fight too.
So much for laying low in the capital—did he stir up trouble again?
“Lock the doors tight. I’ll come by tomorrow.”
“Um, wait…”
Just as he turned away, I quickly grabbed the edge of his coat.
He turned back, puzzled, and I lowered my head, mumbling.
“Um… I mean, right now…”
“Hm?”
I’m scared to be alone. What if he comes back?
—That was what I wanted to say, full of worry and pleading, as I looked up at him.
“Want me to stay?”
Nod. My head moved like a mechanical doll.
He chuckled.
But it wasn’t his usual teasing grin—he looked genuinely gentle.
And the silver padlock glowed.
The blue spade shimmered.
[Leon’s Affection: 8% → 9%]
Just 1% again.
He’s kind, warm, and so much better to me than the other love interests—
So why is his affection rate crawling like this?
