The girl shot daggers at Bernardo with her sharp and hateful gaze. Her eyes had a harsh look to them, yet they looked pitiful too. She must've been crying her eyes out to make them look like that. She didn't say anything because she was gagged with a piece of cloth. Bernardo felt his chest ache a bit looking at the pitiful girl in front of him.

She looked like she was killing him in her eyes. As Bernardo came close, he motioned his hand to take off the gag from Leonia's mouth. Though clearly tired, Leonia shook her head in defiance, not knowing what the man in front of her wanted. However, she was confused as to the gentle and slightly fearful expression on Bernardo's face. She finally relented to him and her gag was removed.

"What do you think you're doing, hombre?!" Leonia shouted to the man

"Not too loud, senorita." Bernardo said as he put his finger in front of his lips. He looked back and noticed his brother was still busy with the beast-girl to notice him "Allow me to introduce myself, senorita. Me llamo Bernardo Luis de Gissario... and I have just bought you as my bedmate."

"What did you say, hijo de puta?!" The girl roared in anger "Monstruo! Get your hands off of me! Traitor! Dirty Usurper! I will-mmmff!!"

Bernardo had put the gag back on the girl to silence her. It seems she had gotten even more angry. He shrugged a bit at her frustration as he collected himself to focus.

"If you keep screaming, my brother over there might notice us." Bernardo said in a quieter tone "I'm going to get you out of here, so please senorita, calm down."

Bernardo took out the muffle again, but this time, Leonia didn't say anything. She spat on him which landed on his right eye.

"What makes you think you can touch me?!" She said, though she was clearly shaken

Bernardo was a little livid, but he surpressed his annoyance and merely wiped his eye with a napkin from his coat. He tolerated the girl's insolence as she was clearly damaged. He eyed her, saw her exposed chest and looked downwards as he noticed bruise-marks on her thighs.

"Where do you think you're looking?!" She snapped again, shaking her shackles.

"I promise you, senorita, I will not touch you unnecessarily... I was joking about the bedmate part." Bernardo said gently, "Just please tolerate my presence for a bit while I unlock your shackles."

Leonia finally calmed down, but she was still tense. Her eyes were still glaring at him. Bernardo first unlocked the shackles on her feet then made his way to unlock the ones on her wrist. Immediately after he freed her, Leonia immediately attempted to strike at him. Fortunately, he was able to catch her hand, twist her around, pin her to the wall, and overpower her.

"Please refrain from doing that. Harming me will do you no good. Just bear with me." Bernardo said as he kept the pressure on her "Do you understand, senorita? I'm trying to help you get out of here."

Leonia finally submitted and nodded her head. Bernardo finally loosened his grip and turned her around to face him. She had lowered her head in her misery and misfortune. Bernardo noticed tears dropping to the floor from her eyes.

Bernardo was upset at the sight before him. It was one thing for the prostitutes in the brothel to serve their patrons with a smile even if they bore no true affections or even if they hated their job. But the girl in front of him made no such act to conceal her sorrow. She was no prostitute. She was a victim of so great a malice. Bernardo had taken off his coat and put it on her.

Leonia looked at him in confusion, her eyes still wet with tears. She didn't know why this stranger, a Gissario in fact, was helping her. What motive would he have?

Bernardo gently took Leonia by her arm as they made their way to the exit.

"Calm down, we'll be out of here soon." Bernardo said as he instinctively rubbed the girl's head to which she looked at him with surprise and confusion. It appeared she didn't trust him yet. It was to be expected as his family did murder hers.

The two made their way to the exit without being too noticed by anyone else. If someone were to ask who the girl was, Bernardo only said 'she's my whore' which also earned a little annoyance from her. From where they were standing in front of the exit, Bernardo could see his horse tied to the stables. He then looked to Leonia.

"So this is where you make a choice, senorita." Bernardo said as he let go of his hold on her "If you run and escape now, I'm not going to chase you down, but if you would choose to come with me, I might be able to protect you for the time being."

Leonia only looked at him with confusion and a dumbfounded expression, as if she was trying to find an ulterior motive from him. She didn't give him a direct answer yet she just stood there, looking like she was thinking very hard.

