— Ariel Anemoi Asura —
I rhythmically thrummed my fingers against my legs in thought.
I had heard of the name Leon Greyrat quite a bit during these past three years.
After all, when my dearest and cutest guard was so in love with him, it was obvious I would hear about the mysterious man.
Whether it was while she was doing my hair, when we slept together, or when simply telling me stories of her youth, it always came back to Leon Greyrat, Sylphy's only love and most important person.
Initially, I had thought her stories were fake, or at least heavily embellished.
After all, it was impossible for a kid so young to be as talented as the boy she gushed over.
Casting magic without an incantation? A Saint-rank magician at the age of seven? A Sword Saint at the age of nine? A Water Saint at the age of eleven?
Even one of those things would be shocking, but all four?
Hah. Ridiculous.
Even if that was somehow possible, there was no way that I wouldn't have heard of him, especially after actively looking for him.
But he was real.
That Leon Greyrat I simply thought of as Sylphy's fantasy, or perhaps an over-exaggeration of a childhood friend, was real, and just as talented as she had said.
No, considering he was a King-rank swordsman, and had the power to deal with a Red Dragon as easily as he just did moments before, he was even better than her stories.
Hmm… and as for not hearing of him… that must have been the work of the Boreas family, if I had to guess.
They must have wanted to keep him a secret, especially considering Eris was close to him, either as a hidden card to draw out enemies without worry, or as a husband for the fiery young maiden.
I wonder… if Leon was real… then was his brother, Rudeus, real as well?
Sylphy didn't talk about him with enough detail, but she told me enough to know he was talented as well.
I had heard rumours of a young, strong mage adventuring in the north who used spells without an incantation with ease, so perhaps that was him.
Actually, considering Leon knew his brother was in the northern territories, it must be him.
Haa… but still, I'm happy that Sylphy was able to reunite with her love, and even happier that her love was reciprocated, even if Leon wasn't one to commit to only one lover.
But still, at least he was serious about his affections.
He was a good man, and surely to be a good husband.
Sylphy, she smiled so often now and acted so bashful around Leon, and even her nightmares had all but disappeared, instead being replaced by… other dreams, at least judging by the sounds I had listened in on during the night.
And that smile of hers became even wider as she spent time with Leon, in a way that I had never seen before, sometimes even breaking the persona of 'Silent Fitz'.
But I didn't care.
While I was a bit jealous that it wasn't me making her smile like that, I was infinitely happier with her newfound joy than upset at the 'Silent Fitz' persona being ruined.
After all, now that I was out of the capital, that persona would lose much of its use, and with Sylphy's new love, I had the chance to bring the power of a King-ranked swordsman to my side.
But aside from being happy for Sylphy and appreciative of his power, there was also something else about that golden-haired swordsman.
I felt quite… weird, around the man known as Leon Greyrat.
Compared to his power, both in strength and will, he was much too easy to read.
Experienced fighters, and especially those of the Water God Style, were often in control of their emotions, and had too much of a disconnect for me to properly understand.
But with Leon, it was as if I was reading a children's book when I looked at him, especially when he was around his sisters and lovers.
His anger was apparent, as was just frustration.
And when he looked at his family, the joy, and warmth in his gaze were clear for me to see.
Like right now.
I turned my head to look out the window, watching as the five of them rolled down the hill, all with happy smiles, free from any deception or worry.
Just pure, unbridled happiness, and at such a simple act at that.
…Was it fake?
No, I don't think so.
While there were many stronger than me, and many smarter than me, when it came to reading people, that was a skill I stood at the pinnacle of.
No matter who it was, I could read people.
And if I knew enough about them, I could understand them too, no matter how different their values were to mine.
So… why?
Why does looking at the five of them… hurt so much?
Raising my hand to my heart with a frown, I continued watching the happy family before me.
Was it envy?
Perhaps… but at what?
At their joy? Their freedom? Their ability to be carefree?
Or was it something else?
It was… extremely vexing.
And the envy I felt, which I still didn't quite understand, made it all the more so.
I… had never felt the warmth of a family.
After all, for the royal palace, familial love held no place in anyone's hearts.
It was a place of competition and political plots.
A scheming den of snakes that you either escaped by surrendering, emerging as the winner, or dying.
In a place like that, there was no room for brotherly love, nor was there any room for romance that I adored from the stories.
Instead, such things were a weakness.
A chink in the armour that could be exploited.
So yes… perhaps I was a little envious of such a warm, loving atmosphere.
But I don't think I was the only one with envy in their hearts.
Looking over to Luke, my guardian knight, I watched as he stared at the window longingly, his eyes centred on a certain redheaded woman.
He had been acting differently lately.
Previously, he would spend his nights not assigned to guarding me to play around with some of my more well-endowed attendants, but as soon as our new members joined us, he put a stop to such actions.
I could understand, though.
I had only known Eris for a month, and she already had the power to make my heart skip a beat every so often.
