The Second Strongest Has Returned

Chapter 35

Three-Week Vacation

It was a strange feeling.

She was certainly too tired to get up, but the exhaustion didn’t bother her.

On the contrary, the rest she was getting because of the fatigue felt comforting, and she even felt a sense of happiness.

She could feel Leonardo.

It was a peculiar expression, but it was an appropriate way to describe it.

It felt as though Leonardo was present in the place where she was lying down, in the blankets that covered her, and even in the temperature and the air around her.

“…Mmm…”

Unable to resist the overwhelming happiness, Ariasphil began to slowly open her half-closed eyes.

What she saw when she opened them was an unfamiliar ceiling, and what he noticed when he awoke was a familiar scent.

Arias carefully sat up in the bed and looked around, noticing the contradictory harmony. There was an old desk, worn-out walls and wallpaper, and even faded curtains.

She thought they all looked old, but paradoxically, it felt more comfortable than the mansion of her family.

Despite being so old, the fact that there wasn’t a speck of dust or dirt helped leave a positive impression.

As she slowly took in the small house, she looked to the side and saw the kind knight who had created this comfort.

“…Leo…?”

It was Leonardo, dozing off while leaning on a chair. His clothes were covered in dirt and tattered, with the collar and sleeves torn and ragged.

The body hidden beneath those pitiful clothes looked even worse. His palms and fingers were all calloused, scraped, and torn, and his hands, with their barely healed scabs, were wrapped in poorly applied bandages.

“…Because of me…”

Just as Arias was about to wake Leonardo out of guilt, she noticed a tray on the side table with a loaf of bread and a cup of milk. Next to the tray was a small note.

**[I apologize for the village chief. He’s not the most flexible person. If you’re hungry when you wake up, please have the bread and milk. It won’t be as good as what you have at the mansion, but it should help replenish your strength.]**

Arias quietly stepped back from Leonardo. He must have been exhausted just from breaking through the barrier, so it would be better to let him sleep a bit longer.

Arias began to slowly eat the bread and milk. As Leonardo had said, they weren’t particularly tasty. The bread was dry, and the milk wasn’t rich.

But she still liked the taste.

Even though it wasn’t delicious, the food was good.

After finishing her meal, Arias carefully lifted Leonardo. Although he was heavy and solidly built, this kind of consideration was nothing compared to what her knight had done for her.

Just as Arias was about to gently place Leonardo on the bed,

*Creak*

The rusty hinge of the door squeaked as an old woman walked in.

“Leonardo, how’s the child—”

Anus’s eyes fixed on the bed. More importantly, she was intently watching the girl who was lifting a man while holding him.

“…”

“…Ah…well…”

“Let’s talk later. I won’t stop you from doing what you’re doing, but don’t forget about contraception.”

With that, Anus began to leave the room. Surprisingly, Arias wasn’t flustered; she laid Leonardo on the bed and walked toward the door.

“It’s alright. We can talk now.”

“…You’re not as flustered as I expected. Are you familiar with such terms?”

“…What terms?”

Arias asked Anus with a puzzled expression. From that reaction, Anus could immediately gauge the extent of Arias’ understanding.

“…You don’t even know that, yet you made such a plan…?”

“…Pardon?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

Anus glanced at Leonardo, who was sleeping in the bed, before turning her gaze back to Arias.

“I know it’s a bit much to ask, but would it be alright to talk outside?”

Arias also glanced at the dozing Leonardo and then quietly nodded.

* * *

Unlike the morning, Doran’s night was tranquil. The darkness, like a descending mist, seemed to swallow all the surrounding sounds.

Two women, one older and one younger, walked through the dark forest.

As the somber silence lingered, Anus pressed the cane she was holding firmly against the ground.

“How are you feeling?”

Her question was blunt but not harsh. Even someone as unfamiliar as Arias could sense the kindness hidden beneath her brusque demeanor.

“…I’m fine, thanks to…”

“You collapsed because of me. It’s probably thanks to Leo that you’re feeling better.”

