Chapter 194: I’m Not A Stalker!

Leona’s tired mind didn’t register the implications at first.

The voice was familiar, the tone easy, and she was so used to hiding, so used to being alone in her secret work, that the words slipped out before she could stop them.

“It is, actually.”

She let out a weary sigh, a tired smile crossing her face.

“By the time I get home, I’m starving, my back is killing me, my feet are screaming, and I can barely move without groaning like an old woman.”

She paused, her expression softening as she thought of the faces she had seen today.

“But it’s worth it.” She said quietly. “Every ache, every exhaustion, every moment of hiding.”

“When I see them smile, when I know they’re just a little bit happier, a little bit safer, a little bit more cared for…”

She pressed a hand to her chest.

“It’s worth it.”

But just as she said those heartfelt words—the reality of her situation crashed down around her.

She was supposed to be alone.

And yet someone was talking to her.

Her eyes went wide. Her blood ran cold. She spun around, her body already tensing for flight, her mind racing through escape routes and hiding places—

And there was Luca.

Standing casually, hands folded behind his back, a knowing smile playing at his lips.

Leona’s heart stopped.

“LUCA!”

She stumbled backward, her feet tangling, and she crashed down onto the ground. Her rear hit the dirt hard, sending a jolt of pain up her spine, but she barely noticed.

Her mind was racing too fast at the thought of how had he snuck up on her?

She had spent her whole life learning to be silent, to move unseen, to detect the slightest presence.

And he had just…appeared. Like smoke. Like a ghost.

But that wasn’t the worst part.

The worst part was what he had said.

’Spirit of the Forest.’

He had called her the spirit of the forest. He knew. Somehow, impossibly, he knew.

But she couldn’t allow that.

“S-Spirit of the forest?”

She forced a laugh, hoping it didn’t sound as hollow as it felt.

“What are you talking about? I have no idea what you’re saying.”

“Really?” Luca’s eyebrow rose, the one with the extra eye painted on it. “Because you seemed to answer my question quite naturally before.”

“Oh, that! That was nothing! I just misheard you.”

Leona waved her hand dismissively, desperately, her heart pounding.

“I wasn’t really thinking. I’ve had a long day, you know how it is. Words just come out sometimes. Complete nonsense. You shouldn’t read too much into it.”

She was babbling. She knew she was babbling.

But if she talked enough, if she filled the air with enough words, maybe he would get distracted.

Maybe he would forget. Maybe—

“You fixed the bridge today.”

Leona’s babble died in her throat.

“I saw you.” Luca continued, still in that same casual tone. “Took you about twenty minutes to replace all those rotten ropes. You tied those knots like you’ve done it a hundred times. Which, I’m guessing, you have.”

He crouched down, bringing himself to her level, and Leona found herself trapped by his gaze.

“You also brought water to twelve elders today. Carried six buckets at a time, all the way across the village.”

“Did you know your hands were shaking by the end? I could see them from where I was hiding.”

Her hands clenched in her lap.

“Not only that. You also tended a garden. Folded laundry. Made baskets. Delivered food to the medical hut.”

Each word was a hammer blow, each deed he listed making her face grow paler.

“Patching that roof. Sharpening those knives. Fixing that fishing net. And then, of course, there was the chicken.”

Her mouth opened. Closed. No words came out.

“You led Lulu through half the forest just to find her pet. Made chicken noises the whole time.”

His smile was impossibly fond.

“You were very good at it, by the way. Very convincing.”

She wanted to die. Right there. On the ground. Just sink into the earth and disappear.

“And then….” Luca leaned closer, his eyes locking onto hers. “…you watched Luna. You cheered for her. You prayed for her. You believed in her so hard that she hit the bullseye, and you were so happy you rolled on the ground.”

Leona made a sound somewhere between a whimper and a groan.

“So…”

Luca’s voice was quiet, but it filled her whole world.

“What about the spirit of the forest, Leona?”

“Because all of that sounds exactly like the kind of thing our mysterious forest guardian would do.”

It was the truth. They both knew it. There was no point in lying.

But Leona was not going to give in that easily.

She forced a laugh, casual and bright, though her hands were shaking.

“What are you talking about, Luca?”

She waved a hand airily.

“I just did some casual deeds, that’s all. I saw some villagers who needed help, so I helped them. Is there anything wrong with that?”

“There’s no need to brand me as some kind of forest spirit just because I decided to be neighborly for once.”

