******************

I buried my face deeper into Leon’s pillow and let out a frustrated sigh.

It had only been a single day.

One.

Single.

Day.

And somehow it already felt unbearable.

The fake Leon rested beside me beneath the blankets while I wrapped both arms around him, it obviously wasn’t him and I knew that.

It didn’t smell like him anymore , it didn’t talk like him, and most importantly it wasn’t warm like he was.

But it was better than nothing.

I squeezed the pillow tighter.

"I still don’t understand why you couldn’t just stay with me."

My voice came out muffled through the fabric.

"I would’ve taken care of everything."

I pushed my face even deeper into it.

"You wouldn’t have needed to work."

"You wouldn’t have needed to worry about anything."

Another pause.

"I would’ve pampered you forever."

The fake Leon, unsurprisingly, did not respond but I glared at him anyway.

Then eventually my frustration faded and I simply held him closer.

Whenever Leon wasn’t around, I slept daily as it made the time pass faster.

If I was asleep, then I couldn’t miss him quite as much.

Eventually my eyes drifted shut and before long I fell asleep.

———————

When I woke up again, the sky outside was still dim.

Early morning.

I slowly sat up before grabbing the fake Leon and carrying him out of the room with me.

If Leon wasn’t here then the fake Leon could at least accompany me to breakfast.

That seemed perfectly reasonable to me.

As I entered the dining room, however, Clara immediately looked up from her seat.

Then she froze.

She stared intently at the fake Leon in my hands and after a small pause she burst out laughing.

"Lillith!"

She pointed directly at the pillow in my arms.

"You still have that thing?!"

My eye twitched.

Instantly.

"Keep laughing and I’ll throw you through a wall."

The laughter stopped immediately as Clara visibly stiffened.

"S-Sorry."

"Hmph."

I sat down.

"It isn’t funny."

Clara looked like she very much disagreed but she simply wasn’t brave enough to say it.

After a moment she sighed.

"Lillith..."

"What?"

"It hasn’t even been a day since he left."

I looked away awkwardly.

"That’s not the point."

"It literally is."

I ignored her.

A servant eventually arrived carrying breakfast.

To his credit, he only hesitated for a brief second upon seeing the fake Leon.

Unfortunately, that second was enough for me to notice.

I stared at him.

He immediately looked away which was a incredibly wise decision.

After setting the food down, he cleared his throat.

"Lady Lillith."

"What?"

"The Duke has arrived."

That got my attention as i immediately looked up from my food.

"Papa?"

"Yes, Lady Lillith."

I blinked.

Why was he here?

Normally he remained in the NightBane capital unless something important was happening.

The servant bowed slightly.

"It appears there is a large meeting involving the Crown and several major noble houses."

The servant departed shortly afterwards.

Meanwhile, I quietly hid the fake Leon beneath the table.

Just in case.

Some time later, the dining room doors opened and papa entered.

Immediately the atmosphere of the room seemed to change.

He wasn’t even doing anything as he simply had that effect on people.

His crimson eyes moved across the room before settling on me.

A small smile appeared.

"Lillith."

"Papa."

Then his eyes shifted toward Clara, his smile faded slightly.

"Who is this?"

Clara immediately froze.

She looked like a rabbit that had just spotted a predator.

I sighed.

"She’s my friend from the academy."

Papa blinked.

Then surprisingly, a warm smile appeared.

"I’m glad."

I frowned.

"About what?"

"You finally have another person besides Leon."

I immediately shook my head.

"Clara isn’t even one billionth as important as Leon."

The room became silent as he looked at me with disappointed.

"Lillith."

"What?"

"You should apologize."

I rolled my eyes.

Clara immediately waved her hands.

"N-No, it’s fine!"

She looked terrified.

Honestly, she was probably more scared of Papa than she was of me.

Eventually I decided to move the conversation along.

"Why are you here?"

Papa’s expression became more serious.

"There is going to be a major operation."

That immediately got my attention.

"A military operation?"

He nodded.

"The Crown intends to launch a major offensive."

My eyebrows rose slightly as papa continued.

"The objective is to strike deep into the Kingdom of Magneto and end the war."

"I trust the two of you will not speak about this outside the room, as due to the nature of the operation information on it is restricted, hence only those directly involved and all territories that border with the magneto kingdom where informed."

That immediately made Clara ask a question.

"If the attack is concentrated, why tell all the border families?"

Clara sat up slightly.

"The attack itself will only launch from specific locations."

"However, troops are being recalled from all across the border."

My smile vanished instantly upon hearing those words.

The room suddenly felt colder as papa continued speaking.

"The operation require-."

I interrupted him.

"Does that include the Aldric Territory?"

Silence.

Papa looked at me before he then nodded casually.

"Of course."

Something inside me twisted.

