But before reaching the main hallway, a familiar voice came from behind him.
"Leonis."
He stopped.
Rhea was standing a few meters away, wearing her neat academy uniform, her long red hair resting over her shoulders.
But unlike usual, she wasn’t frowning, or at least, her expression looked more like worry than anger.
Leonis looked at her for a few moments.
"Rhea."
The girl tightened her fingers around the edge of her clothes.
"Can we talk?"
"We have time." He glanced briefly at the clock.
Then he calmly pointed toward a quiet hallway beside the academy garden, showing her the way.
She followed him without saying anything, and a few minutes later, they were both standing in a hallway with tall windows overlooking the garden.
The soft midday sunlight fell across the stone floor, and the distant voices of students talking could be heard from the main area.
Rhea said nothing for a while, and Leonis had no intention of breaking the silence either.
Finally, the girl raised her head.
"Why do you always have to put yourself in danger?"
"I came here to take the exam, so it’s normal for there to be some danger."
"That’s not what I mean. You almost died just a few days ago. Now you’re throwing yourself among the Fallens again, and you don’t even seem to care!"
"I care. That’s why I think before making any move." Leonis spoke in a calm voice.
"You don’t understand..."
"Then help me understand."
Rhea fell silent for a moment, and her gaze moved from Leonis’s face to the window.
"Some things can’t be explained that easily."
"I know."
His calm answer made the girl look at him again.
He continued.
"Rhea, something has been bothering you for days. Every time I ask, you tell me it has nothing to do with me. Fine, I accept that. You don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to."
He paused for a few seconds.
"But you can’t ask me not to worry about you at the same time."
Rhea pressed her lips together. For a moment, it seemed like she was about to get angry again, but this time, she didn’t raise her voice.
"If you find out the truth..." Her fingers trembled slightly. "You might not look at me the same way again."
Leonis remained silent. By now, he was almost certain that this matter was related to the girl’s true identity.
But he still had no intention of revealing what he already knew.
She took a short breath.
"You don’t know who I really am, Leonis."
"Maybe."
The boy took a step closer.
"But what I decide to do after learning the truth is up to me."
Rhea raised her head, and her eyes remained fixed on his calm gaze for a moment.
"You don’t understand. If you find out... everything might change, and I don’t want you to distance yourself from me..."
He looked at her face for a few seconds before speaking calmly.
"There’s one thing I know."
The girl waited.
"You’re not just a childhood friend to me, Rhea."
For a moment, the girl’s breath caught in her throat, and a soft blush appeared on her cheeks.
"L-Leonis..."
This time, he didn’t joke, didn’t give her a playful smile, and didn’t try to break the heavy atmosphere with a sarcastic remark. He simply kept looking into her eyes.
"You’ve been by my side for years, even when I didn’t realize how much you meant to me."
She lowered her head slightly, but he continued.
"I don’t want our relationship to remain this unclear. If there’s something between us, I’d rather both of us know exactly what it is."
The girl said nothing for a few seconds, but her fingers, which had been tightly gripping the edge of her clothes until then, slowly relaxed.
Her gaze moved briefly across Leonis’s face, stopped on his lips for a moment, and then returned to his eyes.
Leonis noticed. He moved one step closer and gently placed his hand beside the girl’s cheek.
Rhea didn’t move away. Her breathing only became slightly uneven, and before she could say another word, he closed the remaining distance between them.
And kissed her.
Rhea went still for half a second and then her hand fisted in his collar and she kissed him back.
His tongue slipped into her mouth, the kiss turned deep and wet almost immediately.
Tongues tangled, breaths mixed and a soft sound escaped her throat.
He slid his fingers into her red hair and pulled her tighter against him.
Heat built fast between their bodies, uniforms doing nothing to hide it.
When they finally pulled apart, a thin thread of saliva still linked their lips.
Rhea’s mouth was swollen, cheeks flushed, breathing uneven, She still hadn’t let go of his collar.
The kiss continued for a full minute.Their lips pressed firmly against each other, as if neither of them wanted to let the other go.
When they finally pulled apart, Rhea’s face was completely red. For a moment, the girl couldn’t even look directly into his eyes.
"You..." Her voice trembled slightly. "You’re really an idiot."
Leonis gave a short smile.
"I thought you’d have gotten used to it after all these years."
She laughed despite herself, but her laughter soon faded. This time, her expression became more serious.
"Leonis..."
"Hmm?"
"Are you really serious this time?"
"Completely." He took her hand.
"I’m not looking for a relationship where I have to keep guessing how you feel. If we’re going to be together, I want both of us to know it."
Rhea looked at their joined hands for a few seconds, then slowly tightened her fingers around Leonis’s hand.
"I also..." She paused briefly. "I also want that... I’ve wanted it for a long time."
He remained silent, and She continued in a softer voice.
"I’ve been waiting for you to finally notice me for a long time."
That sentence showed the true depth of her feelings more than anything else.
Leonis held her hand a little tighter.
"I see you now."
Rhea raised her head. Her eyes shone for a moment, and this time, when she smiled, she made no attempt to hide it.
At that moment, a semi-transparent window appeared in front of Leonis.
[Rhea Valcrest’s Affection Toward the Host Has Increased]
[72 -> 82]
[Rhea Valcrest’s Hatred Toward the Host Has Decreased]
[2 -> 0]
[The Threshold of Eighty Has Been Crossed]
[The Target’s Third Destiny Has Been Revealed]
He saw the message, but unlike before, he didn’t check the new Destiny right away.
This was a valuable reward.
A very valuable one.
But right now, a girl was standing in front of him, a girl who had finally revealed her feelings after all these years.
And unlike the enemies he could use as tools, Rhea wasn’t just a source of a valuable Destiny to him.
He genuinely cared about this girl.
Leonis closed the panel.
Rhea was still holding his hand, but when she noticed his gaze, her face turned slightly red again.
"What?"
"Nothing."
"Then why are you looking at me like that?"
Leonis smiled.
"I was thinking that my girlfriend is very beautiful."
Rhea froze for a moment.
"G-Girlfriend?!"
"Didn’t we agree on that a few minutes ago?" Leonis raised an eyebrow.
The girl opened her mouth, then closed it again.
A few seconds later, she turned her face away and spoke in a very quiet voice.
"W-We did."
He laughed, and She lightly hit his arm with her free hand.
"Don’t get too happy! You still have plenty of problems that I need to fix!"
"I’m sure I do, but I think our training sessions will be more interesting from now on."
"Leonis!"
This time, they both laughed, but after a few moments, Leonis noticed that the worry hadn’t completely disappeared from the girl’s eyes.
Although their relationship had changed, the problem that had been bothering her over the past few days was still there.
"Rhea." He asked in a calmer voice this time.
The girl raised her head.
"What?"
"Can you tell me now what’s been bothering you these past few days?"
Rhea’s smile slowly faded. Her fingers were still wrapped around Leonis’s hand, and she remained silent for a few seconds... Then she lowered her gaze.
"Leonis, I..."
Her sentence remained unfinished, and she took a deep breath.
"Before I talk about that, there’s something you need to know."
Leonis said nothing and simply waited. Rhea tightened her fingers around his hand.
"It’s a secret, a secret I’ve hidden from you for years."
Her voice trembled slightly.
"Even my mother thinks I should never tell you anything about it."
She finally raised her head. This time, there was no sign of her usual frown, pride, or sharp tongue.
There was only genuine fear in her eyes, the fear that the boy who had just accepted her feelings would distance himself from her after hearing the truth.
"Leonis..."
She paused for a moment, then spoke softly with all the courage she could gather.
"I’m a demon."