“So. could you by chance point the direction to the school’s headmistress’s office?” Aaron asked, looking first at Leon then at the others in his party.

“It's back the way we came from,” Leon opened the door and peaked out, for the most part, everyone was out of the hallways, for the most part. “It’s not too far but it is also not labeled, we’ll show you the way real quick,” he said and once again they marched out into the hallways, this time however it was not jammed packed, there were a few stragglers that were like them and had chosen to wait out the crowd before attempting to escape. Leon led the group to the headmistress’s tower, one of the four corners of the inner castle and proceed to open the door and walk in.

The headmistress still had her head pressed against the table, and was mumbling something to herself when Leon stepped in, Aaron not far behind him. “Greetings,” he said out loud, a smile in the sound of his voice.

“What do you want this time?” she grumbled, not even picking up her head to look at his face, “Come to demand any more impossible tasks for me to do?”

“But of course.” He laughed, and her head shot up at that.

“Like hell, you will Leon, our deal was final an-” she stopped speaking when she found that it was not only Leon’s group but also a group of foreign students. Her cheeks turned slightly pink but she had almost instantly regained the dignified look she normally carried. “My apologies, I was unaware I had guests.” she shot Leon a glare, to which he laughed.

“I see so, me and mine are not guests then?” he asked.

“No, I would not call you a guest, more like an extortionist,” she mumbled under her breath, Aaron who was close enough to hear this cocked one eyebrow and looked at Leon with a question in his eyes. “Well then, what can I do for you today?” she asked, looking over at the foreign students, pointedly ignoring Leon.

“Welp, looks like my work is done.” Leon said, and he and his group walked out of the headmistress’s office, “Catch you all later, I must go prepare a room for a new maid.” he called out over his shoulder.

*Bang*

The headmistress’s fist came down on the desk with a sound like a gunshot, causing Aaron and his group to jump at the sudden sound. She closed her eyes and breathed in a deep breath, slowly she let it out and then turned her now pleasantly passive face towards Aaron she smiled a composed smile that only slightly waved at the corners of her mouth. “So, how can I help you again?”

***

Leon had seen this coming, in fact he had even been told it would be a thing by Krya not 20 minutes ago, but he had been under the impression that he would at least be allowed to take off his boots once he got home before they jumped him.

He had been wrong.

“Who is she?” Lira asked, her golden eyes seeming to smolder in her face, as though under that skin burning lava.

“A maid who walked in on me and fluffy while we were otherwise engaged,” he said, deciding to not play dumb. Lira closed her eyes, a single tear slipping out before she scrubbed it away angrily.

“And you- with her-” she said in a voice that could barely be heard, the sound of her heart breaking.

“No.” he growled, he grabbed her by the arms as she tried to pull away from him. “Do you trust me so little?” he asked, his hand moving to her chin, lifting it up to face his face, he brushed a thumb across the path of the tear, still visibly damp on her cheek. “Lira, look at me!” he growled, and she opened her eyes as commanded.

They were no longer glowing bright gold but rather were dull and distant.

“Do you really not trust me this much?” he asked softly, she moved to open her mouth, but he placed a thumb over her lips, stopping her words. “If this was a smaller issue I would have Fluffy tell you, and she would tell you that I never so much as touched her, but that is not the problem here.” he looked her in the eyes, his thumb slowly caressing her lips. “The problem is that the thought even appeared in your head and that it found purchase there.”

“Leo-” she started but he closed her mouth with his hand, cutting off her words.

“You do not trust that I will be faithful to you,” he said softly, “This is likely a failing of mine, so I will rectify it.” he leaned in. “Have I ever lied to you?” he asked, and she shook her head at that, mouth still held shut. “And do you think I would ever lie to you?” he asked, again she instantly shook her head. “Then let me tell you this, so there is no more misunderstandings.” he stood back, standing straight and towering over Lira, he looked down at her. “I will never touch a woman without your approval, I am a part of you, you are a part of me, I have no more wish to harm you, body or mind or soul than a hand has to wound the body it is attached to.”

“Leon, i-”

“Let me finish,” he growled. “The reason I want her was not sexual, while she is attractive I would never cheat on you, she is a powerful creature, one which I felt instinctively when I saw her, she would be an ally that would be beneficial to us, something we have precious few of.” he looked at her, “I will not touch her, not without your approval, and I will not push you to approve of it, but I ask that you allow her to stay here, as I said she would be invaluable.”

“She is easily as powerful as I am,” Fluffy added in, sober in the thick mood. “And Lira, you should know that Leon would never do anything to hurt you, he exists solely for you, and that is not referring to the fact that he is your familiar,” the slightly airheaded attitude was gone, she was sharp as a knife, she simply liked to hide it behind a facade.

“I am sorry.” Lira whispered softly, resting her head against Leon’s chest, this time silent tears drifting out of her eyes.

“No,” Leon said pulling her close he held her tight up against him. “I am sorry,” it was the first time he had said it since he had shown up in this world, in fact, it was the first time he remembered apologizing for anything. “I know your past, I know your upbringing, I know how hard it is for you to trust anyone, I will work harder to prove to you that you have no need to doubt me.”

“Leon-” she buried her face deeper into him, as his arms held her, and silently cried out years of pain and heartache as he held her. Leon looked over to Krya, who was now leaning up against a wall, her face no longer impassive as she watched the heartwarming scene in front of her. The mask was gone, replaced with a broad smile and a warm look in her icy blue eyes.

Leon sighed in contentment, it was good to have a family.