"...You're joking, right?" Leonia said

"Nope. If you run away right now, I'd just let you." Bernardo answered

"...You're going to protect me...?" She asked with slight skepticism

"I do not go back on my word, despite my family's reputation. But I would suggest you don't take too long to decide."

"...Fine then... I'll go... with you..." Leonia said although a little hesitantly

"Are you sure?"

"I have nothing on me right now. Not money, not my power as a noble. I'm little better than a sick defenseless dog. Even if I were to escape, then what? I've heard what remains of the Valamens have escaped to Siesia..."

"Well then. I hope you'll put your trust in me. My personal estate is out of the city close to the beaches. Let me help you up on my horse."

"Don't mistake this for me trusting you..." Leonia said as she still had a look of distrust on her "For all I know, you could just be fooling me to trust you and then proceed to do unto me unspeakable things."

"You mistake me for my brother." Bernardo said as he helped the girl up on his horse before he mounted it himself. The two made their way out of the city and to the coasts but not before stopping by a clothes shop to purchase new apparel for Leonia. She had chosen a simple yet pretty black dress. A woman dressed in black which complemented her black hair and dark eyes.

"You look great in that dress and, uh... I am sorry for your loss..." Bernardo complimented her awkwardly yet she only dropped her head and made her way back to their horse.

Leonia's body was surprisingly light in front of Bernardo, though she was oddly quiet for the duration of the ride. He wasn’t surprised to find that her silence came from the fact that she had fallen asleep. She must've been very tired from what has happened to her and he couldn’t at all blame her for that.

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They had finally reached the entrance to Bernardo's estate. It was a humble abode, but it still managed to have a couple of servants in it. Bernardo helped her down from the horse after which he tied his horse to a post in a small stable next to the villa.

When they entered the house, two servant girls were already waiting. Bernardo gave one an order to prepare the guest room while the other to make some tea for him and water for Leonia. He then led Leonia to sit on a sofa in the living room of the house.

"So how are you holding up, senorita?" Bernardo asked the Lady Leonia

"It could be much worse... thank you for your kindness..." Leonia said although a little under her breath

"...What was that?" Bernardo pretended not to hear her and asked with a smile to lighten up the mood

"...Why are you doing all this to help me?" She finally asked a question which looked like it had been on her mind for quite a while "Your family has ordered for mine to be eradicated? Why show me kindness now?"

"...I honestly don't know myself." Bernardo answered truthfully as he stood up and walked toward Leonia. He motioned his hand to her which caused her to flinch and instinctively put her hands up. To her surprise, Bernardo only petted the top of her head gently. She looked at him with a most confused look, yet continued to let him pet her.

"Sorry about that!" Bernardo said as he pulled his hand back from her head

"You seem awfully fond of fondling my head." Leonia said "Is this some new form of a fetish?"

"Again, I apologise, senorita. It's just..."

"What?"

"You remind me a lot of my younger sister... She, uh... passed away a few years back. If she were still alive, she might've been around your age..." Bernardo began to think back upon the memories of his younger sister

"...I'm sorry to hear that." Leonia said with a soft tone "How did she die?"

"...We were on a boat trip to one of our family's isles... It was a small vessel, and so the protection wasn't all that heavy either. I was there with my sister, Blanca, and my mother. We were bastard-born, so I'm a little bit of an outcast myself in the Gissario family... Long story short, there were pirates... We managed to fend off most of them, but they had taken Blanca captive..."

Bernardo was starting to tear up a bit as he remembered that memory. He stopped a bit to wipe his tears and collect himself again.

"...We managed to find the base of operations for the pirates. They were renegade mercenaries operating from a small cove. After we defeated them, I went into their base and there I saw my sister... Her naked body, dangling lifeless on one of their walls. It looked like she had been raped to death. Seeing you like that in the brothel... It brought back unwanted memories."

The servant had returned with the tea and glass of water. Bernardo thanked her and gave the glass of water to Leonia. She immediately drank it and finished. Leonia then looked at Bernardo again, this time with saddened eyes.

"That... was horrible. What happened to your sister... I can't begin to speak of the horror."

"You are too kind, senorita." Bernardo said as he stood up. He then knelt and bowed deeply to the lady in front of him "I deeply and humbly apologize to you, senorita Leonia… I can not even begin to imagine what pain you must have gone through and the injustices you were forced to bear."

