An Honest Soul

by Jim Hoxworth

Upon being reincarnated, Leon decided to be a little more honest overall: With himself and with his new family. This new world might look like the game he was playing before he died, but he could still bleed and die if he took things too lightly. Besides that, his previous life was full of regrets, so maybe it was time to eke out a better life.

13. Chapter 13: Dandelions

Chapter 13: Relics/ Livia's Mind/ The Frontier/ Dandelions

---

I stared briefly at the girl before me, deep in thought as she tried to maintain a polite smile in spite of the fear and anxiety bubbling beneath. This was… Honestly, I had no idea how to handle this. After the other day, I'd had Luxion run a full dossier on the Offrey Family, and the fact that Carla was a known Follower of Stephanie Fou Offrey was something that had not escaped my notice. Still, the note she passed me was rather surprising, given how Stephanie seemed to control her Followers with an iron fist, and I couldn't help but be impressed with this girl's strength of character, especially since she was putting herself and her family at risk in order to help me. For the moment, I needed Carla to speak frankly in order to get anything done. I silently signaled Luxion with a few pre-determined hand signs as I reached into a hidden drawer in my desk and pulled out a slip of paper with a pre-printed phrase on it and passed it to Carla.

"Please read this out loud and clearly," I instructed Carla as I gave another silent nod to Luxion.

"...'That quick beige fox jumped in the air over each thin dog. Look out, I shout, for he's foiled you again, creating chaos'..." recited Carla, frowning in confusion. "...I'm sorry, but what-"

"I'm sure you've heard of my peculiarities, Miss Wayne," my synthesized voice played aloud from the hidden speakers around the room, causing Carla to stare at me in shock as she heard my voice without my mouth moving. "This is simply one of many, I assure you. Before we continue, I must insist that you take a cup of tea with me, and then we may talk business. I've been dying to get an outside opinion on Belmont Blend Eight."

"Certainly, my lord, if you insist," replied Carla's synthesized voice, to which Carla nearly fell over at hearing her own voice without her speaking a word but didn't say anything as I motioned for her to remain silent.

"Excellent!" my voice replied. "I'm quite pleased with how this one turned out. I started with a simple green tea, and added lotus and jasmine-"

The sounds of the fake conversation faded away as Luxion's privacy field fell into place. Carla collapsed into her chair, bewildered and overwhelmed by the rapid turn of events. I quickly moved to my tea cabinet and prepared a small pot of mint green tea for the girl to settle her nerves. She jumped slightly at the cup of tea placed in front of her.

"Drink this," I suggested. "You look like you need it. Don't worry about being overheard, either, as long as you keep from shouting. My Familiar is synthesizing our voices using that phrase you read earlier."

"How-" asked Carla.

"The paper you read is something called a 'phonetic paragram', which means that it contains all the sounds that words in Common make," I explained. "My Familiar captured you speaking those sounds, and now can mimic your voice to create a fake conversation for anyone listening in."

"Can he really mimic anything?" asked Carla with a bit of wonder before breaking off. '...Wait, that doesn't matter! You need to tell the Queen-"

"Yes, yes, 'Offrey's set a trap', as your note said," I interrupted with a dismissive wave. "That's not the important part. Important parts are how this trap works, what she has over you to force you to do this, and what happens in the event of your failure, nevermind outright betrayal."

"She intends to lead you into an ambush against impossible odds," explained Carla quickly. "She's gotten the entire fleet of the Winged Sharks-"

I tried. I really honestly tried, but I couldn't stop the laughter that burst out. At this point, Offrey wasn't even fingerpainting so much as throwing a proverbial bucket of paint at a canvas and hoping it turned out nice. I kept my laughter lower so it wouldn't overwhelm the privacy filter, but I could see Carla growing more and more unnerved as I expressed my amusement, clearly thinking I'd lost my mind.I finally regained control of my mirth, addressing Carla once more.

"Oh god, are you actually serious?" I chortled as I wiped a tear from my eye. "She keeps trying the same old trick with increasing magnitude and hoping that somehow it works! Is brute force literally all she understands?"

"Lord Bartfort, I know you're skilled in combat, but the Winged Sharks have at least five warships and scores of skilled Armor pilots!" protested Carla. "Even if your Armor were to survive, any ship would be torn to pieces on its own, and you'd be stranded in the Open Sky, forced to either surrender or perish when you run out of mana to power your Armor-"

"Three things, Miss Wanye," I interrupted. "First, my Armor doesn't run on Magic, so I could theoretically fly to Alzer and back in just the Arroganz indefinitely for the rest of my life and not run out of power. Second, my personal vessel, the Razor's Crest, is to warships as the Arroganz is to modern Armors, so I don't think I need to elaborate on how lopsided that skirmish would be, even with me being outnumbered five to one. Third and finally, in an Armor fight, I was able to spend twelve minutes of a fifteen minute five-on-one Armor Duel just talking to Jilk and Julius. I appreciate your concern, but we should focus it on the person we really need to be worried about protecting, namely you."

"But someone is trying to actively kill you-" argued Carla.

"-And you're needlessly risking your life to try and save me, Brad, and Livia," I countered. "You're very brave, Miss Wayne, but there's no need for you to throw your life away when the three you're trying to save are not in any real danger. So, does Offrey have something else over you to force you into this, or is it just the social repercussions of defying your Lady?"

"...I am prepared to face the full weight of my own actions, but I would ask that you save my family-" began Carla.

"So death to you and your family, but no other impact besides that?" I interrupted, cutting straight to the point. "That will be simple enough to circumvent. …Wait… Ah, dammit. This would be the perfect opportunity for the Bastards to make their debut, but they won't be finished training yet. Oh well…"

"Lord Bartfort, please tell me that you're not actually considering walking into this trap?!" exclaimed Carla in alarm.

"Easy now, don't overwhelm the privacy filters, otherwise the jig is up," I warned, not unkindly. "And yeah, I'm not going to just let a brave and honest person die because it would be more convenient for me. Seriously, consider it from my perspective: I can let you die for your honor and the Kingdom loses a capable and honorable subject in exchange for sparing me a minor inconvenience, or I can walk into this 'trap', kick some pirate asses, expose the treachery of the Offreys, and you and your family walk away from this completely unharmed. Honestly, I have so much more to gain by walking into this trap your Lady has set for me. I'm just pissed that my private security company isn't prepared enough to join me in this venture."

"What do you mean by 'private security company'?" asked Carla in confusion. "Is that like a mercenary group?"

"That's… an oversimplification of the concept, but yes," I hedged.

"...Is that even legal?" asked Carla, starting to show signs of becoming overwhelmed. "That doesn't seem at all legal…"

"The Queen herself has approved it as a direct counter to Fanoss and their Black Knight," I replied. "Besides, I only have about sixteen Armor pilots right now, so it's not a threat to the kingdom on its own."

"...Sixteen pilots in Armors like yours, and you say that it's not a threat?" asked Carla skeptically.

"Not on paper, it isn't," I smirked, finally getting a laugh from Carla. "But let's hope that the rest of the Noble Court isn't as clever as you, or else they might figure out the truth."

"Should I be worried about your future plans of world domination?" joked Carla, although I could tell that she was still actually quite concerned.

"Meh, too much work," I shrugged. "I'd much rather dominate dungeons and a quiet frontier homestead with the help of whatever woman is willing to marry a scoundrel like me."

"...You really wouldn't want to dominate anything else?" asked Carla incredulously.

"Well, maybe the future wife on our anniversary, but only if she's feeling extra frisky," I snarked, causing Carla to make a choking sound as I laughed. "...Sorry, I tried to resist, but you left the opportunity wide open for that joke. Still, we've got a fair amount of logistics to work through, and not much time to do it, so I'm going to need you to tell me everything you know about the Winged Sharks…"

---

"God, that's a mess," grumbled Marie as she massaged the bridge of her nose in an attempt to soothe the oncoming migraine.

"No shit," I agreed as I leaned back in my chair. "Still, at least we'll be able to handle it easily by dividing up the group to take both relics at once now-"

"I meant your love life, but sure, we can ignore that for now," snarked Marie.

"I would appreciate it if we could, considering that all my plans for that have gone to shit," I grumbled.

After Carla had left, I'd immediately called Marie to give her an update on the situation, since it would directly involve our plans to recover the Holy Relics. Between this rapid development and Jilk still recovering from his injury, it was looking like we'd be splitting the still "battle-ready" Guys right down the middle: Chris and Julius with Marie in the Dungeon, while I took Greg, Brad, and Livia to fight the Winged Sharks. Unfortunately, since we only had a limited time to take action before Offrey suspected something was amiss, I'd need to leave almost immediately for the frontier. I could conceivably have a word with the girls in the morning before I left, but that was one hell of a bombshell to drop on someone and then go no contact for a week or so, which meant for all intents and purposes, my big talk was thwarted immediately. Naturally, I was less than enthused at the prospect.