After all, she was beautiful, as well as strong. And while she had a fierce personality, the way she mellowed out around her lover plucked at my heartstrings.
What was it that Leon called her?
'The perfect mix of cute and intense, with a beautiful body and the prettiest hair.'
Yes, indeed, that was the perfect way to put it.
And that thought was only reinforced when I saw her face light up at those words when they were spoken, yet still attempting to hide her happiness with a pout.
Such conflicting actions to her thoughts made her quite endearing to me especially, as I was able to read her so easily.
Plus, with those perky breasts that surely would surely feel amazing to fondle… ah, I was getting ahead of myself.
So yes… with all those factors, I could completely understand my knight's infatuation with Eris Greyrat.
Though, it was a bit unfortunate for him that his love would never come to fruition.
I did find it ironic, however.
To think that the man who seduced so many girls in the royal palace fell seriously for a girl who was already enraptured by another man, and not even mentioning how that other man seemed to have success with the ladies himself…
To be honest, I pitied Luke a bit.
But at the same time, it was also quite hilarious.
"It's useless, you know," I said, following my gaze to the group as their games came to an end. "She's completely captivated by him."
"…You don't know that," he said, clenching his fist.
Ah… to think Luke, who could somewhat match me in reading people, at least when it came to women and romance, would be so blind…
Perhaps he was lying to convince himself?
I then watched Leon dust off the snow that had piled onto his sisters' bodies before taking their hands and walking away into the forest, likely to practice magic.
An activity they did quite often during our breaks.
And with Sylphy following behind them, that left Eris alone, her face looking at the other four with a conflicted expression as they walked away.
"…If you'll excuse me, Princess," Luke said, standing up to exit the carriage.
Ah, so he was going to take his chance?
I suppose it would be a good way to put his current state to rest, but… I just hope everything worked out alright.
And those feelings of envy… perhaps I should write about these feelings in my journal?
Doing so always helped to clear my muddled thoughts, after all, and that paired with the Red Dragon… it had been an interesting day, to say the least.
— Eris Greyrat —
Watching Leon, Sylphy, and the two kids head into the forest, my lips fought between a smile and a frown as my conflicting thoughts battled against each other.
I was… happy, at spending family time together like we just did.
Extremely happy.
Playing in the snow… acting so childish… sharing laughs… it was really fun and made me feel so warm, just like I had always wished for a family to be.
And that feeling only increased after Sylphy joined us.
I knew she wasn't as… far along with Leon as I was, but I was still worried about her joining us.
While I had agreed to share Leon, and I was still fine with it if he kept his promise to love me, I was still worried.
What if he got bored with me?
I know he loved me now, but I was also his only experience with women, so if another came into his life… what if I actually wasn't what he wanted in a woman?
I knew that I was more… developed than Sylphy, but she was also… sweeter. And softer.
She wasn't strong like me, instead, she was much more feminine and petite.
Was that… what Leon wanted?
It was a terrifying thought.
But luckily, those worries seemed for naught, as even after Sylphy joined us, Leon and I's relationship didn't change in the slightest.
If anything, it even got better.
After all, I liked Sylphy too, so to have us all be together like when we were younger… it was nice.
And, of course, last night also confirmed that Leon was still pleased with me in the sexual sense as well.
Raising my hand to my stomach, I smirked pridefully, feeling a bit of the lingering sensations from the night before.
Very pleased indeed…
Shaking my head, I let those thoughts leave my mind before I got too excited.
I could do those things later tonight, especially with how charming Leon looked taking down that dragon.
Anyway, so in terms of our family and Leon and I's relationship, I was happy.
Very happy.
But then… there was the conflicting thought.
What was I going to do after reaching Sharia?
Leon would be leaving for Begaritt, that was certain, and I didn't want him to go alone.
But… I also wanted to get stronger, to be able to fight by his side as a true partner, without him needing to hold himself back.
"What a lovely day it is, my lady."
Hearing a voice, I turned to look at who had come up to me, only to be met with the face of that guy.
What was his name again? I… can't remember.
Err… I just didn't have to use it, right?
"…I guess," I shrugged before turning away.
My thoughts were a mess, so I think it's time to do some sword practice.
That always set my mind straight.
"But it is particularly lovely… after seeing you," the man continued, stepping in front of me with a confident smile.
He got in my way…
"Your face is quite beautiful, you know?" he said, stepping closer. "It would be a shame to not see it up close."
Okay, now I was getting really annoyed.
Not annoyed in the nice ways that Leon made me feel, the type of annoyance that made me want to push him down and make love to him.
No… this annoyance made me want to kick this guy in the balls.
Narrowing my eyes, I ignored him as I walked to the side, deciding to find a secluded space to train.
But, as soon as I stepped past him, I felt something brush through my hair before stopping at its ends.
"And such lovely hair as well… it is as if the flames of my adoration have taken physical form."
I felt a shiver of disgust run down my spine as I stood straight, unmoving.