Luca stared at her.

His expression said: Are you serious right now? Are you really trying to hide this after I caught you red-handed?

Leona’s face was a mask of guilt. She knew how ridiculous she sounded. She knew her lies were paper-thin.

But she couldn’t admit it. She couldn’t let anyone know.

And seeing that she wasn’t willing to give in, Luca straightened up slowly, brushing off his knees.

“Fine.” He said simply. “Have it your way, Leona.”

He turned away from her, facing the path back toward the village.

“I’ll just go ask the villagers, then. I’ll tell them what I saw today. All of it.”

Leona’s heart leapt out of her bountiful chest.

“The water, the food, the gardens. And I’ll ask them—oh, I don’t know—’Have any of you been getting mysterious help from a forest spirit? Because I just spent the entire day watching Leona do everything for everyone, and I thought you might want to know.’”

He took another step. And immediately—

“WAIT!”

Leona lunged forward, grabbing onto his leg with both arms, her face a mask of pure panic.

“No! Luca, stop! Wait! Don’t go!”

Luca paused, looking down at her with exaggerated innocence.

“Wait for what, Leona? I have to go. People should know the truth.”

“No! Stop! I have something to say!”

She was practically hanging off his leg, her dignity in tatters, her secret moments from being exposed.

Luca finally stopped. He looked down at her with an grin and asked,

“What is it, Leona? Go ahead. Say what you have to say.”

Leona wanted to pinch him. She wanted to punch that smug smile right off his face.

But she was at his mercy, clinging to his leg like a desperate child, and there was nothing else to do.

So, se dropped her head, her voice small and mortified and she admitted

“I…I am the Spirit of the Forest.”

Luca nodded his and said, “Go on.”

She looked up, her cheeks burning.

“I am the guardian that everyone talks about.”

“The one who leaves gifts.”

“The one who fixes things.”

“The one…they think is some ancient forest spirit watching over them.”

She took a deep breath before gritting her teeth and reluctantly saying,

“There…Happy?!”

“Ecstatic.” Luca said, fully satisfied

“Good! Then…”

She suddenly grinned with barely hidden rage as she said,

“Let’s talk about you!”

His grin flickered. “Me?”

“Yes, YOU!”

Leona scrambled to her feet, her face still bright red, her composure completely shattered.

“Now that I’ve admitted my part, what about you, Luca?!”

She pointed at his face, at the ridiculous paint still covering his features, at the smug look he was wearing.

“How long have you been following me?! You saw everything! You noted it all down! You must have been trailing me since this morning!”

She crossed her arms, trying to summon some indignation.

“How could you do something like that?! You’re supposed to be a Hero! A righteous, noble Hero sent by the Goddess herself!”

“But here you are, sneaking around like some common bandit, chasing after a poor, innocent woman like me!”

She pointed at herself dramatically.

“Have you no shame?!”

But Luca didn’t give in to her accusation to her surprise and instead stepped forward, closing the distance between them until she could feel the warmth radiating from him as he slowly said,

“You know, you really are the last person who should be saying that, Leona.”

She took a step back, suddenly nervous.

“After all, you spent your entire day sneaking around your own villagers.”

He stepped closer.

“Your own people. Your very own family.”

She was against a tree now, nowhere to retreat.

He leaned in, close enough that she could see the flecks of gold in his eyes, the amusement dancing there, the warmth underneath.

“So you really have no right to be throwing accusations at me when…”

His voice was low, teasing.

“…the biggest stalker in the village is you. The village’s own Matriarch.”

“Or…should I call you the Matriarch of snooping around from now on.”

Luca obviously didn’t believe a word he was saying. He was just teasing her—plain and simple.

After yesterday, he had discovered that Leona was wonderfully easy to fluster, and her reactions were always entertaining.

The way her ears would redden, the way she would sputter and look away, the way she tried so hard to maintain her composure even as it crumbled around her—it was adorable.

So when he called her the biggest stalker in the village, he expected another one of those reactions.

A flustered denial. An indignant huff. Maybe even a playful shove.

But what he did not expect when he looked down at her was for her eyes to fill with tears.

They welled up suddenly, catching the fading light, turning her sharp gaze limpid and wet.

Her lips trembled. Her whole face crumpled.

Seeing this, Luca’s heart stopped.

“Leona—”

He started, but she was already whispering, her voice so small he almost didn’t hear it.

