CHAPTER 13: Work-Life Balance

"And so, with the presumption that this formula would be applied to determine the length of this side of the quadrilateral…"

Inside a classroom of a prestigious and well-renowned cram school for students of various grades across numerous subjects, there was an air of curiosity that was rarely found in a place where studies and academics were placed as a top priority among all the people who walked in the facility's halls.

"..."

The classroom where this air of curiosity was now being emitted was one that was reserved for students in the third grade. Filled with children whose ages haven't even reached the double digits.

It wouldn't be a shock to see such young children have minds brimming with curiosity, but the peculiarity was the subject to which their curiosity was directed. One that not only captured their attention but those of other students who passed by their classroom.

"Miss!! I have a question!"

With a hand that rose significantly above the heads of the other students who were learning, Leon wanted to ask a question to resolve something he was confused about regarding the lesson they were currently covering.

"Ah! Yes! What is it, Mr. Greenfield?"

Tensing her body upon being called upon by a man, the teacher in charge of the classroom was quite nervous. Not just because she was interacting with a man, something most women weren't used to, but because of the people who were related to him. The feared Chief Prosecutor as his mother, and the terrifying snow-white maid who currently accompanied him in his studies, Anastasia Romanov.

"I just wanted to clarify something about this equation…":

As Leon began to explain the problem he was having, Anastasia was staring down the teacher with a death glare. Why? She was simply sizing her up to determine if she was worthy enough of an educator for her Young Master.

After a few seconds of seeing his teacher tense up around him, Leon began to emit a cold air as he began to address his maid without even turning to look at her.

"Ana. Down."

"M-My apologies, Young Master Leon"

Performing a curt bow, the young maid trembled under the immense pressure her Young Master directed towards her. Something he had never done previously. But it had now become a regular occurrence as his mind immersed itself in studying.

He had no time to accommodate his family's antics. Just as they began to grow stricter on him, Leon began to grow strict with them as well. Spent every free moment he had to further his progress by catching up with his peers.

'Big brother Leon is so cool…'

After his display of dominance over the intimidating maid, the surrounding young students began to look up to him. Their cheeks flushed with admiration as their childish hearts grew to experience what love was for the first time.

Though Leon didn't have the time to go with Ada and Ana's antics, he was still mindful enough to be kind to the people around him. Especially the young girls who were many years his junior.

…

..

.

"𝘠𝘢𝘸𝘯.."

"Good job on another fruitful studying session, Young Master"

"Thanks, Ana…"

Receiving the well-wishes of his maid, Leon yawned as he stretched his body. Though he was covered under a thick hoodie that obscured the lines of his body. The movements he performed still drew the attention of everyone in the classroom., much to the annoyance of Anastasia.

But paying no mind to the attention he received, Leon simply diverted his maid's cold glare from the children and onto himself as he requested the materials for the next phase of his studying schedule.

Most of his day would be consumed by taking the various classes of the cram school that specialized in comprehensive overviewing of each subject lesson for their respective grades, but afterward, he would continue to study using his own means. Not wanting to be limited by the schedules of his teachers.

"Here you go, Young Master. This day's next worksheet. I'm sure you will be able to accomplish it fully"

Taking the stack of papers from Anastaisa's hands, Leon perused through them all. Within each paper was a specialized test his maid had concocted for him regarding everything he had covered in the cram school for third grade, the current position of where his knowledge was at in terms of the education system.

He was reaching two months in his journey to catch up with his peers in preparation for the upcoming high school entrance exam season. Considering he had over nine years of formal education to learn in the span of six months, his current progress wasn't half-bad.

"Mr. Greenfield, that test appears to contain the entire curriculum for the third grade, right?"

"Hm? Oh, yes. A good observation, Miss"

Smiling brightly, Leon greeted his teacher who approached them and made a comment based on her brief glances at his personal worksheet,

The teacher was a beautiful middle-aged woman who would fit quite naturally in many teenager's fantasies of an alluring and refined teacher, but here, she was just a shy and adorable woman whenever she interacted with him.

After punishing Anastasia for glaring at the teacher once again, and having a light conversation regarding the last lesson they discussed, the teacher suddenly mentioned something that sparked outrage among the classroom of young students who were preparing their bags to head home.

"With your progress like this, I supposed you'll be moving to the classes for the next grade, right Mr. Greenfield?"

