Chapter 40: Take Responsibility, Leo
Night fell over the Royal Academy.
A cool evening breeze drifted through the open balcony window of Leo’s private suite.
Leo sat back in his high wooden chair behind his heavy desk.
A small glass of amber liquor rested near his right hand.
Between his fingers, a thin paper cigarette burned slowly, sending a delicate spiral of blue smoke toward the ceiling.
Leo took a short drag from the cigarette.
The warm smoke filled his chest before he exhalated it smoothly into the quiet room.
He felt the deep, steady hum of his Black Sun core pulsing beneath his ribs.
Beside it, the sweet, warm charm of his Half-Incubus bloodline settled comfortably into his veins.
Everything was quiet.
Then, three soft, polite knocks sounded against his heavy wooden door.
*Knock. Knock. Knock.*
Leo did not move immediately.
He took another sip of his amber liquor, letting the cool liquid wash down his throat.
"It is unlocked," Leo called out lazily.
The heavy iron handle turned with a smooth click.
The door swung open, revealing the hallway lantern light outside.
Standing on the threshold was Hero Candidate Noel Pendelton.
Noel wore his pristine white hero tunic, trimmed with silver embroidery.
His golden hair caught the hall light, and his face carried a bright, friendly smile that looked completely noble and pure.
"Good evening, Leo," Noel said softly, stepping inside and closing the door behind him.
Leo leaned back against his chair, his dark eyes watching the Hero with a calm, unhurried expression.
"A late visit from the Empire’s savior," Leo said, his voice flat. "Did you lose your way to the Hero Party pavilion?"
Noel chuckled warmly, walking across the room with relaxed, confident strides.
"Not at all," Noel said, pulling out the wooden chair across from Leo’s desk and sitting down. "I came here specifically to speak with you."
Noel looked at the glass of liquor and the paper cigarette in Leo’s hand.
His smile widened slightly, a strange, secret excitement flickering deep in his eyes.
"You really live up to your reputation, Leo," Noel said, his voice full of pleasant warmth. "Uninhibited. Careless of rules. Drinking fine wine and smoking paper leaves late at night while the rest of the cadets pray in the chapel."
Leo took another drag of his cigarette, exhaling a quiet cloud of smoke across the wooden desk.
"If you came here to preach Church rules, you are wasting your breath," Leo replied smoothly. "Say what you want and leave."
Noel leaned forward, resting his forearms on the edge of the desk.
His face turned bright and earnest, looking like a devoted comrade sharing a noble secret.
"Saintess Candidate Seraphina Croix," Noel began softly, his blue eyes locking onto Leo’s face. "She is the most beautiful maiden in the Empire, right?"
Leo raised an eyebrow, holding his cigarette between his index and middle fingers.
He did not answer, simply watching the Hero speak.
"Her faith is pure," Noel continued, his voice carrying a radiant, dramatic tone. "Her heart is clean. She has guarded her body for the Holy Church since she was a young girl."
Noel paused, his smile taking on a deeper, strangely eager curve.
"That day," Noel whispered, leaning closer across the desk. "I have never once forgotten what a man like you can do. Rumors of how you took Duke Snowveil’s daughter reached even the Western Marches."
Noel tapped his chest with a firm, noble gesture.
"So you take responsibility, Leo!" Noel declared, his voice full of heroic grandeur. "The hero who saves the world depends on your hands!"
Leo froze for a single second.
He looked at Noel’s bright, radiant face.
He looked at Noel’s sparkling blue eyes, filled with secret, perverse excitement.
Leo set his paper cigarette down in the small stone tray on his desk.
He picked up his glass of amber liquor, took a slow sip, and set it down next to the tray.
"Let me get this straight," Leo said, his voice completely flat and deadpan. "You want me to take your Saintess?"
"Starting tomorrow morning," Noel said eagerly, nodding his head with complete conviction. "I have already arranged joint Cathedral Warding duty at the Restricted Relic Vault. Seraphina will be there alone every morning. You will be her assigned partner."
Noel leaned back in his chair, spreading his hands wide with a grand, generous smile.
"I am handing her to you, Leo," Noel said, his heart beating fast with secret, masochistic thrill inside his chest. "Take her. Break her sacred resistance. Show her the raw intensity that a pure hero like me can never give her!"
In Noel’s mind, this was the ultimate winning strategy.
He believed Leo Vance was just a hot-tempered, mindless brute.
Noel believed that by letting Leo claim Seraphina, Leo would do all the physical work of breaking her holy shield.
The emotional shock of Seraphina’s surrender would flood Noel’s broken core with massive divine stat surges.
And while Leo enjoyed the physical flesh, Noel would reap the holy power, growing strong enough to rule the Empire as the true savior!
Leo stared at Noel for three full seconds.
The room fell completely silent, save for the faint crackle of the burning cigarette on the desk tray.
Leo picked up his cigarette, took one long drag, and exhaled the smoke straight toward Noel’s pristine white tunic.
"You hardcore masochistic pervert," Leo said calmly, his tone laced with dark amusement. "Get out of my room."
Noel did not take offense.
In fact, hearing Leo’s rough, arrogant insult only made Noel’s heart flutter with deeper satisfaction.
It proved to Noel that Leo was indeed the exact, uninhibited brute he needed.
Noel stood up from his chair, smoothing down the front of his white tunic with a graceful, noble motion.
"I will leave her in your capable hands, Leo," Noel said softly, giving a polite, elegant bow. "Do not disappoint me."
Noel turned and walked toward the door with a light, happy stride.
He opened the door, stepped out into the hallway, and closed it behind him with a quiet click.
Out in the dimly lit gallery, Noel leaned his back against the stone wall.
His hands trembled slightly with pure, secret thrill.
His stagnant holy core hummed with eager anticipation.
’Yes,’ Noel thought, a radiant, satisfied smile spreading across his face in the dark hall. ’He took the bait. Tomorrow, my Saintess will be his!’
Inside the room, Leo sat alone behind his desk.
He tapped the ash from his cigarette into the stone tray.
A quiet, dark laugh escaped his lips.
Leo did not know Noel’s secret status trait, nor did he care about the Hero’s strange psychological reasons.
All Leo knew was that the Imperial Hero Candidate had just voluntarily handed him the most devout, high-status maiden in the Church.
Leo leaned his head back against his leather chair, taking a slow sip of his amber liquor.
’A Saintess Candidate,’ Leo thought, a relaxed, dark grin spreading across his face in the quiet room. ’Tomorrow morning at the Relic Vault.’
Leo extinguished his cigarette in the tray and closed his eyes, looking forward to the morning sun.