"...Sorry, I didn't mean to strike a nerve," apologized Marie.

"You're fine," I relented, waving off her concern. "I'm just pissed that the moment that I gather up the nerve to talk to the girls about things, this bullshit pops up…"

"...You want to talk about it some more?" asked Marie.

"...I mean, what else is there to say?" I sighed. "I love them, but I don't feel I have the right to say that until I tell them who I really am, and I'm worried that the truth could really hurt them."

"...I mean, you're not wrong…" conceded Marie. "Still, during all of this, you've treated them like people and not just characters from a video game, and you've tried to make them happier throughout this process. I'm honestly rooting for you because I think it's actually really sweet how they'll have a happier ending with you that they would otherwise. That fact alone is going to give you a huge leg up."

"Thanks, Marie...I appreciate that," I nodded. "...That actually reminds me; how are you holding up? I noticed that today was… difficult for you as well."

"...I think today certainly helped, for however difficult it was," smiled Marie sadly. "It… it horrified me, thinking about how I ignored that these girls were thinking and feeling people… how easy it was to ignore that fact-"

"You were desperate and single-focused, which aren't character failings," I countered gently. "The fact that you feel that way afterwards, and the fact you're trying to make amends, speaks volumes to your character, just like Angie told you before. It wasn't really a matter of seeing the 'big picture' or 'little pictures', but seeing both at the same time."

"...Pff, did you have kids in your first life or something?" snorted Marie, even as her expression brightened a little. "That totally sounds like 'Dad Advice'..."

"More like 'Older Brother Advice'," I chuckled, my thoughts turning bittersweet as I thought of my first sister. "I had a younger sister in my first life, and she'd get herself in over her head more times than I could count, so I had a fair bit of practice."

"It sounds like she was a handful," laughed Marie. "Still, it sounds like you were a damn good brother to her as well."

"...I wish that I had been better," I sighed. "I can't remember the last time I told her that I loved her in my first life…"

"She knew," stated Marie with absolute confidence. "You may not have said it, but if you were half the man back then as you are now, you would have shown it in your actions. "

"...Thanks...I appreciate that," I replied thickly as emotions that I kept beneath the surface emerged at her words. "Still, I wish I had your confidence on the matter…"

"As a younger sister of a grumpy older brother with severe emotional constipation, I can tell you that your sister would have had to be completely oblivious to not know how you felt," smirked Marie before her smile turned somewhat sad. "...Thinking more on it, you and my brother probably would have gotten on like a house on fire; nerdy streaks a kilometer wide, and snarky as hell."

"It sounds like he was a handful, too," I chuckled.

We both laughed at that, the two of us lost for a moment in bittersweet memories of siblings we'd never speak to again. It was odd, but there were times that just felt familiar to me when I spoke with Marie, and for the life of me, I couldn't figure out what it was. Granted, my thoughts as of late had been rather occupied with other things, between the Bastards and their training, the hunt for the Relics, and all the stress over the Confession, so I once again resolved to unpack the matter later.

"...So what do I do about that talk with the girls?" I finally asked.

"...Maybe give them the option to have it before you go or after?" suggested Marie. "I mean, it'll take time to get organized to leave, so there's time now, plus it'll give them some time to process what you'll tell them while you're away. On the other hand, it really does feel like tempting fate to have such a big talk before walking directly into a trap. Seriously, if this were a light novel, I'd swear the entire situation screams 'Death Flag'. Besides, isn't that the reason why Clarice wouldn't let you kiss her before the race?"

"Yeah, you're right that she'll probably see it like that," I sighed.

"Well, maybe not, since the race turned out just fine and she ended up missing out on that opportunity," countered Marie. "Either way, they can make decisions, too, so probably not a bad idea to include them in this conversation."

"Yeah, I did actually say that I'd call them over comms tonight to talk to them about how the conversation with Carla went," I mused. "I'll go ahead and merge them into the call."

"Good idea," agreed Marie as I tapped a few buttons on the comm unit to bring Clarice into the conference, nodding initially before a thought seemed to occur to her. "...Wait, hang on-"

The call connected, and I felt my mind grind to a halt. Clarice was in a bubble bath, and had apparently been in said bath for quite some time, given the state of the bubbles. They'd lost their proverbial "vigor", and so I could see… well, not everything, but enough for my imagination to fill in the proverbial gaps. I could see colors and shapes through the veil that the weakened bubbles provided, thinner than the sheerest silk or lace. Thankfully, the bubbles were thicker around her lower body, else I would have been rendered completely catatonic. Clarice smiled, her eyes still closed so she couldn't see the mortified expression on Marie's face or the shell-shocked expression on mine.

…Mmm…"Shell-shocked"... And what glorious "shells" they are- Dammit, this isn't the time for dirty puns-

"Good evening, Leon…" whispered Clarice warmly. "I… I was hoping to hear from you tonight… Is Angie-"

For better or worse, Clarice finally opened her eyes and saw that the other person in the call was not, in fact, Angie. I watched as Clarice blushed from the roots of her hair all the way down to that perfect chest and beyond the waterline of the bath as she moved her right arm to preserve whatever modesty she had left… and in doing so, shattering said modesty for about a second that would forever be burned into my mind.

…A light reddish-brown compared to the creamy skin around them, and surprisingly supple and perky- Get a grip, man-

"Shit!" swore Clarice. "Sorry! Sorry! I thought it was just going to be you and Angie-"

"-No, my fault, honestly should have made a separate call-" I blurted, before regaining a little composure. "...Sorry, I would have just had a call with you and Angie, but-"

"-what the girl said was actually that serious?" finished Clarice to which I nodded. "Well… dammit… Give me five minutes so my tits aren't hanging out. Best to call Angie separately, just in case, but I'll be ready when you call back."

With that, Clarice disconnected the call without another word. I slumped in my chair, closing my eyes to try and clear the image of Clarice bathing from them with little success. Gods, if that wasn't a wake-up call that I needed to have that chat with the three of them immediately… In hindsight, I supposed that I should have anticipated something like this from Clarice, given her recent advances and my performance in the Airbike Tournament. Still, to take that sort of step… I was shaken from my whirling thoughts by Marie clearing her throat.

"...Let's just pretend that this never happened," offered Marie, even as she tried to recompose herself.

"...I appreciate that," I replied tiredly.

---

"I see…" frowned Angelica as she processed what Leon had just told her. "And you're certain that the Saintess's Necklace is in the possession of these 'Winged Sharks'?"

Leon had organized a conference call with her, Clarice, and Marie to discuss what the girl who'd petitioned Livia had wanted, and Angelica could understand why within minutes of the conversation starting. He'd shockingly revealed that he and Marie had been hunting down the Holy Relics of the Saintess herself, and that Miss Wayne providing the opportunity to strike the Winged Sharks had been the final piece of the puzzle they'd been waiting for. In hindsight, the revelation that Livia was the next Saintess was glaringly obvious, to the point of being embarrassing to have not seen previously.

"Based on the research efforts of Marie, Luxion, and myself, yes, beyond a shadow of a doubt," replied Leon. "We know where the Bracelet is located as well, and Marie will be going with Julius and Chris to retrieve it."

"How can we help?" asked Clarice. "Our fathers would never allow us to go pirate hunting, even with you, Leon, but a dungeon dive should be something they'd accept."

"It should be a very simple matter," agreed Angelica. "The only thing that my father might take issue with would be the combined presence of you and Julius, Marie, but I think I should be able to convince him that it is for the good of the Kingdom."

"...I would be honored to venture into the dungeon by your side, Lady Redgrave and Lady Atlee," replied Marie with a bow of her head.

"That should be a balanced group going after the Bracelet, then," nodded Leon. "I'll take Brad, Greg, and Livia to the Frontier to handle the Winged Sharks, then."

Angelica frowned at the mention of Livia going to fight pirates. For however skilled in combat that Livia was, she was still a young woman, and a very beautiful young woman at that. Pirates were not generally known for their honor and morals, and Angelica didn't want to think of what might happen if Livia were to be captured, however unlikely that might be. The Winged Sharks, in particular, had a reputation of taking young men and women alive, never to be seen again. Even if Livia was a one-woman army, sending her to fight such a group was like sending a rabbit to fight wolves, and anything could happen during a skirmish.

"...I'll admit, I don't like the idea of sending a young woman to fight pirates, even taking into account Livia's skills in combat," frowned Angelica, as she put voice to her darker thoughts on the matter.

"I don't disagree, but do you really think we'd have a chance in Hell of stopping her from insisting on going?" countered Leon with a chagrined look. "If it's any comfort, I'm going to insist that she only fights in the corridors below deck with my security droids, because there's no way in hell she'll be taken in a confined space like that."

"...It is some comfort, but I still don't like the idea," conceded Angelica, knowing that Leon was right about Livia. "I take it that concludes what we needed to discuss?"

