Chapter 40
“Mmm….”
Renoa frowned in the dazzling morning sunlight and slowly opened her eyes.
The wind and rain that had been battering the window were long gone without a trace.
The cloudless sky and pouring sunlight brightly lit the room.
A bird perched on the branch by the window chirped away.
“…….”
Still not fully awake, Renoa's eyes were hazy. She blinked blankly.
Her body felt light. On stormy nights, she usually spent the whole night awake, worn down by exhaustion.
It was the first time she had ever slept so soundly and deeply.
As Renoa tried to gather her dazed wits, she turned her head at the sensation in her left hand.
Beside the bed was a chair pulled close to it. Leon was asleep on it, his face buried in the bed.
Leon's hand was firmly entwined with Renoa's. And Renoa was the one gripping it tightly.
Ten seconds.
That was how long it took her to grasp the situation.
“……!”
At that instant, Renoa let out a silent scream. At the same time, last night's memories came flooding back like a waterfall.
She had been terrified, shown him an embarrassing sight, and then entrusted herself to him before sleeping soundly as if the world itself were at peace.
And the reason Leon was still here even though morning had come was because Renoa herself had been holding his hand.
She should have thrown his hand off and gotten up on the spot, but Renoa's body wouldn't budge.
“Are you asleep…?”
“…….”
There was no answer.
Only the faint sound of breathing.
Her gaze quietly drifted to Leon's face as he slept with his face buried in the bed.
Along with his soft breathing, a strangely pleasant scent seeped through their joined hands.
She had expected him to smell of stale sweat or dirt from rolling around the training grounds every day. But he didn't.
A scent that strangely blended comfort with a rational kind of attraction. She found herself wanting to breathe it in again.
As if bewitched by that peculiar body scent, Renoa unconsciously leaned her upper body slightly toward Leon.
The distance grew a little closer.
Leon's face was fully in Renoa's sight.
Until now, she had never felt anything in particular when looking at his face.
The appearance of a mere slave had been utterly irrelevant to her.
And yet, why now?
Was it because of that scent that subtly muddled her reason, or because of the warmth of their hands, entwined all night?
For some reason, his face began to stand out to her with startling clarity.
The face of a boy so clean, handsome, and refined it was hard to believe he was a slave.
She thought she understood why the maids treated Leon so warmly despite him being a slave, and how he had even won over Florencia.
Suddenly, a question came to mind.
If Leon hadn't been a slave. If he had simply been born an ordinary person and enjoyed complete freedom, how far could he have gone?
He probably would have risen to heights so far beyond that Renoa herself couldn't even dare imagine them.
Unlike a useless illegitimate daughter cowering in a corner from fear of thunder, he would have stepped into the endlessly wide world on his own two feet and boldly forged his own path.
Which was why the desire to keep him bound to her side forever was slowly rising. She wanted to make him stay only where her gaze could reach.
What was this feeling?
Was it the ugly jealousy of someone who had never won anything for herself?
Or was it the pathetic inferiority born of her miserable circumstances?
Or was it something else…?
It might have been something else entirely, something beginning to sprout deep within her heart that even Renoa herself had not yet realized.
Just as Renoa was about to take one more step to find out what that feeling was.
-Jolt.
Leon's fingers, which had been clasped with hers, twitched faintly.
“Mmm…….”
He turned his head with a low groan.
Leon seemed about to wake. Startled, Renoa panicked and turned her head away before bringing it back to where it had been.
She squeezed her eyes shut and started pretending to sleep.
“Ughhh…….”
Almost at the same time, Leon, who had been sprawled face-down on the bed, let out a groan and pushed himself up.
It felt as if every joint in his body were screaming from having slept in such a hunched position.
Leon rubbed the stiff back of his neck and looked around with unfocused eyes.
The bright room lit by morning sunlight. And Renoa, motionless on the bed.
“...Still holding hands.”
A quiet murmur slipped from Leon's lips, still not fully awake.
It had been a stubborn grip, as if she hadn't let go even once all night.
But the moment Leon muttered that,
-Rustle.
The strength abruptly went out of Renoa's hand, which had been clamped around his as if it were a lifeline.
Her fingers loosened and slackened as if nothing had happened.
Leon blinked at the sudden change, but decided it must be because Renoa had finally relaxed.
Finally free of her hand, he stood up from the chair and stretched.
“Hup-cha.”
Morning had come, and he was free at last. Leon was about to head back to his room.
“Has the young lady not woken up yet?”
“No. She’s unusually late getting up today.”
The maids' voices came from outside the door. At that, both of them startled at once.
A boy and girl not even old enough to be adults, master and slave, coming out of the same room in the morning?
There was no excuse for that.
The mansion would be in an uproar.
Leon felt cold sweat run down his back and hurriedly looked around.
Soon, his eyes landed on the tightly shut glass window.
Renoa's bedroom was on the second floor of the manor, but with Leon's physical ability, jumping from this height was nothing.
Just as he was about to escape through the window before the maids came in.
-Rustle.
As if she had tossed and turned in her sleep, the blanket that had been covering her up to her chin had slipped all the way down to Renoa's waist.
Knowing her personality, if she caught even a cold, she'd start snapping again and making everyone around her miserable.
“Honestly, she's weirdly high-maintenance.”
He carefully pulled the blanket back up and neatly covered Renoa up to her chest.
Only after finishing what he had to do did Leon turn back, kick off from the window frame, and jump down lightly.
