Leon smiled faintly, his expression relaxed as if the conversation carried no particular weight for him. "You still haven't answered my question," he said, watching the girl in front of him with quiet curiosity.
Lorna Dane fell silent for a moment, her brows drawing together as she considered her response. After a short pause she lifted her head and looked at him sharply, a hint of determination appearing in her eyes. "If you can defeat Magneto," she said slowly, "then your power must already be at the very top among mutants in this world. And if that's the case, then maybe the chance for the entire mutant race to change… maybe that opportunity should come from you."
Leon simply shook his head, a light smile still on his face as he released her from his hold. The tension in his posture eased as he looked directly at her. "I'm not the one who can change the fate of mutants," he replied calmly. "So you'd better not put your hopes on me."
"Why?" Lorna asked without hesitation.
Leon thought for a moment before answering. His eyes drifted toward the distant streetlights as if searching for the right words, then he spoke in a calm and straightforward tone. "Because aside from accidents involving the people I actually care about, I don't care about the lives of anyone else. In my eyes, what the mutant race eventually becomes is the business of the mutants themselves. Whether their leaders are capable or incompetent has nothing to do with me. I just want to live my own life and do the things I want to do."
That answer wasn't something he invented on the spot. It was simply the truth of what he had always believed in his heart. Ever since he arrived in this world, his first thought had been survival. Once survival was no longer a problem, another thought naturally followed—life couldn't just be about existing, it had to be about living happily.
Leon had his own goals, and from the moment he realized them he had been steadily moving toward them. Compared to those ambitions, the fate of other people rarely occupied any space in his mind. Whether the world changed or remained the same simply wasn't something he felt responsible for.
Lorna didn't look disappointed after hearing his answer. Instead she gave a small shrug, as if she had already anticipated something like this. "I guess I was mentally prepared for that," she admitted with a faint smile. "After all, changing the whole world is an incredibly difficult thing."
Leon shook his head again, correcting her gently. "It's not that I can't change the world. It's that I don't want to concern myself with the mutant race, and I think it's better if I make that clear to you."
His voice remained calm, but the words carried absolute confidence. "If I wanted to, I really could change the world. With my abilities, I could cause enormous changes across the entire planet in a very short time. But I've never placed myself on the side of mutants—or on anyone's side for that matter."
Lorna listened quietly and then nodded. A soft sigh escaped her lips, though there was no bitterness behind it. "I should have guessed," she said. "Someone like you—a genius who built such a huge fortune at such a young age—was never going to tie himself down to any particular faction."
Leon only shrugged in response and didn't add anything else. The earlier tension between them had quietly faded, and the ambiguous atmosphere that once lingered in the air slowly dissolved into something far more relaxed.
Lorna reached out and took his hand, her fingers intertwining with his naturally as if it were the most ordinary thing in the world. Without another word the two of them began walking forward together.
At that moment they looked just like a completely normal young couple strolling through the evening streets. They leaned lightly against each other as they walked with no clear destination, the city lights gradually flickering on as the sky darkened above them.
After walking for a while, Lorna suddenly spoke again. Her voice was soft, almost casual, but there was a subtle hint of shyness hidden beneath it.
"You know something?" she said. "That was my first kiss."
Leon glanced down at her, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly. "So do you want me to take responsibility for it?" he asked with an amused smile.
"Of course," Lorna replied immediately, laughing lightly as she nudged him with her shoulder. "If you're willing to take responsibility, that would actually be great. I've been thinking it might be nice to find myself a partner."
Leon stopped walking for a second and looked at her directly. His answer came without hesitation or ceremony. "Alright then. From now on, you're my girlfriend."
The words sounded simple and almost casual, but they were spoken with complete sincerity.
Leon didn't deny that he had a favorable impression of Lorna. Their personalities were somewhat similar—direct, practical, and unwilling to waste time on unnecessary formalities. Because of that, their relationship skipped the usual awkward stage of confessions and emotional build-up that most couples experienced.
Maybe their feelings would grow deeper over time. Maybe they wouldn't. But for now, neither of them seemed particularly concerned about that.
"Okay," Lorna said simply.
She turned her head to look at him, a bright smile appearing in her eyes. Her response carried the same straightforward confidence as her personality.
From her, Leon felt a charm that was very different from the other women he had encountered before. Lorna possessed a decisive nature that didn't hesitate or second-guess itself.
Just earlier she had bluntly asked him whether he was a mutant, and then just as bluntly admitted that she herself was one. If it had been anyone else, that kind of secret would probably have been buried deep in their heart, never spoken aloud.
Yet Lorna treated it like an ordinary fact of life.
The two of them didn't overthink what had just happened. Their relationship might have begun abruptly, but they quickly fell into a natural rhythm as they continued walking together.
Leon didn't treat her the way he treated other women. Instead, he showed her a level of respect and equality that made their interaction feel balanced and comfortable.
They spent the rest of the evening wandering aimlessly through the city streets, occasionally chatting about trivial things and occasionally falling into comfortable silence. Time passed quickly, and before they realized it the sky had turned completely dark.
Only then did they decide to head back.
While walking along the quiet road on their way back, Leon suddenly spoke again as if remembering something important.
"You can relax about one thing," he said. "I'm not going to harm your father."
Lorna turned to look at him, slightly surprised.
"I'm talking about Magneto," Leon continued calmly. "In fact, in a few days I'm planning to let him and the others go."
"Okay… thank you," she replied.
Her voice sounded relatively calm. In truth, Magneto existed more as a symbol in her mind than as a real father she had grown up with. He represented her biological origins, but there were almost no emotional memories connected to that title.
Still, hearing Leon say those words made her feel a subtle sense of respect.
Leon smiled again as another thought crossed his mind. "By the way," he said casually, "didn't you ask me earlier what my abilities were?"
Lorna lifted her head to look at him. She didn't say anything this time, but curiosity was clearly visible in her eyes.
Leon gently raised their joined hands.
In the next instant, a dazzling brilliance suddenly appeared in the hand he was holding. The light twisted and flowed like liquid energy, shifting constantly without forming any fixed shape.
It looked like a ribbon of radiant color wrapping around their hands, glowing softly in the night.
"My ability involves psychic control," Leon explained calmly. "And I can also release heat energy. I can shape that energy to imitate sunlight, and I can even turn it into flames if I want."
Lorna stared at the glowing light wrapped around their hands, her eyes widening in amazement as she watched it shimmer and dance in the darkness.
"Is… is this an aurora?" she asked uncertainly.
Leon smiled faintly and looked at her.
"Yes," he said. "This is an aurora. Maybe that means we were destined to be together."
.....
Want to read ahead. Then Join my P@treon 60+ exclusive chapters that are waiting for you.
Free members can get 2 advanced chapters FOR FREE.
Link: ptreon.com/Lotus_Lover
Join Right Now