"...There is one other thing that we should talk about…" began Leon. "There's something that I want to talk about with you two and Livia, but…"

Angelica felt a jolt run through her as she caught sight of Leon's expression. The mix of doubt and fear she found there was so foreign on his face that… Gods above, what could make Leon that afraid? Was it something to do with Fanoss? Alzer? Something even more terrifying? She didn't believe that it could be a three-way confession to her, Clarice, and Livia; at least she certainly hoped that such a prospect wouldn't bring such an expression of fear and dread to Leon's face. Clearly, whatever it was, it would be life-changing, and Leon was not prepared to speak more on it.

"Leon, we can speak on whatever it is upon your return from dealing with the Winged Sharks," stated Angelica after a moment.

"...Are you sure?" asked Leon hesitantly. "I'd wanted to speak to you three after the festival, and we don't need to leave immediately-"

"Leon, we'll all talk when you get back, so you better make sure to keep yourself safe to return to us," interjected Clarice with a meaningful look. "Livia, too. You've already got a few promises to keep, so stay alive and safe to keep them."

"...As you wish, Clarice," smiled Leon, finally relaxing, but seeming to be somehow…sadder for it.

A brief snort of laughter distracted Angelica from her brief musings. Marie flinched as she realized her error, no doubt worried for the impropriety of the action. However, Angelica was more interested in what the action suggested: Marie knew. Marie knew what Leon was saying when he said that infuriatingly endearing phrase. Furthermore, she recognized the expression on Marie's face; she'd worn a similar expression when she'd watched Gil interact with his fiancee. Unfortunately, she didn't think it likely that Marie would betray Leon's confidence with whatever it was he meant when he said that damned phrase. Still, it set her mind at ease further to see Leon and Marie interact like siblings, rather than like friends or lovers.

"Get some rest, Leon," offered Angelica. "We'll go ahead and talk a while longer with Marie to hammer out details of our dungeon dive for the Bracelet."

"Of course… Have a good night, Angie, Clarice," nodded Leon with a smile before it turned more mischievous. "Best behavior, Marie-"

"Go sleep, dumbass," snarked Marie with a roll of her eyes even as she smiled.

With that, Leon dropped from the call, leaving a mildly tense silence behind. Of course, the matter was not helped by Clarice's earlier faux-pas. Leon had informed Angelica of what had transpired, and she couldn't help but feel a flush of embarrassment even from the secondhand retelling. She imagined that it was even more mortifying for Marie and Clarice, both having lived through it. Before Angelica could break the silence between them, Marie cleared her throat and began to speak.

"...I do apologize for earlier, Lady Atlee-" began Marie.

"Look, just call me 'Clarice' and Angie 'Angelica', since we're going to be Dungeon Diving together," interrupted Clarice, not unkindly despite the rueful look on her face. "And just like with Jilk, you have nothing to apologize for. It was my own stupid idea to answer the call from Leon while in the bath, so honestly, I should be apologizing to you. I honestly have no clue what I was thinking-"

"-If I may, Lady- I mean 'Clarice', sorry- …but if it's any consolation, I don't think it was a stupid idea at all," interjected Marie. "I don't think it would have gone the way that you would have hoped, but Leon certainly didn't hate it. Actually, I'm sure it was much to the contrary…"

"...I appreciate that… Marie," nodded Clarice with a small smile before another part of Marie's statement seemed to stand out. "Wait, what do you mean that 'it wouldn't have gone the way that I'd hoped that it would', then? If Leon enjoyed it, then why-"

"Because he wants to have that big talk with the three of you first," admitted Marie.

"...Then you know what he's been keeping secret already," concluded Angelica. "He mentioned it while on the call with all of us here, so you have to be aware of it in some capacity."

"...I do know, and I'm not going to betray Leon's trust, even for something he's planning on telling you anyway," replied Marie with a resolute look.

"I would never ask you to," replied Angelica with a smile before concern wiped it from her face. "I just… the look on his face when he spoke of it… I can't recall ever seeing Leon so worried- no, not just 'worried', but afraid; and that's even including him talking about the impending invasion of Fanoss. Is what he's planning to speak about truly so terrifying?"

"Well… probably not to you two, but it certainly is to him," replied Marie with an exasperated smile. "Honestly, it's really sweet, what he wants to do and why, but it'll mean laying everything about himself bare to you three, because he feels he needs to in order to- well…"

"You don't have to say more, Marie," reassured Angelica. "Thank you for explaining as much as you did. It certainly set my mind at ease."

"Agreed on that," nodded Clarice. "I just hope we can all sit down for that talk soon, especially with Livia. Gods only know what's going on in her head right now…"

---

Livia stared up at the ceiling as she lay back in her bed and thought about her life over the last few months and how it fit within the context of the last few hours. She didn't think that Offrey was right about Leon's motivations behind his actions, but she wasn't naive enough to believe that the reasons he shared with her that day he helped her from the floor had been his only motivations. He certainly didn't seem to have lied about it, but he'd refrained from telling the whole truth. It was one of his most frustrating qualities, the "lies by omission" if they could be called that, but thus far he'd always found a way to tell her what she needed to know when she needed to know.

She wasn't blind, either; she'd seen the way that Leon's eyes lingered over her, but she'd also seen the way that the man tried to restrain himself and "maintain a semblance of propriety". She knew there was an element of… well, perhaps not lust, but "ardor" or "attraction" in the physical sense, which she felt for him as well. If that was all he'd wanted from her, well… Livia would've been disappointed that she wouldn't have more of Leon, but she knew that Leon would certainly treat her well in his bed if he only wanted her as a lover and nothing more.

Still, if that was what he wanted, he could have taken her to his bed long before now, and she'd have been content with that. Instead, he'd shared such wonderful stories and knowledge of the Old World, trained her on how to fight and survive in Dungeons, and so much more, and never once had he done anything more than admire her figure respectfully. She knew that she was more than a "bedroom plaything" in Leon's mind, and she hoped beyond hope that he saw her as someone he could marry and grow old with. He'd certainly not held back in their training, treating Livia more like a peer than an apprentice, and it felt… good… to stand by his side on equal footing.

…Gods, that was the part that honestly stopped Livia from simply barging into Leon's room and declaring her undying love for him right then and there. There was something that scared Leon- no, that was understating it. Leon was terrified of something, something that lurked in the background, and so he was scrambling to ensure that it never came to pass. Furthermore, it was something that involved Livia herself directly, given how much effort he put into their training even after the Midterm exam. It was one thing to try and impress Angie with their skill, but to turn her into a one-woman army? That alone was enough to be concerned, and yet Leon was still terrified of whatever it was, to the point where he was still making plans with whatever his "Flying Circus" was.

The thought of whatever could terrify Leon sent chills down Livia's spine, and somehow it all tied back to herself. That was a mind-boggling thought on its own; how could she be tied up in something so terrifying? She was a peasant girl from a tiny frontier village for pity's sake! Sure, she had a talent for magic that got the King's uncle- gods, that was still too strange to consider- to notice and get the palace to offer her a scholarship to the Academy, but everything else special about her had been brought to the forefront by Leon.

…Gods, how had he known all of that ahead of time? As Livia thought about it, he was so very rarely wrong about things, and he had a plan for nearly every scenario. It was as if he were constantly running those… What did he call them? "Xanatos Gambits"? As Livia thought of it, Leon's mind seemed to operate on a different level from everyone else, as if he'd had far more experience.

She sighed as she thought back to the question she'd asked that night beneath the stars. He'd dodged answering it back then, but in doing so, he'd all but confirmed that he had some ties to the Old World. Livia didn't blame him for not answering; it had been a rather personal question, and she could understand not being ready to answer something like that. Still, it made her wonder how well she actually knew Leon, and that lingering doubt of what could lie "beyond the veil", so to speak, gave her pause.

Of course, she wasn't exactly helping matters when it came to the tangled mess that was their relationship and feelings. Not that she was trying to complicate things further, but… well, she couldn't deny that she was attracted to women as well, now could she? Not when Angie and Clarice made her heart race just as much as Leon did, or when she imagined them joining her and Leon in some of her wildest fantasies. Truly, the state of some novels these days… not that Livia was complaining, of course… Even the Queen herself had made her feel warm and tingly, and she'd barely known her for a day! Livia blushed as she remembered her justification for inviting Miss Deidre to join Leon's tea parties. While it had worked in convincing Clarice and Angie to give the girl a chance, it was embarrassing to admit that the reasoning had simply been "she's sad and she's pretty". …Actually, now that Livia gave it some thought, that was the reasoning behind inviting Angie, Clarice, and Mylene to Leon's tea room to begin with, wasn't it? …Perhaps that was even the reason why Leon invited her that day? …No, it was too simplistic for Leon. Even if it was a reason, there's no way that it would be the only reason-

Livia jumped at the sudden pounding at her door. Sidearm in hand, she moved to answer the door for the uninvited visitor. Upon opening the door, she felt a guilty surge of satisfaction at the sight of Offrey's visibly bandaged nose and the prominent gap in her sneer. Livia would chide Leon for his actions when she saw him again, but she had to admit that she was more than a little pleased that he'd stepped in so decisively. Offrey caught sight of the pistol and raised her hands to show that she wasn't here to fight.