" " W H A T ? ! " "

In an instant, a choir of high-pitched voices of young girls began to fill the room as the faces of teary-eyed children began to surround Leon's vision.

"Big brother, Leon! You're leaving?!"

"Yeah, Oli. I have to prepare for the upcoming entrance exam season for high school-"

"No! I don't want Big Brother to leave! Don't leave me!"

"But I can't, Sarah. Big Brother wants to enter high school-"

"Then! I'll skip grades and join Big Brother! I don't want to study without you!"

"Christi…"

Surrounded by the swarm of innocent children who didn't want to let him go, Leon began to feel his heart ache greatly for letting them down. This differs greatly from his past where he used to call children brats and laugh at their misery.

Seeing her Young Master become surrounded, Anastasia prepared to use force to free him. But, as always, Leon glared her down before she took it too far with her extreme loyalty and devotion.

"Guys, I'm sorry, but I want to do this. Can't you support your Big Brother instead? I don't want to leave you guys with sadness"

In the time he spent in this class, he grew quite attached to the young girls who were brimming with curiosity and innocence. Full of potential to become outstanding people. Perhaps it was his memories of an old man acting up, but he wanted to care for them for as long as he could.

With his time with them running out, he decided to teach them an important lesson. The value of letting go rather than holding on.

"But I feel sad if Big Brother isn't always here…"

"Hey, just because I won't always be here, doesn't mean I'll be gone forever. Big Brother isn't going to just forget you all when I leave. Unless you guys will forget me?"

"No! We won't ever forget, Big Brother!"

"Then we will surely meet again! This isn't goodbye forever, just a moment of being apart before we meet again, okay?"

"𝘏𝘪𝘤…𝘏𝘪𝘤…𝘏𝘪𝘤…"

Surrounded by a crowd of crying young girls, Leon felt some tears well up in the corner of his own eyes. Perhaps this was how good teachers felt when their classes were about to separate at the end of the school year.

If so, his respect for their profession went up by leaps and bounds. Who could constantly bear the sadness of children who simply just want to spend more time with you?

As Leon embraced each child as he readied them before he would leave, one of the girls gathered her courage as she shouted with all her heart.

"Big Brother Leon! I like you the most! Please marry me!"

A sudden confession. One that was met with instant hostility and rejection by the other girls.

"Hey! No fair! I wanted to confess first!"

"Liar! I like Big Brother the most, not you!"

"Impossible! Young Master Leon is too young for marriage!"

Aside from the intrusion of an overly possessive maid who began to beef with eight-year-olds, Leon faced the confession of the child with a gentle demeanor.

"I'm flattered, but Big Brother isn't looking to be married right now…"

Faced with the rejection of her crush, the young girl gritted her teeth as she continued to press forward. Not wanting to so easily give up on her first love.

"Then, I'll marry you later! When you want to get married, Big Brother!"

"But I don't know when that would be. I might not even look for it when I'm old…you wouldn't want to get married to a tired old man, would you?"

With the question Leon posed, the young girl began to contemplate it for a bit, but after her imagination began to see what a mature and refined older Leon would be like, he had unintentionally awakened a lifelong obsession for the youth.

"I STILL WANT TO GET MARRIED EVEN IF YOU'RE OLD!"

Taken aback by her sudden burst of vigor, and not realizing that her innocence had already begun to fade ever so slightly, Leon decided it was best not to side-step the issue any longer.

"I'm sorry, but I still can't accept your confession…"

"No way. Is it because I'm not good enough…"

As the young girl's tears began to resume pouring down her cheeks, the young man decided to leave her with a consolation at the very least. Hoping it would be enough to not leave her heart broken for too long.

𝘾𝙃𝙐

Planting a gentle kiss on the girl's forehead, the entire crowd watching him grew shocked as he resorted to such extreme measures.

"B-Big Brother?!"

"M-Mr. Greenfield?!"

"UWAA!!! YOUNG MASTER'S FOREHEAD KISS!!!"

Staring into the widened eyes of the child who had received his platonic affection, Leon wanted to paint their last moments in joy rather than sadness.

"Though it isn't romantic, I hope this will be enough for you. Proof that you have a place in my heart"

Uttering those lines, Leon cringed a bit at himself for how cheesy they were, but rather than a mutual cringe reaction at his words, the surrounding women were simply flushed red as they began to utter the same word.

