CHAPTER 239: HIS CONFESSION TO HIS AUNT: PART-1

After the competition, Leo was awarded the first prize and received a wave of applause, yet his heart wasn’t there.

He forced a smile, the corners of his mouth trembling with an expression that looked real but felt empty inside. The cheers echoed around him, but he felt utterly lost and confused, to the point he wondered if what happened was just a dream or something real...

And currently, Leo and his group were sitting in a half-circle, eating on the grass under a darkening sky.

The evening’s light softened the world around them.

Azrael and Raphael glanced at each other... They saw Leo sitting cross-legged, blankly chewing his food, eyes unfocused, as if he was watching some memory on the far horizon.

His hand hovered halfway to his mouth, almost forgetting its purpose.

They wanted to ask... but not sure how to ask-

"Why do you look like someone fucked you up?"

Ophis asked, her tone so blunt it cut through the comfortable silence without a shred of hesitation. She bit into her food with a haughty, almost regal tilt of her head.

Ever since Azrael and Raphael had learned about Ophis, they’d understood she was older than she looked and even more... a weight in her gaze that made her seem older than all of them, though she never revealed her age.

Raphael, no matter how many times she tried, couldn’t bring herself to call Ophis an elder; something about the way Ophis acted made her feel like a child rather than an elder most of the time!

And Ophis, for her part, seemed amused to call Raphael "little girl"—though both of them knew the title didn’t quite fit.

So Raphael settled on calling her "big sister," even after discovering Ophis’s true nature, because she found comfort in the bond, no matter how strange the circumstances.

Unlike Azrael, who watched Ophis with a judging, suspicious gaze, Raphael accepted her completely and let her be whoever she wanted to be—no questions, no demands.

Maybe that’s why Ophis liked Raphael more than before; she’d found a kindred spirit who didn’t press her for answers, just welcomed her presence as it was.

Still, Azrael and Raphael both blinked in surprise when Ophis spoke up so directly, without hesitation. That’s the elder one for you... a creature who had seen enough of life to cut through all the bullshit.

Leo snapped out of his spiraling thoughts and looked at the group, trying to offer a reassuring, if awkward, smile."N-Nothing. Just lost in thought or something," he mumbled, shoving another bite into his mouth as if eating could push away the confusion.

’What did she mean... she lied?’ His mind kept circling the question.

Sakura’s words ran in endless loops, replaying in his head until the world seemed made of nothing but her voice and the ache it left behind.

None of it made sense.

Was it all just a misunderstanding, or had she truly hidden something from him?

Each answer only led to more questions.

She’d appeared out of nowhere, telling him he had every right to ignore her.

’Woman, you’re the one who kept ignoring my calls and messages... What the hell is going on here?’ He stabbed at his food.

Ophis stared intently at his face, "Why did you stop running in the middle of the race?"

Leo flinched.

Should he tell them the truth?

The memory of that moment... Sakura’s words.

No, this was between him and Sakura.

He still needed to unravel what she meant about lies and manipulation.

And why did she mention... Valra? There was something else going on, something between the three of them.

He felt lost!!

"I saw someone I know... that’s all,, He muttered in a lost tone. Ophis frowned but didn’t press him.

Azrael glanced up at the sky, its colours deepening into indigo as stars began to blink awake.

The final war was drawing closer...

She looked at Raphael, noticing the worry in her eyes as she watched Leo. And Leo, for his part, seemed even further away, wandering in his own maze of thoughts.

Azrael shook her head. This can’t go on. If they acted like this, they’d be doomed before the battle even began.

Someone needed to bring them back together!

"Ahem... Ophis, do you want to eat something else?" Azrael asked, standing up from the grass, brushing dirt from her palms as she tried to lighten the mood.

Ophis blinked, surprised by the question, and turned to look at Azrael.

"Why would I? I’m already stuffed enough," she replied, cramming another piece of cake into her mouth without a care in the world.

Azrael smiled,

"Come on, I’ll buy you something even sweeter"

"Really?" Ophis’s eyes widened, her curiosity piqued, but...

