Marianne von Edmund, a student at the Officers' Academy, has had to flee with all her classmates, after the invasion of the Garrech Mach Officers' Academy by the Adrestian Empire, led by its new Empress, Edelgard von Hresvelg.
On her way home, and a...
Hilda looked at Leonard with dark eyes. He shared the same expression. Neither of them spokes. Leonard made a move to leave while saying, "Excuse me." Hilda, on the other hand, blocked his way. She felt that she had to speak the truth to that man.
"Don't go away again, Leonard Fritz."
"So, you remember that moment," the young man looked sadly at that woman. "After that situation we lived through; I could remember those facts."
"I remembered all that recently, too," Hilda felt enormous nervousness when saying those words. "Perhaps that was a fleeting memory, but remembering it has shaken me a lot."
"I understand, Hilda... But that last name was just a facade, woman," Leonard replied, looking off at nothing.
"For me it was important; and more now, that I fell in love with you, just like when we were children," the girl looked at Leonard with her irritated eyes.
"Sorry...Hilda." The boy now made eye contact with the woman. "I'm not even Leonard Fritz anymore, and I don't know if I'm still Leonard Weber either."
"Of course I know you're not Leonard Fritz anymore... My Leonard, whom I kissed on the cheek and fell in love with," Hilda said these words as she leaned on her lover's shoulder. "Yet you are still the Leonard Weber that Marianne loves. Don't leave her alone, please her."
"I don't understand why you support Marianne now... We made love."
"You did that with my body, but not with my person," the girl wiped away some tears that appeared while saying those words. "It was just a strange dream... And my love was an outburst between the desire you caused me as an adult and remembering the child you were and who saved me."
"Back then, I was no longer a child, Hilda."
"I know," Hilda pulled away from Leonard a bit. "My brother couldn't believe that a weakling like you would have contained a wild animal, which would already be difficult for an adult. It's another memory I could unlock by seeing your true powers."
"Sometimes I feel like an open book in front of you, woman," Leonard gave a slight laugh as he looked tenderly at that woman. "Thank you for your words. However, I must go now, Hilda."
"Stay; I'm asking you again," she cut Leonard off. "Stay for her and all of us. We have experienced many things together and shown that we can fight by your side. Do not feel that you are a burden to us."
"Can I?" Leonard looked at the pink-haired woman while shedding tears. "I had longed for years to see Marianne again. I was lucky to meet her again; life gave me another chance. I would have wanted to stay with her, but now I don't know if I deserve it."
"You don't have to deserve it," Hilda tapped Leonard in the chest. "Accept that love and learn to take care of it with her. Take it as a gift from the Goddess, got it?"
"Thank you, Hilda... Really," Leonard wiped away his tears with his forearm. "So, I'll go see her, even if I have no idea what to do or say."
"You'll figure something out. Finally, you're always improvising and blurting out words that sound good."
"Ha... You may be right. So, I'm leaving," Leonard was going to advance, but the girl cut him off again.
Without expecting it, Hilda kissed Leonard on the mouth. The warmth of that kiss no longer reflected desire or passion: it reflected only tender, selfless love. He looked at the woman, somewhat puzzled, while she laughed a little.
"Don't look at me like that... Take it as my fee for the tips," the girl offered Leonard a smile as she winked at him.
Leonard said goodbye and ran off as quietly as he could. She waited for him to get far enough away. When that happened, she began to cry.
"Goodbye, Leonard Fritz... My first love."
Hilda had struggled a lot with the idea of loving this man for various reasons. She had thought of her friend, as well as the desire she had felt for him. She had tried by all means to nip all those ideas, feelings, and experiences in the bud. The truth is that she just had to let the stories and feelings take root in her. That way, she would remember all that with affection, despite the sadness that ate at her at that moment.
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