"Papa!"
Leah woke me up in the afternoon, squashing me with her weight. I opened my eyes to see her pressed firmly on my chest. An elf came over and patted Leah on the shoulder: "Miss Leah, I think you should avoid squashing Lord Travor. He has a wound on his abdomen, so it is dangerous to apply pressure to it."
Leah backed off ever so slightly in a somewhat reluctant manner. I gently touched her face, smiling: "Leah, I'm so glad you're all right."
"Papa, you're the one worrying Leah! You had such a severe wound, yet you rushed here! You should've rested in the imperial capital for some time! Why were you so hasty?!"
"Sorry, Leah, I had to rush back; else, we'd lose the North."
"Sorry… Lord Lin…" expressed Ross, who hid behind Leah with his head down. "Sorry… Lord Lin… I failed to win the auction… I… I did not know what to do… because… because we did not have money. When we did not have enough money… I did not know how to continue bidding… Sorry… Lord Lin… Sorry… The fault is mine… I should have competed…"
"It wasn't your fault, Ross. Don't be downhearted," I calmly replied. "Even if you did win the bid, it would be useless if you couldn't pay your winning bid. All we can put it down to is a miscalculation on our part. Don't worry, nevertheless. Those merchants didn't win the rights to it in the end. Since somebody else bought it, it means that we have a chance at buying it back. It doesn't matter, however, as there's nothing left there. We can go to the imperial capital to live. It's all right, Leah. I'll plant the flower for you again after we get to the imperial capital."
"Leah doesn't mind where we go as long as Leah is with Papa. Leah just wants Papa! Nothing else matters. Papa, we can go live where Leah originally lived. Leah is talking about the castle. In Leah's opinion, Papa can make it beautiful for sure."
"I remember now. Leah must be talking about the Demon King's castle… That place still hasn't been torn down yet? It seems that Sisi isn't interested in developing it, either… If we don't have the town but still want to stay in the North, we could move into the castle. Last time, I only had a glimpse of the castle, and it was certainly a magnificent castle. I suppose a lord should have a castle. That's just a suggestion, though,"
"Papa, Leah wants to make a trip back there. Leah wants to go back."
"Hmm?"
I looked at Leah feeling confused. If my memory didn't fail me, the castle should've been empty.
"Queen Sisi smugly confiscated all of the spoils of war as the victor. Did she leave some behind perchance? But is the place worth reminiscing or feeling happy about to Leah?" I pondered. "Leah, do you want to go there for something?"
"Mm… don't worry, Papa. Pretend Leah never mentioned it," cheerfully replied Leah, shaking her head at the same time. She jogged over and caressed my face. She kissed my cheek and smiled. "Leah really likes Papa lots and lots. Leah just wants to be with Papa, but… Papa, will we still live together with Mama Veirya in the future?"
I was confused. I smiled and answered, "Of course, Leah. However, Veirya might become your real mama in the future. You'll have a younger brother or sister in the future."
I had made up my mind to confess to Veirya when I saw her again. I didn't want to waste another opportunity. It was almost impossible to confess after what transpired last time, so I was determined to at all costs. I was determined to confess even if I would be met with rejection. Perhaps I could only start my life after rejection.
"Ah…"
Leah wore mixed emotions on her face. Before I could say another word to her, Angelina came in. I almost mistook her for Veirya and cried. Of course, she immediately gave me a smile, "I'm glad you're still alive. Did you and Veirya plan this out to see who'd get hurt in the abdomen first? Who was responsible?"
"Not sure. It might've been the dwarves or merchants in the imperial capital. Either way, it was one of them. Needless to say, Queen Sisi tacitly allowed them to do so," I replied. I smiled helplessly. "Is Veirya all right?"
"She was quite well before she found out you were heart. She was a good girl and took her time healing. Ever since you arrived last night until now, I've caught her getting out of bed three times to try and visit you," calmly replied Angelina.
Truthfully, that should've warmed my heart to hear, yet it was actually frightening enough to make me break out in cold sweat. Luckily, she was caught every time, because if she saw what I did with Lucilia last night, there would probably be another round of headaches, since I didn't explain…
"I'll go see her when my wound has healed," I replied. I paused for a moment before continuing, "Help me write a letter to have the elves… oh… right…"
The North no longer belonged to us. Whoever it was, wouldn't allow the elves to continue living there. This place, the elven lands, was where they were exiled from, so the elves wouldn't want to see them back here. What could the three elves do?
"What's wrong? Write to who?" Angelina wore her puzzlement on her sleeve.
I shook my head and answered, "No, nothing. I just suddenly remembered that there was no need to. Don't worry about the letter."
"Yeah…?" asked Angelina, with a nod. She then walked up to me and kissed me on the lips. She leaned back before I could put up a resistance. With a mischievous smile, she stepped back and said, "I'll kiss you on my daughter's behalf. You don't have any need to be nervous or shy. Just pretend I'm Veirya! Rest up well, my dear."
I was done… Though I knew that she was Angelina, her appearance that was identical to Veirya, her tone and smile caused my heart to race beyond belief… However, it was precisely because I was distracted that I completely forgot about Leah, who was next to me. I missed her expression and her gnashing her teeth…