Chapter 209: I Can’t Live Without You

Leona looked at Luca with barely contained anticipation, her eyes shimmering like a child waiting for a gift.

He stared at the ear-muffs on her ears, his expression thoughtful, his fingers drumming against his chin.

The seconds stretched. Her heart pounded.

Then, finally, a faint smile crossed his lips.

“Yeah.” He said softly. “I think I can do something about that.”

Leona’s face exploded into joy. She bounced on her heels, ready to throw her arms around him, but he held up a hand.

“First, give me those earmuffs. Let me get a proper feel for them before I come to a decision.”

She handed them over immediately, pressing them into his palm like they were precious offerings.

He turned the fabric over in his hands, rubbing it between his fingers, testing its weight, its texture, its give.

It was soft—softer than the clothes he was wearing, softer than anything he had encountered in this world.

And yet…

He looked up at her, doubtful gaze,

“This fabric is already incredibly soft, Leona. And you’re saying it’s still not good enough?”

Leona’s face fell into a sad nod.

“Unfortunately so, as elven ears are…overly sensitive. Even something this soft becomes irritating after a while.”

She hesitated, then added,

“Honestly, if I could contact the Arachnid race, I’m sure they could solve this. They’re masters of fabric and weaving. But I haven’t had a chance to reach out to them, especially with everything going on. And I heard they’re having problems of their own right now. I don’t want to bother them.”

Luca’s ears perked up.

“The Arachnid race? You mean…spider people? Half-spider, half-human?”

Leona gave him an informative nod, slipping into teacher mode.

“The Arachnid race are half-spiders and half-man or woman. The upper half is just like how humans would be, with an additional set of eyes, and the lower half is spider instead.”

“They specialize in making clothes since they’re able to produce this wonderful silk that they can manipulate and create gorgeous garments. They’re the ones who supply the clothes for the entire continent.”

She gestured to her own dress. “Even the clothes I’m wearing right now were made by them.”

Luca’s eyes widened with fresh curiosity.

“Then does that mean you elves don’t know how to make clothes yourselves and you have to get supplies from the arachnid race?”

Leona shook her head.

“No, we actually do have some skills—we taught ourselves and can make clothes as well. But the quality won’t be as good.”

“The Arachnids are absolute masters when it comes to weaving. The clothes they make are not only extremely beautiful, but they’re also extremely durable as well.”

She smoothed the fabric of her dress with obvious affection.

“I’ve worn this dress for around sixty years, and it still looks the same as ever. That’s why everyone prefers to go to the arachnid race.”

Luca’s expression grew more thoughtful, a lot of new questions forming behind his eyes about how this entire continent worked.

Leona, happy to keep explaining, continued.

“Even though most clans are somewhat self-sufficient, they can’t do everything, so they rely on other clans for certain things.”

“The Arachnid race produces clothes of wonderful quality. The vampires are known for their skills in assassination. The wood are known for making tools, and so on and so forth. Every single race has some sort of special use for which they sell and barter around for resources from the other side.”

Luca found himself fascinated. It was like a massive, continent-wide economic system built on specialization and barter. No currency, just goods and services traded between races.

“What about the elves?” He asked. “What do you export or trade?”

Leona’s expression brightened.

“We trade the fruits and vegetables that grow in our forest!”

She gestured enthusiastically toward the surrounding trees.

“The soil in the village is extremely enriched, and many plants and trees here are not found in the rest of the continent. So we have exotic fruits and vegetables that taste absolutely wonderful—you can’t get them anywhere else. We use them for trading purposes.”

Luca had to admit, the fruits and vegetables he’d tasted here were absolutely wonderful. He could totally understand why the elves had been living off them for so long.

But then a thought occurred to him.

“What about the dryads? Aren’t they basically plant beings themselves? Shouldn’t they be the ones who produce anything related to agriculture?”

Leona shook her head.

“Dryads are in charge of healing. They’re able to create potions that have incredible healing effects on the body. They’re considered the doctors of the entire continent—if you need any help regarding medicines or serious injuries, you have to go to them.”

Her expression soured as she added,

“That’s where Julius learned his skills, actually. He trained with them. That’s why everyone thinks of him as a Holy Healer.”

Leona, who had been so happy and cheerful just moments before, immediately looked sad at the mention of Julius.