"Awful-rey," quipped Livia. "Did you need something from me?"

"I just thought you should know that your Master will be going on a little journey soon, and it would be in your best interest to go with him if you wished to see him one last time," sneered Offrey.

"I wouldn't be anywhere else," countered Livia resolutely. "However, I know that he'll make it back just fine, regardless of whatever odds you have against him."

"Battle hound and bed warmer, aren't you?" smirked Offrey. "It would be fitting to call you 'Bartfort's Bitch', as you trail after him like a loyal dog, and I'm sure you whimper like one as he buries his 'bone' in you."

"I stand beside him as he stands beside me, nothing more or less than that," snarled Livia even as she failed to stop the blush at the thought of Leon's other "hidden blade". "Anything else is no business of yours."

"...Truly, has he really done nothing with you?" asked Offrey, her eyes betraying her surprise and disbelief through her sneer of superiority. "I suppose he must only see you as some sort of 'hunting hound' to take into the Dungeons, then, unless he's simply trying to delude himself that he's bound by some notion of social propriety-"

"Or perhaps there's more to Leon than you think," snapped Livia

"How about a wager, then?" smiled Offrey cruelly. "Go with him to the frontier. Get him alone in his cabin and remove your blouse. One hundred dia says he'll ravage you on the spot the moment he catches sight of your fat commoner tits."

…Actually…Offrey's idea, while completely off-base with regard to how Leon would react, did have some merit to it. Clarice had said that eventually Livia would need to take action to confront Leon on his feelings if he didn't get around to admitting them first. Perhaps it was a little extreme- OK, maybe it was very extreme- but it would certainly be effective. While she didn't believe that Leon would simply descend upon her like a ravenous beast to have his "wicked way" with her, he would need to respond in some way. If he did only wish to take her as a lover, he'd no doubt ask if she was sure, to which she'd nod, and then carry her gently to his bed to claim her. If he did want something more than just… well, sex… he'd stop her and talk to her about it, and so they'd be able to define their relationship before hopefully consummating it. And if, in the absolute worst case scenario, she'd misread everything about him and he didn't want her as anything more than a friend and comrade… well, at least she'd have her answer. It honestly sounded like one of those "Xanatos Gambits" that Leon had mentioned.

"Make it two hundred dia," countered Livia proudly. "Now if that is all, I have a busy morning tomorrow before we ship out. I trust you to find your own way back to your cave, Miss Awful-rey."

Livia ignored whatever invective Offrey spat at her as she slammed the door in her face. Sighing, she tapped on her communicator to activate the personal drone that Luxion had left for her earlier this evening.

"Luxy?" asked Livia hesitantly.

"Yes Mistress Livia?" replied Luxion.

"Can you enable a privacy field around my room?" asked Livia quietly "I fear that the squawking Gull outside will make it difficult to sleep."

"Consider it done," replied Luxion promptly. "Is there anything else I can assist you with?"

"I… I think I need a distraction tonight, Luxy," sighed Livia. "Do you have any ideas?"

"Certainly, Mistress," replied Luxion. "There are a few Old World novels that I can have delivered to you if you are so inclined? May I recommend an adventure fantasy novel by William Goldman?"

"That sounds lovely, Luxy," smiled Livia sadly. "Thank you."

"Of course, Mistress," replied Luxion. "I am at your command."

---

"...So, you just happened to make a rifle capable of killing any Armor unit, an innovation that would change the face of warfare as we know it, just for the purpose of stress-testing the Warrior Princess and her God-tier barrier spells?" asked Greg incredulously as he looked up from his cards.

We'd managed to get underway within an hour the next morning, after a very brief encounter between Carla and Ray on the docks. I did honestly try to not give the man a sly look, but I don't know how successful I was in that regard, given that they were all smiles and stammered introductions. Still, it was a nice distraction from the other chaos that was happening around us. The poker game after today's training session was certainly another welcome change of pace.

"I mean, at this point, it was the only intermediate step before having an Armor try punching her Barriers, and while they move slightly slower than a rifle's bullet, they do carry a lot of mass behind them," I explained as I dealt the Flop after burning a card.

"Still, to build a weapon that the world has never seen before, all for the sake of testing Miss Olivia's abilities…" trailed off Brad as he placed his bet for the round.

"Leon has a history of doing crazy things that he deems to be important, as I'm sure you gentlemen are aware," smirked Livia. "And besides, if I know him, the Old Humans probably developed a fifty caliber rifle at some point, and he's just bringing it back into the modern era."

Another pleasant turn of events in the last few hours was that Livia finally seemed to be back to her old self. When I finally saw her again this morning, she'd taken one look at me, blushed, and then beat a hasty retreat onto the ship. After a few encounters like that during the day, I was beginning to worry about what Offrey might have said to her, but she now seemed to have gone back to her normal self. Still, while she hadn't seemed upset, it would have been nice to know why she felt the need to run and hide.

"I would appreciate it if you didn't give away all my secrets, dearest Livia," I shot back with a teasing smile.

"...'As you wish', dearest Leon," replied Livia smugly.

I could feel my face burn as I tried to clear my throat, the rest of the group amused at the interplay between the two of us. For a moment, I wondered if Livia actually knew what I meant every time I said that to her, Angie, and Clarice, but I dismissed the idea as unlikely. It was far more likely that she was simply copying what I did in the same sort of circumstances without understanding the underlying meaning to my words. Seriously, there was no way that she'd know what a movie even was to even ask to see one, much less that specific movie, right?

"So, Miss Wayne," began Brad, taking mercy on me after a moment. "I just wanted to say that I admire your courage for choosing to go against Stephanie. It takes infinitely more bravery to stand against your friends, especially if they've been your friend for a long time."

"Stephanie hasn't been the girl I knew as my friend for years," replied Carla in a more subdued tone, trying to keep a smile in spite of the sadness in her eyes. "She aspires to be everything that she thought that Angelica was prior to this semester; top of society, universally respected and adored, and heaven help the 'rabble' that dared to cross her. That ambition killed whatever good was in her long ago… I just regret that I couldn't see it until now-"

Carla stopped short as Livia moved to embrace her gently, surprised and even a little confused, but eventually she accepted the gesture of comfort. After a moment, Livia returned to her seat, allowing Carla to continue, but not before the girl gave Livia a grateful look.

"Her elevated status and her family's corrupt dealings have given her the perception that she can do whatever she wants, and she's largely been correct in that regard since she's never been caught," continued Carla. "Failure and defiance are punished by offenders being offered up to the Winged Sharks, where the victims are never heard from again. For their sake, I hope they're killed on the spot… Doubtless, I expect that will be my own fate if my betrayal is discovered-"

"Gods, is she really that terrible?!" exclaimed Greg, nearly dropping his cards.

"I didn't realize that she'd sunk to such depths, but I would believe it," replied Brad as his mouth stretched into a thin line. "Which honestly makes me wonder what made you decide to change your mind, if you'll forgive the question? Even the most morally upright might falter when their life, much less the lives of their family, are put at risk like that."

"It was Lady Olivia that convinced me to take the risk," smiled Carla, even as Livia started in her seat.

"Me?!" exclaimed Livia. "But how?! We barely spoke more than five minutes prior to today! I would have thought that Leon's reputation would have made the bigger impression-"

"Publically, you'd be correct, but you were the one to stand against Stephanie without even flinching, even daring to talk back to her so brazenly," replied Carla fervently. "I wasn't there in the Belmont cafe that day, but your words to her were repeated again and again as she ranted about you for far longer than she did about Lord Bartfort. Her plan was to ruin you while fulfilling her father's task of luring Bartfort into this trap. Meanwhile I… Well, I pitied you, thinking that you were naive and foolish, and that Steph was going to bring your world crashing around your ears… Gods, how foolish that sounds now…"

"But what could have possibly changed your mind?" asked Livia in confusion.

"When I approached you to ask you to mediate for me to Lord Bartfort, I'd been told and fully believed that you'd have no idea what that actually meant, and so would have fallen into the trap that Steph had set for you," explained Carla. "The moment that your eyes narrowed in suspicion, I realized two things: First, that you were not some naive peasant girl as Steph foolishly believed, but a formidable woman that should never be crossed under any circumstances. Second, that my life was entirely in your hands, and I prayed that you would grant me a merciful death instead of letting Steph deal with my failure…"

"Wait, what would have been the 'merciful death'?" I asked, suddenly feeling a bit lost myself.

