6.3

“It’ll be great for replenishing energy.”  

Leon, seemingly unaware of her thoughts, pulled Ellen by the hand and seated her at the table.  

“There’s too much.”  

Ellen picked up a piece of fig tart from the table overflowing with desserts and commented.  

“Just eat as much as you can.”  

“Can I take the leftovers with me?”  

It was common practice among nobles to discard leftover food, but Ellen, who wasn’t a typical noble, found it wasteful. Instead, she thought it would be better to bring it home for Anna and Luca. The children, who were still growing, would surely appreciate the treat.  

Leon chuckled softly and sat across from her.  

“I’ll have the servants pack them up and send them with you when you return.”  

“….”  

Had I acted too pitifully?  

Though slightly embarrassed, Ellen decided it was better to act shamelessly. After all, Leon had already seen her doing things unbecoming of nobility, such as milking cows and cleaning horse manure.  

Perhaps because it had been a long time since she had tasted something sweet, Ellen devoured the food greedily while Leon silently watched her eat.  

She already knew he didn’t like sweets. During their dates in the past, he would always refrain from eating desserts, leaving her to eat alone.  

Back then, Leon would only drink tea, his gaze always fixed on nothingness. But now, his eyes were different—softer yet more intense.  

Ellen couldn’t fully comprehend it, but one thing seemed clear: Leon seemed to have developed feelings for her.  

Unlike their past dates, which left her feeling lonely and hollow, she didn’t feel those emotions now. However, oddly enough, despite the emotional strain, she had been happier during those earlier days.  

The times when she tried hard to appeal to him, reading his every move, had felt more joyful than the freedom she now had to act as she pleased. Human emotions were truly complex.  

“Aren’t you eating too little? There’s so much left—please have some more.”  

“I’m not particularly fond of sweets.”  

Feeling embarrassed about eating so much alone, Ellen tried to encourage Leon to eat, but he refused.  

“So, you prepared all these desserts and invited me just for me to eat them alone?”  

“Desserts were just an excuse. I simply wanted to spend more time talking with you. Especially after hearing some odd things from Mia.”  

At that moment, the golden light in his eyes, reflecting the sunlight streaming through the window, shimmered mysteriously.  

“What odd things?”  

Ellen set down her fork and tilted her head.  

“She claimed I rejected you three times. But I have no memory of that.”  

Leon spoke with a puzzled tone, his words trailing off as he tilted his head. Narrowing his eyes slightly, he continued.  

“The only time I recall saying we should part ways was the day we met at the temple. Wasn’t that the case?”  

“Yes, you only said it directly once. The rest you conveyed through your actions.”  

“Actions?”

Leon still looked confused, his expression showing he couldn’t understand.  

Ellen felt an indescribable intuition. Leon’s reaction was far too strange. 

Why? Could it be…?  

“You don’t even remember the day we first met, do you?”  

Ellen’s voice trembled.  

“I remember it.”  

“Really? I think your memory differs from mine. Two years ago, at the ball, you taught me to dance but failed to recognize me later.”  

“That wasn’t because I didn’t remember—it was because I didn’t recognize you.”  

Leon, looking embarrassed, cleared his throat before responding.  

“Didn’t recognize me?”  

“You looked so different the next day that I didn’t realize it was you. I believe I apologized to you later for that. At the time, unfamiliar women kept approaching me, so I intentionally behaved coldly. I apologize for being rude.”  

“….”  

Ellen began to understand Leon’s words. As the memories of that time resurfaced, her face grew redder.  

Her rustic attire, which had been mocked on the first day, had been completely transformed by Donna.  

Thus, when Ellen met Leon for the second time, she wore neither the shabby bonnet nor the faded green dress but presented herself as a more elegant lady.  

While Donna still found her appearance provincial, Leon had been unable to recognize her due to the drastic transformation.  

In other words, Ellen’s belief that Leon had rejected her two years ago was her own misunderstanding.  

Even though Donna had dressed her beautifully, Ellen had thought Leon didn’t remember her because she was too plain. But it was the opposite—he hadn’t recognized her because she had been dressed so extravagantly.  

‘I’m telling you, you’re beautiful. Not rustic at all.’  

Donna had said this to Ellen as she tearfully prepared to return to the Novary household, believing Leon had rejected her. At the time, Ellen thought Donna’s words were merely consolation, but now she realized they weren’t.  

Whether Leon had feelings for her or not, he hadn’t rejected her.  

“Was that answer satisfactory? Oh, you still seem to have some misunderstandings. What else do you think I’ve done wrong?”  

Leon smiled faintly, as though inviting her to ask more questions.  

“…Do you remember the words you said in your sleep the night we shared intimacy at the Guilford residence?”  

Ellen hesitated before speaking. If her belief that she had been rejected the first time was a misunderstanding, then perhaps the next rejection was also a mistake.  

“In my sleep?”  

Leon tilted his head slightly, evidently unable to recall what he had said at the time.  

“You said, ‘I didn’t mean for this to happen.’ Did you mean that you hadn’t intended to embrace me? Was it because you mistook it for a dream?”  

Ellen cautiously spoke, watching Leon’s reaction. His eyes widened in surprise.  

“Oh dear… I made a terrible mistake.”  

Leon ran a hand through his hair in frustration, his black locks briefly swept back before naturally falling to cover his forehead again.  

“My first intention wasn’t to share intimacy in the bathroom. If I’d realized it wasn’t a dream, I would have chosen a more comfortable place to hold you. I must have spoken out of regret in the moment, which caused the misunderstanding. I apologize for confusing you. I had no intention of rejecting you.”  

“….”  

Good heavens. Ellen was too shocked to speak. Her mind spun in confusion. She had believed Leon had rejected her multiple times, but now she realized she had misunderstood twice.  

She had jumped to conclusions too quickly, assuming his words were rejections because of her prior experiences.  

But it hadn’t been a rejection. Instead, Leon had been apologizing for not providing her with a better experience.  

Ellen’s mind felt blank. The truth she thought she knew and the truth Leon revealed were completely different.  

And because of this, Ellen had been deeply hurt. But now, to find out it was all a misunderstanding… Ellen felt disoriented.  

Then what about the wounds I carry? The scars that remain unhealed—why do they exist?  

“….”  

Now that the misunderstandings had been cleared, Ellen didn’t know how she should react.