Chapter 22 The Weeks that Followed

Molly stepped out of the infirmary. She felt amazing, refreshed, energized, and with only the vaguest, fuzziest memories of the night before. 

She rounded a corner and almost walked straight into Leon.

"KYA! Oh! Leon! Good morning, boyfriend! Come to check on your favorite demon?"

"Molly. You're... you're better. I was worried. Lilith said you'd recover, but..."

"Lilith said? Oh right, she was there! Did she... do something? I feel great but everything's kinda fuzzy."

 "She... handled it. I'm told. The important thing is you're alright."

Molly grinned and looped her arm through his, tugging him toward the courtyard. "Walk with me! I need fresh air and boyfriend attention!"

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They walked in comfortable silence for a while. Molly chattered happily about butterflies.

Leon listened, but something was weighing on him.

"She's happy. She's safe. But after my exam, I'll have to go fight her father again. I'll have to leave her. Go to that castle. Try to defeat the man who raised her. And for what? For tradition? For an economy that depends on us fighting?"

He sighed, a small, frustrated sound.

Molly caught it immediately. "What's wrong, boyfriend~? Sorry I'm so boring~"

Leon hesitated, then shook his head. "No, it's not that. Nothing. Just... thinking."

"About~?"

"I... I wish this fight with your father would just... end. Permanently." He ran a hand through his hair. "Not because I want to win. I don't even know if I can win anymore. But because..." He glanced at her. "If it was over, I'd have time. Time to study. Time to do what I want. Time to... be with you."

Molly's heart melted.

"He wants more time with me. He wants fighting to stop so he can be with me. I'm going to cry. Happy cry. But still cry."

She squeezed his arm, grinning.

"Aww, Leon~ That's so sweet! But you know, there IS a solution."

"A solution?"

"Mhm! Super simple, actually. Like, politically simple. If you think about it."

She struck a dramatic pose.

"If the Demon Lord's daughter married a human prince, they'd have to stop fighting! It's like, alliance or something. Marriage between kingdoms ends wars all the time in those romance novels I read!"

She giggled at her own joke.

"Too bad you're not a prince, right? Then we could just get married and solve EVERYTHING!"

Leon stopped walking.

Molly tugged at his arm, confused. "Leon? You, okay? You just... froze. Hey, you're not thinking about giving me to some prince. Are you? Like, 'oh here's a demon girl, someone marry her, so I don't have to fight anymore'?! Because I gotta tell you, that would be a VERY bad boyfriend move."

Leon blinked, coming back to himself. "What? No, I—"

Molly laughed, waving her hand. "Kidding! Relax, I'm just joking around. No need to get all serious. It's not like it would work anyway."

Leon opened his mouth, but she kept going.

"I mean, I'm not marrying anyone but you." She poked his chest. "You're stuck with me, hero. My heart only got room for one beautiful himbo.

Honestly, I think Lilith's the only one who could pull it off, but she's way too busy helping Dad run half the demon continent. She doesn't have time to get married to some human prince. And I don't even start talking about my musclehead brothers, King wouldn't give his daughter's hand to none of them, that's for sure. So yeah! Whole thing's impossible. Just a silly joke. Don't take it seriously, okay?"

Leon stared at her.

"And she just... dismissed the whole idea. Because she loves me. Not a title. Not a political solution. But me.

...But she's not wrong about one thing. Marriage is serious... I like her. I really like her. More than I've ever liked anyone. But we just started dating. We've known each other for weeks, not years. Marriage is... that's forever. That's binding two kingdoms together. How would I explain to my father that I want to marry the daughter of his sworn enemy.

That's a conversation I am not ready to have. Ah-ha... It's just another thing to stress about. Another weight on my shoulders."

He ran a hand through his hair, frustrated.

"I can't think about this right now. It's too much. Too soon. I need time. I need—"

"Leon? Hey, you really zoned out there. What's going on in that handsome head of yours?"

Leon looked at her. At her worried eyes. At the way she chewed her lip, concerned for him.

"...I really do like her."

He pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her in a hug that surprised them both.

Molly squeaked. "L-Leon?! What?"

"Just... give me a minute. Lots on my mind."

Molly melted into the hug, her arms wrapping around his waist.

"Take all the minutes you need, boyfriend. I'm not going anywhere."

They stood there in the sunny courtyard, and for a moment, the weight of everything lifted just enough to breathe.

"One step at a time. That's all I can do. First, pass my exams. Second, survive the next demon lord encounter.

Third...