"Oi... are you trying to trick me again?" She frowned deeply, her gaze narrowing as if she could see through Azrael’s every scheme.

Azrael smiled gently, "Oh, come on... I’m not like that. I just wanted to treat you. After all, today might be the last day for us," she said as she glanced at Raphael, wearing a sly expression.

Raphael flinched as she caught Azrael’s gaze, her brows knitting together.

"I can’t believe you’re still keeping up with that negativity," she said, half scolding and half pleading, her voice trembling just a little, as if the darkness in Azrael’s words pressed on her heart.

Azrael only shrugged, brushing a loose strand of hair from her face, letting her eyes flicker between the two of them.

"That’s a practical thought, isn’t it? Leo?" She looked directly at Leo, winking as she pointed discreetly at Raphael.

Leo blinked, caught off guard by Azrael’s sly theatrics.

For a moment, he tried to keep up, but only managed a tired sigh.

This woman was really making him do things he never felt comfortable expressing, always stirring up situations he couldn’t escape.

With a casual but determined motion, Azrael reached for Ophis’s wrist and dragged her off towards the festival stalls that were closing... leaving only Raphael and Leo sitting on the grassy field.

The sudden quiet between them felt both awkward and strangely comforting as they glanced at each other and exchanged a small, uncertain smile.

Leo wasn’t sure how to handle feelings the way others did.

He was just a soft-hearted guy, swept up in emotions he couldn’t always name... struggling to understand what love was supposed to feel like, and why love could be so confusing.

But if what Azrael said was true... did that mean he really loved Raphael, too?

Memories drifted through him.... Raphael’s steady presence beside him, even if it was duty and all, she did everything for him, not even considering her own love life... Yet, he saw her smile, the way she looked at him when she thought he wasn’t watching, and the gentle warmth in her touch.

But now, as the future pressed in, everything felt tangled.

Like, he wanted to protect her—even if it cost him his life.

He wanted to shield her from pain, to give her everything he had.

There were moments when he caught himself watching the light dance in her hair or the uncertain curve of her lips, and a fierce longing would ache in his chest.

If that wasn’t love, then what was it?

Could a person really love more than one person at the same time?

Even though he’d only ever seen couples—never anything more—maybe he was the one who was different, or maybe he was just messed up, especially since he somehow ended up with two girlfriends.

That’s probably why he didn’t feel as much guilt, just a constant confusion.

His mind spun helplessly: Was he betraying them all by feeling this way?

Or was his heart just too big, too unruly, never satisfied with simple answers?

Sometimes he wished he could turn it off—stop trembling with need and guilt and longing, and just love one person, simply and clearly, the way stories promised love would be.

He wanted to protect Valra, Sakura, Raphael, Azrael, Ophis... and even Caelindra. He wanted to see each of them smile, to make them happy, and—if he was honest—to have their attention focused on him. ONLY ON HIM!!

But when he looked at Raphael now, alone in the hush after Azrael’s departure, he felt something raw, a pulse in his throat, an ache that travelled all the way down to his trembling hands.

Did that mean he loved them all?

Was he sexually attracted to them, or...

Was his heart just a tangled mess of longing and need?

Sometimes it felt as if he was floating in the space between lust and love, lost at sea, always searching for a shore that might never appear.

He let out a slow, heavy sigh, still as lost as ever.

Was he making the right choices, or was it all just lust, just going with the flow because he was too weak to resist?

His thoughts were so tangled, he barely noticed the world around him until—

"Leo."

Raphael’s voice, quiet and trembling, called him back to the present. Leo looked at her. She wore a confused expression that mirrored his own, her eyes shining with something vulnerable.

"I... I really don’t know my brother, do I?" she whispered, almost as if she feared the answer.

"...Pardon?" Leo replied, the word escaping before he could even think.

"Well, when you told me your parents might be mages, and you showed me the magic circle in the storage room... all of it was so new to me. I was literally shocked—confused. I’ve known my brother all my life and yet... this... this part of him—" her eyes shimmered, tears threatening to fall,

"Am I really that untrustworthy that he never told me any of this?"