As Leo walked through the dim-lit streets, he thought back to when Charlotte's father had found him.
General Morwyn, equipped with his men, had set out towards the city of Calenburn.
The purpose of their journey was to map and scout the area ahead of any obstacles, hoping to create an encampment to gain an edge over the neighboring city.
Around this time, the troop had stumbled upon the ruins of a church. The church itself and its origins were unknown at the time and kept from the public at Henrik's demands, Leo's unconscious body found within it.
These thoughts reminded him of a memory with Charlotte, back in the cafe.
Leo had just arrived after a rather gruelling day of work, sitting himself on a chair with a sigh.
"Work got you beat?" She said from around the corner, rearranging titles.
Leo gave a hum in acknowledgment, causing her to peer around the corner with a grin.
"I have some news regarding that church."
He turned his gaze towards her, his eyebrow cocked.
She set a stack of books down, taking one with her as she made her way towards him and sat beside him.
"That church. I'm almost certain it's of Fyrism descent."
"Fyrism?" He questioned.
"Mhm!" She nodded. "I've seen the religion—or cult more so—mentioned a few times. It had likely been banished long before the First Solstice, so over a thousand years ago."
Even in topics he was ignorant of, her voice had a way of keeping him captivated throughout each word.
"So what great, almighty deity did these freaks worship?" He said in exasperation.
Charlotte chuckled lightly.
"It's actually quite interesting. You're aware of the Four Great Origins, yes? The Celestials responsible for everything on Terra?"
He nodded after some moments, taking a second to recollect the scattered bits of information.
She wiped the book's leather cover. "The Celestials of Seraphis" written in gold on the front.
"I'll go over them just in case. Just the first few sentences."
She opened the book, flipping through several pages before stopping.
She coughed, clearing her throat.
"Sylphis, The Origin of Light. She, the great benefactor of souls, shedding life and sentience to the many forms of Terra."
Turning the page to the next after each passage, she read.
"Hephes, The Origin of Terrain. She, the carver of mountains, painter of skies, and mother of forests
"Fernarus, The Origin of Beasts. He, the beast weaver who produces abominations and corruption alike to test and torment the souls of man."
"And lastly… Manu, The Origin of Dreams. He, born as a mere mortal who ascended to Celestialhood and brought hopes and dreams to his people. The father of Somnia."
She closed the book.
"However… I'm led to believe there is one more beyond these four. One who was burned from the scripture as we know it."
Leo's eyes widened a bit, staring at her in silence as he waited for her to continue.
She smiled a bit at his apparent wonder, the sight of him so intrigued almost making her chest flutter.
Her eyes locked on him as she continued.
"The Origin of Sin. His name was..."
The memory faded as Leo found himself face to face with the house of Charlotte's parents.
His gut twisted and turned as he forced himself to step closer.
He closed his eyes, breathing in and out.
His eyes opened. He wasn't ready, but he had to be.
He knocked a few times.
Leo stood for some moments outside the humble house, buttoning his cloak some more to hide the uniform below.
The sounds of rattling metal indicated that the door was being unlocked.
The door abruptly swung open, revealing an elderly man. Healed scars covered the man's worn face, short grey hairs neatly slicked back.
The older man's frustrated expression softened as he looked up towards Leo.
"Oh."
The two stood there, silently waiting for the other to say something.
"It's been a while… Pierre."
The man hesitated before widening the doorway, beckoning Leo with a hand to come in.
No words were said as he followed inside after Pierre and closed the door behind himself.
As they walked through the living room and towards the dining room, Leo stopped.
A table against a wall held an array of framed photos.
Walking to the table, Leo picked up a framed image of a younger Charlotte smiling brightly with her father and mother, Pierre and Odette.
Pierre sat down on an old wooden rocking chair.
"I haven't seen you since the funeral."
Leo looked over at him for a moment, his eyes going back to the picture as he set it back down.
"Yes. I've been… busy."
Pierre hummed in acknowledgement before repeating, "Busy."
Leo nodded before he fully walked into the living room.
"So, why'd you drop by? Don't you have a daughter to care for?" Pierre spoke in a crude, ridiculing tone
Leo nodded once more, finding it particularly difficult to speak.
Looking at the picture frames once more, he looked down at his coat and began to unbutton it.
Pierre swirled a short glass of whiskey as he continued.
"You know what, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that."
Leo had fully unbuttoned his coat now, sliding it off his arms and shoulders as he took it off.
"You've taken time out of your day to come and I'm…" he trailed off as he slowly looked over at Leo.
His eyes went down to the uniform, his brows furrowing.
"You… She…"
Rage boiled from his stomach and into his mouth as he stood up, shouting.
"You promised her! You promised her you'd leave the force, forever!"
"I promised her I wouldn't hurt anyone."
The glass shattered as Pierre dropped it and took Leo by the collar, barking in his face.
"Don't you fucking dare twist her words! Get the hell out of my house!"
He shoved Leo back, causing him to catch his footing.
The two stood there for what seemed to be hours.
Pierre huffed in and out with anger, his eyes locked on Leo's
"I knew I shouldn't have let her be with someone like you. Lord knows where you had been before I found your sorry ass!