"You’re recalling the reinforcements?"

"Yes."

I slowly stood up.

The chair scraped against the floor as papa watched me carefully as I looked directly into his eyes.

I spoke in a slow and calm tone.

"Are you stupid?"

Clara almost fell out of her chair but papa remained calm.

"Lillith."

"Do you remember what happened over a year ago?"

His eyes narrowed slightly.

"Are you referring to the B-rank mage that had attacked the Aldric territory?"

"Of course!"

My voice echoed through the room.

"Do you want Leon to die?"

Papa’s expression hardened.

"I cannot give special treatment to the Aldric Territory."

I stepped closer.

"He is my future husband, and your future son-in-law."

"He is also one territory among many."

I hated that answer and I replied with a calm and cold voice.

"Move."

Papa raised an eyebrow.

"Why?"

"I’m going to the Aldric Territory."

"No."

My eyes widened.

"No?"

"You will remain here."

"I don’t care about the academy."

His expression didn’t change.

"I know."

"I only went because you and Leon wanted me to."

Still his face remained unmoved as I clenched my fists.

"I trusted you."

The words escaped before I could stop them and for the first time, Papa looked slightly surprised.

I stared at him.

"I left because I thought you’d keep him safe."

My voice shook slightly.

"But now you’re taking the troops away."

The room grew colder as frost began spreading across nearby furniture.

Clara had already retreated toward the doorway.

I couldn’t stop the mana leaking from me anymore.

"I don’t want him getting hurt."

The pressure in the room increased and cracks spread across the floor.

"I don’t want him dying."

My voice became quieter.

"I just want him safe."

Papa sighed before he then looked toward Clara.

"Leave and evacuate all personal."

She didn’t need to be told twice.

Within seconds she was gone leaving just the two of us.

"Papa."

My voice had become much softer now.

"Please."

"Leon doesn’t have mana."

I lowered my head slightly.

"He gets hurt."

"He throws himself into danger."

"He keeps doing things that can kill him."

The frost continued spreading.

"I don’t want him leaving me."

Papa listened quietly before eventually he spoke.

"If you truly know Leon..."

I looked up.

"...then you should know he is stronger than you think, stronger than even you in many ways."

I immediately shook my head.

"No."

"He is."

Papa’s gaze remained steady.

"Most people born without mana disappear into obscurity."

I hated where this conversation was going.

"But Leon didn’t."

"Stop."

"He built an industrial district."

"Stop."

"He defeated a B-rank mage."

"Stop."

"He transformed Blackwater Hollow."

"Stop."

"He created the railway."

"Stop!"

"He defeated a talented mage with a A rank mana who possessed every advantage over him."

"SHUT UP!"

The moment the words left my mouth, the entire room trembled beneath the pressure pouring from my body.

Frost and ice exploded outward from my feet spreading across the walls, ceiling and furniture in every direction, encasing the room in a layer of ice so quickly that even the air itself seemed to freeze.

The temperature plummeted lower and lower while the mana leaking from me became so dense that an ordinary human would’ve been crushed flat simply by standing nearby.

Yet despite all of that—

Papa didn’t move, not even did he l flinch.

He didn’t even look surprised.

He simply stood there staring at me with that same calm expression, and somehow that irritated me more than anything else he had said.

"Leon doesn’t have to do any of those things!"

I shouted as another wave of mana burst from my body.

"He doesn’t have to fight mages! He doesn’t have to build railways! He doesn’t have to create factories! He doesn’t have to keep throwing himself into danger over and over again!"

My hands clenched into fists as I stared directly into his eyes.

"He could stay with me. He could just stay by my side forever and let me take care of everything. He wouldn’t need to get hurt. He wouldn’t need to lose more of himself. He wouldn’t need to keep risking his life every time he has some insane idea."

Papa listened to every word without interrupting me, and when I finally paused for breath he simply sighed.

"If that is truly what Leon wanted, perhaps he would."

I felt my jaw tighten immediately as he continued.

"But it isn’t."

The frost around me thickened further.

"It is."

"No."

"It is, I just have to make him realise that his only option is me."

My nails dug into my palms.

"He would be happier."

"You don’t know that."

"I do."

"You quite simply don’t."

The conversation felt like repeatedly slamming my head into a wall.

No matter what I said, he kept giving the same answer, and every answer only made me angrier than before.

Papa folded his arms and looked at me carefully, as though he were trying to understand something.

"Lillith, I have met powerful nobles, accomplished generals, talented mages and brilliant scholars during my life, yet despite all of that I can honestly say that I have never met someone quite like Leon."

The moment he said his name again I immediately grabbed my head.

"Stop."

"He was born with less than everyone around him and still surpassed people who were handed everything."

"Stop."

"He lost a leg and continued moving forward."

"Stop."