"You would, Lord Bartfort," replied Carla, giving a wan smile at everyone's confused looks. "I suppose it makes little sense when considering the kind of person Lady Olivia is, but if you take that part out of consideration, you can begin to understand my thought process. Lord Bartfort had already threatened the daughter of an Earl without batting an eye, and it was quite obvious to me that Lady Olivia was one of the three most important people in Lord Bartfort's life. What chance would I have if Lord Bartfort perceived me as a threat to Lady Livia? Unlike Steph, you could demand for my head, and not even my own father would be able to refuse you. The only solace I took from that was that I would be dead in seconds…"

"...Livia would never ask me to take a life unless it was absolutely necessary," I replied gently. "And please just call me 'Leon', Carla-"

"And call me 'Livia'," interjected Livia as she took Carla's hand to comfort her.

"...Of course," smiled Carla.

"...I assume that the other option that you thought Miss Livia might take would be to simply refuse your request and leave you at Stephanie's tender mercies," mused Brad.

"Naturally," confirmed Carla. "Any noble lady that I could think of would have made that choice, knowing full-well that it would be the cruelest way to punish me with the least amount of effort. Steph would have given me to a pirate gang for my failure, and she'd have slept soundly through the night. If Livia had refused me, I would have resolved to take my own life rather than be… used… by pirates until my body gave out. Of course, there's no confirmation that the Winged Sharks actually do that sort of thing, but… they are pirates-"

"Gods above, I'd never allow that to happen to anyone-" fretted Livia.

"And you proved that to me in that very next moment," smiled Carla warmly. "The shock left my emotions on display, plain for all to see. And I could see it in your eyes as suspicion changed to curiosity, and curiosity to compassion. You saw the fear and resignation in my eyes and, while you couldn't have known what I was afraid of, you saw the depth of my fear at being refused, and accepted my request without another word. Lady Livia, you are everything that a Noble Lady should aspire to be, and I'd swear fealty to you if you held the rank that would allow me to do so."

"...I only did what was right, Miss Carla," protested Livia with a small smile. "And I'd honestly prefer your friendship to your loyalty."

"And that's what makes you so worthy of both," replied Carla earnestly.

"I've tried very hard to get Livia to see that over the past few months, but I've sadly had little success so far in spite of the ever-expanding evidence," I joked, grinning at Livia mischievously. "Still, I have faith that I'll manage to break through eventually."

"Oh, you hush, Leon," laughed Livia as I felt my heart soar at the sweet sound. "You can be ridiculous later, when we aren't wasting our friends' time…"

"As you wish-" I smiled teasingly, but trailed off as I saw Livia's face.

She was blushing heavily again, wound tighter than a coiled spring, and ready to bolt. Any progress we'd made since this morning was now completely undone, and I had no idea why. Just earlier she'd said the same exact phrase right back to me, and it wasn't a problem, so-... Was it the way I had said it? No… I'd been careful to say it the same way that I'd always had from the very first time in my tea room all those months before. Had she just simply figured out what I meant from context? I was broken from my internal panic by Livia speaking up.

"...Forgive me, but I think I'm going to retire for the evening," stated Livia evenly as she set her cards down, a slight tremor in her hand and voice the only signs betraying her distress. "We do have an early morning tomorrow after all. Have a good evening, everyone…"

With that, she rose from her chair and left without another word. For a brief moment, part of me screamed to chase after her and try to set things right, but I dismissed that after considering it for only a brief moment. Just like the other night, Livia likely needed time to process whatever was going on, and either she'd reach out within another day or so to talk with me about it, or I could reach out after a little more time. Even still, my chest ached a little at the thought of being the source of Livia's distress.

"Forgive me, Lord Leon," apologized Carla. "I didn't mean to cause Lady Livia distress-"

"Nah, you were perfectly fine," I dismissed. "This was on me, though I'm not sure how. I'll straighten it out later."

"You sure you don't want to go after her now?" asked Greg with a raised eyebrow. "I mean, if this were Marie, I'd want to-"

"Of course I want to go after her right now, but I know that if I do it right this second, I'll be backing her into a corner, which will just end badly," I replied fervently, taking a breath before continuing. "If she hasn't reached out in a day or so, I'll try talking to her and sorting out whatever I've done to upset her, but I don't want to apply pressure and hurt her."

"If you're certain that's the best course of action…" commented Brad doubtfully.

"I'm not, but… that's all that I can do without pressing harder, and I don't want to hurt her," I admitted. "Still, Livia is right, we should go ahead and call it a night."

"Yeah, fair enough," nodded Greg. "Besides, this game would have only gone in Livia's favor anyhow. Seriously, how lucky can you be to get three different kinds of flushes in a row?"

---

It was morning, so I got up carefully so as not to disturb the others. I pulled on some pants and a shirt before making my way to the kitchen. As it was a Sunday, it was my morning to make breakfast for the family, and I wasn't going to miss it, considering that I'd had to fight Cordelia tooth and nail to earn that right. Sure, I was a noble lord, but I had my pride as a man to provide for his family, and besides, it brought us all closer together in the end.

It was a Western-style breakfast this week, Clarice's favorite. One bowl was quickly filled with eggs to scramble, another with all the components to make pancake batter, all while I washed and grated potatoes for hash browns. All four burners of the Old World style stove were turned on, and steel pans began preheating while I continued the prep work. Breakfast sausages made their way into the first pan, the hash browns soon followed into the second, and so on. I'd just poured a second batch of pancakes into the third pan by the time Livia walked in.

Livia was dressed in a practical blouse and skirt, her hair a little messy and eyes a little tired, but her smile was as warm and loving as it had always been for the past few years. The infant in her arms was decidedly less tired, babbling as he tugged on his mother's blouse. Thick black hair marked him as my son, if his fondness for his mother's chest didn't give it away, but his sapphire-blue eyes marked him as Livia's. I chuckled, knowing that those eyes were bound to get him into trouble in fourteen or fifteen years if we didn't teach him to be responsible with them, and so I resolved to teach him to turn out better than I did.

"Morning darling," I greeted with a smile as I carefully turned the sausages while making sure the pancakes didn't burn. "How are you two this morning?"

"Your son is quite lively this morning," laughed Livia as she tried to keep the infant in her arms from squirming his way to the floor. "As for myself, I must confess that I'm not quite so energetic, but I'm sure that I'm feeling more awake than you and Clarice this morning! How many times did they wake us up?"

"I lost count after five," I chuckled as I poured the bowl of freshly beaten eggs into the final pan. "It was never the same twin twice as well. If I didn't know better, I'd swear they were doing it on purpose."

"Well, Clarice is their mother, and their father is the one and only Scoundrel Knight," sighed Livia fondly as she set our toddler into his highchair. "Still, the sooner that they sleep through the night, the better."

"And then we get to do it all again in another week or so," I chuckled. "Still, I'm sure Angie will be glad when hers is born. She tries to hide it, but I can tell she's anxious to get back to training."

"She's not the only one who's anxious," smirked Livia as she sauntered her way over to me. "You'd think that by your fourth child you'd learn to relax by now, but I can tell that you're still just as nervous as when I was ready to give birth to little Lucas."

"I mean, it's going to be Angie's first!" I argued as I pulled the sausages and eggs to a serving plate, flipping the pancakes carefully. "Of course I'm nervous! She's-"

"-going to be perfectly fine," interrupted Livia gently after silencing me with a kiss. "We have Luxy to help, and you know that there's no better care that an expecting mother could receive than aboard his Main Ship."

"...I know, but I still worry," I sighed as I took my wife in my arms. "You all are the most important part of my new life here, and I can't bear the idea of any scenario where I might lose you-"

"We're right here, husband of mine," replied Livia firmly even as she caressed my cheek. "We aren't going anywhere: all nine of us."

I smiled warmly for a moment, but then stopped as a thought occurred to me. I took a quick mental roll call of my new family. Me, Livia, Angie, and Clarice make four, and then Lucas and the twins make three more. Angie's only having one; Lux confirmed it seven ways to Sunday that it was only one after our last surprise with the twins. So why did Liv say-

My eyes shot open wide as I finally realized what Livia was saying. I looked down into Livia's glowing smile as she silently nodded, bringing my hand down to her abdomen to confirm. I embraced her as I began to laugh in joy-

---

I opened my eyes to find the darkened walls of my cabin on the Razor's Crest, and I couldn't help but sigh. These sorts of dreams had become more frequent as of late, and it was always so bittersweet to wake up to find them vanished like morning dew. Sometimes there were children, sometimes there weren't, and sometimes there were babies on the way, but every dream held one thing constant: married life with all three of the girls. Now that I knew what I wanted in this life, it seemed my subconscious felt the need to tell me about it every night.

Alright, subconsciousness, I get it: I'm working on it, but fate keeps getting in the way…

Really, I didn't need any more dreams to face the truth; I was in love with them, and I'd regret it for the rest of my second life if I didn't let them know, but if I was going to take the next step, I had to tell them everything. My first life, the Games, the ways I'd interfered and failed to interfere in their lives; I needed to tell them all of it if I was going to ask them to spend the rest of their lives with me, and I had no clue how they'd take the full picture. Still, I knew these dreams would linger with me for a long time, regardless of whatever happened upon returning to the academy and my subsequent confession. What I hoped was that, one day, I'd wake up and the dream would continue.

