The moment the door closed behind Adrian, a brief calm settled over the room.
Only moments passed before a light knock sounded on the door.
“Your Majesty…
may I come in?”
Leon raised his head toward the door, then answered calmly
“Come in.”
The door opened slowly, and Elena Kim entered with calm steps, wearing an elegant dress befitting her status, before stopping at an appropriate distance and bowing respectfully.
“Good morning, Your Majesty.”
Leon returned her greeting with a simple nod.
“Good morning, Elena.”
She straightened her stance, then advanced a few steps into the room, while her features remained calm, though the traces of the worry she had lived through the night before hadn’t completely vanished from her eyes.
Elena Kim advanced with calm steps until she stopped before the king’s desk, then clasped her hands before her and bowed respectfully.
“I know this isn’t the most appropriate time to bring up such a topic, especially after what happened yesterday…”
She raised her head slightly, and continued in a soft voice mixed with some hesitation:
“But I’d like to speak with Your Majesty about Arthur.”
The moment Arthur’s name left her lips, Leon’s features changed.
The calm smile that had graced his face moments before vanished, replaced by a rigid expression, his brows lowering slightly, while his gaze settled on her with clear coldness.
A short silence fell within the room.
Then he set the coffee cup down on the table calmly, and said in a voice devoid of any warmth:
“And what is it…
regarding him?”
Elena remained standing in her place, having realized from the change in his features that the conversation wouldn’t be easy, but she steadied herself, and took a calm breath before beginning what she had come for.
Elena lowered her head for a few seconds, then raised her eyes toward him and said in a voice mixing pleading with pain
“You must mend your relationship with him.”
Leon let out a long breath, then rose from his seat calmly.
He walked until he stood before the window, clasped his hands behind his back, and began looking at the morning light spread over the palace gardens.
He remained silent for moments, before saying without turning to her:
“We’ve discussed this matter many times, Elena…
and this isn’t the first time.”
Elena’s features grew more serious, and she stepped toward him.
“And that’s why I reopened it.”
She paused for a moment, then added in a firmer tone
“Because every time we talked about this subject…
nothing changed.”
Leon closed his eyes for a moment, then said in a calm but decisive voice
“So what makes this time different from the ones before?”
Silence fell for seconds, then he continued without turning his gaze from the window:
“Arthur…
I don’t want to grow close to him.”
Elena’s features trembled, and her eyes widened for a moment, as if those words had struck her heart.
She lowered her head slightly, then raised it again, her eyes filling with sorrow.
“Is it…
just because he wasn’t born on the night of the gathering of the three moons?”
Her voice trembled as she continued Get faster updates on g.com.
“Is it because he wasn’t born in the event of the three moons, as you say…
like the rest of his brothers…”
She clenched her fists tightly, then said with clear pain
“You must isolate him?”
She held back her tears with difficulty, and stared at Leon with eyes full of reproach.
“And leave him…
alone?”
Silence fell in the room for moments.
Leon remained standing before the window, his eyes fixed on the garden outside the palace, while his hands clasped tightly behind his back.
Then he turned his face slightly toward Elena, and said in a low voice weighted by the years
“It’s not as you think…
and I don’t see my sons as projects.”
Elena’s lips trembled, and her eyes filled with tears.
She stepped toward him, and asked in a voice mixing pain with pleading
“Then what’s the reason…?”
She paused for a moment trying to hold back her tears, but failed.
“What’s the reason you’ve abandoned him?”
A tear rolled down her cheek as she continued
“He loves you so much…
and tries with everything he has to gain your attention.”
She lowered her head slightly, then raised her eyes to him again.
“But you, in return…
barely look at him.”
A heavy silence fell within the room.
Silence closed over the room for seconds, and it seemed Leon was finally about to speak.
But Elena didn’t give him the chance.
She stepped forward again, and said in a voice trembling from intense pain:
“What is that little child’s fault?”
She fixed her eyes on him, then continued:
“A day may come…
when he resents you.”
The moment those words left her mouth…
Leon’s features changed completely.
His facial features hardened, his jaw clenched tightly, and anger showed in his eyes in a way Elena hadn’t seen in a long time.
But she continued speaking despite that.
“And you should be grateful…
that he hasn’t done that yet.”
She held back her tears with difficulty, and said in a tone filled with pleading:
“Mend your relationship with him…
She lowered her head for a moment, then raised her eyes to him.
“He just…
wants his father.”
Leon remained silent.
He didn’t utter a word, but his breathing grew heavier, and his fists tightened behind his back until his knuckles turned white.
And when Elena opened her mouth to continue speaking…
He suddenly turned to her.
And his voice thundered throughout the room.
“Enough!”
Elena trembled in her place.
But Leon didn’t stop.
“Stop talking about him!”
He stepped forward, then shouted with greater anger:
“Stop…
stop…
stop!”
His voice shook with intense emotion, before he screamed one last time
“I’m tired of this matter!”
Silence fell for a moment, but he cut through it with an angry voice mixed with exhaustion
“I’ve had enough of talking about that boy!”
Then he stared at her with blazing eyes, and said sharply
“And if you’re going to make every conversation between us end with this topic…
then stop bothering me!”
Elena couldn’t hold herself together any longer.
Her tears poured down heavily, and she broke into sobs as she lowered her head, her body trembling from the intensity of what she had been holding in her heart all those years.
The moment Leon saw her in that state…
the anger vanished from his eyes.
In its place came shock…
then regret.
His eyes widened slightly, as if his own scream had woken him from his outburst, and he began looking at her with fear and sorrow, unable to bear seeing her crying because of him.
He raised his hand toward her hesitantly.
“I…”
The words caught in his throat.
He remained silent for moments, before approaching her very slowly, as if each step were heavier than the last.
And when he stood before her…
he opened his arms, then embraced her gently.
Elena didn’t resist him.
Rather, she kept crying silently in his arms.
Leon closed his eyes, and lowered his head slightly, then said in a low voice mixing bitterness with regret
“I’m sorry…”
He tightened his embrace of her slightly, and continued in a gentler voice:
“I’m sorry…
my dear.”