CH 57

What did Leone look like now… She wondered if a fairy, no, an angel, would look like this if it existed.

“What do you like, Leo?”

“Answer, do it. thing-.”

Could he choose and say only words that sting her conscience like that? She dropped her gaze, unable to meet his pure and clear eyes. Leone’s feet came into her eyes. He was barefoot. Right. He couldn’t have come this far with broken shoes.

She squatted down and examined Leone’s feet. He had been barefoot for so long that his calluses were hard and the skin on his feet was thick. Thanks to that, the wound wasn’t deep, but it was still hurt here and there.

“Foot hurts.”

“Ah, shoes…”

Leone stepped back, slightly embarrassed.

“Huh? What’s the matter? Do your feet hurt a lot?”

She was worried. Now that he had been wearing a lot of shoes, it might feel a bit painful to step on the bare floor.

“You can’t. Leone, I’ll get the shoes right away- Hey. Sit on the bench over there.”

“Bring it?”

“Huh. You don’t have shoes. Aren’t your feet hurting?”

“…Ah. No.”

Leone knelt down in front of her and met her eyes. The eyes with soft curves were especially languid and enchanting.

“Shoes, me. Bring it, me.”

“No. Your feet hurt, how can you move?”

“It doesn’t hurt.”

“Lie. You dodged it by putting his feet back. Isn’t that because you don’t want to be seen sick?”

“No. Trixie, one. I want to look good.”

“…”

What did that have to do with shoes? A soft voice flowed like the melody of a song.

“So barefoot… It’s embarrassing… hey?”

“Huh.”

My dog that had become difficult to read, no… he was not a dog anymore. That was a fox…? A wolf…? Anyway, it couldn’t be cute like a puppy. She couldn’t read Leone’s intentions, and it’s a little embarrassing to make eye contact so she hesitated.

Then Leone reached out to her.

A hand large enough to cover her face touched her cheek. His long fingers lightly touched her skin and wrapped around her cheek.

“Eyes, show me.”

She swore, she never taught anything like this. Did Benjamin teach him? Why? Was he thinking of turning their child into a Casanova, that human?! He was not taking out his resentment for not being able to get married to Leone, wasn’t he?!

“Uh…”

“Shoes are okay. Trixie.”

“Huh.”

“There, don’t. Eyes.”

“Uh, that… okay.”

It seemed that he was saying to look at his eyes rather than his feet. So she awkwardly looked at Leone. He was now smiling and rolling his eyes. With no expression, he had a soft smile that made it hard to believe that he was a child who had only barely smiled.

“Huh. Good.”

‘God the Father, Buddha, Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, Goddess of the Mountain, Allah, and so on. As a guardian, help me not to harbor unqualified feelings…’

She had to pray to heaven not to be possessed by his eye smile.

“Oh my, it’s our Leone. Did you learn how to smile? So pretty!”

“Nice job, my puppy. Oh goo goo. Whoops.”

She casted a desperate wujju* to hide her agitation. She did her best to stroke Leone’s head, scratch his chin, and praise him. This was how she learned that it was good to bring in higher tension when hiding chaos.

“Huh. You can laugh, yes.”

After answering calmly, Leone rolled his eyes and smiled once more, then grabbed her wrist as she stroked his hair.

“Come on, let’s go-. Trixie.”

“Uh, yes…”

She thought it was the first time she heard Leone say ‘let’s go back’. They walked side by side with a distance of about two feet. The cool air, the sweet and fresh smell of grass, and the sky full of stars. It was very beautiful to walk through the night garden below.

* * *

Gently, the soft hair brushed against the fingertips.

‘It’s Deoksoon…’

Did he come to wake his mum up for oversleeping?

“Deoksoon, just hang on… more… I can’t go to work yet…”

She hugged the child tightly before Deoksoon woke her up. Sleeping like this would be truly heavenly.

‘Hmm. But did Deoksoon have such soft hair and a big body?’

Something very big… for a moment she realized.

“Omg.”

As soon as she opened her eyes, what she saw was the face of an incredibly beautiful man lying in front of her.

“Le, Leone?”

Leone was sound asleep. The room must have been used separately, right? Yesterday, she said good night to him, looked after the bed, and left after closing the door.

“First… It’s not like this…”

Leone’s naked body, which had thrown away his shirt, was near her. She moved carefully so as not to wake him. If she woke him up in this state and even made eye contact, she would feel really embarrassed about… something, and it was because she had a strange feeling that the guardian mode she turned on yesterday would be smashed. She mistook him for Deoksoon and carefully moved the arm that had embraced her.

‘Careful, careful…’

But as soon as his arm was moved away, Leone grabbed her hand.

“Huh…!”

Was he awake? She checked while swallowing his breath, but Leone was still asleep.

‘Thank God.’

She thought she had a heart drop. She had to wake up, wash up, and get some rest.

“…Leone?”

But why was that not working? Why was the grip so strong on a sleeping subject? It was only one hand, but it felt like she was imprisoned.

No, she thought the servants would come in for breakfast at this rate. She was not going to pull the curtains and tidy up the room. She didn’t know what time it was, but it’s the right time for sunlight to come in. But what about this state? An overaged man and woman greeting the morning in the same bed? And at the villa where she came as a guest?

It was crazy nonsense. And it’s perfect for weird misunderstandings.

“Oh, really…”

As she was struggling, Leone suddenly pulled her into his arms. The moment her body was pushed and rushed into his chest, someone knocked on the door.

“Miss Bella. I brought you breakfast. Would it be all right if I opened the door?”

“Yes?!”

In surprise, a sound came out reflexively. A real person came and left, and she struggled to push Leone away.

“Please, please, go away…!”

“Um…”

“Ahh!”

She was making a successful push, but Leone grabbed her again. Unbeknownst to her, a single scream came out. And, almost at the same time, the door burst open.

“What are you talking about, Miss Bella! Even if it’s an intruder- huh, huh!”

Even without checking, the faces of the servants who were surprised were drawn. Being hugged by Leone… She hurriedly shook her hand.

“Excuse me! This is not what it looks like!”

“Sin, sorry! Let us excuse ourselves!”

“No this!”

“I will come back later! no, that Call me when you are ready!”

“Wait, are you ready? What are you ready for!”

Without time to properly explain, the door was closed.

She got up from her bewilderment. Whether Leone woke up or not! That’s not important now. But when she tried to get up, she still couldn’t move from Leone’s arms. His wrists were also held tight like handcuffs.

“Leone. Now is not the time to sleep. Uh?!”

“…Mmm.”

“Wake up, Leone!”

Being in a hurry, she slapped Leone while holding his wrist.

“Ah.”

“Woke up?! Let me go.”

“…Trixie.”

Leone’s blank voice echoed above her. He was silent for a moment, as if trying to understand the situation.

She struggled on purpose.

“Did you sleep?”

“Yeah, I slept well!”

“Okay.”

“Calm down and solve this, Leone. Hurry!”

Leone moved his body as if he finally recognized the situation. She was finally released, but the moment she felt relieved, Leone hugged her tighter.

“Oh-“

He was relieved and relaxed, so she was more deeply submerged in his arms. Leone’s bare skin and hard muscles clung to her body. The heat that feels hot because it’s not warm. Beyond that naked sense, the sound of Leone’s heart was heard.

Thump, thump, thump…

‘…Is it fast?’

It was the fastest of all Leone’s heartbeats she had ever heard. Hopefully…

“Good morning.”

Leone took her out of his arms as if it were all over. And she hurriedly grabbed Leone’s cheek and examined his complexion.

“Leone, did you have a bad dream?”

“Uh…”

When she screamed in surprise, Leone looked at her with a blank face.

“Your heart beats so fast. Are you insecure?”

“Hmm.”

“Omg. So why don’t you come and sleep next to me!?”

They talked yesterday, but he still seemed uneasy. She promised, but he thought she might leave again, so he came to this room and slept next to her. This was all her fault as guardian. Leone’s trust deserves to be bottomed out.

“It’s because of me… It made me anxious, me.”

She had stabilized it quite a bit, but she thought it’s going to go back to square one. It’s because of her that the trauma happened.

“Sorry. Leone.”

“No. Trixie-.”

“Nice. You don’t have to say no. Isn’t this my fault? Whoa. I will do really well from now on.”

She held Leone’s hand tightly. She should be a master who showed with actions rather than words.

“…huh. Okay.”

Leone answered briefly with the same expressionless expression he always had.

“Leone, wake up. Let’s eat breakfast and take a walk. Oh, and while you’re here, you might want to practice going downtown.”

“Downtown?”

“Huh. It’s a place where there are a lot of people and a lot of things are sold. Leone probably hates it, but there’s a lot of fun there… I want to show you around.”

“Trixie, if you like. Me too.”

“Aww, nice!”

She tousled Leone’s hair and got up from the bed. Today, she decided to dedicate all her time to Leone. But before that, she needed to clear up the misunderstandings of the workers.