The last glimpse I had of Angelina's gaze made me feel bad. Her gaze was filled with despair and pain, yet she had no means of expressing herself. However, Veirya was akin to an Easter Island state. She totally ignored the deep feelings Angelina held for her.
That was a mother's desire to protect her child and her guilt toward her. Her gaze looked just as full of despair when she looked at me. I felt as though Angelina was right. Perhaps she genuinely wanted to help Leah. After all, the chapel wouldn't search Angelina's room if they couldn't find Leah at our place. In saying that, I wouldn't be able to do anything once Angelina decided to capture Leah. In fact, I might end up revealing that Leah was a succubus.
Once the chapel took drastic measures and strangled Leah, what would I do? If I didn't trust Angelina, Leah might've been safe. If I blindly trusted Angelina, I wouldn't be able to save Leah once something unfortunate happened. I believed that Veirya was more capable of protecting Leah than Angelina was.
"Papa…"
Leah wept on my shoulder. I tightly hugged her around her neck then I gently stroked her back to calm her. Voice soft, I said, "It's all right. It's all right, Leah. Papa will protect you. Papa won't let anything happen to you. Papa promises not to let anything happen to you."
Leah tightly hugged me and buried her head in my neck: "Papa… I'm so scared… I'm so scared… I'm so scared… Please don't go… Papa…. please… don't go… please… don't go at night… please, Papa… please protect me… Don't leave me…"
I gently stroked Leah's head and back to try to calm her down. Alas, she continued to sob next to my ear. I could understand her sentiment. A child would want to be with an adult they trusted and could rely on when discussing their safety.
She wanted me to protect her. I did want to protect her. I really wanted to protect her. Leah was my precious treasure, my most precious treasure. A few thousand gold coins couldn't hold a candle to Leah. I just wanted to protect my Leah and stay by her side forever. Unfortunately, I couldn't.
I made a promise to Lucia. In my eyes, credibility was the more important than anything. I wouldn't face any repercussion for backing out then, but I wouldn't be able to do business with Achilles again for Leah's sake. I wouldn't be able to be a voice of reason with the elf, Lucia, either. While Leah was more important than anything, by protecting Leah instead of going, I'd have ended her future.
I wanted the opportunity. I wanted to change Leah's future. Additionally, if the chapel really did want to kidnap Leah for their agenda, I couldn't stop them even if I stayed with her. Leah would only have a future if I completed the job.
It wasn't a simple trade. Only by building a friendly relationship with elves and Achilles, would the town's economy come to life. Only then could I start making money for Leah.
"Veirya, I beg you," I said. I turned to face Veirya: "Veirya, please make sure to protect Leah during my absence. Please, you must protect Leah."
"Papa!!" Leah shrieked and tightly hugged me. She refused to let go at all costs.
I didn't bother with her screams again. I clenched my teeth and sternly looked at Veirya. Veirya looked back lifelessly. There was no emotion in her eyes. But nonetheless, that indifferent Veirya reassured me
"Veirya, this is a sincere plead, a very, very sincere plead. I hope that you can protect Leah as you protect Her Majesty. She's very important to me. I hope that you can protect Leah. I can't protect her by her side this time, so I hope I can trust you, and I hope you can protect her."
After a moment of silence, Veirya handed me her sword: "Here."
I dawdled for a moment, for I didn't know what to do. Veirya didn't hesitate. She held the handle up to Leah's face. Leah fearfully leaned onto my shoulder. She didn't dare to raise her head to look at the ice-cold metal. Veirya seriously said, "I'm giving my sword. To you. I'll fulfil your wish. I'll definitely protect Leah."
"Uhm…"
Although Veirya was expressionless, her gaze was the same as usual. Nevertheless, I felt settled and reassured when Veirya handed me her sword. I also felt as though I had a reliable strength. Veirya held her sword up to me and calmly looked at me: "I will. Protect Leah."
"Uhm. Remember, though, Veirya, don't start killing anyone. If you kill someone, the nature of the problem will change."
Puzzled, Veirya tilted her head: "How do I protect Leah. If I don't kill, though?"
I answered, "Protecting someone doesn't mean that you have to kill! Veirya, you just need to protect Leah. I'll be back at noon tomorrow. You just need to ensure the chapel doesn't get their hands on Leah tonight."
Veirya nodded: "Uhm."
Leah still had her arms tightly wrapped around my neck and refused to let go. I gently stroked her head. I softly sad, "Leah, Papa can't change Papa's plans for tonight. Stay home with Veirya. Veirya will protect you."
"No!! I don't want that woman! That woman tried to kill me before!! I don't want to stay with her!!I Don't want to stay with her!! I want Papa to protect me! I want Papa to stay with me! I don't want that woman!!"
Leah loudly protested with her arms still tight around me. Veirya came up to us and gently grabbed Leah's body. Unfortunately for her, Leah spun around and punched Veirya in the face with her tiny hand.
"Go away!! Go away, damn woman! Don't come near my Papa!! And don't come near me, either!!"
Leah cried as she yelled at Veirya. Veirya paused for a moment. She didn't care about the punch that Leah gave her. Instead, she looked at Leah even more seriously. She sincerely said, "Leah, I really. Want to protect you."
"Go away!"
"Leah, be a good girl."
I forcibly pulled Leah's arms off my neck. Leah wailed and struggled. I crouched down to put her down. I solemnly looked into her eyes. I pressed my hands down on her shoulders to stop her from diving into my chest again. I said, "Leah, Leah, calm down, first, calm down. Papa promises to protect you, but Papa must go tonight. This is for your future, for you to study what you want and see those flowers. Papa has to go tonight to ensure that you can see those things. This is for you. Leah, trust Veirya. Papa has always trusted Veirya."
"Papa… Papa… I don't want a future… I just want to be with Papa now…"
"Leah, you can think that way, but Papa can't, because only that way, can Papa be your Papa."
I mustered up everything I had to make a ruthless decision. I pushed Leah over to Veirya. Leah struggled by kicking and punching Veirya, but Veirya didn't release her. Then, Lucia came up from my side: "It seems that we can't go tonight. Let's take this opportunity to hurry and leave."
I nodded: "Uhm."
If the chapel knew about our plan, we might be stopped while we were on the mission. Therefore, it was better to take the initiative considering the situation. We had to succeed. This was about Leah's future. I couldn't focus solely on the present. I had to take Leah's future into consideration. My goal was to allow Leah to live in the imperial capital, receive an exemplary education and be accepted by everyone. I was her father. All of those things were my responsibility!!