Chapter 38 – The Family
Seraphine hadn’t looked away from his face even once. Her arm still curled around his as if he might vanish the second she blinked. The warmth of her presence was oddly grounding—but also mildly suffocating.
Leon sighed.
’She’s not letting this go, huh.’
He could already see the question forming in her eyes again, that flicker of intense curiosity barely masked by her usual calm.
Sure enough—
"What class did you get?" she asked, soft but persistent.
It wasn’t a demand. Just a quiet need to know. As his master. As the person who had trained him, watched him grow, and perhaps most of all—believed in him long before anyone else did.
He paused.
A breath passed between them.
Then he gave her a small smile—just enough to disarm, just enough to redirect.
"I awakened an A-rank class."
There. Quick. Clean. Not too low. Not too high. Just believable enough.
Seraphine blinked—staring at him for a long mont.
"...A-rank?" she echoed, voice touched with disbelief.
Leon nodded once, keeping his expression neutral thinking to himself.
’I figured it’s better this way. Less attention. Fewer questions. It’s strong enough to stand out, but not enough to attract the wrong kind of people.’
’Or the right kind,’ he added silently. ’Depending on how you see it.’
She went quiet.
In their entire kingdom, there wasn’t a single person known to hold a class above B-rank. Even she, one of the most feared and respected figures in all the kingdom around them, had only ever reached that mark.
And yet here he was.
A boy she’d trained with her own hands.
Claiming an A-rank class like it was nothing.
Her heart skipped a beat.
But then she smiled.
Her arm tightened around his slightly, and her tone softened.
"You really are special, Leon."
She leaned her head gently against his shoulder.
Leon didn’t speak.
He just let the mont pass, quiet and unchallenged.
Because right now—A-rank was more than enough.
____
Seraphine shifted slightly beside him, her expression soft but thoughtful. She seed to hesitate for a second, then spoke.
"You know," she began, her tone light but aningful, "now that you’ve awakened your class... I suppose it’s fair if I tell you mine."
Leon glanced at her, curious.
She smiled faintly. "My class is B-rank."
He blinked. ’Wait... what?’
"I’ve never told anyone outside the military," she continued, gaze turning to the window, "but yes. Even among all the commanders, I’m one of the only B-rank class holders in the entire kingdom."
Leon’s expression didn’t shift—but inside, he felt a small thud of realization.
’So... A-rank is actually above everyone else here?’
He’d aid for subtle. Understated.
But apparently, he’d still overshot it.
’...Maybe I should’ve said B-rank. That would’ve been enough.’
He kept the thought to himself. Seraphine was watching him now, her eyes warm.
"And that’s why," she said gently, "you should be careful who you tell. From this mont on, just say you’re B-rank. Nothing more."
Leon stilled.
She didn’t have to do this.
Didn’t have to help him cover his tracks.
Didn’t have to hand him a perfect excuse wrapped in quiet trust.
But she had.
He turned his head slightly, looking at her through the curtain of his tied hair. She was still gazing forward, arms loosely wrapped around his.
’So even now... you’re protecting .’
He didn’t say thank you.
But the look in his eyes softened.
And deep inside, a quiet respect settled further into place.
Seraphine had always been strong.
But it was monts like these that made her irreplaceable.
----
Leon leaned back, eyes flicking toward the ceiling of the carriage.
’The Lesser System... I was supposed to be connected to it, right? Everyone else is.’
But then ca the Orb.
The mont he’d rged with it, that strange notification appeared—[Error: Connection Override]—and the Cosmic System had replaced everything. He didn’t even know how to _use_ it yet. What did it an to be connected to sothing the world itself didn’t seem to understand?
He sighed softly. Not now.
He know Seraphine would know how to use lesser system, the cosmic system might be similar so once he get ho he would ask her, he did have so idea’s too but he was too exhausted right now.
He could feel it—the bone-deep exhaustion creeping in. His body might’ve changed, but that didn’t make him immune to fatigue.
"I’m gonna sleep," he murmured, glancing at the empty cushioned seat across from Seraphine. "That one looks good enough. Wake when we reach the mansion. If you have more questions... I’ll answer them once we’re ho."
Seraphine stilled for a mont.
’Ho.’
Her chest tightened just a bit. That single word, said so casually, felt warr than anything she’d heard all day.
But instead of agreeing, she narrowed her eyes and held his arm tighter.
"No."
Leon blinked, confused.
"No?"
She smirked. "You’re not sleeping over there. That seat’s too cold."
"...What?"
She didn’t answer. Instead, she shifted her posture and gently tugged his arm.
"Rest here," she said. "Use my lap as a pillow. It’s softer."
There was teasing in her voice, playful and smug. She half-expected him to scoff or shoot back a snarky comnt. Maybe even get flustered.
Instead—
"...Okay."
Her breath caught.
Before she could even register it, Leon had moved—quiet, fluid, relaxed. His head rested gently on her lap. His arms tucked in. His eyes already closed.
"...Wha—"
Her expression froze.
She stared down at him, blinking.
Completely silent.
Then, after a mont—her features softened.
"...You really just said yes," she whispered.
A small, stunned laugh escaped her lips as her hand slowly rose. She brushed back a strand of silver-white hair from his forehead.
Those mystical eyes of his—crossed with light, blooming with color—were hidden now beneath his lashes. His breathing had already begun to steady.
He was asleep.
And her heart, once anxious and tornted, now only felt one thing.
Peace.
She smiled quietly to herself and gently began to stroke his head.
"...Welco ho, Leon."
_____
Along the way in the journey to their ho, Seraphine gazed down at him, her fingers still gently moving through his hair.
’Family...’
She had almost forgotten that word still ant anything.
Since the day she’d stepped into the army, she’d cast off everything else. Na. Lineage. Emotions. All of it—left behind on the blood-soaked roads she marched through. The only thing she’d held onto was purpose. To climb. To grow. To beco so strong that no one else would ever suffer the sa kind of loss she had.
That was all she lived for.
Until now.
Until him.
Every ti her hand moved through Leon’s soft, silver-white hair, every ti she felt the quiet weight of him resting against her—
A strange warmth blood in her chest.
Slow. Steady. Unfamiliar.
Like a frozen heart learning how to beat again.
She looked at his peaceful sleeping face and felt sothing settle deep inside her.
’This... this feels like family.’
She tightened her grip on him just slightly. Protective. Present.
And for the first ti in years, the cold commander didn’t feel alone.
She felt whole.
’I didn’t think soone like could feel this again.’
But the boy resting on her lap had changed everything.
And this ti—
She wasn’t going to lose it.
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