Chapter 180 Woes Of The Bright Daylight
There were no words left unsaid and feelings left unveiled.
Leon and Eli spent the warmest winter night confirming their feelings with each other.
From this point forward, they will be together, not only by their responsibility as Little Han\'s parents, but by the commitment they had with each other.
A family bound by love. A love strengthened by family.
Leon couldn\'t help but look up as if he was directly looking at the Great One above.
How full his heart is right now, even though Eli and Little Han didn\'t come into his life as how a typical family would be.
Eli and Him didn\'t start like normal lovers do. Even Little Han came into this world before he was able to walk Eli to the altar.
But still, they are here, warm and well in his arms. He loved them and they loved him back.
What more could he wish for?
\'The heavens had blessed me with people I didn\'t know would make my heart burst in gladness. With my two hands and all of my abilities, I will do my best to protect them.\' He solemnly swore in his heart.
The night ended so full of love and contentment.
Eli and Leon tucked Little Han in his sleep. After that, they proceeded in their own beds with their hearts pounding hard from all the things that happened.
It was only then that Eli realized another problem.
What now?
The two of them had already confirmed their feelings with each other. Technically, Leon was now her boyfriend.
Boyfriend!
Oh my goodness! I have a boyfriend!
Eli\'s mind couldn\'t help but buzz in embarrassment and nervousness.
It is her first time to enter into a relationship, but neither her knowledge in the modern world from reading shojo manga, watching anime and drama would do.
First of all, even though they were already together, they already had a child. How backward could this situation be?
Leon could also feel Eli\'s confusion as he could observe her body becoming stiff. He let out a chuckle and said in his heart, \'Now she\'s starting to overthink again…\'
Facing Eli\'s bed on the far side of the room, he let out a helpless smile and called out, "What are you thinking about?"
Startled by the sudden question from Leon, Eli let out a flustered reply, "I\'m thinking about what would happen now that we are considered lovers…"
Gasp!
Only after she fully said these words, she realized that she had completely blurted out what\'s on her mind!
"Don\'t think too much. We\'ll take it slow." Leon calmly said. However, only he knew how excited he was about their relationship.
If possible, he would immediately teleport with her to the temple and marry her on the spot!
He was even planning to let the Blades buy a larger bed so that it could fit the two of them comfortably!
However, things around them really couldn\'t be forced that way. Everything has to fall into place.
"What matters most for me is how you and Little Han feel. As for the rest, we could work on it slowly until it\'s time.." Leon continued. He was not only saying this for Eli but also to himself.
"Uhn.. Thank you Leon." Relieved by hearing words of assurance from Leon, Eli instantly calmed down.
He is right, they just have to take things slow. Forcing anything would be detrimental not only for the two of them, but to Little Han and the people around them.
"Now go and rest. Tomorrow is another day." Leon gently reminded her, doing his best not to stand and give her a peck on the cheek for a goodnight kiss.
Soon the cottage became a safe haven for the family to take their night\'s slumber. From this moment on, this cottage would be the witness of their love and warmth.
–
The morning felt brighter and livelier when Eli woke up. Everything was more colorful and warmer, even if it is winter time.
It was a weekend and Eli didn\'t have to scramble here and there for the institute.
However, everyone was already up when she woke up.
She could already hear the sound of the Blades doing their morning training, while she could already smell the tempting aroma of breakfast in the air.
When she walked out, Rosea and Kayden were busy in the kitchen, Baobao and Wisey were already doing their nanny duties for Little Han, while Leon and the Blades trained.
"Morning!" She greeted the two who were busy in the kitchen while she took her apron to join them in preparing the breakfast.
"Good morning madame!"
"Good morning Little Sister!" The two enthusiastically greeted her back.
Kayden couldn\'t help but also stare at her with a knowing glance as if telling \'I know what happened last night!\'
Deeply embarrassed, she just smiled even though she could feel her cheeks burning from the sudden scrutiny.
Fortunately, Kayden wasn\'t someone who would be nosy to dig into the matter. He could always wait for his friend and Little Sister to bring the topic up.