The alert of the intercom on my cabin door made me raise my eyebrows. It was the middle of the night, so I was certainly more than a little confused, but given that the only humans on board were the guys, Carla, and Livia, I decided to forgo grabbing my pistol. I opened the door to find Livia standing there, nervously fidgeting at my door. Given our recent interactions over the past thirty six hours, I had been hoping to speak with her privately to straighten things out, but now I found my throat to be dry.

"...Uh… hi?" I managed weakly after far too long.

"...Hi…" whispered Livia quietly. "...Can we talk?"

"Of course," I nodded quickly. "Please, come in…"

We quickly moved to the couch in the room, the gap of a single seat cushion between us feeling simultaneously suffocatingly close and infinitely far at the same time. I had a million things that I wanted to say, but somehow the words couldn't reach my lips, so instead I waited for Livia to speak. However, it seemed that she was similarly subdued, staring at her hands in her lap and not meeting my eyes. Finally, I couldn't bear the silence any longer, and so I forced myself to break it.

"...Look, about the last day or so…" I began, even as my hands shook slightly. "I just wanted to say that I'm sorry if I've made you uncomfortable with what I've-"

"Did you mean it?" asked Livia suddenly.

"...Sorry?" I managed to blurt out in confusion as I tried to figure out what Livia could mean.

"When you said 'As You Wish' to me today… Did you mean it?" asked Livia carefully.

"...Wait, what do you-" I began, when my blood suddenly ran cold.

She knew. Somehow, she knew what I'd been saying when I said 'As You Wish' to her and the other girls. For a brief moment, I wondered how that could be possible, but then I remembered that, while Livia wasn't familiar enough with movies to ask to watch one, the movie was based upon a book, and Livia adored reading everything and anything she could. All it would take was one disgruntled AI to give her access to his vast library and point her in its direction for the game to be up. Then again, she might have simply figured it out from context, given how clever she was, but my money was on a more direct guiding hand. Either way, it didn't matter; the point was that she knew what I'd been saying to her and the other girls every time I said those thrice-damned three words.

I tried to answer her, but I'd lost the ability to form sounds, much less words or even coherent sentences. Livia's expression fell as she sighed and looked away. Apparently, my internal nervous breakdown was taking too long for her, as she rose to her feet and stood directly in front of me. With another shaky sigh, Livia reached up and started undoing the buttons on her blouse, her hands trembling as the first button was undone and my heart stopped.

You know, if someone had told me several months ago that, within a year, I would have two different beautiful women send me into a mildly horrified panic by taking off their blouses, I would have laughed directly in their face. As it was, it was all that I could do to try and restart my brain as I caught sight of the sky blue lace of Livia's semi-sheer bra, having finally reached the fourth button of her blouse. I was going to have to make a choice between going with the flow and begging forgiveness, or actually doing right by Livia, potentially breaking her heart in the process. I finally forced myself to look up at her, and my decision was made in an instant as I caught sight of the expression on Livia's face.

She looked silently resigned, not enthusiastic or romantic or even nervously happy. This was not the expression of a young woman about to give her virginity to the man she loved. This was the expression of a woman who expected to be used, regardless of her own feelings. Her expression cut through my mental freeze, and I was on my feet in an instant to catch hold of her hands gently and pull them away from her blouse before I moved to rebutton it. Her expression changed in an instant as soon as she realized that I was not going to remove her blouse for her, filling with some emotional mix that I couldn't quite read as her hands flew back to her blouse to continue unbuttoning it. I forced myself to speak up as I moved to stop her again.

"Hang on, Livia-" I croaked

"Why did you stop me, Leon?" asked Livia firmly, cutting me off as she stared into my eyes, searching for something even as she tried to move her hands back down to her blouse buttons.

"Livia, let's talk about this-" I tried again to slow things down.

"Please Leon, I need to know why you've stopped me from going further-" pressed Livia.

"I don't want to take advantage of you-" I tried to partially explain so that I could de-escalate further in order to have that much-needed talk with Livia.

"Why does that matter, Leon?" pressed Livia further as she continued trying to unbutton her blouse further. "Why-"

"-Because you mean too much to me, dammit!" I blurted out finally as I caught hold of her shoulders. "You're more important than just animalistic sex!"

Until that moment, I had never considered that it was possible for your heart to sink and soar at the same time. I was out of time: the moment I'd dreamed of and dreaded was finally here. In a moment of dumb impulse, I'd confessed my feelings before I'd confessed the truth about my origins, and there was no putting this back under wraps again for a later date. I tried to speak up to regain control of the situation, but the words wouldn't reach my mouth as my panic over sticking my foot into the exact situation I'd dreaded was amplified with every passing moment I failed to speak up to correct it, sending me into an endless cycle of anxiety that kept me rooted to the spot. Worst of all, Livia's expression brightened like sunlight after a storm, and I could feel my panic increase even as her joy warmed my heart.

"...Thank the Gods… I was hoping you'd say that…" smiled Livia tearily moments before she leapt into my arms, somewhere between laughing and sobbing with joy.

My head spun as I caught Livia, supporting her with my hands under her thighs as her legs wrapped quite intimately around my waist while she hugged me with all her might. At this point, I was only a step away from falling completely catatonic from all the sensations and emotions I was feeling. The one logical part of me was screaming to "fix this mess" even while my body failed to obey my commands as Livia's soft and warm curves pressed into me. I was helpless to her charms, as I always had been all along. Finally, Livia began to speak in a rush, her excitement and joy soaking into me like a summer's day.

"Oh gods, I was so afraid that I'd misunderstood your actions and I was about to make a huge fool of myself," jabbered Livia even as she made half-laughing sobs. "I mean, I didn't think for a second that Awful-ry was right and you'd descend onto me like a wild beast, at least without talking to me about it first, but it wasn't until Luxy tipped me off about what you were really saying with 'As You Wish' when he recommended that book to me last night that I had any real hope that you felt that way, but honestly, doubt is such a horrible, horrible beast, so I couldn't be sure until you told me just now. Gods, this is everything that I was hoping for- no, wait, more than that-"

Livia stopped short as the need for oxygen finally cut her rambling off, pulling back a little so she could look me in the eyes. I could see the happiness and- yes, there's no denying it now- love in her eyes as they sparkled like sapphires, gripping my soul and freezing me in place. Her gaze turned half-lidded as she moved forward to kiss me for the first time, and a large part of me screamed to allow the kiss, to simply explain afterwards and enjoy a first kiss from the woman who rambled her way into my heart and soul over the past few months. However, I found the strength to stop her before she took an action that she might regret later. Somehow it hurt me worse to see the honest confusion on her face as she silently inquired, without judgment or any sense of betrayal, why I'd stopped her.

"...You may regret doing that later once I tell you what I need to," I explained, my voice surprisingly level now that I finally regained control of my body. "I'm not saying 'no', but we need to talk first-"

"What part did we need to talk about?" asked Livia with a fond look of mild exasperation. "Your feelings for Angie and Clarice as well? Your ties to the Old Humans? Or the reason you're so afraid that you've been training me, the Heirs, and that 'Circus' as if the world is going to end? Because if those are the only things, I would prefer to kiss now and talk later, if that's alright with you…"

I blinked blankly for a moment as Livia broke down every single one of my hang ups with starting a relationship with her and Angie and Clarice, all without me saying a word. Had she really figured everything out for herself? No, that was unlikely, but she'd put together pieces of what she'd seen and gotten frighteningly close. Honestly, Livia was truly outstanding, in every sense, and she somehow decided that she wanted me to be the man she spent her life with? I could hardly fathom it, and I swore that, if she still wanted me after the truth was revealed, I would do everything I could to strive to be worthy of that affection.

"...Gods, you clever, clever girl…" I laughed gently, absentmindedly moving a stray lock of hair from Livia's face to behind her ear, my heart flipping as she leaned into my touch with a smile. "Is it any wonder that I fell for you so hard- …no, hang on, I need to actually have this conversation with you, because while you've gotten close to the truth, there's no way you could have guessed everything."

"...If you insist we must," sighed Livia even as she smiled happily at me.

I quietly led Livia to the couch again, taking a seat next to her while she buttoned all but two of her blouse buttons back up. Any plans that I'd had for this moment were honestly all shot to hell. I'd left the journals back at the Academy in preparation to have this talk with all three girls the moment that we returned, but I'd not anticipated Livia taking matters into her own hands. Even still, there was no sense making a fuss over it now. It wouldn't be a perfect moment, but I could still make it our moment. I cleared my throat and began to speak.

"I had wanted to have this talk with all three of you after the festival," I began, realizing that I was rambling but knowing it was the only way to get the words out. "However, other circumstances ended up delaying it to the point where everything has just spiraled out of my hands, so rather than trying to handle this perfectly, I'm just going to handle it as best as I can right now. …God, how do I even begin to explain all of this?"