You aren't even Augustinian! And neither is that dying brat you killed her with!"
As the words reached Leo his eyes widened. He immediately gripped the hilt of his blade as his breath hurried. He could feel himself nearly hyperventilating from anger.
That familiar dizziness set in as the sounds around him seemed to get louder than they were before. The buzzing in Leo's head had become nearly palpable as he tightly shut his eyes, sweat rolling from his face.
"What are you doing?! Get out of my house, you devil!"
The echoes of Pierre's words were the last thing he heard as everything died down to a silence. He caught his breath for some moments before his eyes slowly opened.
Whether Pierre had stopped speaking or Leo had simply stopped listening, he couldn't tell. Either way, the room had gone quiet.
Leo still felt a bit dizzy and disorientated as he stared at the ground. Looking over at the couch, he noticed his coat.
With heavy breaths, Leo took the coat and threw it over his shoulders, buttoning it with unsteady fingers as he made his way through the hallway and to the front door.
Closing the door behind himself and walking a bit away, he stopped and looked back at the house once more.
He tried to hold some sort of empathy for the man even after his words. Losing his daughter and wife within such a small time frame must have been a lot.
But then again, it likely wouldn't be too long before he found himself in a similar situation.
A long line of splattered blood dripped from the inside of the living room window.
He walked down the foggy, quiet street.
Some time later, Leo had stepped into the hospital, waiting before the desk.
The same brown-haired woman as usual sat behind the desk, looking up with polite, tired eyes.
"Good evening, Leo. What can I do for you?"
"I'm here for the payments."
"Ah, yes."
She searched her desk for papers and documents for a while before huffing in frustration.
"Ugh! I could've sworn I just had you somewhere here. One moment, please."
Reaching down to a file cabinet below her desk, she opened and ran her fingers through it before she came back up with a folder, pulling some papers out and scanning through them.
"Ah, yes. Oh… Sorry but you'll have to pay a fee for being late."
Leo dug into his pocket, placing a small gold-plated card on the table.
Her eyes widened slightly as she took the card. The card held the credentials of King Henrik, providing a pardon for Reveurs.
She seemed like she wanted to say or ask something, but Leo had already begun walking away.
Softly opening the door to Maria's room, he slipped inside and quietly closed the door.
He walked further in and peered around the curtain. Laying on her side towards the window with her long black hair sprawled out across the bed, her shoulders weakly rose and fell.
He sat on the cushioned seat beside her bed, leaning forward.
Leo spoke to her in a soft whisper, "I visited Grandpa today. We talked. Although, I can't remember the last half. He had stressed me out quite a bit."
He wasn't really speaking to anyone seeing as she was asleep. But talking towards her was better than not.
"I rejoined the Reveurs. I believe I've told you about the promise I made to your mother. She specifically told me not to hurt anyone, so I…"
As he spoke, the memories of Pierre's words assaulted his mind. He winced for a moment, lowering his head lightly.
"No. She didn't want me to wear this uniform again. I broke her promise. Sure, I did it for you. But… That doesn't make me innocent."
He fell silent once more, the only audible noise being the muffled sounds from beyond the door and walls.
Before he could speak again, Maria cut him off.
"I didn't know her."
His eyes widened.
"Well… Yes, you didn't. But I still…"
Her frail arms trembled as she pushed herself up and faced him. This was the first time she had looked at her father in months.
They stared at each other for minutes.
His lip quivered as he struggled to continue. So she did instead.
"I agree. My lack of experience with my mother may not excuse the matter, but… I'm glad you picked me. As selfish as that is."
She chuckled softly to herself.
A heavy pressure had grown behind Leo's eyes. His attempt to respond was halted by a lump in his throat.
She looked out the window.
"I have my guesses as to why you stopped teaching, or what really happened with Grandpa.
But most importantly, I've realized something. No one can predict everything. Not the weather, not how work will go, or how someone will react when you tell them the truth.
But we live through those moments anyway. Not because we're certain, but because we have hope. Hope before it happens. Hope after it hurts.
And if there's one thing you can be certain of… It's me. That I'll be here, waiting for you."
Looking back at Leo, her eyes widened.
Her father had tears streaming down his face. The figure of the man who she had known to hide his emotions and push his suffering down, had finally cracked.
He tried to talk but his head dropped as a light groan was let out. He gripped his knees, feeling his chest shedding its weight.
After a few moments, Leo collected himself and wiped his face on his sleeve.
"Tomorrow. Tomorrow, I'll take you to the library and none of these damn nurses can stop me."
Maria smiled brightly, the moonlight illuminating her face.
She nodded her head.
"I'll look forward to it."
Having offered their final goodbyes for now, Leo left the room and walked out of the hospital.
As he walked through the dimly lit street, he looked up.
Bright stars and beautiful colors filled the expanse of the sky.
Leo stopped walking for a moment and put a hand on his chest.
This was the first time in years that he had felt so weightless. The thought of Charlotte still lingered, but in more of a bittersweet sense this time around.
It was undeniable that he had wronged her, but in a way, he had relit his relationship with his daughter because of it.
That wasn't something to celebrate, but something made it easier for him to grapple with the matter and come to terms with it in time.
He looked back down the street and continued, this time truly stepping forward.