Betrayed, I Knocked Demon Lord's Door - Chapter 51: Chapter 51

So...what is this feeling, really?' Caitlyn thought.
She stared blankly at the notes, unable to focus.
Her feelings for Leon—where had they come from?
They'd just been rivals for so many years, hadn't they? Then one day, he'd shown up asking for help, and she'd softened.
They were friends. Just friends.
Caitlyn glanced at Leon, bundled in her coat, staring blankly at his phone.
She couldn't lie—not even to herself. It was obvious Leon felt something more for her.
Like Germaine said, if he didn't trust her completely, why would he come to her when the world turned its back on him?
But what did she feel for him?
Caitlyn frowned, her heart beating louder with each passing thought.
She didn't understand it.
Was this what liking someone felt like? But they were just...close friends, right?
A partner—someone to share a life with, to walk through life hand in hand…
She'd never thought about it. Never even considered it.
Love was fragile—laughably so.
Even blood couldn't make it stronger. In the end, people always let you down.
She took a breath, gaze dimming.
Leon's past only proved it—connections between people were never reliable.
The real issue? She didn't trust people.
To her, a lifelong partner meant handing over absolute trust—someone more important than life itself.
A bond that didn't break until death.
Betrayal? That called for blood.
That was what love meant to her.
A bit extreme, wasn't it? Who could really carry that weight with her?
Friends were fine. Losing a friend didn't break you. But love…
She wasn't sure she could ever tether her life to someone else's.
Besides, they used to be enemies.
Still...she straightened her spine and looked out the window. The rain hadn't stopped.
Why does my heartbeat always sound so loud when I think about him?'
That afternoon, she barely napped after lunch before grabbing her book and heading for class.
Leon followed, stopping at the classroom door. "Caitlyn, I've got something to handle this afternoon."
She paused. A flicker of disappointment flashed in her eyes before she nodded.
Watching her walk to the lectern, Leon hesitated...then slipped inside to pick up the attendance sheet.
"I'll leave after I finish roll call." Caitlyn said nothing, just nodded faintly.
Luckily, everyone showed up—cooperative for once.
He handed the sheet back. Caitlyn, still not meeting his gaze, murmured, "After class...want to go shop for clothes? Or tomorrow, if you're busy."
"I'm free," Leon replied without hesitation, his eyes brightening with a grin.
Caitlyn nodded again, silently.
As he turned to leave the quiet room, Leon felt unexpectedly lighter.
Maybe I've been pushing too hard. Time to take it slow, one step at a time.'
Her birthday was coming up. He needed to get better at cooking—fast.
A grand feast was out of reach, but he wanted to make at least one good meal for her, with his own hands.
But first...he had to figure out why she seemed to be avoiding him today.
The uncertainty gnawed at him.
Leon took a deep breath and headed straight for the campus clinic.
If anyone knew what was going on with Caitlyn, it was her former aide—Germaine.
At the door, he paused, knocked lightly, then cleared his throat.
His last visit still gave him PTSD.
"Come in."
The voice sounded normal—thank God he hadn't walked in on anything weird again.
Germaine raised an eyebrow when she saw him. "Leon? Not feeling well?"
"No, nothing like that. I just...need to talk. About Caitlyn."
Germaine straightened immediately and gestured for him to sit.
"Go ahead. I'll give you the honest truth, scout's honor."
"Right..."
Leon took a deep breath, walked over to the stool across from her desk, and sat down. After a brief pause to collect his thoughts, he decided to start from the very beginning—when he called her to wake up that morning.
"So yeah... that's basically it," Leon said nervously, wringing his hands nonstop. "I'm just... worried. She's been acting a little distant all of a sudden. Do you think… maybe she's starting to hate me?"
Germaine took a slow sip of water, paused for a moment, and didn't answer him directly. Instead, she said gently, "Caitlyn is actually... a really gentle person."
Leon said, "I know... even when I screw up dinner, she still comforts me. If I can't sleep, she'll pat my head. And even when I hug her, she doesn't get mad or give me the cold shoulder."
Germaine's eye twitched. She shot him a look and said, "Leon, let me just say—if it were anyone else, they'd have been slapped into next week just for trying. Caitlyn... really doesn't like people getting physically close to her out of nowhere."
"So... what does that make me?" Leon murmured, visibly thinking it over.
Germaine cut in before he could spiral further. "It means she sees you as a friend. A real one. That's probably the only reason she lets it slide."
"You like her, don't you?"
Leon froze, then looked away, cheeks turning red.
"Don't pretend. You're so obvious it's painful," Germaine chuckled.
Leon muttered, "That's why I came to you."
"Relax. If she didn't like you at all, she'd have killed you already. The fact that you're still alive and not charred is a good sign."
Germaine took another sip.
"But today..." Leon frowned. "You haven't actually told me what's wrong yet."
She sighed. "Like I said...Caitlyn's gentle. Too gentle, sometimes."
Leon stared at her with wide, puppy eyes.
"Leon," Germaine said, her tone turning serious, "if you really want to be with Caitlyn—like, be with her, the kind where you fall asleep with her in your arms every night—then you've still got a long way to go. She's... tricky to read sometimes.
"But I've never seen her act this close with anyone before. And the way she tolerates your nonsense? That's honestly kind of shocking."
She flicked a glance at Leon out of the corner of her eye.
Seeing him grinning like a lovesick idiot at her words, she narrowed her eyes slightly.
Tch, still won't admit it, huh? Look at that goofy smile.
Honestly, if someone told her nothing was going on between the two of them behind closed doors, she'd call it the biggest lie in Ekavine.
But the fact that he'd come asking her about this in the first place probably meant they weren't that far along yet—no snuggling, no midnight cuddles.
"If you want my advice," Germaine continued, "take it slow. She's not pushing you away, right? She even lets you hold her hand. That means she still cares about you—though how exactly, I can't say. She's gentle, but that gentleness also means she's deeply guarded. She's afraid of getting too close."
Germaine paused, frowning slightly. "So if you want to get closer, what you really need to do is make her feel safe. And that's... not easy. But you're different, Leon. You've made it this far, closer than anyone else ever has. Maybe you really are the key. You just have to be patient enough to fit the lock."
"Yeah..." Leon said softly, ears slightly red. "I... I get it."
Leaving the clinic, Leon wandered the halls like a ghost. He'd just heard a ton...and yet, somehow, felt like he knew less than before.
So the takeaway was: this was going to be a long game.
"Wasn't that already obvious?" he muttered, sighing into the drizzle. Still...his voice carried a new kind of determination.
Swords and monsters? He could handle that. But love?
Love was a whole new battlefield.
Outside the classroom, Leon waited quietly. Inside, Caitlyn continued her lecture, but her eyes kept drifting to where he stood.
And her students...couldn't shake the feeling that Professor Morrow was suddenly just a little softer today.