Luca didn’t want to see her like this, so he decided to change the topic. He smiled and said,

“Anyway, I think I’ve got some idea of what sort of fabric I should use. But I’ll also need to have a feel of your ears and check them more closely.”

This surprised Leona. “My ears?”

He nodded. “I want to see how sensitive they truly are, what pressure you can handle, and how things feel to you before I make any decisions.”

Normally, any other elf would immediately reject such a thing—ears were incredibly private and sensitive.

But Leona didn’t hesitate whatsoever.

She immediately pushed her head forward and leaned toward him, showing off her ears like she was genuinely happy and eager for him to touch them.

And honestly, she was too enthusiastic.

Her ears were actually fluttering slightly like butterfly wings, which looked incredibly cute and adorable—especially with the way she was looking at him with twinkling eyes.

Luca decided not to tease her about it—he knew she would get embarrassed. Instead, he gently reached forward and grabbed onto one ear in a very tender manner.

Leona shivered all over and blushed profusely.

This was a rather intimate part to touch, but she didn’t mind at all since it was Luca.

She let him gently touch her ear as he felt the tip, the hollow inside—it almost felt as if he was touching a leaf, a very warm leaf.

“Do you feel this, Leona?” He asked softly. “Do you feel my touch here?”

“Barely.” She whispered. “I can barely feel it.”

He pressed a little harder. “Now?”

“Yes. Now I can feel it.”

“And here?” He traced the outer curve.

Her voice grew higher. “Y-Yes. I can feel it there too.”

He moved to the hollow behind her ear, the most sensitive spot. “What about here?”

Leona’s answer came out as a breathless whimper.

“Yes, Luca. I…I can feel it.”

Her voice was high, strained, like she was holding something back. He moved to the very tip of her ear, the point that extended past her hair, and pressed gently.

“Can you feel this?”

Leona couldn’t even answer properly anymore. The sensation was too much. She could only look at him with a pleading, limpid gaze and nod her head before saying in a very dim, shaky whisper.

“Don’t be so rough, Luca…be gentle…their sensitive…”

Luca was nearly knocked back by the mental attack of that image—her seductive words combined with the way she was looking at him right now.

It was basically asking him to be aggressive and toy around with her ears.

That was exactly what he wanted to do right now. But he held himself back, knowing that if he didn’t, he wouldn’t be able to let her go.

Leona herself couldn’t help but touch her own ears afterward, still embarrassed by how sensitive they had felt under his fingers.

Luca looked at the earmuffs one last time, then stood up with a decisive nod.

“I think I have the perfect fabric for this.” He said. “And hopefully it will work out.”

Leona’s excitement returned instantly. “I knew it, Luca! I knew that I could trust you!”

But her joy was short-lived.

A portal opened behind Luca—dark, swirling, humming with energy. He got up and stepped toward it, and seeing this Leona’s heart stopped.

“Wait.” Her voice came out small as she grabbed onto his wrist. “You’re…You’re leaving?”

Luca turned, confused. “Yeah. The materials are in my world. I have to go get them. I don’t keep specialty fabrics on hand, as much as I hoard other things.” He smiled reassuringly. “I’ll be back soon.”

Realising that she could say nothing in return, Leona forced herself to let go of his hand.

“Right. Of course. That makes sense.” She laughed, but it was hollow. “Go on. But come back quickly. I’ll be angry if you make me wait too long.”

Luca patted her head gently, then stepped through the portal and disappeared.

But the moment the portal closed behind him, Leona’s forced smile vanished completely. Her face became sullen, and a deep frown settled over her features.

When she was with him, she hadn’t even realized it was night or how dark it was outside.

Instead, she had simply focused on the beautiful view where the stars and multiple moons were shining, the beautiful sound of the crickets and the trees and the faint rustles of the wind.

The entire world had looked like a beautiful landscape.

But now that he had left, it felt so desolate and so cold, and especially so dark, like there was no light no matter where she looked.

She immediately became frightened. She scrunched herself up, grabbed onto both of her legs and knees, and huddled into herself.

At the same time she tried to tell herself she was overreacting—that Luca had simply gone and that he would come back quickly. There was no need to act like this. She was not a child who had lost her father; she was a grown woman, a matriarch, a ruler of an entire race. She couldn’t act like this.