-Thump.
A light landing sound came from the grass. Soon after, the sound of running followed, and the instant Leon's presence disappeared completely.
Renoa suddenly opened her eyes. She blinked repeatedly, staring only at the ceiling above the bed.
For a long while.
Until the maid came to wake her.
***
A few days later.
The first training session in the practice yard after the expedition. One dramatic change had taken place.
“Leon, you’re joining training from today too.”
Leon, who had been excluded from regular training, began training with the apprentice knights at Lance's recommendation.
For Leon, who had not expected anything at all, it was an unusual development.
Their behavior was so petty that he never even considered asking them to teach him. If he had, they would have just mocked him.
But they had offered first. There was no reason to refuse.
Their looks toward Leon were unchanged, but pride didn't put food on the table.
“That’s good, Leon.”
“Yeah.”
It really was a good thing. Helena had even been skipping training to spar with Leon.
She might not show it, but she was surely bothered by it.
As he joined regular training and improved his skills, he also steadily built a solid foundation.
From basic manners to escorting, and.
“How can a knight not know how to read?”
“Um….”
“You’ll study language too from now on.”
Under Renoa's guidance, he started learning to read and write.
Leon understood the need for it too. If he was ever going to become free and live on his own someday, he at least had to know how to read and write.
It didn't stop there.
“How can a knight not know how to ride? Learn horseback riding too.”
“Mmm….”
He started learning horseback riding as well.
In the mornings, he swung his sword with the apprentice knights while covered in dust.
In the afternoons, he endured the agony of etiquette and falling off a horse.
At night, he had to fight off overwhelming drowsiness while holding a pen.
“I’m sooo tired….”
With such a truly relentless schedule, Leon let out a groan and sprawled limply over the desk.
Renoa looked down at him pitifully and sharply criticized him.
“We’ve only been at it for thirty minutes, and you’re already whining that it’s hard. Unbelievable.”
“You say thirty minutes, but I’ve been training since I woke up this morning….”
“You started later than everyone else, so of course you have to put up with this much. Stop lying there and get up.”
“Leon's having a hard time. Major crisis…….”
Even with Renoa urging him, Leon couldn't get up easily. Renoa stared at him intently.
“Is it hard?”
“Huh?”
“I’m asking if it’s really hard.”
“Uh…. Pretty much?”
“Got it. Then let's rest a little and continue.”
Leon widened his eyes at Renoa, who unusually allowed him to rest so readily.
Renoa showing mercy, of all things.
“Young lady, are you feeling unwell?”
“What?”
“No, your reaction is just different from usual.”
“I let you rest because you said you wanted to, and now you're still complaining. I shouldn't have bothered being considerate of a slave's circumstances. Let's study again.”
“No. I’ll keep quiet and rest.”
There’s a saying that if someone goes crazy, it should be in a good way, isn't there? If it's a whim like this, Leon welcomed it.
With permission granted, Leon rested in peace. Renoa also took a brief rest.
“Hmm?”
And Bibi, who had been watching the two of them from a step away.
“Did something happen between you two while I was away?”
“Huh?”
“…….”
“It feels like the atmosphere has changed somehow.”
The people involved might not notice much, but there are things a third party can see.
Whether it was Renoa's attitude toward Leon or Leon's attitude toward Renoa.
It seemed the distance between the two of them had closed. Leon's way of addressing Renoa had changed too.
Bibi hadn't seen any recent event that would explain such a change.
Then.
“What happened on the rainy day?”
“…….”
“Hmm.”
Renoa stayed silent. Leon only darted glances at his master.
Just from that, Bibi understood the whole situation and nodded as if to say she got it.
“I see. Something did happen. Leon, would you share what happened with me as well?”
“Um.”
“If you tell me, I'll give you the chocolates I bought during my vacation. They’re from a very famous shop in the capital.”
“Ah, it wasn't anything special. Right after Bibi left, I went to see the young lady, and then—aaagh…!”
Just as Leon, completely won over by the word chocolate, was about to eagerly open his mouth.
-Crush.
Under the desk, Renoa's shoe was mercilessly grinding down on the top of Leon's foot.
As if that weren't enough, she even pressed her weight down and twisted it side to side.
“Leon? Why are you suddenly doing that?”
Bibi tilted her head in puzzlement at Leon's sudden odd behavior.
Renoa answered for him with a calm expression.
“It's nothing. He’s been studying nonstop, so fatigue must have made his foot cramp. That’s it, right, Leon?”
“Aaaah…. Yes, a cramp… a very scary cramp indeed…….”
“Oh dear, then you should rest well.”
A gentle smile rested on Renoa's lips, but her emerald eyes, gleaming menacingly at Leon, held a warning.
If he so much as ran that mouth carelessly, she'd crush the top of his foot right there.
At that ominous killing intent, Leon had no choice but to keep his mouth shut and force a smile.
Even after that day, the ‘Project to Make Leon a Knight’ kept rolling along without the slightest pause.
Every day felt so hard he thought he might die, but Leon never ran away from training or studying.
Renoa, too, clicked her tongue as if he were hopeless every time, yet still gave him all the support she could.
Seasons turned and turned, and the dirt floor of the training grounds froze and thawed over and over again.
The time needed for a rough, unremarkable raw stone to be tempered through harsh quenching and forged into a sharp sword.
Three years had passed in the blink of an eye.