Arias, despite her uncomfortable expression, didn’t bother to correct her. She wasn’t angry, but she hadn’t fully forgiven what Anus had said either.

“Do you resent me?”

Perhaps noticing the lingering resentment, the old woman unexpectedly delved into Arias’ feelings.

“…Pardon?”

“If you do, then go ahead and resent me. Even if you don’t, I’d prefer if you did now. Old people like me dying sooner is easier for the young.”

Arias hesitated, unsure of what to say in response to her self-deprecating words. Even coming up with something sympathetic or consoling seemed overwhelming.

“…That’s not…”

“…And I’m sorry. I suppose an apology should come first.”

As if apologizing for causing her hesitation, Anus bowed her head and waist, offering a formal apology to Arias.

Arias couldn’t help but feel even more confused by her reaction.

“…Ah…”

“I promised, didn’t I? If I lost, I would retract my words and apologize.”

Anus raised her head and met Arias’ gaze.

“I’m sorry. I belittled your feelings and disrespected your relationship with Leo. I apologize for it, even if it’s late.”

Anus once again bowed her head and waist.

Perhaps because she was so used to speaking harshly, her apology carried a different weight compared to others.

“No… It’s okay…! I suddenly brought it up out of nowhere…! It’s only natural for you, as Leonardo’s guardian, to be upset…!”

Feeling the depth of her apology, Arias hurriedly tried to accept it. After all, it was Anus who had practically raised Leonardo, so Arias couldn’t help but consider her position.

“…A guardian… You’re right. But when I think about it, I have no right to interfere in your relationship. I’m not even Leonardo’s parent.”

With another self-deprecating remark, Anus lowered her eyes. Arias, who wasn’t even his lover, let alone his wife, felt her conscience pricked by guilt.

“Actually… The truth is…”

“I called you here to talk about Leonardo’s childhood.”

Hearing this, Arias stopped herself from confessing.

“That stubborn boy wouldn’t say a word if you asked him, so it’s up to a nosy old woman like me to spill the beans.”

Leonardo’s past.

Even if it weighed heavily on her with guilt, it was something she needed to hear.

It wasn’t mere curiosity that drove her.

The atmosphere of the forest, and Anus’ sincerity, instilled in Arias the resolve to listen and the determination to face the truth.

“Have you heard about Leonardo’s mother?”

Arias nodded as she answered.

“Yes, Leo told me she passed away when he was around ten years old…”

“Passed away, huh? I’m sure that’s what Leo told you.”

Anus smiled bitterly. Without a smile, the bitterness of the story would linger even more heavily.

“Do you know why Leo left the village?”

Ariasphil couldn’t answer. It was impossible for her.

Since she didn’t know the answer, unless she made something up, it was impossible to give a reply.

Come to think of it, Leonardo had never talked about himself. Especially about his past, which he had thoroughly hidden and kept secret.

“You don’t know, do you? Leo is that kind of kid.”

Anus walked into a secluded part of the forest. It was dark, but for some reason, she didn’t feel any fear of the darkness.

People tend to find more comfort in shallow shade than in bright sunlight.

“Leo left the village to find his mother. He went to search for her, who disappeared when he was about ten years old.”

“But… didn’t Leo say…”

He had said that he believed his mother was dead because she hadn’t returned for three months.

Soon, Ariasphil realized the true meaning behind Anus’s words.

It was just a matter of him “saying that.”

“Leonardo came to this village when he was less than a year old.”

Anus remembered that day as vividly as if it had been last night. Strangely, the older her body grew, the easier it became to recall old memories compared to when she was young.

It was a night of torrential rain, when even the Spirits of Water fled in fear from the fierce storm.

There was a fool who walked through that downpour.

A woman who, although sufficient to be someone’s mother, seemed a bit lacking to be a good mother.

Without a husband, carrying a baby strapped to her chest, she had braved the storm alone, which was the stamp of judgment.

“That was Leo’s mother, Ren.”

Ren had suddenly arrived in the village and demanded a place to live.

“…What? Wasn’t this her hometown?”