"Prince…"

With his notoriety as a fairy-tale prince having spread even further, Leon bid farewell to his class. Leaving behind a crowd of sobbing children and one tearful adult who outpoured tears at the fairy-tale-like scenario she had just witnessed.

'I'm so jealous…if only a kind big brother kissed my forehead as a child as well…'

…

..

.

"Young Master, you weren't obligated to do that. It isn't good to spoil children…"

"It's fine, Ana. They didn't have any bad intentions for me. I don't see the problem"

"Young Master is too trusting of women. All women have the capacity to become unforgivable beasts…"

"You're thinking too much about it. Besides, you'll protect me if anyone tries to harm me, right Ana?"

"Hm?! T-That's not fair, Young Master…"

"Hehe~"

Walking through the central hall that connected the various classrooms in the cram school Leon was currently enrolled in, he and Anastasia drew the attention of many tired students as they walked together as they made their way to exit the building.

In the short time he had been here, Leon had become something akin to an idol to the various tired students who were knee-deep in textbooks and worksheets.

With his golden hair that radiated like the sun, and his kindness everflowing like a clear river, Leon had become the light that rejuvenated their souls as they became bruised under the weight of a modern student's workload.

Like an angel walking among mortals. Blessing them with his healing light, and nurturing their tired bodies under the warmth of his soft white whings.

But beyond his good looks and charming personality, this gathering ground of studious academic women valued Leon's desire to learn above everything else.

Though he was currently way far from where his peers were currently at, the rate at which he absorbed the lessons, and the dedication he placed into his studies was something that struck a deep chord among them all.

Add on top of that how the young man dressed casually the further he studied, and began to wear glasses to not strain his eyes so much, and he became the heartthrob of everyone there. A handsome, kind, and book-loving young man.

"Ahhh, my soul is healed upon seeing Leon…"

"I feel like I can take on my calculus exam with no problem now…"

"Thesis? I now feel like it's a casual essay after seeing Leon…"

"Hey, I heard a young girl confessed to him in the third-grade classes!"

"Though he didn't accept it, he left her with a kiss on the forehead!"

"Huh?! Don't those types of scenarios only happen in those age-difference shoujo mangas?!"

"You fool! Nothing is impossible through the miracle that is Leon Greenfield!"

After not giving mind to the countless whispers that were being made about him, Leon exited the cram school with Anastasia in tow.

Walking through the streets of the city and towards where his mother told them where she would pick them up in her car, Leon decided to peruse the nearby area to see if he needed to accomplish anything while he was still around.

'I don't have any study books I should stock up on. The ones I borrowed from the library aren't due for another week. So it should be fine to leave without a worry…'

As he became lost in thought, he was suddenly pulled out of his thinking as his senses flared up in response to an approaching danger.

"?!"

It was the build-up of experience in his last life to detect dangerous people who were currently telling him that someone strong was nearby. The same sense that had told him how competent Anastasia was when they first met.

'This aura, it's like a sword is being pressed down against my throat-'

And it would seem he was not alone, as his maid tensed her hands as her eyes began to thoroughly search the crowd to find where this sense of unease was coming from.

But just as quickly as it appeared, it just as quickly passed. As if a thundering storm had passed them nearby. Not aware of the disturbance it has caused the pair to experience.

"What the hell was-"

"Young Master, forgive me"

With the passing danger gone, Anastasia immediately picked up Leon before changing their location with great haste.

The crowd that had their eyes caught by Leon were suddenly shocked as they watched him be so effortlessly picked up and shuttled away.

Some of them grew envious of the maid for being able to experience picking up a man with her own hands, but to Anastasia, she was purely running on her instincts as a combatant.

"Ana! Put me down!"

"I can't follow that order, Young Master-"

"You're overreacting! That aura wasn't directed towards us! We're not in danger!"

"You felt that? How did you-"

"It doesn't matter! Just put me down and stop causing a scene!"

After coming to a stop at a less crowded crossing in the city, Leon regained his bearings. Recalling how easily his maid had lifted him up, he was once again reminded of a difference between this world and his previous one.

Women were physically stronger than most men. Though the gap could be remedied with proper training and development, it still remained that Ana was quite strong.

Perhaps with the strength she tried her best to hide from him to appear prim and proper, she would be equal to his past life in terms of combat ability.

That realization of the strength of women in this world also gave him perspective on why his maid and his mom were so paranoid at first. Men truly were at risk of great harm around women.

