Under the Bright Sun
[Prologue]
Leonardo’s bedroom was now constantly being visited by his quite defenceless fiancée in the name of [taking care of the man that saved my Papa].
She would offer sincere words to Leonardo, scold him while spoiling him, truly befitting an adorable fiancée. It got to the point where Leonardo started to hate when she would go back, so he decided to trick her a little.
He suggested that he could teach her everything that could come up in their upcoming end term exams next month.
And with sparkling eyes, [Really? I’m so happy! Leonardo, you’re so good at teaching after all!] she said and was genuinely happy at his offer.
Hearing the girl he adored so much say that to him, he knew he had to live up to her expectations. Even though it was meant to be just an excuse to keep her with him a bit longer, the lessons became genuinely serious very quickly.
Whenever Leonardo was with her, things would often go [outside his calculations].
And in the middle of one such study session, having left the room to give some orders to his subordinates, Leonardo returned to his room and called the name of his fiancée.
“………Francesca?”
“nnnuu……….”
Right beside the large windows of his bedroom lay a simple table on which they could write and keep their books.
Sitting on one the chairs aligned with said table, Francesca had fallen forward on the table in front of her and was currently sleeping.
(Looks like I ended up being away for a bit longer than I thought.)
The impromptu question paper that Leonardo had made for her to solve had been properly filled up already.
After finishing all the questions and waiting for Leonardo to return, at some point she seemed to have fallen asleep instead.
Walking towards her with silent steps, he looked down on the side of her face that lay peacefully on the table. Seeing her pure face so deep in sleep like that, he ended up laughing to himself.
“All the answers are correct. Well done.”
He lightly brushed through her hair with his fingers as the silky strands smoothly went through his finger. Even after touching her, Francesca still showed no signs of waking up.
(Seriously, you are a bit too defenceless in front of me.)
But he was also fully aware that said defencelessness came from a place of absolute trust that she had in him, and he simply couldn’t let go of that feeling either.
“Francesca, if you want to sleep, you should come here.”
Speaking in a small voice, he gently picked her up in a side carry. There was a sofa inside the room as well, but of course he unhesitatingly went straight to his bed.
He gently lay her down on there, and Francesca knit her beautiful eyebrows only slightly from all the movement.
“nnn……..”
“There, there, good girl.”
Saying that he sweetly patted her head, and she must have felt relieved as her expression changed to a smile again.
Leonardo loved her eyes, but right now they were closed and the eyelids covered them of course.
Her eyes were honest, like you could see through them, and clearly revealed all of her emotions so being unable to see them right now, made him a little impatient.
“Francesca.”
Making sure he didn’t actually ruin her sleep, he very quietly said her name.
Her long eyelashes, her cutely shaped nose, her fair cheeks, and her small lips. Every single thing about of her was just unbearable cute and adorable.
What kind of face would she make if he were to kiss her? Leonardo eyes tried to peer into her thoughts, when suddenly Francesca smiled happily in her sleep and sleep talked.
“…….Leonardo……”
“!”
For a moment he gasped, but then he began to laugh.
“I know, I know…………I am your [friend] after all.”
Francesca had given him a light that he had wanted for a very long time.
She had jumped into the raging fires and with those frail hands of hers, she had pulled him back.
She didn’t fear it, neither did she hesitate before doing that. And then with a completely straightforward gaze, she had asked him to [continue living alongside her].
“Francesca………I simply cannot stop thinking about you.”
He smiled as he whispered, and then took Francesca’s hand into his own.
Not her lips, but instead, he kissed the top of her palm, which was also a commonly used greeting between those who deeply care for each other.
“——–……”
And then he recalled once again, of the day he had made her cry.
Francesca had stayed by his side until he had finished getting treated by the doctors.
In fact he had to forcibly send her back, because her father too had lost a lot of blood and she surely must have been worried sick about him as well.
And after a while, Francesca’s watchdog as well as caretaker, showed up to meet him just once.
The watchdog named Graziano, silently glared at Leonardo and said this.
[Our boss was gravely injured and our young miss cried so much. I simply cannot close my eyes towards this incident no matter what.]
Like smouldering embers, his eyes clearly held a lot of anger.
[I’ll make you give this your all as well. If you can’t—–……]
[Hey, watchdog.]
Cutting his words, Leonardo calmly smiled and replied.
[——Do you really think that I, of all people, would let the person that hurt Francesca really live?]
[……..!!]
Recalling that little incident, he gently patted Francesca’s head.
“I need to quickly find them, and kill them for good.”
For a while from then, Leonardo continued to gaze at Francesca’s sleeping face until she woke up again.
***