Eventually, after everyone\'s morning routine, everyone took breakfast and continued with their assignments for the day, while Leon, Eli and Kayden sat on the chair to discuss the things that they had discovered during the investigation.
"So she is actually big brother\'s admirer!" Eli exclaimed in shock.
She had always thought that the motive of the killer was due to jealousy, but never had she expected that it would be because of Kayden rather than Leon!
Remembering this, Kayden still couldn\'t help but stay silent, deeply remorseful of the harm he brought to Elise, Little Han and even now, with Eli. "I never would have thought that I would be subjected to this kind of attention. If only I knew… None of this would have happened…"
"Please do not say that Brother.." Eli immediately replied with concern, "This is not your fault. Besides, you were not even aware of her existence until the two of you worked for months and weeks investigating."
"I\'m sure Elise wouldn\'t blame you also." She declared with certainty.
Hearing the kind words, Kayden could feel that the knot in his heart was slightly loosened, he gave a gentle smile.
"What\'s more important is to think of a way on how to deal with this." Leon also chimed in. "The culprit is a Vesala, someone whom we couldn\'t deal with carelessly."
Eli and Kayden\'s faces turned grim.
"The second daughter of Duke Vesala… could this case confirm that the Vesalas had connection with the sinister practice of curses?" Eli asked with a deep frown on her face.
The two men shook their heads in disappointment.
It was Leon who answered, "The information we had is not enough to prove anything but her murder attempt. As to the drugging and use of a sinister weapon that could injure the soul, one could always say that they had bought it from the black market."
"The only thing that we could assume from this information was that the Vesalas had close ties to the Spectre if even their youngest generation could obtain these resources from the organization. But there was no conclusive evidence to press this matter in the court."
Eli clenched her fist hard and said, "So all we could do is to stay vigilant from their attacks while we gather enough evidence to condemn them.."
"Unfortunately yes.." Kayden also gritted his teeth in frustration.
The culprit has already been identified yet they couldn\'t do anything.
One, if they forced to press this matter legally, Eli\'s real identity and the mystery of her surviving even after being hurt by the sinister weapon, would greatly alarm the enemies out in the open and lurking in the dark.
Two, the culprit was too much of a personality in the Capital and the Empire. Touching her would also alarm the Empress.
They have not figured out the extent of the Empress\'s influence and abilities, so even though they were unwilling, they have to leverage this information and patiently wait for the right time to deal with everything at once.
One thing is for sure, Eli is now in grave danger!
"I think we still have some time to completely confuse the enemy." Eli said in deep contemplation. "I could still hide with my current identity, my mononym Eli."
As soon as Eli mentioned it, an epiphany struck the two men.
"Right! How could I forget! Thomas always made sure that Elise would be casted with a disguise spell even inside the hospital!" Kayden\'s eyes glimmered with hope as he continued.
"Even after Elise ran away, there were no signs of the spell breaking down except on the 5th month of her disappearance. If the timing was right, that was when she was already killed by the assailant."
"Then that means that Lady Vesala was not aware of my real face." Eli concluded.
Kayden nodded, however his expression turned grave the next second, "That means the key to keep you safe was to deal with that tracking knight who assaulted Elise."
The three looked at each other with understanding. Per Elise\'s memory, the tracking knight was able to lock her location through her scent.
It was Leon\'s cold and dangerous voice that was heard the next second, "Sure… we can\'t deal with the Vesalas but we can deal with that tracking knight immediately."
–
A week later, everyone in the streets of the capital were bustling with excitement despite the winter cold.
Many luxurious carriages from outside the capital were entering the premises one after the other.
The noble ladies and lads of various aristocratic families were now slowly coming to the capital to witness the most awaited grand winter banquet.
Many of the prominent families summoned their sons and daughters to come back to the capital to prepare.
Just like the Ducal house of the Vesala.
Stepping out of the imposing carriage bearing the Vesala Insignia, a young lady with bright amethyst eyes and delicate face stared at the assembly of servants welcoming her.
Her features could be considered alluring and captivating, unfortunately she was giving off a sickly countenance.
A tall, sturdy looking bulky knight followed her at a safe distance.
Seeing the lady alight, the servants greeted in unison, "Welcome back Young Miss!!"