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After Owen’s story, Leon rubbed his palms against his face.
Dana, who had a stiff look, looked relieved after hearing the story, and rather looked at Leon with concern.
“Are you okay?”
Dana carefully stroked his knee next to him. At her touch, Leon sighed and raised his head again.
“Why haven’t you told me such a story so far, Father?”
“Isn’t she a good mother to you anyway?”
Owen spoke softly but firmly to Leon and looked sorry for Dana.
“I’m so sorry. You don’t have to forgive the day you connected to your enemy’s child, but I wanted to return the original position to the blood of the Romoc family. They were longtime companions of Tertius.”
“…I don’t blame you, but now I understand why my father raised me by hiding me.”
“If there was evidence, I would have punished her… Sophia knew that Elisa had a child and persistently looked for her.”
To avoid Sophia’s threat, Russell traveled around the world with young Dana as an excuse to teach business.
“Sophia seemed to have thought that the child Elisa gave birth to was my child. However, the relationship between me and Elisa was already over the day Sophia and my marriage was decided, and Elisa was definitely Russell’s wife. You are their lovely daughter.”
Sophia was the daughter of the first contributor to the Haschel Empire. Falling in love with Owen at a glance at the banquet, she told her father that she wanted to marry him. Sophia’s father welcomed it and asked the Emperor to do so.
The Haschel Empire decided that it was better to marry the Tertius family, which had just entered the empire, in order to completely subjugate them.
Thus, the emperor ordered Owen to marry, which was irresistible.
Owen broke up with Elisa with tears and ended it like that. However, Sophia always doubted Owen, thinking he was still seeing his ex-lover.
And to cut the doubt, she tried to kill Elisa.
Owen knew him and entrusted Russell with the hidden property of the Tertius royal family, and told him to take Elisa and escape.
Running away together, Russell and Elisa fell in love, became a couple, and had a child while setting up the merchant group.
But after that, Sophia often sent out an assassin after Elisa. To avoid it, Elisa could not stay in one place for long even with her pregnant body.
Anyway, Dana was born safely, and it was about the time that young Dana had started walking and running.
Elisa drank a drink given by someone, collapsed, held out for a while, and eventually died.
Russell sent Owen a letter announcing her death.
“I really wanted it to be a coincidence, but when I looked into it, I found out that Sophia continued to give money to someone. Yeah, she did.”
He tried to catch the messenger, but he had already been blocked by Sophia and killed.
Leon sat silently with deeply sinking eyes.
* * *
Tak-
“Leon.”
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”
As he came out of Owen’s room, Dana pulled Leon’s arm slightly.
Leon quickly apologized, taking her hand off very gently. She didn’t know what the apology was for.
“I want to be alone for a while.”
With such understanding, Leon walked out of the hallway alone. Since it was the first time seeing him like that, Dana couldn’t keep up and stood still and looked from behind.
After a while, Dana also walked down the hallway slowly.
When she left the building, the sky had become dark after quite a while.
“Will it rain?”
The air held moisture and felt heavy. Dana walked along the castle’s path and thought back.
It’s more than I thought, it’s nothing.
At first, Sophia seemed to be angry when she shouted at her and poured out anger at Elisa.
Even though she didn’t know how much trust to put in the words of a crazy woman, she also responded to the absurd hatred felt from her.
However, when she heard their story from Owen, she became rather calm.
“Why?”
Her resentment against Sophia for killing her mother, Elisa, was understandably felt. However, it did not extend to her son Leon.
Because he didn’t know.
Furthermore, for Dana, the existence of her mother was conceptually known, but she did not remember. Perhaps because of that, she didn’t get very angry.
On the other hand, Leon was definitely the son of an enemy, but at the same time, he was her lifesaver, a beloved lover, and a husband.
Listening to the story, she felt rather sorry. Now she knew well how much she wanted him. Knowing and listening to it, Owen and Elisa’s mixed relationship felt heartbreaking.
However, she did not think that the love between her father, Russell, and her mother, Elisa, was false.
Although she had little memory, Russell had kept Elisa’s relics intact and cherished them even after she died.
When he talked about her, he was heartbroken, but he missed her.
But… Leon…
While walking on the street, Dana looked up and looked around. As expected when she came out, the rain drizzled.
He had a wounded face.
Even though he did not know Elisa’s face, Leon must have been at least affectionate with his mother.
It would be hard to accept the fact that such a mother commissioned a murder and finally killed someone. Furthermore, if that was Dana’s mother.
The rain got heavier and heavier. The water stream that was marking the floor gradually collected as it wetted the floor.
Dana’s steps became a little faster.
There was a large tree between Owen’s building and the building where Dana and Leon stayed, and there was a bench below it.
Dana saw Leon from behind, seated on the bench.
He just sat down without any intention of avoiding the rain. Droplets of water poured down over the hard and firm shoulders.
Dana carefully and quietly approached him from behind. Leon’s usual sense would have noticed her coming.
However, he didn’t even move when she came up to him whether he knew or not.
Dana approached and hugged him tightly from behind.
“Leon.”
Unlike the cold rain, his neck was warm, and Dana buried her face there.
Leon quietly grabbed Dana’s arm wrapped around his neck.
“What are you doing here like this? Hurry up and go in.”
Strong rain poured through the leaves, soaking Leon and Dana. Dana loosened her arm around Leon and turned in front of the bench.
“Leon?”
Leon’s wet long bangs came down and covered his red eyes.
“…It must have been shocking, I understand.”
When Dana put her wet hair back, Leon grabbed her hand. And he raised his eyes and made eye contact.
“That’s not for you to say.”
Leon dragged Dana onto the bench, and at the same time, he jumped up.
“Leon?”
Leon sat her down in front of him, then lowered slowly and knelt on the wet ground.
“…Leon!”
Dana was embarrassed and tried to get up, but Leon held Dana’s hands with both hands and pressed her thigh to prevent her from getting up.
“Why are you doing this all of a sudden?”
It rained so hard that even the large tree could not stop it. Dana’s underwear was completely wet.
“I’m sorry. I’ll apologize for what my mother has done for the rest of my life.”
“…No, that’s not it.”
“But I heard everything, but I…”
Rainwater formed over Leon’s eyelashes and flowed down the tail of his eyes. He looked as if he were crying.
“Nevertheless… Even if you can’t forgive me, I don’t want to let you go.”
The voice that rang softly in the sound of the rain quietly flowed in with moisture. He was cold, but the part that touched her was hot.
It was her first time seeing such a weak appearance. He looked up at Dana with his red eyes as if asking for an answer. His large hand covering Dana’s hand was also tense.
“That’s…”
Drops of water on Dana’s eyelashes splattered every time she blinked. The dew formed at the tip of her nose came down through the philtrum and settled between her lips.
Dana stuck out her red tongue and licked the dew. And she bowed down and kissed Leon’s lips for a short while.
“It’s the same for me.”
Soon after, a deep and long kiss followed.