“It may have been Leo’s hometown, but it wasn’t Ren’s.”

Ren was merely an outsider who had stayed in the village a few times, not a native of the village.

“Anyway, since she had protected the village a few times, I offered her an empty house nearby. I even thought it was better than using it as a warehouse.”

Grumbling, Anus provided Ren with a place to stay, along with some light food and money.

Even as she did so, she asked what had happened to the baby, but Ren, as if under a curse of silence, didn’t answer.

“So, Leo doesn’t know his father. We don’t know who Leo’s father is either.”

At that moment, Anus recalled how Leo had introduced himself.

‘So, I’m just Leonardo. Unless you’re going to make up a father for me, don’t add anything else.’

Back then, she had brushed it off lightly.

Leo himself had spoken casually.

But she speculated that the time it took for that weight to appear light was anything but light.

“Leo was an unusual child.”

“…In a good way?”

“Neither good nor bad. If I had to add something… it was pitiful.”

Leonardo desired nothing.

Just as there is madness in desire, there is also madness in the absence of desire.

He was just like the good child in Santa’s carol.

“He didn’t cry, he didn’t get upset. He didn’t even play pranks.”

It was hard to believe that he was the same person as the current Leonardo.

Crying was one thing, but the lack of annoyance or pranks was unimaginable now.

“The villagers were all worried. It was easy to feed and put him to bed, but that’s not raising a child—it’s no different from feeding and housing livestock.”

It was an extreme analogy, but to Anus, it was still vivid. Back then, the boy was merely not dead, and saying he was alive didn’t feel appropriate.

“Still, we weren’t too worried. With his mother, he seemed more like a person.”

When Leo was with Ren, he laughed, threw cute tantrums, and sometimes played pranks that made the whole village smile.

“…But Leo’s mother…”

“Yes, she disappeared completely when he was about ten years old.”

It was after that.

That Leonardo moved beyond desirelessness to indifference.

“The boy who at least used to smile lost even that.”

The boy, having lost hope, became indifferent to everything.

After about a month had passed, Leonardo tried to leave the village.

“He said he was leaving because he was bored with the village… but no one believed him. He must have been going to find his mother.”

Everyone thought Ren was dead.

No matter how much Ren may not have been the best mother, she didn’t seem like the kind of person who would give up her role as a mother entirely.

“To stop him, Dean tried to block his way. Everyone knew what would happen if a ten-year-old boy in that state left.”

“…So, he won and left.”

“No, he lost the first time.”

Ariasphil couldn’t help but be shocked.

It was Leonardo who had overwhelmed her without even using mana when they first met. No matter how young he was, it was hard to believe that Leo could have lost.

“And a month later, he beat Dean. A mere child defeated a werewolf.”

It wasn’t simply a victory achieved through strength or skill. In fact, it was the exact opposite of what Ariasphil had imagined.

“At first, he scattered animal blood around to confuse the scent. After keeping Dean in check with that strategy, he finally broke trees that he had pre-cut deeply to trap Dean. It was far from honorable.”

Yet, no one tried to stop Leo.

“…If they had, the boy might have truly crossed a line. Whether as a child or as a person.”

And so, Leo left the village.

No one knew the details of that journey, but the scars that remained on his body after only three years clearly showed that the journey had been anything but easy.

“The boy who ran away like that suddenly sent a letter.”

At that moment, Ariasphil remembered the letter from Leo that Dean had shown her.

“At first, we wondered what he was talking about. Why would a boy like that join a knight family, and why would he find such fulfillment in serving a lady like you?”

The villagers had come to a simple conclusion after putting their heads together.

“We thought Leo had learned what love is. We couldn’t think of any other reason why someone would change so much.”

Ariasphil’s cheeks turned slightly red. It wasn’t entirely impossible for it to mean something like that.

“And when he came back about a year ago, I was certain.”

It was something anyone close to Leo would have known.

“That boy, when it comes to love, he’s like a stone. He doesn’t even know what love is.”

At those words, Ariasphil’s mood darkened again. But soon, her expression shifted to one of peculiar embarrassment.

“…Why are you acting like that? Don’t tell me you thought I really believed you two were lovers?”

Suddenly, a wave of embarrassment flooded over her like a typhoon. The freshly created, utterly mortifying memory was enough to make her face burn.

“The villagers might have been deceived, but I’m not that much of a romantic… It’s harder to fool me.”

“…S-Sorry…”

“There’s no need to apologize. If anything, I should be the one apologizing for raising the boy like a stone.”

Anus’s wrinkled lips curled into a slight smile. It wasn’t a sneer or a mockery, but a smile of relief and reassurance.

“So I’m sorry, but… could I ask you to take care of Leo?”

“…What?”

Anus’s eyes were clear, and her gaze was steady. Those eyes likely only came from a pure, genuine heart, free of any mixed emotions.

“I know you two aren’t dating or planning to marry. Still, I want to entrust my grandson to you.”

Anus gently brushed Ariasphil’s hair. Even though her hand was wrinkled, a soft warmth seeped gently into Ariasphil’s head.

“…But I’m not as strong as Leo…”

“There’s no need to protect Leo. I’ve never heard of a lady protecting her knight.”

After a brief pause, Anus spoke again.

“So I want you to protect yourself. Please don’t die before Leo.”

It was only then that Ariasphil understood the nature of Anus’s test.

“You can do it.”

“But I…”

“If you’re determined enough to skip the dating phase and jump straight into marriage, I think you can do it… Or am I being too hasty?”

Ariasphil’s face turned completely red at those words. Anus, with a hearty laugh, seemed satisfied with the girl’s innocence.

“That’s a relief. Then, I’ll be off. Thank you for lending me some time to rest.”

Ariasphil couldn’t respond for a long time, too preoccupied with cooling her flushed face.

* * *

“I’m back…”

Ariasphil stopped mid-sentence and looked toward the bed.

Perhaps it was due to exhaustion, but Leonardo was still lying in bed, not yet awake.

“You must be… really tired.”

Worried, Ariasphil walked over to the bed where Leo was lying. He was breathing softly, his face peaceful as he slept.

‘…A Leo without expression…’

Even now, the village chief’s words were hard to believe in many ways.

Leo had always been so full of life, and that made it even harder for Ariasphil to imagine.

‘…But where…’

As Ariasphil looked around, she suddenly realized something.

‘…This house… only has one place to sleep.’

Normally, there would be at least a sofa, but in this shabby house, the only bedding was a single bed. The rest of the space was just cold, hard floorboards.

…The sound of her swallowing echoed in the silence.

Ariasphil cautiously lifted the blanket that covered Leo.

This wasn’t what it looked like.

It wasn’t something she could control; anyone would agree it wasn’t.

Leo would be cold, and it would be uncomfortable for her to sleep on the floor.

It was mutually beneficial—yes, that’s right. It was in both their interests.

Even if she got into the bed, they could just stay apart.

No problem at all.

The village chief had even asked her to take care of him, so there was no need to feel guilty.

“…Ha…”

But with a sigh, Ariasphil eventually withdrew her half-inserted body from the bed. No matter how she thought about it, this wasn’t right. It would be better for her conscience to sleep on the floor…

Thud…

At that moment, Leo’s arm wrapped around Ariasphil’s waist, who had half-climbed into the bed. It wasn’t intentional; it was just a pure coincidence, a sleep-induced reflex.

“…Leo…nar…”

Ariasphil found herself in a state of extreme inner conflict. Her reason and instincts clashed dramatically, pushing her excitement to new heights.

“…I’m sorry…”

Then, Leo mumbled softly.

“…Leo…?”

“I’m sorry… Don’t go… I’ll… do better…”

At that moment, her reason and instincts aligned as one.

Lying on the bed, Ariasphil wrapped her arms around Leo and held him close.

Whether it was out of a desire to comfort him or for mutual benefit, it didn’t matter.

She just wanted to let this boy know that ‘it’s okay.’