[Volume 2 | Chapter 71: Unveil (III)]

Leila sat surrounded by disassembled components with her dark hair pulled back in a messy bun, leaving tendrils framing her face. She wore protective goggles pushed up on her forehead and a lab coat several sizes too large—clearly a borrowed habit from her father. Her hands moved like a marionette as she manipulated what appeared to be Novascope's targeting module, a tiny screwdriver clutched between her teeth as she adjusted microscopic components.

She hadn't noticed him yet.

For a moment, Acacia simply watched her work.

This was Leila Trafalgar in her element—brilliant, focused, creating something extraordinary through sheer force of intellect and determination.

And he had hurt her.

A brilliant girl like this…

He had no right to stand before her.

He had no right to ask anything of her.

She was the sun, and he was just some guy who was going to ruin her if she got close.

Acacia was not worthy of her.

And yet, he had to try. Because she was Leila. Because she had given him a chance to be more than the sum of his mistakes.

He must have made some sound, because suddenly her head snapped up. Her emerald eyes widened, but she quickly narrowed them to slits.

"You."

That single word was enough to instantly refreeze the melting ice cream.

"...Me," he agreed lamely.

For a breathless moment, neither spoke.

"I... brought you something."

Her attention flickered to the plastic bag, then back to his face, disinterested.

"Unless it's a written explanation for why you're such an inconsiderate jerk, I'm not interested."

"Ice cream," he blurted out, lifting the bag slightly. "Dark chocolate sea salt caramel, from Galetti's."

He had done it. He'd said the words. It wasn't even that hard.

Leila raised an eyebrow, her expression shifting from disdain to surprise to something else entirely.

"Ice cream?"

"Yes, well... it was Noelle's idea. I thought... maybe we could eat it and talk? Or not. That's fine too."

"You think ice cream fixes everything? That's your grand solution?"

"Well, as a self-proclaimed cynic, no. I think nothing fixes everything. But... I'm hoping it might fix something."

The last words were barely audible, as if the very act of uttering them had drained him completely. His heart thudded painfully against his ribs. He had offered an olive branch, or rather, an ice-cream cone branch. He could do no more. The ball was in her court now.

The screwdriver in Leila's mouth slipped free and clattered to the workbench, breaking the silence.

"A start," she repeated, the words dangling between them like a challenge.

This was the moment. The precipice. Every instinct screamed at him to retreat, to shield himself behind analytical detachment and cold logic. But for once, Acacia silenced those voices.

"I'm sorry..."

It was a pathetic squeak. An utterly unmasculine sound that should've caused the universe to cringe in embarrassment. But it was all he had. Acacia Belmont, the boy of intellect and reason, was reduced to a pitiful, emotional mess.

Yet he couldn't stop speaking. For when in moments of darkness and unclarity, the only thing that could be used as an impetus to keep moving forward... was the heart.

"I'm sorry, Leila Trafalgar, for pushing you away, for being an inconsiderate jerk. For not meeting you halfway. For... being broken. You're my friend, and I've never really had any before since coming here... and you have been a wonderful friend, and I'm not sure I deserve you."

Leila watched impassively—or so she thought. But he could see the slight tremor in her hands, the way her breath caught before she wanted to speak, but urged him to continue.

"I... don't want to hurt you, Leila. I'm bad at... feelings and stuff, so I just avoid them, and I don't know... I'm sorry. I know I'm not good at this. Having friends... letting people get close. For a long time, it was safer that way. Easier."

He was out of words.

She studied him, her expression unreadable, and Acacia found himself holding his breath, awaiting judgment.

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"Easier for who?" She crossed her arms. "From where I'm standing, it looks like you're making things harder for everyone, including yourself."

He flinched involuntarily.

"...It's not like I was asking for your deepest darkest secrets. Just basic courtesy. Like, 'Hey Leila, I'm going to the library with Elias today.' Or 'Thanks for risking your life against murderous assassins, Leila.' You know... common decency. If I'd known you were allergic to that, I would've kept my distance from the start."

"I know..."

"Say 'I know' one more time. I dare you." Her eyes flashed madly, but there was something else behind it. Hurt.

He had done that. The realization cut deep.

"No. You're right. About everything."

Leila's eyebrow arched impossibly higher, like a bird in flight.

"The truth is... I'm... scared."

He wanted to vomit. Was it because it was the truest thing he had said in a long time?

"Scared of what?"

"Scared of... people. Relationships. Getting close to anyone. I'm scared of losing people. I'm scared of becoming dependent on others. I'm scared of hurting people, like I hurt you. I'm scared that if people get close to me, they'll die, or worse. That's why I'm like this. Because... in my experience, it always ends up like that."