Leonia became very confused at what was happening in front of her.

"What... are you doing?" Leonia asked with slight worry

"I know whatever I will do for you from now on will not even come close to atoning for the sins and atrocities my family has committed against you and your house... So please, I give you my apology..." Bernardo said with complete sincerity in his voice

"...Your family wants mine wiped from the face of the earth. Your brother murdered my father and brothers in front of me as I was being held against my will and his men had their way with my mother and raped her to death! I was captured... raped as well... I had never even lay with a man before! The marks on my body are still fresh!" Leonia's tone became mixed with rage and sorrow as tears started to well up in her eyes "And you're asking me to accept your apology? The scriptures may teach us to forgive sins, but even I'm still only human... I wish death upon the members of your house, failing that, blight upon them!"

Leonia's tone was harsh. Her eyes were red again as tears streamed down to her face. Her look was miserable. She hid not a single smudge of hatred from her voice and expression.

"...I'm so sorry..." Bernardo apologised again in a helpless voice "There is nothing I can do to turn back time... even If I were there during that time, there would be nothing I could've done to stop all that..."

Bernardo only faced the floor with shame. He was only a bastard with little to no say in the affairs of the family. His uncle may have taken a shine to him and legitimized him on his father's deathbed, but it still did not take away the contempt he had experienced from his family. The only one who was ever kind to him was her majesty the Queen. Since he was a little boy, she would look at him no differently than others.

But he knew he had no chance to act upon his feelings. She was more than a decade his senior and under the thumb of his uncle. He himself wasn't sure if it was actual attraction or because he was moved by the kindness she showed him when no one else did.

But the girl in front of him was different. From the moment he saw her, every instinct in his body was telling him to protect her. Now he could do nothing but bow his head in shame. This girl surely did nothing to deserve all that has happened to her. Thinking about her only made him remember his beloved sister. Without him realising it, he himself started crying.

"Why are you crying, Senior Bernardo?" Bernardo finally heard the girl in front of him speak. But he was surprised. Her tone wasn't harsh this time. In fact, it felt gentle. Bernardo then felt a gentle hand on his head. As he looked up, he saw Leonia was in turn petting his head. His expression was confused.

"What? You don't actually think you're the only one who gets to head pat, do you?" Leonia said with a smile. It was the first time Bernardo saw the girl smile since he met her. Though her eyes were still weary, Bernardo could sense that she was at least more at ease "There is nothing for you to apologise to me for, senor. Well, maybe for looking at my... sensitive areas..."

"Gracias! Muchas Gracias, senorita!" Bernardo said thankful that she bore no ill will towards her

"I may not completely trust you yet, but at least I think you're not too much of a bad person..." Leonia said "...Now that I come to think of it..."

"What is it?"

"...It's nothing to worry about, senor."

Leonia had gotten up from her chair and managed to bow to Bernardo.

"I don't think I've properly thanked you yet, senor." She said

"There is no need... It's quite literally the least I could do for you."

"And also, I'm sorry for acting the way I did back at the bar. I'm sorry for spitting on your face. It was uncalled for... I was merely venting out my stress. You looked pretty annoyed yourself."

"It's no problem. I do admit, I may have noticed your breasts at first before asking the owner your identity."

All of a sudden, Leonia kicked his shins a little harsh with a look of disgust on her face. Bernardo only chuckled.

"For that comment, my opinion of you has sunk considerably." Leonia said with her usual annoyed tone to him

"I'm sorry, it was a joke! I didn't mean anything by it..." Bernardo laughed trying to calm the mood

"For that comment, now you owe me a lot more..."

"Si, si. I understand. But in all seriousness, you are very pretty, senorita. And that's an understatement."

"Flattery won't earn you much yet." Leonia said "Anyways, my room is this way, right? I feel very tired..."

"Oh, of course! Rest up! You've been through a lot! Rest easy! You're completely safe here."

"No barging in on my room while I'm resting and definitely no peeping or any of that stuff. I got enough lecherous stares on me to last a lifetime."

"Alright..."

Leonia put on her usual cold demeanor in front of Bernardo, but she managed to slightly bow before turning around. Bernardo could've sworn that she was smiling a little before entering her room. He could only hope things would go better for them from now on.