Chapter 489: Tears, Confessions, and Old Memories

Tears, Confessions, and Old Memories

Leon sighed softly.

He raised his hand and gently wiped it away.

"Alright, you still have to let go in the end."

His voice was calm.

"The Immortal Dao is vast and boundless. Your path in the future is still very long."

Selena’s eyelashes trembled.

Leon looked at her seriously.

"You don’t have to worry about the sorrow in front of you. Your parents don’t want you to live in this shadow for the rest of your life, right?"

Selena froze.

The words seemed to reach somewhere deep inside her.

Her parents.

She remembered their faces.

Their voices.

The warmth of a home that no longer existed.

For years, she had carried those memories like a blade buried inside her heart.

She had thought revenge was the only thing keeping her alive.

But now the revenge was complete.

What remained?

She slowly raised her hand and wiped her eyes.

Her breathing steadied.

Her gaze gradually became firmer.

"Teacher..."

Her voice was still hoarse.

But it no longer carried the same confusion.

"I understand."

She took a deep breath.

"Now that I’ve taken revenge, the knot in my heart has been resolved."

Her fingers tightened around her sleeve.

"The past is irrevocable."

She looked toward the distant sky.

"I will continue forward."

Then she turned back to Leon.

"I don’t hope to become an immortal."

There was a faint smile on her face.

"I only hope that in the future, when Teacher needs me, I can repay Teacher’s kindness."

Leon stared at her.

For a moment, he couldn’t speak.

Selena had always been like this.

Quiet.

Stubborn.

She rarely asked for anything.

Even now, after finally obtaining revenge, the first thing she thought about was repaying him.

A tear rolled down her cheek.

Then another.

Selena quickly wiped them away.

But the more she tried to stop them, the harder it became.

Her shoulders trembled.

Leon quietly watched her.

Then Selena suddenly stepped forward.

She wrapped her arms around him.

Hard.

Leon froze.

For the first time in a long while, even he was caught completely off guard.

Selena buried her face against his chest.

Her white-silver hair spilled over his black robes.

Her arms tightened around him as though she was afraid that if she let go, everything she had finally gained would disappear again.

"Teacher..."

Her voice was muffled against his chest.

Leon remained still.

Then he slowly lowered his arms.

He gently embraced her.

"It’s alright."

His voice was soft.

"You don’t need to hold everything inside anymore."

Selena’s fingers tightened against the fabric of his robe.

She could feel his warmth.

His steady breathing.

The familiar presence she had relied upon for so long.

For years, Leon had been the person who stood before her whenever she needed someone to protect her.

The person who taught her.

The person who guided her.

The person who had watched her grow.

And somewhere along that long road, without her realizing it, her feelings had changed.

He was no longer simply her Teacher.

He had become the person she loved.

Selena knew it.

Leon knew it too.

Neither had spoken about it openly.

Not until now.

Selena’s tears slowly soaked into the fabric of his robe.

Leon gently stroked her hair.

His palm moved slowly from the crown of her head down the length of her soft silver hair.

Then he lightly rubbed her back.

The trembling in her shoulders gradually weakened.

"Cry if you need to," Leon whispered.

"You don’t have to be strong every moment."

Selena closed her eyes.

For the first time in years, she allowed herself to simply lean on someone.

Not as the strongest student of the Celestis Academy.

Not as the future inheritor of the Divine Ice Bones.

Not as someone who had just completed her revenge.

Just Selena.

A girl who had lost her parents.

A girl who had spent years walking alone.

And a girl who had fallen in love with the man standing in front of her.

"Teacher..."

"Yes?"

Selena hesitated.

Her voice was almost too quiet to hear.

"I..."

She stopped.

Her cheeks slowly became warm.

Leon waited.

He didn’t push her.

After several breaths, Selena tightened her arms around him again.

"I don’t want to lose you too."

Leon went silent.

Selena’s eyes closed tightly.

The words had escaped before she could stop them.

Her heart pounded.

She knew what she had just said.

She knew Leon understood.

"I know you are my Teacher," she whispered.

"I know there are things I shouldn’t say."

She took a shaky breath.

"But when I thought about losing everyone..."

Her voice broke.

"The only person I could think about was you."

Leon looked down at her.

Selena finally raised her head.

Her blue eyes were filled with tears.

"I think..."

She swallowed.

"I’ve loved you for a long time."

Silence.

The wind moved through the ruined Academy Premises.

A few fallen leaves drifted between them.

Selena’s face became even redder.

She immediately lowered her head again.

"I didn’t mean to say it like this..."

Leon gently placed a hand against her head.

"You don’t have to explain."

Selena looked up.

Leon gave her a faint smile.

"I already knew."

Her eyes widened.

"You... knew?"

Leon nodded.

"You were never very good at hiding it."

Selena’s face turned crimson.

For the first time since the battle ended, a small, embarrassed smile appeared on her face.

"You really are annoying sometimes, Teacher."

Leon laughed softly.

"Is that how you speak to the person you just confessed to?"

Selena’s lips curved slightly.

"Then..."

She hesitated.

Her fingers tightened slightly against the fabric of Leon’s robe before she finally raised her eyes to him.

"Then... what should I call you?"

Leon looked at her.

For several breaths, neither of them spoke.

There was something almost fragile in Selena’s eyes. She seemed genuinely uncertain, as though the answer mattered far more to her than a simple name should.

Leon noticed that.

A faint smile appeared on his face.

He slowly raised his hand and gently patted her head, his fingers brushing through her soft silver-white hair.

"You’ve called me Teacher for so long," he said softly. "If you suddenly changed it now, wouldn’t that feel strange?"