Ste nced down at their joined hands but ultimately didn''t pull away.


    Although she had known Joshua''s address for some time, Ste had never once visited. He was currently living in a rather secluded vi, sparsely popted but nestled by mountains and water, creating an exceptionally beautiful environment. Before, Joshua had been living with her, and the decor was whatever the house came with. Ste had never seen his own home.


    Now, arriving at his ce, Ste couldn''t help but look around.


    "This is just a temporary residence," Joshua said. "Everything inside was just thrown together."


    Ste noticed items in the vi that reflected Joshua''s personal tastes. Though he said it was casually prepared, Harold had clearly arranged the decor and furnishings to match Joshua''s aesthetic.


    Despite his words, Joshua still gave Ste a tour of the vi.


    Seeing her curiosity, Joshua said, "Once you''re done with your business here, I''ll take you back to Aetheria to see it. You can live wherever you like in the future."


    Ste fell silent.


    "The future." It felt like such a distant word.


    Ever sinceing to Solmaris, Ste had rarely thought about the future. She could only take things one step at a time. She was living on thin ice, unsure if she even had a future to look forward to.


    And yet, Joshua''s words stirred a strange emotion deep inside her.


    After touring Joshua''s home, Ste gradually calmed down. After some thought, she took the initiative to ask, "Is it confirmed? Is L Leonard?"


    At the mention of Leonard''s name, Joshua''s eyes turned icy. He gave a slight nod. "It''s him."


    Though Ste had prepared herself for this on the way over, seeing Joshua confirm it made her heart sink.


    The reason she had never


    considered Leonard was that she


    believed someone with his


    personality would never have th


    patience to spend so much time


    slowly earning her trust. He was the type who preferred a more direct approach like when he had. kidnapped her and tried to destroy her hand.


    But now, for Aurora''s sake, he had been willing to spend all this time just chatting with her.


    Thinking back to the way Leonard had looked at her at the hospital, an inexplicable unease washed over Ste. It wasn''t Leonard''s overt cruelty that was scary; it was the fear of him plotting something behind her back.


    Ste took a deep breath, pulled out her phone, and blocked L without a moment''s hesitation.


    "This is probably just another one of his schemes to mess with me for Aurora," Ste said.


    When Joshua saw that she hadn''t even tried to confirm the truth with L or doubted his word, immediately blocking Leonard, the violent rage churning inside him subsided significantly.


    During the time he was gone,


    an


    Leonard had been chatting with Ste every day. They talked about shared interests, manufactured few chance encounters, and he gave her small gifts-little by little, he had been secretly seeping into her life.


    f


    Joshua couldn''t bear to think about it in detail. The very thought that Leonard had coveted Ste even before he had left was enough make him struggle against the urge to kill. But he had to control himself. He knew that if he truly lost control, he would not only frighten her but might also do something irreversible.


    So many people liked Star-Neville Connolly, Haynes, Foreman... He couldn''t kill


    every single one of them.


    He had to endure.