Chapter 8 (Part 4)

When Leonardo returned to his original body, he frowned upon seeing Caleb waiting for him.  

The moment he saw Caleb’s face, a sense of foreboding washed over him.  

It was the same expression his long-dead hunting dog used to have when it had caused trouble and was awaiting punishment.  

Leonardo studied Caleb’s face for a moment before sighing and asking, almost as if exhaling the words.  

“So, what is it now?”  

At Leonardo’s question, Caleb calmly replied.  

“I advised Sir Lowell not to get involved with you, Commander.”  

“…”  

“I also told her that she would hinder your work, Commander.”  

“…”  

Hearing Caleb’s words, Leonardo raised a hand, signaling him to stop talking.  

But Caleb continued as if he hadn’t noticed.  

“I told her not to leave even the smallest possibility open.”  

At those final words, a murderous glint flickered in Leonardo’s eyes.  

But Caleb, having anticipated such a response, remained unfazed.  

Leonardo stared at Caleb, who stood there like someone awaiting punishment, and sighed.  

“If you waited just to say that, you can leave now.”  

“Commander.”  

“We’ll think about this after resolving the current situation.”  

At his words, Caleb hesitated for a moment before standing up.  

He had braced himself for a beating, given how palpable Leonardo’s anger had been the moment he started speaking.  

‘Why is he letting me off so easily?’  

Not that he wanted to be hit, of course.  

But it was strange for someone who seemed ready to explode to suddenly speak so calmly.  

Feeling uneasy, Caleb remained rooted to the spot, watching as Leonardo tidied up his experiment.  

Then, a sudden thought occurred to him, and he blurted out in shock.  

“Don’t tell me… Is this unrequited love?”  

“…Caleb Martin.”  

Leonardo warned, calling his name, but Caleb, too agitated, didn’t hear him.  

“No! What could the commander possibly lack? And does Sir Lowell have bad taste? How could she reject the empire’s most handsome man?”  

Ranting on about how unbelievable it was for the commander to have unrequited love and questioning whether Sir Lowell could ever find someone better than the commander, Caleb continued his tirade.  

Only when he noticed the murderous glint in Leonardo’s eyes did he realize his mistake.  

The intensity of the glare startled Caleb so much that he hiccupped.  

“Hic! Then, hic! I’ll, hic! Be leaving now!”  

With that, Caleb hurriedly fled the room as if running for his life.  

Left alone in the now-silent laboratory, Leonardo slumped into his chair with a deep sigh.  

As if he wasn’t already troubled enough, Caleb’s words had ignited a spark in his emotions.  

‘Unrequited love, huh.’  

To others, it seemed that he was in unrequited love with Grace Lowell.  

Unrequited love.  

It was a term he had never associated with himself before. But if someone were to ask him now what his feelings for Grace were, he would probably say,  

‘It’s unrequited love.’  

Grace didn’t care at all, while he was the only one agonizing over it. If this wasn’t unrequited love, then what was?  

Leonardo laughed bitterly at himself for deciding to delay naming his feelings until after the sorcery was broken and everything was clear.  

‘Still, for now…’  

Mages were known for being almost frustratingly thorough in verifying things.  

But even Leonardo knew he was being particularly foolish this time.  

He was aware of his obsession with Grace, and even Caleb had been so sure of his feelings.  

‘You idiot. Do you really hate Grace Lowell? Did you ever?’  

What nonsense.  

Leonardo mocked his past self harshly and rubbed his face with his hands.

He truly wanted to fall into a deep sleep without thinking about anything tonight. The emotional toll of the day had been overwhelming.  

Leonardo sighed as he took out the tea bag he had stored in a bottle and placed it in warm water.  

The face reflected in the tea water looked haggard.  

“What a sight, Leonardo Fernandez.”  

Muttering to himself, he picked up the cup and headed to the inner room.  

After closing the door and drinking every last drop of the tea, he lay down on the bed.  

Then, he closed his eyes. Somehow, he felt like he would be able to sleep soundly.  

***  

Grace, back in her original body, found traces that were undoubtedly Leonardo’s.  

She restored everything to its original state. She didn’t know why, but it felt like the right thing to do.  