'To think I would encounter such an intense air of malice in a place like the city…'

The city Leon currently resides in is one called ASHIYA. A city under the Allied Union that was primarily composed of populations of Asian nations who had joined together after the ruining of their nations following the conclusion of the war for men and resources.

The crime rate was quite low due to the presence of many forces that regularly fought against the continued existence of criminals and the formation of organized crime groups. Such as his mother, the Chief Prosecutor, and the order of combat maids, the Continental.

So he had unknowingly lowered his guard. Both in part due to the low crime rate of the city and the lingering sensibilities of his last life. But before he could continue to think deeply, he was once again cut off, this time by Anastasia.

"Young Master, I won't pry into how you could sense the aura of people, but I implore you to not act in such a manner again. If we were to find ourselves in a situation where you might be in danger, even if you're not the immediate target-"

As the sun began to set over the horizon, Leon turned to see an agitated and teary-eyed Anastasia scolding him.

Perhaps she was on edge after all the attention he had been starting to receive from the women in the city and the cram school.

Maybe she was bottling up her jealousy as he treated the women around him with kindness while she tried her best to not acknowledge her growing feelings for him.

Or it could be the fact that she was more and more having to face Leon's cold glare of rebuke rather than his kind and warm nature, which frustrated her greatly.

Whatever it was, the usually quiet and stern Anastasia began to falter. Expressing emotions in droves. Something she had never done before in her life.

Though the young maid continued to spout out words that were harsh against Leon's decision to stop their retreat to safety, in her mind she was beginning to question why she was acting so rashly.

She operated on cold efficient logic. There was never once a time in her life that she would succumb so deeply to emotion that she would perform such illogical actions.

Leon's reasoning was sound, there was no immediate danger to them both, it was merely her anxiety blowing it out of proportion.

Her lambasting of him was mostly driven out by a desire to prove what she was doing was right, no matter how far she had to go. All so that she could better protect him, and not disappoint him with her behavior once again.

And even above all else, she was a maid, her duty was to be in service to her Young Master. Who was she to go against him-

"I'm sorry, Ana"

"Huh?"

Where there was once the rowdiness of her emotion-filled voice, there was now only silence as the two looked at each other deeply.

"I guess all this studying and work has put all of us on edge. I even remember Mom looking more tired lately, but I decided to study rather than help her like family should…I suppose I still need to get used to balancing work and life"

Leon was not facing the inverse problem he was facing prior. Where he once grew too lazy, he was now too obsessed with being productive.

With no experience to back him up on how to live an upright life, he could only stumble around as he did his best to find the correct balance of things in life.

From his lack of awareness of danger and his obsession with being too kind, to his inability to determine limits on violence and the balance of work and rest. Leon was a man who once led a life of extremes, and it would seem it carried on over to his next.

"Young Master Leon, I didn't mean to…"

"Ana, stop being so sad. I told you, you can be honest with me. Scold me when you believe I need to be scolded. If I accept it, then that's that. If I don't think I deserve it, I'll give a talk to you about why I think so"

Communication. The central crux of their first intervention as a family, and a vital concept that would play to the continued happiness of all three of them. Leon, Ada, and Anastasia equally.

"..."

"..."

Both of their hearts were burdened by emotion and stress, and having felt a wave of tiredness hit them as the adrenaline of the danger subsided, the pair grew quiet as they could no longer find the words to convey their emotions and thoughts

But, it would seem that they both understood each other perfectly in the silence. Both of them are violent people who want to be good, and their hearts easily resonate with one another. They both simply wanted what was best for the other and got lost in translation.

"...I quite liked it you know, Ana? How expressive you were"

"Hm?"

"Not that I liked to see you cry, but, I felt happy you're now comfortable enough with me to share your feelings like that"

Deciding that communication was the best remedy to their situation, Leoin began to simply let his thoughts air out. Hoping his well-meaning intentions would now be clearly conveyed to Anastasia.

"I also didn't want you to be so hostile around other people. Though I feel happy you value me so greatly, I also want to see Ana have friends other than me, you know?"

"...."

Seeing Leon lead, the young maid decided to follow his example. Tossing her moniker as the ice-cold maid and letting her face flush with emotion.

"I'm fine with only Young Master Leon and the Madame in my life"

"Hey, a beautiful young girl like you should be popular and outgoing!"

"And a handsome young man like Young Master should be more cautious of his surroundings! If you aren't following convention, then why should I?"

"Touche"

"Hmph!"

