It seemed my guess had been correct.
Leona really was beginning to develop feelings for me.
Not love.
Not yet.
It was still something small.
A tiny seed of affection that had only just begun to take root.
But even that was enough to make me uneasy.
Encouraging those feelings wouldn't be good for her.
Not now.
To a child, their parents were almost like gods.
They were the people who gave them their first understanding of the world.
The people who protected them.
The people who taught them what was right and wrong.
And for Leona, that god had given her something else.
A sword.
Then a duty.
She was still at the age where she was figuring out who she was and what kind of person she wanted to become.
That kind of influence was still absolute in her eyes.
And because of that...
I probably wasn't someone she should be placing her feelings in.
Especially when the path she had chosen was already so heavy.
I looked at her quietly.
"Sure."
Leona's eyes widened slightly.