The book Leonardo had been reading, the teacup his lips had touched while drinking tea, the pen he had used while writing—Grace organized each item, and before she realized it, tears began to fall.  

“Ha, damn it… Why am I feeling like this?”  

Grace wiped her eyes roughly with the back of her hand, picked up the notebook that had been lying on the desk, and trudged to the bed, collapsing onto it.  

When she opened the notebook, she found a simple note written in neat handwriting.  

[Sir Lowell. I hope to see you in the laboratory with this notebook.]  

It was clearly not Grace Lowell’s handwriting, and without realizing it, she let out a small laugh as she stared at the writing for a long time.  

‘What if someone else besides me had seen this? Why would he write something like this?’  

She had thought Leonardo was meticulous, but it seemed he had a surprisingly careless side.  

Grace hid the notebook under her pillow and closed her eyes. Caleb’s words from earlier kept resurfacing and lingering in her mind.  

[I’m warning you not to leave even the smallest possibility open.]  

The chilling, piercing violet eyes vividly came to mind.  

On one hand, Grace could understand the hostility Caleb held toward her. After all, even the gentle Liam shuddered at Caleb, so that said it all.  

But in Liam’s case, it was because Caleb had looked down on him first, which made Liam dislike him in return.  

‘But why do I keep mulling over such trivial words?’  

She could stop, but she couldn’t.  

Grace yawned deeply without realizing it and blinked her eyes slowly. Even though she hadn’t done anything particularly tiring today, she felt her eyes closing.  

Well, it didn’t matter. She had nothing else to do anyway.  

Unable to resist the drowsiness, Grace closed her eyes. For some reason, she felt like she might have a nightmare.  

And when she opened her eyes again,  

‘―Why is it this dream again?’  

The tea leaves made from Golden Day Primrose had been completely discarded in her presence.  

She had even ordered that any Golden Day Primrose planted nearby be uprooted and burned.  

At least in this area, she had made sure to eradicate them entirely.  

‘Then why do I keep dreaming about it?’  

The dream where she had rolled around with Leonardo that day was clearly caused by drinking tea brewed from the flowers, but this time, nothing had happened.  

Sitting crouched and idly crushing flowers, Grace pulled her knees together.  

Really, she shouldn’t be having these thoughts.  

‘After this dream, I always feel so empty.’  

The more intense the dream became with Leonardo, the more overwhelming the emptiness was when she woke up.  

She couldn’t figure out why she was dreaming, and once the dream started, all she could do was see it through to the end. This left Grace feeling increasingly drained.  

‘I hope nothing happens today.’  

She wished she could wake up from the dream without encountering Leonardo.  

But wishes were always bound to be broken.  

From afar, a human figure appeared, and soon a familiar back came into view.  

Anger surged within Grace, and she jumped to her feet, running toward him.  

“Le―o―nar―do―Sir!”  

Shouting his name loudly as if screaming, Grace grabbed his collar and headbutted him—or rather, kissed him.  

In that fleeting moment, she missed the joy that briefly flickered in Leonardo’s eyes before he could fully hide it.  

Shaking him by the collar, she shouted,  

“Your lieutenant told me not to get involved with you! Then why do you keep appearing in my dreams? It’s so damn annoying!”  

Her voice cracked, almost as if she were about to cry.  

With trembling hands, she continued to unbutton Leonardo’s shirt, adding,  

“I don’t want to be involved with you either! I want this resolved as quickly as possible, even a second sooner!”  

Having stripped Leonardo of his top, Grace began to remove her own clothes.  

As the marks he had made in a previous dream became visible on her chest, Leonardo found himself staring at them, almost entranced.  

Noticing his gaze, Grace, now wearing only a thin layer of undergarments, grabbed the waistband of his pants and said, 

“But, but, why, does it keep… feeling…”  

Caleb’s words kept echoing in her mind.  

Grace Lowell hated Leonardo Fernandez. She disliked him. She thought he was insufferable.  

But as time passed and the days spent with him increased, she felt those emotions fading and disappearing.  

“I shouldn’t feel like this.”  

Biting her lip, Grace pulled down Leonardo’s pants.  

The pants slid down, leaving only a thin piece of undergarment. Grace couldn’t bring herself to remove it and instead closed her eyes.  

“What am I supposed to do?”