"..."

"I was also jealous"

"Hm?"

"Though Young Master told me you can't reciprocate anyone's love, and I have come to accept it, it still hurts to see the man I like being fawned over by other women"

"You still like me? Even after everything I said?"

"Should that matter? A person can continue loving someone even after getting rejected

"Yeah, but why?"

"You're my first love, Young Master. Isn't it a common saying that first loves can't be explained?"

"Is that so?"

"You're so weird, Young Master. At times you act like an experienced person, and at other times, you're as naive as a child"

"Urk-"

"You are also able to somehow detect the dangerous aura from earlier. Something I believed to be a skill only experienced fighters could possess"

"Ugh-"

"And you act as if women should be the people to be fawned and treasured when in reality it should be the other way around. As if your sense of morality was switched completely"

"Gah-"

"There are also a hundred other complaints that I have been omitting from Young Master due to my sense of duty as a maid. These don't even include the gripes the Madame might possess"

"...Not even a single compliment, Ana?"

"..."

"Guh…"

As Leon watched his personal maid puff her cheeks in silence, he felt his heart begin to crack upon realizing just how many painful mistakes he had committed against his treasured family due to his ignorance.

But before he could slump into a depression, Ana decided to throw the poor man a lifeman as she felt her pettiness begin to subside.

"But for all the faults the Young Master has, it is those faults that endear him in the heart of this humble maid. I believe the Madame is no different"

Seeing Anastasia glance over at him with a sense of forgiveness taking over her heart, Leon immediately assaulted her with a barrage of hugs and affirmations of love.

"Young Master?!"

Feeling his arms wrap around her with a surprising amount of force that came from his continued exercise, and having his masculine scent strike at her nose, along with the sight of his handsome features so close to her eyes, Anastasia began to panic at the overestimation of her senses.

"I love you, Ana…"

"HUH?!"

"And Mom too…you and mom…I love my family so much!"

"YOUNG MASTER YOU IDIOT!"

As Anastasia's heart and mind began to forget her usual nature of quiet coldness as she lambasted the young man who continued to stubbornly hug her, the young maid unconsciously began to make her own progress on her path to her goal.

Though she once stated her desire to serve a prince-like Young Master who appeared as if he came out of a fairy tale, in truth, the young child of Romanov held a different desire.

Its theme of fairy tales remained the same, but the context was different. Where modern fairy tales of this world usually depicted a man as the person to be saved, Anastasia's desire originated from a book far older than the current era.

One produced in a time when the population of men and women wasn't so skewed. A fairy tale of a prince saving a princess in distress. To be saved by a prince-like Young Master from the bleak world she lived in. That was the hidden dream and goal of Anastasia Romanov.

"ANASTASIA ROMANOV! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING TO MY SON?!"

With a loud scream, Ada pulled up to the pair's current location with her car. The tires screeched loudly to a halt on the asphalt as she began to emit bloodlust for the young maid whom her sun embraced so affectionately.

But once again, her murderous thoughts were ceased by the very same person who produced them as Leon embraced his mother alongside his maid. Turning the hug of two into a hug of three.

"I love you, Mom"

"UGYAAAA!!!-"

In the lonely corner of the city, the Greenfield family was once again having their bonds with one another strengthened immensely. Something they would need as the fate that awaited Leon would require the strongest of wills for them both.

…

..

.

"..."

Turning her head back, a young woman looked with confusion as she saw a handsome man begin to be carried away by what appeared to be a white-haired woman in a maid uniform.

Though her curiosity was piqued and her attention was briefly held by the young man's beauty, her mind quickly tossed thoughts of the pair aside as she checked the time of day on her watch again.

"Ah! I'll be late for my cram school class!"

With her raven black hair tied into two braids in order to appear inconspicuous, and her glowing red eyes hidden behind wide glasses to not unease any person who might look at her.

The young woman who emitted an extreme aura of malice panicked as she tried her best to reach her goal, just like Leon and Anastasia. Hiding her terror-inducing features under a veil of normalcy. Her goal? To become a normal woman in society.

Something that might prove difficult considering she was the sole heiress to a group that rivaled the feared order of maids of the Continental Hotel. Where the maids of scary devotion originated from Eastern Europe, this group was born and cultivated in the bustling region of Asia.

The smoldering remnants of the Yakuza that were reborn to reinstall and maintain order in a chaos-ridden Asia following the countless wars. The Azuma.