The World Is Mine For The Taking

Titania remained quiet for a little while after that, her eyes drifting downward as though she was carefully gathering her thoughts before saying anything else. After several silent moments had passed between us, she slowly lifted her head and looked at me with a gentle smile that somehow carried both warmth and sadness at the same time.

"...My father was right," she said softly, almost as though she were speaking more to herself than to me.

I blinked in confusion before tilting my head slightly.

"About what?" I asked, genuinely curious about what she meant.

"About you," she answered.

About me?

That honestly wasn’t the answer I had been expecting to hear.

"Do you remember when you fought against Prince Julius and Moriarty?" she asked. "You told everyone to hide so that none of us would become targets, didn’t you? My father noticed that. He noticed how you kept worrying about my safety throughout everything that was happening around us."

She paused for just a brief moment before continuing.

"After watching you, he came to a conclusion."

Her smile became a little brighter.

"He believed that... I had chosen the right man."

Hearing that caught me completely off guard.

I honestly never thought the late king would ever say something like that about me.

If anything, I had always assumed he enjoyed being sarcastic with me whenever we spoke to each other. Looking back on it now, I couldn’t help but wonder if I had completely misunderstood him the whole time.

"He told me that you possess all the qualities that a perfect king should have," she continued. "You know how to treat your subjects with kindness and respect. You always make your plans with the safety of your lands and your people in mind. And above all else, you genuinely love the people under your care."

She let out a quiet sigh before continuing.

"He believed those were the three qualities every ideal king should possess. As simple as those qualities sound, Father also said that none of the kings from this era, or even from the generations before it, had ever truly possessed all three of them at the same time."

She looked straight into my eyes.

"He even said the same thing when he spoke about Myrcella."

"If we’re talking about what makes a perfect king," I replied, "wouldn’t your father belong in that same category as well?"

Titania slowly shook her head.

"He wasn’t very good at planning ahead," she admitted honestly. "That’s one of the reasons the rebellion inside the kingdom was allowed to grow for so many years without being stopped sooner."

She didn’t sound like she was criticizing him.

If anything, she sounded like she was simply accepting both his strengths and his flaws.

"But you’re different, Leon."

She smiled again, and this time it felt even gentler than before.

"The moment danger appeared, you immediately started putting everything into motion."

She raised three fingers in front of her.

"You weren’t trying to protect just one country."

She looked at me with quiet admiration.

"You were trying to protect three countries all at once."

Her hand slowly lowered back to her lap.

"My father admired that about you." She laughed softly to herself. "He even told me that he wished he had possessed that same quality during his own reign."

I honestly felt like she was giving me far more credit than I deserved.

The person she was describing almost sounded like someone else entirely.

To be completely honest with myself, I didn’t feel anything close to being the perfect king she believed I was.

I had made mistakes.

I had failed people before.

There were lives I couldn’t save no matter how hard I tried.

Those failures weren’t things I could simply forget because someone praised me.

"And that’s not all," Titania continued. "You don’t only care about the people closest to you."

She slowly rested her head against my chest, wrapping her arms around me with surprising tenderness.

"You care about everyone around you."

Her voice became quieter.

"Even though you only spent a short amount of time with my father..."

Her embrace tightened ever so slightly.

"...you accepted him as one of your own people."

I couldn’t find anything to say after hearing those words.

Silence felt like the only honest answer I could give her.

"When he was dying," she whispered softly, "and there was nothing you could do to save him..."

She hesitated for just a moment.

"...you looked like you were about to cry."

Was I really?

Had my expression been that obvious?

I honestly hadn’t realized my feelings had shown themselves so clearly.

Maybe I had been trying to stay composed while completely failing at it.

"So..."

She lifted her head just enough to meet my eyes again.

"...thank you, Leon."

Her smile was small, but it carried more sincerity than any grand speech ever could.

"Thank you for mourning my father together with me."

She was right.

I really had mourned his death.

Perhaps my grief wasn’t nearly as deep as hers because he wasn’t my father.

Even so, watching him slowly grow weaker until his final breath was something that genuinely hurt.

Watching someone disappear right before your eyes was never something you simply got used to.

Pain didn’t really care whether you had known someone for years or only for a short while.

"We’re both grieving his death," she said quietly. "Since that’s how things are... shouldn’t we be comforting each other instead of carrying everything by ourselves?"

A gentle smile returned to her face.

"My father always used to tell me that whenever you’re sad, the people who love each other should stay close and comfort one another."

As she spoke, she gently cradled my head against her chest before slowly running her fingers through my hair.

Her touch was unbelievably gentle.

Almost unbelievably patient.

The steady rhythm of her heartbeat echoed softly against my ear, and somehow it managed to calm the storm inside my head.

It was strangely comforting.

Comforting enough that I could feel the tension leaving my body one piece at a time.

Honestly, if someone had told me I would fall asleep like this someday, I probably would’ve laughed at them.

"My father left a hollow feeling inside my heart," she whispered.

Her fingers continued moving through my hair without stopping.

"But somehow..."

She closed her eyes for a brief moment.

"...whenever I’m with you, it feels like that emptiness slowly begins to disappear."

She gently lifted my head away from her chest before looking directly into my eyes.

The sadness inside them was still there.

Even so, it wasn’t the only thing I saw anymore.

Hope had quietly found its way back.

"So..."

She softly cupped my face with both of her hands.

"...fill that emptiness, Leon."

Her voice trembled ever so slightly, though her smile remained.

"...and make me feel whole again."

I smiled back at her without saying anything.

Sometimes words only got in the way.

Instead, I leaned forward until our foreheads almost touched, and after sharing one last quiet look, our lips slowly met.

The kiss was gentle and unhurried, carrying far more comfort than passion as we silently shared the grief neither of us had been able to put into words.

Once the kiss finally ended, I carefully lowered her onto the bed while never once letting go of her hand.