He would absolutely punch Elias later for saying unnecessary things.

"I want Leander. I want Leander. Please do not leave."

"So do I. I want you too, Qiong Xing. I will not leave. I will never leave you, so please stop crying."

Even while feeling a little overwhelmed by Qiong Xing crying and pleading like a child not to leave him, Leander could not help but feel happy that he was wanted this much.

"I will try my best. I will give birth to your child, Leander."

"Alright, alright. I understand, so please calm down. There might be a child, right? It will be bad if you keep crying too much and strain your body."

At this rate, continuing to cry would not be good for the child, if there really was one.

Leander gently pulled the shaking Qiong Xing onto his lap and stroked his back the same way Qiong Xing usually did for Lian and the others.

Their positions had completely reversed, but Leander found it comforting in its own way.

If anything, seeing Qiong Xing act spoiled like this was not so bad, so he continued gently patting his back until he calmed down.

The moment he heard the knock on the door, Leander already knew who it was without asking, so he simply told him to come in.

"Where is Qiong Xing?"

"He cried himself to sleep. I am going to punch you later, so prepare yourself."

Leander felt nothing but resentment toward Elias for saying unnecessary things and making Qiong Xing cry.

Elias tried to peek over to check on Qiong Xing, but there was no way Leander would let him see such an adorable tearstained face, so he grabbed a nearby jacket and carefully covered Qiong Xing with it.

These tears were proof that Qiong Xing had cried for his sake.

Even if Elias was one of Qiong Xing’s mates as well, Leander had no intention of sharing that sight with him.

"I was wrong."

"Did you really think I would change my mind?"

Perhaps realizing Leander had no intention of letting the matter go, Elias gave up and sat down in the chair across from him.

When Elias answered that of course he had not thought that, the bitter smile on his face only irritated Leander more.

"I never thought that. I only said there was a possibility."

"And you never imagined Qiong Xing would cry over it? Or what, did you think maybe getting rid of a rival would work in your favor? If that is the case, too bad for you. Even if I am not some destined mate, the feelings I have for Qiong Xing are stronger than yours."

Leander had met Qiong Xing first.

If anyone could claim it was fate, then it should have been him.

No matter how attractive someone else might be in the future, there would never come a day when Leander chose anyone over Qiong Xing.

"I truly am sorry. I just wanted Qiong Xing to know that possibility existed. If something like that ever happened, I thought it would be better for both of you to know beforehand how Qiong Xing would feel and what you would do."

"...I see."

Hearing those words, Leander realized Elias had never truly intended to push him out as Qiong Xing’s mate.

Elias simply loved Qiong Xing deeply enough that he wanted to eliminate even the smallest seed of future uncertainty.

That did not mean Leander intended to forgive him, though.

"As for Iseul... do not blame him."

"You do not need to tell me that."

Yes, it was frustrating to have someone else get there first.

But this was simply coincidence, and there was no reason to blame Iseulnura for it.

From the very beginning, Leander had accepted becoming Qiong Xing’s mate even if they could never have children together.

And now, despite everything, Qiong Xing had promised that someday he would give birth to Leander’s child too, no matter how long it took.

For that, Leander felt only gratitude toward him, never disappointment or resentment.

"...I never expected him to cry."

"Qiong Xing... more than anything, he is terrified of losing his family. He would not hesitate to hurt himself if it meant protecting that. That is what scares me."

It had not been that long ago that Qiong Xing injured himself protecting Cari.

Even shortly after they first met, Qiong Xing had boldly stood up against humans for their sake.

To Qiong Xing, the family he had now was likely something precious he absolutely refused to lose.

"I knew you would never give up on Qiong Xing. That is exactly why I wanted you to tell him yourself. That no matter what happened, you would never leave him. Because if even one person in this family disappeared, Qiong Xing probably would not be able to endure it."

"..."

When he looked down, Leander saw that even in his sleep, Qiong Xing was still clutching tightly onto the edge of his clothes as though refusing to let go.

It was proof that the fear still lingered inside him.

The way Qiong Xing had begged him not to leave earlier had almost looked like someone terrified of losing everything.

It was probably not that he lacked trust.

He was simply afraid of losing what he loved. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

"Words really do matter, huh..."

"Qiong Xing never hesitates to express his feelings to us. That is why we have to keep telling him our feelings too."

They often told Qiong Xing "I love you" and "I care about you," but things like "I will never leave you" or "I will stay by your side" were words Leander realized he had rarely said aloud before.

"How should I... no, I guess I just have to keep telling him. Until he never has to feel anxious again."

"Yeah. ...Let him sleep a little longer. Once he wakes up, we can tell Iseul... Lian?"

Apparently, Lian had become worried when her mother did not return, and had come all the way to the room.