So she tried to put on a brave front.

But as time passed and more and more minutes went by, Leona became more silent and more desperate.

She looked around anxiously, like she was waiting for Luca to arrive. Whenever any sound came, she would think that it was Luca and look toward the direction, only to find that it was nothing—or some bird or animal in the distance.

She would immediately look really disappointed and depressed once again.

She looked completely unlike the Leona who had been so bright before and was in an extremely miserable state.

And this was all because ever since Luca had entered her life, she had become a completely different person—or rather, she was allowed to be the person that she always was.

And more than that, Luca had provided her with this sense of safety and comfort that no one was able to give her.

For forty years she had been alone, upholding the safety of the village on her own without anyone’s help at all. While at the same time gaining the mockery and disrespect from her own villagers for siding with the males.

She was considered to be the enemy of the entire village, like she was betraying them, even though she loved them so much. And for forty years she had carried that burden all by herself.

And she did so because it was for the sake of her daughters, her sisters, and the villagers she loved.

And she didn’t mind it, and she braved through it all even though it was so hard.

But once Luca entered her life, everything changed.

He had taken that burden and shared it with her.

She no longer felt like she was the only one who needed to protect the village—because Luca was by her side.

She’d felt so much more carefree. She’d been able to truly be herself again—the woman she was before everything happened.

And she’d been so happy.

But the moment he left, she was brought back to reality.

Back to being alone without any support.

Back to carrying the burden of the entire village by herself.

And this made her despair.

Even though it was ridiculous, she felt deep down that Luca wouldn’t come back. That once he’d gone through the portal, he wouldn’t return for her.

That she’d be left all alone again.

The thought of Luca not being by her side was terrifying—so terrifying that Leona started shaking and shivering all over.

Before long she was silently whispering under her breath.

“Luca…Luca, come back. Come back quickly…I’m scared. I’m so scared, please…I-I need you. I need you by my side.”

“I-I don’t want to feel alone anymore, so come back.”

She looked so pityful and sad right now.

In that moment there was no sense of bravery or might or pride at all, and she looked like a girl who was lost without her parents and was on the verge of tears and was desperately waiting for her parents to pick her up.

She kept on whispering,

“Please, Luca, come back, come back. I need you. I need you by my side.”

“I…I can’t live without you. I need you. Without you, I don’t know what I’ll do, so please come back, I beg of you.”

She was scratching at her own skin and had tears in her eyes and looked like she was about to have a mental breakdown on the spot.

Whoosh!

Then suddenly she heard a noise coming from the side as a portal emerged. Luca had finally come back with a bunch of packages in hand, and he was about to say that he got exactly what she needed.

But before he could, suddenly he felt something slam into him—a very soft and warm being.

To his surprise, when he looked down, he saw Leona hugging him—or rather, embracing him so tightly that he could barely breathe right now, basically trying to meld herself into his body with the tightest hug right now.

He was about to joke about what she was doing and how she missed him that much—but then he realized how she was shaking and how he could feel his shirt become wet.

It was obvious that she was crying right now and he realized in that moment that this was much more serious.

So instead of saying anything, he just dropped the bags on the side and embraced her back, while stroking her hair gently and whispering.

“It’s all right, Leona. It’s all right. I’m back. There’s nothing to worry about. I’ve got you.”

Leona’s body trembled all over before she melted completely into his embrace.

Luca simply whispered sweet reassurances to her, holding her close, which gradually made her feel better and better.

It was in that moment that Luca truly realized just how lonely Leona had been—how desperately she’d needed connection for so long.

Even though he didn’t have the full picture of what she’d been through, he could deduce it from how she was acting right now.

He thought of how much this woman had been carrying for so many years—to the extent that she couldn’t even stand to be without him for a few minutes.

He felt a surge of protectiveness, a deep need to hold her and shield her from the rest of the world at all costs.

Meanwhile, Leona herself came to understand just how much she’d come to depend on Luca. Just a few minutes without him had made her feel like the world was going to swallow her whole.

She realized in that moment that she couldn’t live without him. He had such an important place in her heart that she would probably lose her mind if he disappeared.

Two people who had just realized something profound about one another simply held each other beneath the night sky, building a connection that no one could possibly break.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep