Chapter 195: The Race Of Assassins

After holding Leona for several long minutes, Luca finally looked down at her with a mixture of concern and growing suspicion.

“Are you alright now, Leona? Feeling better?”

His voice was gentle, but there was a slight furrow in his brow.

At first, she had definitely been crying—he’d felt the tears, heard the genuine distress.

But as the minutes ticked by, something had changed.

The sniffles became perfectly timed, occurring at precise ten-second intervals like clockwork.

And there was something about the way she kept rubbing her face against his chest, the way she kept inhaling deeply like she was trying to memorize his scent…it was a little suspicious.

But he didn’t want to accuse her of anything, not when she might actually still be upset. So he asked carefully, hoping for the best.

Leona’s eyes flew open.

She had been so lost in the warmth of his arms, the safety of his embrace, the intoxicating smell of him, that she had completely forgotten to maintain her act.

Her sniffles had become mechanical. Her sobs had faded entirely.

She was just…enjoying him.

Now he was looking at her with those knowing eyes, and panic flooded through her.

She pulled back immediately, dabbing at her completely dry eyes with her sleeve.

“I’m fine! Totally fine! See? No more tears!”

She pointed at her face triumphantly, as if the absence of crying was a great accomplishment rather than evidence that she had stopped crying long ago.

“Good.” Luca let out a relieved breath. “I was starting to feel like a real villain there for a moment.”

But Leona’s relief was short-lived. Because even as she stepped back, her body protested.

She wanted to dive back into his arms. Wanted to feel that warmth again, that safety, that sense that nothing could hurt her as long as he was there.

It was shameful, really—she was the Matriarch, a wife, a grown woman with centuries of life behind her, and here she was wanting to cling to him like a child.

But she pushed those feelings down. There were more important things to deal with.

Namely, her secret.

He knew. He knew everything. And if he told anyone—if the villagers discovered that their beloved forest spirit was actually their cold, distant matriarch—the consequences would be catastrophic.

She couldn’t let that happen. No matter what.

She straightened her shoulders, fixed a firm expression on her face, and opened her mouth to begin negotiating.

But before she could—Luca held up his hand.

“It’s alright, Leona. I already know what you’re going to ask.”

She blinked.

“You want me to keep your secret. Not tell anyone about the forest spirit, about everything you do.”

He smiled gently.

“Don’t worry. I wasn’t planning on telling anyone. This stays between us.”

Leona stared at him, utterly shocked.

She had been prepared to argue, to plead, to bargain. She had been ready to offer anything to keep her secret safe.

And he had just…agreed. Without being asked. Without demanding anything in return.

“How…How can you accept this so easily?”

The words tumbled out before she could stop them.

“Don’t you want to know why I do it? Why I hide? Why I sneak around instead of just helping openly like a normal person?”

Luca tilted his head, considering before saying,

“Not really.”

He then leaned in closer, and for some reason that made her heart skip and said,

“Besides, I’ve already figured most of it out.”

“Most of what?” Leona couldn’t breathe.

Had he figured out the truth? The real reason she couldn’t show emotion, couldn’t love her daughters openly, couldn’t be the mother she wanted to be?

Had he uncovered the chains that bound her?

Luca’s expression was warm, gentle, completely open as he said,

“The reason you do all this is because you’re genuinely kind, Leona. Deep down, in your heart, you’re a good person—a generous, benevolent person who wants to help others.”

Leona’s face went red. That was not what she had expected.

“You love your village. You feel responsible for everyone in it. But something happened—something that made it so you can’t show that love openly.”

“So you hide behind this cold mask, pretending to be someone you’re not.”

She stared at him, speechless.

“But of course…” He continued. “…being who you are, you couldn’t just stop helping. You couldn’t abandon your duties as Matriarch, couldn’t stop caring.”

“So you found another way.”

“You help in secret. You do everything in the shadows, letting the villagers believe it’s some forest spirit looking after them.”

He tilted his head, that smug detective look returning.

“And I’m willing to bet that the rumor about the guardian spirit of the forest? The one that’s been going around for years?”

“…You started that yourself.”

“…Made it easy for everyone to accept the help without questioning where it came from.”

Leona could only nod. There was no point denying it—he had seen right through her.

“How?” She finally managed. “How do you know all this? I never told anyone. Not a single person.”

Luca’s chest puffed out slightly.

“For someone of my caliber figuring something like this out is nothing.”

He waved a hand dismissively.

“I just observed you. Watched what you did today. Correlated it with everything I’ve heard about the ’forest spirit’ since I arrived. Put two and two together.”

He smirked as haughtily added,

“And of course, you have to be smart to do that. Not everyone can be a genius detective like me.”

Leona rolled her eyes so hard it was a miracle they didn’t get stuck.

But beneath the annoyance, she was impressed. And touched. And maybe a little bit in awe.

Then Luca’s expression changed. The teasing faded, replaced by something more serious.

“There is one thing I haven’t figured out, though.”

He looked at her with those impossibly perceptive eyes.

“Why? Why do you have to hide like this? What’s forcing you into this situation where you can’t even show love to your own daughter?”

His voice was gentle, probing.

“I saw you today, Leona. I saw the way you looked at Lulu. The way you watched Luna shoot her arrows.”