...Third, figure out how to tell my father I'm dating enemy's daughter."

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The weeks that followed were a blur of textbooks, laughter, and increasingly heated study sessions.

Every evening after classes, Molly would find Leon in the library. Sometimes waiting for her, sometimes already buried in books. And every evening, she'd plop down in his lap.

The studying was intense.

Leon's notes became legendary. His understanding grew exponentially, helped by the fact that his tutor was VERY motivated to keep him focused. And also, very warm. And soft. And prone to 'accidentally' brushing against him when reaching for a book.

There were moments when the studying became less about studying. When Molly's explanations would trail off into breathless silences. When Leon's hand would linger on her waist a moment too long. When the air between them would grow heavy and charged, and the textbook would sit forgotten as they just looked at each other.

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 EXAM HALL - RESULTS DAY

Leon stood outside the exam hall, heart pounding. Not from the test itself, he'd actually felt confident walking out. No, the pounding was because of the small figure running toward him across the courtyard.

"Molly..."

She hit him like a missile, arms wrapping around his neck, legs somehow finding their way around his waist.

"LEON!"

He caught in his embrace. She was warm. She was soft. She smelled like vanilla and excitement. Her face was inches from his, beaming with barely contained excitement.

"So?! So?! How'd you do?! Did you pass?! What's your score?! Tell me, tell me, tell me!"

"I passed. Not a great score but yes, passed the exam. I scored a 65."

Her face split into the biggest, brightest, most radiant grin he'd ever seen.

"SIXTY-FIVE! THAT'S AMAZING! YOU PASSED! MY BOYFRIEND PASSED!"

She squeezed him tighter, bouncing in his arms, her joy completely unrestrained. Students nearby turned to stare at the Champion Leon being used as a tree to climb by a tiny, sparkly girl.

Leon's arms tightened around her, making sure she didn't fall. 

"It's because of you, Molly. You're great at teaching. Your... method. The answers are burned into my memory. Every diagram. Every formula. Right alongside every moment of you explaining them. The way you'd lean forward. The sound of your voice. The warmth of you against me. Thank you, Molly. For everything."

"I don't need praise, Leon. I was there. I saw how hard you worked. You studied SO much! You stayed up SO late! You drew SO many diagrams! You DESERVE to pass! It was all you, Leon! I was just a little demon whispering into your ear, 'You can do it, I believe in you!'"

"...She really believes in me, huh. When I was about to lose hope."

He hugged her tighter, burying his face in her shoulder.

"Thank you. For everything."

Molly squeezed back, happy tears prickling at her eyes.

"You're welcome, boyfriend. Happy to help you with anything."

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ACADEMY HALLWAY 

Molly floated through the corridors on a cloud of happiness. She got to hug Leon for like twenty minutes in public today! Life was perfect.

She was so lost in her happy little bubble that she almost didn't notice the three girls blocking her path.

Almost.

"Excuse me~" Molly chirped, trying to step around them. "Happy girl coming through, important boyfriend-celebrating business to attend to—"

The tallest girl stepped directly into her path. Blonde. Perfect posture. Expression that screamed 'I am better than you and everyone knows it.'

"You're Molly Moriana."

"Um... yes? That's me? Can I help you?"

"I'm Lady Seraphina Covington. President of the Champion Leon Fan Club." She gestured to the two girls flanking her. Both pretty, both wearing matching expressions of cold disdain. "These are my associates, Lady Celeste and Lady Mirabelle."

"Leon has a fan club? Of course he has a fan club. Hot hero with a puppy-dog eyes? OF COURSE he has a fan club. And now they are jealous. This is going to be one of THOSE scenes, isn't it?"

"Oooh, a fan club! That's cute! What do you do, like, make banners and stuff?"

Seraphina's eye twitched. 

"We support Champion Leon in his heroic endeavors. We attend his public appearances. We ensure he is properly appreciated by the student body. What we do NOT appreciate is... opportunistic transfer students throwing themselves at him in public."

 "Throwing myself? I was hugging my boyfriend. There's a difference."

The word 'boyfriend' landed like a bomb.

Celeste's jaw dropped. Mirabelle let out a tiny, offended gasp. Seraphina's composure cracked just enough to show the fury underneath.

"B-b-b-boyfriend?! You expect us to believe that Champion Leon! Our prince! Would lower himself to date some... some nobody from the Sunny Beach? With no family name? No connections? No—" she looked Molly up and down with disdain, "—class?"

"Oh boy, here we go..."