DO YOU?

"Is this enough of an answer?" Leonel spoke with a grin, whispering into Aina's ear. Unfortunately, she couldn't answer between the pants.

They had left the scene of the heads on pikes long ago. Aina wanted to talk about how Leonel was feeling, and Leonel showed her in his own way. Weakened or not, at least on this battlefield, he was still number one.

Still panting, Aina grabbed the sides of Leonel's face, looking into his eyes. It was like she was trying to check if he really was okay, but all she could see was a warm smile looking back at her.

Inexplicably, she couldn't help but tear up again. Leonel didn't seem to be faking it or holding anything back, but that only made her cry harder.

"Hey, hey, hey, don't cry. People are going to think I'm bullying you."

Leonel laughed. The last thing he wanted was for a woman to be crying while he was inside her. The misunderstandings would lose him his head.

"Didn't you hear? The whole God Realm wants to marry my wife now. If they find out I made you cry, they'll chop me limb from limb."

Aina laughed between her tears, then suddenly recalled something. She looked at her left hand and pouted, a hint of disappointment blooming in her eye.

Leonel looked over at it and smiled, pressing his hand to hers.

On her ring finger, where their soul bond should have been, there was what looked like a burn mark. That moment must have been incredibly painful for Aina, but she was more focused on grieving for his death than worrying about her own suffering.

This was what happened when a soul bond was broken. It was a pain that one felt not just to the flesh, but to the very soul. One could only make a single one in their lifetime, and now that it was burned away, that piece of Aina's soul was gone.

Leonel looked at the burnt soul bond. His smile was still there, but there was a flickering light in his eyes that was hard to ignore. Content © 2024.

He knew that the former him would already have a solution. He could practically feel it, as though it was on the tip of his tongue. But no matter how hard he thought, he couldn't figure it out.

Maybe it would be better to feel that there was no solution at all… or maybe he was just overestimating his former self. It was just that he couldn't ever remember not having a solution to a matter like this, and he had to admit… it was frustrating.

However, he didn't allow it to show on his face, nor did he let that frustration fester. He held his wife's hand and held her close. He didn't make any promises out loud, but there was one in his heart.

He wouldn't let his wife go around with others thinking that she was a widow. He would find a solution eventually, no matter how long it took.

Aina could no longer read Leonel's mind as easily as before, and without their soul connection, she couldn't take advantage of his Forces either. But she could still feel that Leonel was going through something she couldn't understand or be a part of, and that was why she was so emotional.

However, she also realized that being emotional wasn't going to help them. It would just make Leonel waste more time trying to comfort her when, in reality, he should be spending his efforts on other things.

"What do you want to do?" Aina asked, her gaze filled with earnestness. It sounded as though she was ready to hop into battle right here and now.

"You really want to ask questions like that right now?" Leonel spoke and suddenly moved, catching Aina off guard.

Aina yelped a bit, a moan escaping her lips.

"What was that? I can't hear you. Did you say something?" Leonel brought his ear to her lips and got a bite to his earlobe for his troubles.

The two laughed and embraced one another for a long while, seemingly oblivious to the fact that there was soon to be a great deal of chaos that was about to come right to their doorstep.

"My father is here," Aina said at some point.

"Huh, what?!" Leonel froze, looking around as though the man was right behind him.

Aina burst into a fit of laughter. "Since when were you afraid of my father?"

She seemed to recall that the relationship between the two wasn't very good at all. In fact, Leonel was more than willing to be antagonistic when it was needed. So this response was a surprise to her.

"I'm afraid of what any man would do after seeing a man balls deep in his daughter."

Aina pinched Leonel's waist from both sides hard.

"What are you saying!? I didn't mean he was here right now!" Aina said exasperatedly.

Leonel laughed. "So you mean that he was with the old man all this time?"

"Yes," Aina nodded.

"Why'd you bring him up? You want me to come with you to go see him?"

Aina nodded again.

"Okay," Leonel replied with a smile. "You sounded so serious, I thought it was something bad. If you just want me to bully him a bit, leave it to me."

Aina playfully hit his chest, shaking her head. This guy could never be serious.

Her feelings about her own father were quite complicated after learning the truth behind his history with her mother. It was honestly very difficult for her to forgive him.

But… after what happened with Nilrem taking the fall this time, she felt that she and Leonel needed another backer, someone who could protect them if things ever truly went bad.

For Leonel's sake… she felt that this was the best way to help him. Plus, she really did want a real family…

She looked up to meet Leonel's eyes and felt as though he had seen right through her.

"Do you want a baby?" he asked softly.