"Just start from the beginning, Leon," reassured Livia gently.

"That's the problem, though," I fretted, even as my pulse pounded in my ears. "The beginning is the most unbelievable part of all of this, and it's the part that might hurt you the most. I don't even have my Journals here to back me up-"

"How unbelievable would it be?" asked Livia seriously. "I've already figured out that you have ties to the Old Humans, even though they died out an eon ago, so the only part I don't know is how. I've had guesses like some form of hibernation or even reincarnation, but honestly that part doesn't matter to me. Really, the only point that I care about with that is whether you're still the same Leon that took my hand as he helped me from the floor that day."

"...I am and have always been the only Leon you've ever known," I confirmed resolutely, smiling as I thought of Finley's reassurance from weeks before. "...Gods, you even figured out the reincarnation aspect, and I thought that would be the hardest part to explain-"

"So it was reincarnation, then? How exactly did that work? What era of Old Humanity did you live in? " asked Livia excitedly as she worked herself into an academic frenzy, and it took all my ever-fraying willpower to stop from kissing her, but then her expression sobered as other thoughts occurred to her. "...No, never mind that now. Let's move on to the other questions. You love Angie and Clarice as well, right?"

"...Yeah, yeah I do," I finally admitted. "And I'm sorry that it took me so long to admit that, and I can understand if that-"

"Thank the Gods!" exclaimed Livia with a bright smile, cutting off my uncertainty right at the knees."I've been worried on how I'd balance my feelings for you and for both of them, and how that would work with how they feel about you as well, but since you love them as well, that makes things so much easier!"

"...As long as they agree to be with a man that loves two other women, considering what the two of them went through," I conceded, to which Livia briefly gave me a flat look, but I somehow managed to hold my ground. "...Look, the two of them got two-timed by men they loved with all their hearts, so I don't want to put them through that again."

"Except you won't put them through that again," argued Livia. "Yes, you are in love with women besides them, but the difference is that you love them as well, and you aren't leaving them behind like Jilk and Julius did. It might be different if it was Lady Dee that you were pursuing first, but the four of us weathered that mess together, and so taking that first step together will make all the difference."

"...I mean, when you put it that way, sure, but are you sure that Angie and Clarice see it that way-" I began.

"Prior to Offrey's little visit to the observation deck, Angie was suggesting to Clarice that they have a very particular conversation with their fathers," deadpanned Livia. "If you intend to claim that conversation is about anything other than a double engagement, I must ask that you stop being intentionally obtuse, Leon…"

"...Alright, you have a point," I grumbled good-naturedly, to which Livia giggled.

For a moment, we sat in silence, even as my mind raced as I tried to process how to address Livia's final question. This really was the question that could hurt her the most if I answered it poorly, so I needed to find the right words to explain this, all without the journals that I'd brought to the Academy with me for this exact purpose. After a long moment, Livia spoke up, breaking me from my ever-looping thoughts.

"...There's still one more question that I have that you haven't answered yet," commented Livia.

"...Yeah," I admitted, still trying to gather my thoughts. "There is…"

"...Are you going to answer it?" asked Livia after a moment, a hint of uncertainty entering her tone for the first time.

"Yes, but… I need to answer it right, because if I don't I could hurt you," I admitted. "Honestly, this situation is so fucked up that I don't even know where to begin with that last question. I just… Well, here's where the reincarnation thing gets really crazy. To quickly summarize, I saw this world prior to my first death, as well as a series of possible futures that might happen. At the center of those futures were three things: five handsome heirs, an invasion, and one truly extraordinary girl."

"...You saw…me?" gasped Livia, and I could only nod. "Why would you see… me? I may have had magic enough to warrant a scholarship, but everything else was… it was thanks to you-"

"How do you think I knew it was possible to push you to that limit, Livia?" I smiled wryly. "Even then, you've exceeded even my wildest hopes for your skills, all through your own effort and willpower."

"...Is that why you approached me that day?" asked Livia quietly. "So that I could reach my full potential-"

"No!" I exclaimed, taking hold of Livia's shoulders again to stare desperately into her sapphire blue eyes, feeling my heart climb into my throat as my greatest fear for this conversation seemed to take shape before me. "God Almighty, no! …No, quite honestly, if things had gone according to how I'd seen the future play out, we'd have never met. You would have had a whole host of handsome heirs waiting on you hand and foot-"

"Gods, please don't tell me you mean the Five Idiots," groaned Livia as she rolled her eyes. "I'll admit that Greg and Brad are nice enough, but I could never see either of them as my husband or father to my children."

"...So I've heard from a certain tin-plated terror…" I sighed as I slumped back on my side of the couch. "Still, in three years-"

"Not even then, Leon," replied Livia firmly, cutting the knees off of that before I could pose the idea, but then a different thought seemed to occur to Livia. "...Marie took my place, didn't she?"

"...Yeah, yeah she did," I admitted. "She's another Reincarnate like me, and in trying to escape the Lafans, she ended up landing squarely in what could have been your fate-"

"Thank the Gods for that!" exclaimed Livia with a laugh. "If she hadn't done that, I'd have never met you, Angie and Clarice would hate me for stealing the affections of their fiances, which I wouldn't have even wanted in the first place, and I'd have those five trailing after me like puppies following a roast!"

"And I'm really so much better than they are?" I snarked, even as a touch of insecurity at what I felt to be some of my greatest shortcomings slipped through. "As I've pointed out multiple times, I'm called the 'Bartfort Bastard' for reasons beyond the circumstances of my birth-"

"Leon, don't speak so poorly of yourself or I will be forced to show you the depth of my affections immediately, regardless of whether we've finished talking or not," interrupted Livia as her eyes took on a fervor that I'd never seen before, and it made my heart leap into my throat to see it. "You are the most wonderful man that I have ever met, and I cannot imagine any other man at my side. And if Angie and Clarice return my feelings for them, then I want you standing right beside us the entire way. I want you, Leon Fou Bartfort."

"...Well, when you put it that way…" I relented, to which Livia giggled at my expression. "Still, I can't help but wonder… Why me? I'm crass. I'm cocky. I'm foul-mouthed. I always assume that I'm the smartest man in the room-"

"You generally are the smartest man in the room," giggled Livia. "And while I won't deny that you can be crass and foul-mouthed, you are kind and genuinely witty in spite of it. And what you see as cockiness, I see as a level of self-confidence that would inspire even the most doubtful to march to the gates of Death itself with absolute faith of survival. Leon, I love you, body and soul, and for months I've hoped and prayed that you might feel the same way. I know that there are still secrets that we have yet to talk about, and you believe, perhaps correctly, perhaps not, that those secrets will cause me to feel differently about you, but I'm asking you to set those aside for just one moment and answer me with complete honesty, like you always have: Could you love me in the same way as I love you?"

There it was: She'd stripped away all my reasons and excuses that I'd managed to hide behind and laid it out for me, plain and simple. I could never lie to Livia, but there would be no going back if I admitted the truth to her now, not that I'd really want to go back. The greatest fear I had was that Livia would have her heart broken once she learned everything that she was disregarding right now, but really, when she broke it down into those terms, there really was only one answer I could give her. Swallowing the lump of anxiety in my throat, I gave her that answer.

"...Honestly?" I sighed as I finally uttered the words that might damn me. "I feel like I started to fall in love with you from the moment you sat down at my table for tea, and that love has only grown stronger with time. Still, I don't feel that I have any right to claim that until I've told you everything, especially since your future is so closely tied to what I've kept hidden-"

Livia tackled me once more, squealing in joy even as a few happy sobs escaped her. I caught her embrace and returned it, despite part of me feeling that I was taking advantage of Livia's feelings. I knew that I'd be disgusted with myself later, but in the moment, I didn't care. I wrapped my arms around Livia, savoring the warmth and softness of her frame as she leaned into my thundering heartbeat. After an eternity that was all too short, Livia finally pulled back from my arms, smiling at me before she closed her eyes and leaned in once again. Panic shot through me as I moved a second time to stall her from kissing me, opening my mouth to try and tell her yet again that she might regret it later when the flat look she fixed me with stole any words I had from my mouth entirely.

"Leon, whether I regret this kiss later or not is entirely irrelevant to my desire to kiss the living daylights out of you right now," lectured Livia sternly. "It is my mistake to make and regret, if it is a mistake at all. You've warned me, I've taken that warning into consideration, and I've decided that any potential regret that I might have later doesn't even come close to outweighing my desire to kiss you. I appreciate your consideration, but the only reason you should stop me right now is if you don't want to kiss me, so tell me: Do you want to kiss me or not?"

"...The thought of kissing you, among other things, has haunted my dreams for weeks now," I finally admitted, my thoughts drifting to the dreams from before, especially the one from earlier tonight. "I'm just terrified that if I kiss you now that I won't want to stop-"

"Good," smiled Livia as she finally closed the distance between us.

