Leonor didn’t mind that the child was wary of her. Rather, she was relieved that the boy seed to trust Desmond wholeheartedly.
Considering he left the other children to greet him, Desmond thought it would be fine to pick him up.
Seeing her husband with a child in his arms gave Leonor a new view of Desmond she had never seen before. It was a double-edged sword that made his decision never to have a child with her all that much more painful.
At tis she thought she had accepted this decision and was relieved he didn’t want her to suffer the pains of childbirth. Other tis she wondered if he felt she couldn’t handle it. She wondered if her mother thought she was defective for not being able to get pregnant again for such a long ti after Anna Maria.
Yet she couldn’t be mad seeing the child smile as the duke held him. It caused Leonor to wonder how much Desmond visited the child for a re toddler to have such familiarity with him.
While she had imagined Desmond to have a paternal touch when it ca to children because of his ti in the orphanage, the way Leo leaned into him and comfortably placed a hand on his face made sothing in Leonor crack. Seeing Desmond taking care of children was sothing she didn’t know she needed in her life. It unlocked sothing painfully maternal within her. She wished she could embrace them both comfortably and be included in the soft feeling.
To Leonor’s surprise, the child pushed Desmond’s hood off of his head yet no one in the room reacted to the duke revealing his scars. It made her wonder if he normally went without a covering when he was there.
Desmond accepted Leo’s actions. He didn’t panic at being revealed to the room. It wasn’t the first ti he was there uncovered and Leonor was accepting of what he looked like. He clung to that thought. Months ago he wouldn’t have been comfortable to be subjected to that in front of her.
A child’s curiosity was so much kinder than the judgntal gazes of people with preconceived notions. It was only adults who looked down on him for his appearance. Children simply wanted to learn more.
"Owwy," Leo uttered as his hand went from Desmond’s cheek to his head. He seed to only touch the scarred parts of Desmond’s skin. "It’s purple."
"Either I’m healing or you’re getting better at colors," Desmond said. "Last ti I was here, you said my skin was black."
"Not black," Leo said. "Desmond."
The ramblings of a toddler seldom made sense. Although it was clear he ant that Desmond was Desmond and he was soone he recognized.
Realizing that Leonor was acting as a bystander in the interaction, Desmond stepped closer to his wife and he felt Leo tighten his grip around his neck.
"Leo you’re choking ," Desmond managed to say. "Don’t you want to et Leonor?"
Leonor didn’t mind at all that he dropped titles entirely. To hear a child call her "your grace" felt wrong. It felt especially wrong knowing the importance the child held despite no one there likely knowing about it at all.
She planned on using her magic a lot later to gain the attention of the children, but seeing that Leo really was as shy as the headmaster said, she decided to use her Hail Mary at that mont.
Blue light that looked like flas took over the duchess’ right hand. She held it in front of her for the others to see.
Even though she didn’t have much healing magic, it was still beautiful for how harmless it was. While offensive magic was the most beautiful, it would certainly burn soone’s skin to touch it. Defensive magic was the easiest for her but it wasn’t the brightest.
Desmond and Leonor started crouching at the sa ti when Leo’s attention went to the sudden blue light.
Other children started flocking to her but her attention was on Leo.
"Does it hurt?" one of the older children asked.
Leonor shook her head.
"It’s healing magic," she admitted. "If you aren’t hurt it won’t affect you."
One of the girls with long blonde hair and ruby eyes stared at Leonor’s hand.
"May I touch it?" she asked quietly.
"You may," Leonor said.
The girl went incredibly slow as she raised her hand and brought it toward Leonor. Eventually, she gained the courage to wrap her hand around Leonor’s. She wasn’t hurt whatsoever and she gasped.
"It really doesn’t hurt!" she cried.
This was enough for Leo to venture forward himself.
Considering Leonor was trying to impress him the most, she turned towards Leo as he ca closer.
For a mont, the child stared at Leonor’s hand. His green eyes were brighter as the fla reflected off of his face.
"Would you like to touch it?" she asked him.
Wordlessly, he slowly raised his hand to grasp Leonor’s finger. She kept the mana illuminated and it looked like a blue fla. Even when Leo’s hand made contact with hers, the mana didn’t lessen nor did it hurt the child.
The most interesting thing Leonor noticed was all the children were too afraid to walk forward and felt the mana were clinging to Leo. There were a few hands on his shoulders and a couple of others grabbing the small jacket he wore.
It was clear these children leaned on one another for support and Leonor knew why Desmond didn’t want to take him out of this environnt. The children were each other’s and to take one away would be cruel.
When he was older and understood their reasoning for taking him away, perhaps he could be more understanding. However, Leonor knew it wasn’t the right ti. He was clearly a happy boy and had all the friends in the world he could ever hope for.
Considering the lack of children except for the maid’s occasional child running around the estate, it would be far less fruitful to have him there. He wouldn’t grow as well without the imprint of others.
As a few more children gained courage and put their fingers through the mana or directly on Leonor’s hand, her gaze went to Desmond who surprisingly left his hood down. She offered him a small smile and he readily returned it.
There was new understanding between the two of them.
Leonor had her own aches and pains to get through regarding the new information about their heir and the lack of children in their future. However, at that mont she was entirely satisfied.
These adorable, seemingly Eirenguardian children filled holes in Leonor’s heart she didn’t realize were there until she was confronted with the thought of motherhood. For the ti being, she would be satisfied that Leo dared grab her fingers as she showed him her mana.
The interaction was very little, but Leonor left the orphanage happy with the outco of the situation.
As she and Desmond were led back to their carriage, the duke noticed a smile on Leonor’s face.
"Leo ward up to you quite well," he admitted. "I was surprised he wasn’t more shy."
"Children love things they don’t understand," Leonor explained. "It isn’t my first ti I’ve tried to appeal to children with my mana."
"I’m not surprised by that at all," Desmond admitted. "Shall we continue on with the rest of our day on the town?"
Leonor stared at Desmond blankly.
"What do you an?" she asked.
"I suppose you’ll have to see," he said."
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