"He defeated a B-rank mage when most grown men would’ve died."

"Stop."

"He transformed Blackwater Hollow."

"Stop!"

"He built industries from nothing."

"STOP!"

"SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP!"

"JUST SHUT UP YOU OLD MAN!"

My voice echoed throughout the manor.

The floor cracked beneath me as the pressure in the room increased further.

Yet Papa kept talking.

"He created a transportation system capable of changing entire kingdoms."

The room shook.

"He defeated a boy blessed with an A-rank mana capacity despite possessing no mana of his own."

The windows shattered.

"And every time he faced an obstacle, he simply overcame it through determination and intellect."

I couldn’t take it anymore.

"He doesn’t have to do any of that!"

I screamed.

"Why does everybody keep acting like that’s a good thing?! He gets hurt! He nearly dies! He keeps throwing himself into situations that should kill him!"

"He only needs me!"

Papa looked genuinely saddened by those words.

"No."

The simple answer struck harder than any attack.

"No, he doesn’t."

My breathing became uneven.

"He chooses to stay with you."

"He returns to you because he wants to."

The pressure around me weakened ever so slightly.

"He loves you because he wants to."

My hands shook.

"But the moment you stop seeing him as his own person and start seeing him as something that only exists for you..."

Papa’s voice grew firmer.

"...you risk becoming the very thing that hurts him the most."

For the first time since the conversation started, I couldn’t immediately respond.

Overwhelmed by pure anger and rage I rushed forward before I could think any further.

Not because I truly wanted to hurt Papa.

Not because I thought fighting him would solve anything.

I simply wanted him to stop talking.

My fist shot forward with enough force to easily pulverize stone but he caught it effortlessly.

The resulting shockwave still shook the entire manor and shattered part of the floor beneath us.

Before he could say anything else, I swung with my other arm.

Again he caught it.

Another shockwave exploded outward, causing cracks to race across nearby walls while dust and debris rained from the ceiling.

For a brief moment, we remained completely still.

Then I raised my leg and kicked forward, he was caught off guard which allowed the kick to land.

The impact forced him backward, sending him crashing through part of the wall and out into the courtyard beyond.

I immediately followed after him.

The ground beneath my feet froze solid as I emerged outside.

Papa stood several meters away with his feet planted firmly in the earth, looking more annoyed than injured.

"Papa..."

For the first time, my voice sounded tired.

"I don’t want to fight you."

"I just want Leon safe."

The words came out weaker than I intended.

"I just want him with me."

Papa stared at me for several moments before speaking again.

"Just because Leon isn’t with you does not mean that he is not safe."

"And as the future ruler of Nightbane, there will be many times in your life when you will have to let people walk their own paths and make tough decisions."

I absolutely could not stand where this conversation was going.

"If you cannot spend a few months apart from Leon without losing control of yourself, then you are nowhere near ready to lead anyone."

"That’s stupid."

My answer came immediately.

"I’m strong."

"That isn’t enough to be a leader."

"It is."

"If something threatens Leon, I’ll just kill it."

Papa pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Out of every idiotic thing you’ve said today, that might be the worst."

I glared at him.

"If there is a problem, I kill it there is a nothing wrong with that."

"And what if the problem cannot be killed?"

"Then I’ll get strong enough so that I can kill it."

"Lillith."

"I’ll become strong enough to kill anything."

Papa sighed.

The disappointment in his eyes somehow hurt more than any criticism.

"You still don’t understand, not everything in this world can be solved with violence and death."

I rushed him again.

This time, however, Papa didn’t bother arguing.

He simply disappeared.

My eyes widened.

One moment he was standing in front of me.

The next—

He was above me.

Before I could react, his hand landed against my head.

The ground beneath me collapsed as I crashed downward through stone and earth alike, leaving a crater stretching deep beneath the courtyard.

Pain shot through my body, but before I could rise again I felt something else.

Warmth.

A deep blue mana slowly flowed from Papa’s hand and entered my body.

It wasn’t painful.

It wasn’t forceful.

It felt...

Comforting.

Like sinking into a warm bed after being exhausted for days.

The anger inside me began fading as well as the panic and the fear all hit me at once.

Tears began running down my face.

"I just want him safe..."

My voice sounded small.

Pathetic and weak.

"I don’t want him leaving me..."

More tears followed.

I hated this.

I hated crying.

Yet I couldn’t stop.

"Leon..."

I whispered his name.

The blue mana continued flowing and my eyelids grew heavier.

"Leon..."

Again.

Softer.

"I miss him..."

The words barely escaped my lips.

The last thing I saw before darkness claimed my vision was Papa looking down at me with an expression that was equal parts tired, concerned and sad.

Then everything started to fade away.

And as I fell asleep my thoughts landed not on Leon but on the life I had before Leon.