My first kiss with Livia felt like a summation of our entire relationship up until this point: Completely unexpected in the moment despite being glaringly obvious in hindsight, inconceivably wonderful, and something that I would not change if I could go back and redo it. Her lips were wonderfully sweet, and her kiss was feather-light. I remained frozen, for fear that if I deepened the kiss, things would proceed much faster. All too soon, it ended, and Livia sat before me with a flush on her face in spite of her beaming smile.

"...Well, the only thing that I'm regretting about that kiss is the fact that it's over, but I'm consoling myself with the fact that it had to end some time so that our next kiss could step into its place eventually," grinned Livia cheekily, but her expression sobered as she continued. "So if you think that whatever secret you've kept is enough to make me regret even kissing you, then it must be quite serious…"

"...Fanoss is going to invade and they're going to unleash a world-ending magic monster that only the next Saintess and her lover will be able to stop," I finally admitted. "And… Well, you're the next Saintess…"

The silence that followed my revelation was deafening. I could see Livia open her mouth to argue against it, but whatever protests she had died before they could form as she appeared to think back over the skills she'd displayed over the past few months. I knew that, for however unworthy she felt she was to be the next Saintess, she couldn't deny the raw power she wielded. Still, to see her pout about it like a child being told that it was time for bed… Well, it made me smile in spite of myself.

"...I…really hate that I can't argue against that point, even though I really want to protest it," sulked Livia.

"Considering that you were able to block multiple fifty caliber anti-material rounds today, which can punch through most Armor units, all without breaking a sweat?" I grinned. "Yeah, not a chance in Hell… but I could call you 'Warrior Princess' like Greg does, if you'd prefer?"

I laughed as Livia rolled her eyes at me, smiling in spite of herself. For a moment, we sat in silence as Livia seemed to process what I'd told her so far. I could see that she was putting pieces of information together as she reevaluated our entire history, and I could feel my pulse in my ears as the anxiety of how she'd respond threatened to overwhelm me. She didn't seem to feel betrayed or anything, or that she was just another "piece on the board", so to speak. But there was an underlying question that was brewing in her eyes, and I waited with bated breath for her to put a voice to it.

"...Leon, you said that only the Saintess and her lover could stop the threat we face, right?" asked Livia after a moment. "Why would my lover be involved? Why would I need to have a lover in the first place?"

"The Kingdom of Holfort has a secret weapon that would amplify the range and effectiveness of your powers a hundred times over," I explained carefully. "I don't know what this secret weapon is, or even how it works exactly, but I do know this: the only way to unlock its full potential is with someone that you are truly and deeply in love with, mind, body, and soul."

"...Leon, you knew all this that day you helped me from that dusty floor, and yet you've tried to resist and find someone else for me to fall in love with," stated Livia.

"...How did you-" I began to ask, thunderstruck that Livia was seemingly figuring out all my secrets before I could say a word.

"By getting you to admit it just now," smiled Livia mischievously as she giggled briefly at the flat look I gave her. "...In all seriousness, I just couldn't see you doing anything else because I know what kind of man you are, Leon. If the only thing that was on your mind was me getting a lover, it would have been so much easier to have simply played a role and pretended, and I would have been none the wiser. But you didn't do that, instead helping me develop my skills and abilities in case I never found that lover, with the intention of later helping me find someone I could love and be loved by for the rest of my life and not just the duration of this crisis."

"Finding someone to love you wouldn't have been difficult," I smiled sadly. "As I discovered, it's actually quite impossible to resist. But making sure that whoever you ended up with would be someone that you could love for the rest of your life was the most important part in all of this to me."

"And you really thought that you weren't an option?" asked Livia seriously.

"...As I said, I didn't feel that I could say that I loved you until you knew the truth, and I was so sure that you'd feel manipulated and betrayed the moment that I told you-" I began.

"I didn't realize that trying to make someone's life better and happier could be considered 'manipulation'," interrupted Livia with a raised eyebrow even as she smiled in spite of herself. "No Leon; if you truly wanted to manipulate me, you could have done far worse things. The fact that you're telling me all of this now, and that you want to tell Angie and Clarice, is more than enough to prove that you're not manipulating us. I love you, Leon, and not even a silly little journal will change that."

I wanted to believe her words. I wanted to simply scoop her up into my arms, ask her to marry me, and then carry her to my bed so we could start on expanding our family. I wanted her to be the last thing I saw before I fell asleep and the first thing I saw when I woke. I wanted to feel her skin on mine. Her heartbeat against mine. I wanted to bury myself in her love and let all my other worries and cares fade away.

And yet, for all her reassurances, I still worried that she'd regret it all later once she learned everything, even after everything we'd talked about. It still blew my mind that she'd figured out so much of it on her own, and the rest she'd taken quite well. Honestly, she now knew about ninety five percent of what I'd kept hidden, but it was that last five percent that could make or break this. Still, there was no more time to wait or to stall. She needed an answer, and I would provide one.

"...Alright, let's make a deal; we can kiss and cuddle now as a couple would, but I want you, Angie, and Clarice to read the journals when we get back from sorting out the pirates. After reading it all, if you still want to spend the rest of your lives with a scoundrel like me, then we'll announce a triple engagement as soon as we get the blessings of Duke Redgrave and Earl Atlee, and we'll marry as soon as you three want to," I offered.

"...Only kissing and cuddling now?" pouted Livia.

"Were you hoping to have your wicked way with me?" I teased with a grin.

"...Actually, I… I kind of was?" blushed Livia as she gave a sort of shy wiggle while she smiled at me. "I'll admit that I'm a little nervous to even have you see me naked, but-"

"-Oh, um…" I stammered as…particular memories from that damned game came to my mind. "Well… about that… There's another reason that you might be angry at me for having seen all those futures that I did…"

"What do you-...oh… Oh!" asked Livia before she came to the realization of what I was saying. "...So you've… seen everything already?"

"...Right down to the small mole on the inside of your left thigh…" I blushed, unable to look at her.

"...Did you… like it…" asked Livia shyly, with even a touch of eagerness.

"Well…I'd sure as hell be lying if I said that I didn't…" I admitted, finally taking a glance at Livia and relaxing a little as she didn't seem to be upset.

"That's… good…" beamed Livia with a happy little squirm even as she continued to blush. "I-...I suppose I don't need to be so nervous to be undressed in front of you, then-"

"Look, we don't have to do that if you don't feel ready or want to," I interrupted. "We can take things slower, if you want-"

"Leon, I'd have never entered your cabin if I didn't feel ready or want to," argued Livia resolutely before trailing off in a more subdued tone. "I just… I feel as though I'm about to take a flying leap over a cliff into a lake below, and the nerves before I take that leap are hitting me right now. I know you'll be there to 'catch' me, so to speak, but that certainly doesn't stop my heart from racing in my chest…"

"...Then maybe a smaller jump would be better to start with?" I suggested once I finally found a voice again. "I wouldn't feel right with going that far anyways until you've read the journals, but… well, I can't lie and say that I haven't thought about waking up with you in my arms. As long as you're okay with that?"

"...That actually may work out for the best, so we don't leave Angie and Clarice too far behind in all of this," smiled Livia as she climbed across the couch to lean into my chest. "I'll share your bed tonight without proceeding further, but for now, I think I'd like more of those kisses and cuddles that you've promised."

"...As you wish, Livia," I smiled as I wrapped my arms around her.

Livia giggled as she buried her face into my neck, and I took a moment to think about what had transpired. I still had anxieties about how she'd react later after reading the journals, but I'd honestly somehow managed to give her all the main highlights of the situation and she'd not been angry about any of it. She mostly wanted to deny that she was the Saintess because she didn't feel worthy of holding such a mantle, but otherwise she'd taken everything I'd told her remarkably well. Even after all of that, she still wanted me, and she wanted Angie and Clarice with us as well. It was honestly more than I ever could have hoped for.

I had doubts even now, of course, and I didn't think they'd be eased until Livia, Angie, and Clarice knew everything, but with Livia leaning into me, the part of me that screamed that this couldn't be this simple seemed far away. Sure, I knew that part wasn't wrong, to a certain extent: Confessing to Angie and Clarice might not be nearly as smooth of a process, then there was the situation with the Bastards, wrapping things up with the Offreys, the Frampton issue, and then the war with Fanoss looming on the horizon. Still, any further thoughts on anything besides Livia left my mind as the old adage from Einstein about kissing pretty girls proved to be accurate with activities besides driving automobiles safely. As my lips met Livia's for the second time that evening, I silently vowed to give every kiss the attention it deserved.

---

So yes, this one turned out to be a long one, but I didn't want to leave off on the original cliffhanger I'd set for this originally for four to six weeks, as that would have been cruel and unusual. Besides, with this being so close to Valentine's Day and being a major story beat? A longer chapter seemed appropriate, but I do think I'll be going back to sub-10K word chapters after this outside of major climatic moments.

Still, rather pleased with how this one turned out. Next chapter is in progress, and should be out some time between 3/15/24 and 3/29/24.