“I-I’m not a stalker…”

The words tumbled out, fragile and desperate, like she was trying to convince herself.

“I’m not a thief…I-I’m not a bandit. I’m a…I’m a good person.”

Her voice cracked.

“I’m a good elf. I-I was just trying to help. I was trying to help everyone.”

Luca stood frozen, utterly horrified. This was not the reaction he had expected. Not even close.

But it made sense as all her life, Leona had taken pride in her secret work.

The hidden kindnesses. The quiet help.

The years of watching over her village from the shadows, asking for nothing, expecting nothing.

It was the one way she could pour out her love without breaking the invisible chains that bound her.

And now, here was Luca—the Hero, the man she was starting to trust—calling her a stalker. A thief. A bandit.

All those years of secret goodness, reduced to being a pervert who sneaked around spying on people.

The tears spilled over.

“Don’t cry!” Luca’s hands shot up, his voice pitching higher in panic. “Leona, don’t cry! It was a joke! Just a stupid joke! I was teasing!”

He tried to smile, to laugh it off, but Leona’s tears only fell faster. She wasn’t looking at him anymore. She was staring at the ground, her shoulders shaking.

“H-He thinks I’m a stalker.” She whispered brokenly. “In my own village. He think I’m a stalker.”

“I’ve been helping them for years, and he thinks I’m a stalker…”

Luca had never seen anything like this.

This wasn’t the cold, distant woman who had glared at him on his first day.

This wasn’t even the secretly kind woman who had spent all day helping her village.

This was someone who had been carrying a weight she couldn’t name for years, and it had finally become too heavy.

And there was only one thing he could do in this sort of situation.

So, without hesitation he stepped forward—and pulled her into his arms.

“???”

She stiffened for a moment, shocked by the contact.

But his arms wrapped around her, solid and warm, and one hand came up to rub slow circles on her back.

He held her against his chest, and when he spoke, his voice was low and gentle, the teasing completely gone.

“Listen to me, Leona. Look at me.”

She looked up through her tears, and he gave her the warmest smile he could muster.

“I saw what you did today. All of it.”

He wiped a tear from her cheek with his thumb.

“I watched you carry water to the elders. Tend the gardens. Fix that bridge. Cook that food. Pick those flowers. Everything.”

He cupped her face gently, making her meet his eyes.

“So, there is no way that someone who does those things could ever be a stalker or a thief. You’re not those things. You’re kind. You’re generous. You’re the most selfless person in the village.”

Leona sniffled, her voice wobbling.

“But…But you called me a thief. A stalker. Those words…”

“I was being an idiot. A complete, absolute, total idiot. And I’m so sorry, Leona.”

He pulled her closer, wrapping her in warmth.

“I shouldn’t have joked like that. I thought you could handle it—you’re the matriarch, you face down everyone in this village, you never back down. I thought you could take a punch or two.”

He let out a shaky breath.

“I didn’t expect…this. I didn’t expect you to cry.”

Leona wiped at her eyes and looked up at him with a deep, trembling pout as she complained,

“No matter how high my position is. No matter how scared others are of me. I’m still a normal girl underneath, Luca.”

“I-I have feelings too, so you should be more mindful of that.”

Luca’s expression softened completely.

“You’re right. You’re absolutely right.”

He nodded slowly, pulling her head back against his chest.

“It’s all my fault. I’m sorry. I really am. I promise I won’t call you those things again. Ever. So please…don’t cry anymore.”

But even though he said that—the truth was she stopped crying and feel bad long ago.

The tears had dried up somewhere between his first apology and the warmth of his arms around her.

But she didn’t pull away. She couldn’t.

His chest was solid against her cheek, his arms strong and secure around her back, and his voice in her ear was so soothing, so gentle, that she felt like she was melting into him.

She had never been held like this before. Not in years.

Not since she was a girl, maybe, when her mother would wrap her arms around her after a nightmare.

She had forgotten how it felt to be this safe, this warm, this utterly protected.

So, she didn’t want to let it go until she absolutely had to.

That’s why she pressed her face into his chest, made another soft, tearful noise, and let him hold her a little longer.

And Luca, who genuinely believed he had made this strong, proud woman cry, continued to soothe her with all the tenderness he possessed—

—completely unaware that beneath her wet cheeks and trembling shoulders, Leona was savoring every second of being in his arms with a smile on her face.

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