"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard." A venomous utterance incongruent with her facial expression.

"Probably."

It was "probably" a stupid notion to hold for Acacia Belmont.

But for "Acacia," or for the boy who died in the flames of a village that was razed to the ground, that was a truth that had been carved into them with a white-hot blade.

However, they did not exist anymore.

The moment he took Pandora's hand to escape a predetermined fate of death and injustice, they had ceased to be.

He took the identity, a forgery filled with subterfuge and deception, of Acacia Belmont. A boy who lived a life of peace and comfort before having everything erased before his eyes by Annerose.

Unlike those boys from the past, Acacia Belmont still had a future.

A loving cousin.

A man who saw a son in him.

A woman who looked at him as a second child.

A boy who wanted someone he could talk to without any performances.

And the girl who sat before him.

Those people were not here for the person that he had left behind in the flames of Litore. Nay were they here for Acacia, the Irregular with no future who wandered the lawless Desperado with that man all to end up tried to death for a crime he never committed in another empire.

They were all here for Acacia Belmont.

Every breath he took was for that forgery.

That was his punishment.

His sin.

His existential wickedness that he must atone for.

The boy he left behind in that village had to be forgotten. The boy who lacked the courage to die with his master had to be forgotten. The boy who reached fate's dead end must be discarded.

He could not be those boys anymore.

He could only be Acacia Belmont.

He would fool the world into believing that.

He would fool even the angels and demons.

Even his own heart and soul.

"..."

"I'm not going anywhere." Leila's words jolted him out of his introspection. "You're stuck with me. So deal with it, jerk." Her voice was softer now, but no less determined.

She observed the bag, peering inside it. She removed her protective gloves and reached for the ice cream.

"It's probably half-melted by now."

"Noelle was supposed to keep it cold with [Aero], but she got distracted by your father's... everything."

"Noelle? Ah! Big Sis Dora's assistant! So she had her keep a watch on you while she was gone on her mission?" Leila inquired while extracting the container from the bag, examining the artisanal lead. "This is my favorite, you know. How did you guess?"

"I didn't. I had help."

"Figures." But there was no bite to the word. She placed the ice cream carefully on her workbench, then turned back to face him fully. "Apology accepted. But if you ever pull that 'I never asked you to care' crap again, I will personally reprogram every electronic device you own to play nothing but the national anthem on an endless loop. Are we clear, Acacia Belmont?"

"...Understood, Leila Trafalgar."

"And next time you're investigating something potentially dangerous, you tell me. No lone wolf heroics. We're a team, remember?"

"A team," he echoed, the concept still strange but no longer entirely foreign. "Right."

At that, the corner of her mouth twitched, and for the first time in their acquaintance, a genuine smile lit up her features. It was a disarming sight. In the gloom of the laboratory, it felt like a ray of sunlight breaking through storm clouds.

"You're a good friend, Acacia, when you're not being an absolute idiot."

"I'm working on the idiot part."

"Good. Because the 'good friend' part matters more."

She stepped forward and, before he could react, wrapped her arms around him in a quick, fierce hug.

"I'm sorry too. Comparing you to Alaric was out of line."

She pulled away, leaving him stunned and blinking.

"You're... forgiven."

It was all he could manage. Physical affection was as alien to him as flying to the moon, but somehow, coming from her, it felt... right.

"So," she said, businesslike once more, though her smile remained. "Now that we've established you're not a complete emotional disaster, want to tell me what's got you looking like someone who found a dead cockroach in their breakfast cereal?"

Why do I feel like you're speaking from experience...?

Acacia opened his mouth to explain, ready to share everything about Alaric and a non-incrimating explanation of the Modern Tome and the astronomical connection—

"RAAAAAAAT!"

Elias's panicked shout erupted from the far side of the laboratory, followed by a cacophony of crashes and the distinctive sound of expensive objects breaking.

"THERE'S A RAT THE SIZE OF A SMALL DOG OVER HERE!"

More crashes followed, punctuated by Elias's increasingly creative profanity as whatever creature he'd encountered apparently decided to fight rather than flee.

Leila pinched the bridge of her nose.

"We should probably—"

"Help him?" Acacia suggested.

"Or... document his humiliation for future blackmail purposes, knowing how much he mocks me for my perfectly rational fear of rodents?"

"That's... an option."

With a dramatic sigh, Leila moved towards the chaos, gesturing for Acacia to follow. He fell into step beside her, but he put the plastic bag on the side counter.

Well, he hoped Leila liked her ice cream melted.

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