“The way you wanted so badly to run to them, to hold them, to tell them how proud you were.”

“So…”

He looked at her vulnerable gaze and asked,

“What’s stopping you? What’s so terrible that it’s kept you hidden in the shadows for all these years?”

Leona’s mouth closed and her eyes dropped to the ground.

The words were there, right there, burning on her tongue. She wanted to tell him. She wanted to scream it to the sky.

But every time she tried to speak, the fear rose up and choked her.

If she told him, something bad would happen. It always happened.

She couldn’t risk it. She couldn’t risk him.

So she stayed silent.

Luca watched her struggle, watched the war play out across her face. And then, to her surprise, he smiled.

“It’s alright. You don’t have to say anything.”

She looked up, shocked.

“It’s obvious you’ve been forced into some kind of situation. Something you can’t control, something with consequences you’re afraid of.”

He reached out, his hand hovering near her cheek before dropping back to his side.

“So, tere’s no need to force yourself to explain. I’m not going to demand answers you’re not ready to give.”

Leona’s eyes stung—real tears this time, not the fake ones from before.

He was so…understanding.

Any other person would have pushed. Would have demanded answers. Would have been frustrated by her silence.

But Luca just…accepted it. Accepted her.

It was like he could see right through her. See the struggle. See the fear. See the part of her that was screaming to be free.

And instead of demanding she open up, he simply waited. Gave her space. Let her be.

For the first time in years, Leona felt like she could breathe.

She didn’t have to hide from him. She didn’t have to pretend. She could just…be. And that was more comforting than she knew how to express.

Luca’s enthusiasm then suddenly returned, his eyes brightening with genuine curiosity.

“Alright, you don’t have to explain the big stuff. But you absolutely have to answer one question for me.”

Leona glanced at him warily. “What question?”

“How exactly do you move around so silently?”

He gestured excitedly, his hands moving through the air.

“I was watching you all day, and I couldn’t hear a single footstep. Not one. I thought I was watching an assassin for a moment—someone on a mission to silently end everyone in the village.”

Hearing this, Leona felt a warm glow spread through her chest.

This was the Hero everyone admired—the man who could make entire armies tremble—and he was genuinely impressed by her. By her.

A sense of pride she hadn’t felt in years swelled up inside her.

“Oh, it’s nothing, really. No need to make such a fuss about it.”

She waved her hand dismissively, but when she saw his eager expression hadn’t faded, she relented.

“If you must know…many years ago, I traveled to the vampire clan with my mother for official business. I stayed with them for a while, and while I was there, I picked up a few of their techniques.”

She lifted her chin slightly, unable to keep the smugness from her voice.

“After some practice, I became rather proficient at moving silently. I learned it on a whim back then, but now? It’s quite useful for moving around the village unnoticed.”

Luca nodded slowly, then tilted his head with genuine curiosity.

“So the vampire clan is known for sneaking around? Are they like…bandits or thieves?”

Leona’s face twisted into an expression of pure offense.

“EXCUSE ME?!”

She drew herself up to her full height, which wasn’t much, but the glare she leveled at him could have melted steel.

“The vampire clan is one of the most noble races on the entire continent! They’re on the exact same level as elves when it comes to dignity, honor, and heritage!”

She took a step closer, her voice dropping to a serious, almost reverent tone.

“And don’t you dare call them bandits. Or thieves. Or burglars. Or anything of the sort.”

Luca held up his hands, genuinely curious now.

“Why not? What’s wrong with those words?”

Leona’s eyes narrowed, and she leaned in close.

“Because they’re assassins, Luca.”

She said with emphasize to highlight how dangerous they were.

“Cold-blooded assassins who would take your life the moment they heard any insult against their honor.”

Luca blinked. “Oh.”

Leona nodded solemnly, then continued walking, her voice taking on the cadence of someone telling an old, treasured story.

“You see, long ago—centuries before either of us were born—the continent wasn’t peaceful like it is now.”

“Wars raged. Skirmishes broke out constantly. Every clan fought for territory, for resources, for survival. And every clan had their specialties.”

“The elves had their archery, of course. The dwarves had a hold over weapon production. The beastkin had their raw strength.”

She stopped, a note of genuine awe entering her voice as she said,

“But when a clan needed someone eliminated?”

“When a problem needed to disappear in the night?”

“When a battle needed to be won before it even started?”

She paused dramatically.

“They called the vampires.”

Luca leaned forward, caught up in her storytelling.

“The vampires have been assassins since the very origin of their clan. It’s not just something they do—it’s who they are.”

She said with reverence before quickly adding,

“Their nimbleness, their ability to move through shadows without a sound, their dark magic, their blood magic that lets them form weapons from their own blood…”

She shook her head slowly.

“Combine all of that with their cold, calculating nature, and you have the perfect assassin. Their entire heritage, their entire culture, revolves around that single art.”

Luca listened with growing fascination.

The human continent knew so little about the demi-human races, so this was the first time he was hearing about all of this.

But then he couldn’t help but have a serious doubt in mind,

“So what about now?” He asked curiously.

“You said it’s been peaceful for hundreds of years. If so, what do the vampires do when there’s no one to assassinate?”

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