Chapter 170: Leon’s Story [3]

Leon looked down at his hands.

Aurelia’s breath came out shaky. Her chest was heaving. She’d used up something real saying all of that.

"Why can’t you just understand that," she said quietly.

The silence that settled between them was the kind that holds too much.

"Fine," she whispered after a moment. Her voice had gone small. "I’ll leave you alone."

She turned and walked back toward the palace. Leon watched her go. His heart tried to form words and his throat stopped them every time. He just sat there and let her disappear through the garden gate without saying a single thing.

In the dark shadow of the palace pillars Arvendis had been standing still the whole time. He’d watched every word of it. He’d watched Leon sit broken at the fountain and Aurelia try to put the pieces back together and he’d watched her walk away still not able to reach him.

The smirk that formed on his face was slow.

He stepped out and fell into step beside Aurelia as she reached the entrance.

"Lady Aurelia. It’s quite late. Would you care to join me for dinner?"

Aurelia didn’t slow down. Didn’t turn her head. "No. I’m not hungry."

The grand doors closed behind her.

Arvendis stood alone on the steps. His smile was gone.

He looked back at the garden. At Leon’s silhouette by the fountain. Sitting in the dark by himself with his head down. The exact picture of someone defeated.

And Aurelia had still gone to him first. She always went to him first. She’d walked past Arvendis without a glance like he was furniture and gone straight to the boy sitting in the dirt.

Arvendis’s fist tightened slowly at his side.

’As long as Leon exists in this palace she will never look anywhere else.’

The glint that settled in his eyes was cold and very specific.

’Fine. If he won’t break on his own.’

The heavy oak door of the royal advisor’s office clicked shut behind Arvendis.

The advisor looked up from his desk. "Young Master Arvendis?"

"There’s something I need you to do."

The following morning Leon was in the training grounds before the sun was fully up. Sweat already soaking through his shirt despite the early cold. Swinging his practice blade over and over through the fractured ribs that hadn’t finished healing from the duel.

"Leon."

He paused and turned. The royal advisor was standing at the edge of the courtyard with folded hands and a measured expression.

"There’s something urgent. Come with me."

Inside the advisor’s office Leon stood and listened and the words landed one at a time like stones being dropped into deep water.

"Leave the palace."

He went very still. "Leave?"

"Yes."

"But this is my home. Why would I—"

"Because we have secured the prodigy this kingdom needs." The advisor’s voice was smooth and final. "Arvendis has proven everything the kingdom requires. His talent. His Dragon Spirit. His capabilities. He is the undisputed pillar of this kingdom’s future."

Leon’s chest tightened. He said nothing.

"His Majesty and the council are already preparing a marriage between Arvendis and Princess Aurelia."

The words hit him somewhere he hadn’t expected them to hit. His head came up fast. "Arvendis marrying Aurelia?"

"That is the path forward."

"But why?"

"Because this kingdom requires absolute strength to survive." The advisor’s eyes were steel. "Do you honestly believe you are more qualified for that role than Arvendis?"

The answer to that question lived in Leon’s chest like a stone he’d been carrying for years. "...No," he said quietly.

"Exactly." The advisor leaned forward slightly and his voice shifted into something softer and more careful. Like someone about to say something kind. "The issue isn’t only your presence here Leon. The issue is Princess Aurelia."

Leon looked at him.

"She has developed genuine feelings for you. If you remain those feelings will only deepen. That makes her union with Arvendis impossible." The advisor’s expression was the kind that looks like compassion and isn’t. "If you truly care about her then you must think about what’s best for her. Do you want her to be safe? Do you want her future to be secure?"

Leon’s nails were pressing into his palms. "Yes," he said. The word came out like something being pulled out of him slowly.

"Then leave. Sometimes caring for someone means knowing when to step away. Sometimes true love means giving them up."

The silence in the office lasted a long time.

Then Leon’s trembling legs straightened under him. His head bowed. "I understand," he said quietly. "I’ll leave."

As he turned toward the door the advisor’s expression changed. Just for a moment. Just enough.

The door closed.

A side door opened. Arvendis stepped out of the shadows into the candlelight.

"It is done Young Master," the advisor said.

"Good." Arvendis looked at the closed door. "Now she has no reason to look elsewhere."

That evening Aurelia ran down the corridor to Leon’s door and knocked urgently.

"Leon?"

No answer. She pushed the door open.

"Leon I’m so sorry about what I said at the fountain. I was frustrated and I said things I didn’t mean and I—"

She stopped.

The room was almost empty. The shelves were bare. The bed was stripped. Leon was standing beside it with both hands working the leather straps tight on a heavy travel bag.

"Leon?" Her voice had gone quiet and strange. "What is this? Where are you going?"

He hesitated. Then he slung the bag over his shoulder. "I’m leaving the kingdom."

The nervous laugh she gave didn’t sound like herself. "Don’t say that. That’s not funny."

"I’m not joking." He kept his eyes away from her face. "I’m going to Astern kingdom. I’ve decided to settle there."

She stepped closer. Her face was changing fast. "Why? You were raised here. This is your home."

"I just want a change."

"A change?!" Her voice broke open. "You want to just walk away from everything? From your whole life? Leon did something happen? Tell me what happened."

The advisor’s voice ran through his head again. "If you truly care for her. Leave."

He turned toward the door. "Just go." Then he said the word he hadn’t meant to say. The word that put the distance in cleanly and finally.

"Princess Aurelia."