Two days had passed since the funeral, but the weight of the loss still seemed to linger in every corner of the mansion. The garden that his parents and Elara used to care for remained as beautiful as ever, but to Leon, that place lacked life. Sitting on one of the wooden benches, he silently watched the flowers, lost in his thoughts.
[You're already thinking as if you had lived in this house throughout your entire adolescence.]
"...I control all of Leon's emotions now, but the fusion, even though it will only be completed at the end of the True Dungeon, has really already taken effect."
[So... now you see them the way Leon saw them.]
"Yes..."
Enrico clenched his fists tightly. He had imagined that merging with Leon's body would take at least a few days before he started feeling those emotions, but it could also mean that one of the souls was already losing the struggle for control of that body.
He continued staring at the ground until he heard light footsteps approaching. Rebecca was carrying two cups of tea. Without saying a word, she sat down beside him and held one of them out. Leon accepted it with a small nod.
"Thank you."
The two of them remained silent for a few moments, simply enjoying the taste of the tea and the tranquility of that moment. It was incredible how calm Leon now felt whenever Rebecca was by his side.
"How are you?"
"I don't think I've managed to understand that they're really gone yet."
Leon let out a faint, humorless laugh while Rebecca lowered her eyes sadly. She didn't remember that day very well, but she had been asked to protect Isolde and Richard. However, she had failed.
"I... only met her that day. Even so... it was easy to see how much they loved you."
Those words made his fingers tighten slightly around the cup. Back when he was still in Enrico's body, he had also lost several companions, and the feeling was exactly the same. Leon's memories were now completely under his control, so he remembered everything as if it had happened yesterday. The way Isolde and Richard had treated him.
"She always smiled whenever she saw me. Even when I did something stupid... and he always patted my hair whenever he was happy."
"I can imagine."
"And I couldn't even protect them."
His voice faltered for a moment. It was the first time Leon had shown so much weakness and so little control over his own emotions. Rebecca turned slightly toward him. She observed his tired face for a few seconds before replying.
"You know... sometimes, even when we do everything we can, we still lose people who are important to us. I also tried to protect my family as best I could when we lost our status as nobles... and I know how much that hurts."
"It's strange... I don't know if your magic is working incredibly well, but I feel calmer and calmer whenever you're by my side."
Rebecca looked back at him in surprise and smiled softly. Apparently, her plan to make him fall in love with her without relying on magic was gradually working. Leon took a deep breath, feeling the weight in his chest ease a little.
"Thank you for not leaving me alone."
"You don't have to thank me."
Rebecca slowly moved her hand across the wooden bench. Their fingers ended up touching almost by accident. Neither of them pulled away. For the first time since the funeral, Leon relaxed his shoulders while Rebecca remained silently by his side.
[Her ears are red.]
Leon had noticed the same thing. Rebecca kept her gaze fixed on the ground, unable to bring herself to look at him. Part of her hair covered her face, as though trying to hide her expression.
Naturally, Leon brushed aside the strand of hair hiding her face and noticed that she was blushing slightly as well. The moment their eyes met, Rebecca immediately looked away.
[I admit it... very cute.]
'I completely agree.'
At that moment, Enrico felt as though he had complete control over the body. A sudden desire to tease the woman in front of him arose in his heart. Slowly leaning closer, he gently pressed his lips against hers, surprising Rebecca with the unexpected gesture.
'He...'
After a few seconds, he returned to his previous position with a teasing smile, causing her face to become completely red.
"Why...?"
"Because your reaction was literally begging me to do that."
"N-No... it wasn't, idiot."
Rebecca hurriedly stood up, stammering slightly. She was completely embarrassed, and at the same time, there was a subtle gleam of happiness in her expression. However, so Leon wouldn't notice, she turned her face away with a proud expression and almost ran toward her own room.
'I think she's going to talk to the maids about this.'
[You're right... wait a minute, I have something to do.]
"What?"
The System completely disappeared before him. Leon was beginning to suspect that these disappearances didn't happen only to take care of important matters. Sometimes it really seemed like something urgent had come up, but on other occasions, like this one, he was almost certain she simply went somewhere else to watch what was happening.
'The Constellations can observe this world through my eyes... but there must be some way to watch it from another point of view.'
That hypothesis made sense, especially because this was a world the System seemed to enjoy watching very much. Besides, she also seemed to enjoy romance a little... as long as it didn't involve Enrico in his own body.
'Either that... or maybe she just pretends she doesn't enjoy watching the girls' reactions. After all... it's so fun and cute whenever I tease Serenya, the others... and Elian too. I miss him...'
"I wanted a kiss too... do you think you could give me one as well?"
Elara rested her chin on his shoulder with a calm expression, although a hint of jealousy was visible on her face. During those two days, she seemed to have handled the loss much better than he had.
"That depends... if my wife allows it and if you tell me everything."
"That's complicated, because I can't reveal everything. I have a contract that prevents me from speaking... but I won't give up on getting a kiss from you."
Elara moved away and sat beside him, looking down at the ground for a few moments. Then she pointed her index finger at herself. Next, she raised both hands and made a circular motion with the index finger of her left hand around her right hand.
'I went back in time.'