Did he…?
How… how dare he?
"Perhaps… I can show you even more of my admiration later tonight? I am sure that I could relieve any… dissatisfaction you may be feeling at the moment, considering how-"
"Don't touch me!"
I yelled, turning around to smack his hand away from my hair.
I was already pissed at him annoying me and touching my hair, but those words… that was going too far.
Disgusting.
I was angry now.
Very angry.
"I'm Leon's! And I'm only his!" I snarled. "Both my mind and body!"
He stepped back, looking at his now-red hand with surprise before he turned to face me, his eyebrows curling down in confusion.
"Even though that guy has Sylphy and another too? Are you not-"
"I already know that!" I interrupted him. "Leon gives me all the love I need, all the love I will ever need, and I give him all of mine! And only he can touch my hair!"
Unsheathing my sword, I grabbed my hair and pulled it taut before cutting it at my shoulder, letting the red strands fall to the snow-covered ground.
I had been wanting to cut my hair for a while.
After all, not only was it better for fighting, but Leon also liked it when I showed him new styles.
Like in Roa, when I had my hair done in a twin braid, and how excited he was that night.
I wonder… how would this new look excite him?
I was excited to see the results.
Anyway, those were two reasons I had been toying with the idea, but the most important reason… was it was tainted now.
Only Leon was allowed to touch it, and only he was allowed to pull it.
For someone else to touch it like that… I still felt gross, even now that the hair was gone.
"W-What? Why- Oof-!"
With the asshole stuttering in surprise, I took out my frustration, burying my fist in his stomach and sending him tumbling across the ground.
"And don't touch me again!" I shouted.
Turning away, I then ran into the forest, quickly finding Leon as he supervised the other three as they practised their magic.
"Eri? Wha- Mmph!"
Covering his lips in a kiss, I let our tongues dance around each other as I slowly felt my frustration and anger drain out of my body, quickly overtaken by pleasure as his hands wandered down my body.
Releasing his lips, he looked at me with that dazed smile that made me want to push him down even more before reason returned to his eyes.
"Eri? What happened? And what's with your hair!?" he asked, his voice a mix of concern and surprise.
"Just… stuff," I said, huffing in annoyance.
I didn't want to burden him with that guy, and I had already made my intentions clear, so right now, I just wanted to be comforted.
Raising my hand, I tried to twirl a strand of hair around my finger, quickly realizing the change in length as I instead crossed my arms.
"D-Do you… like it?" I asked, averting my eyes.
"I do," he said, taking my hand. "It really brings out your cute face. I like it- no, I love it."
"R-Really?" I said, looking back at him.
Noticing not a hint of deception on his smiling face, I felt my worry disappear.
"Yeah, I do, but your hair pendant looks silly now," he said, shaking his head. "Come here, I'll fix it."
He then pulled me down to his lap, turning me to face away as I felt a familiar hardness press against my rear.
I guess he really did like it, huh?
I felt a little proud of that.
Smirking in delight, I felt his hands run through my hair, making me nearly melt in the pleasurable sensations.
Yes, this… this was what it was supposed to feel like.
Like the best feeling in the world.
"You also cut it so messily… though it suits you," he said, finishing his words by kissing my ear.
I shivered at the feeling as I felt my core begin to heat up, so I decided to get back at him by pressing harder against his crotch in response, rolling my hips back and forth.
While I could feel the hardness twitch, he ignored my actions as he continued to do my hair, taking off the pendant I loved so dearly as he tied my hair in a ponytail.
Feeling his hands wade through my hair, scratching at my scalp and behind my ears as he did so, I felt myself relax into his hold with each increasingly soothing action.
I liked it.
I liked it a lot.
I could understand now, why Norn and Aisha always bugged Leon to do their hair even when I knew they could do it themselves.
Really… that womanizing idiot knew nothing about me, and nothing about Leon.
I know I'm loved.
And not only that, I'm loved dearly.
And this love… it was all the love I needed and all that I ever wanted.
So, no matter what anyone thought or said…
"I love you, Leon," I muttered as I rested against his chest.
"I know, I love you too," he said, wading his hands through my hair.
He had stopped doing my hair a while ago, deciding to only scratch and comb through it for my delight.
But he could do that as he pleased.
Because not only was it delightful to experience, but he could do that because I was his.
And I let him do so because he was mine.
And I wouldn't want it any other way.
Mm… but maybe I should learn how he does this so well?
After all, I would love for our children to feel such happiness, and I didn't want him to have to do all of their hair.
And it also made me quite sleepy…
"Leon, I'm going to take a nap on you," I said, curling up into his lap.
"That's fine," he said, cradling my body. "I'll ask Ariel if you can borrow a cart."
"Mmm."
Yeah… I didn't want this any other way.
And as for what I would do after reaching Sharia… I would decide that then.
Because the chance at losing this feeling, even if only for a year… that was not a decision to make lightly.