CHAPTER 2: All Men Are Weak Agaisnt Their Mothers

"Ugh…"

Waking up with a bit of difficulty, Leon felt a sense of deja vu rush past him as he tried to wake up.

With the blaring light of the afternoon sun raining down upon him as the large curtains of the living room were left open, the blonde-haired youth was left with little else but to rise from his slumber.

'Where…'

But just as he was about to replay the exact order of events he had already gone through prior, Leon stopped his thoughts upon remembering all that had happened to him before he had fainted.

With his mind not afflicted with the tension he had experienced prior, Leon was now able to process his situation with much more clarity than before. Not being driven by raw emotions but by logic and clear thoughts.

"I have reincarnated…"

The first thought that came to mind was that he was reincarnated. Or maybe it would be more descriptive to say that he remembered his past life.

He did not replace Leon Greenfield but simply remembered the lost section of his memories as『Wild Hunt』.

The two personalities now co-existed with one another inside Leon's mind. Both the hardened criminal and the reclusive young man.

But perhaps due to the sheer amount of experiences『Wild Hunt』had compared to Leon, the former's personality was much more apparent than the latter's.

With that being the case, Leon, rather than being shocked or panicked at the sudden change that had occurred in him, sighed with a heavy breath that was indicative of the old man he remembered himself to be.

"Here I thought I wouldn't face any more troubling situations after turning in the mantle of criminal… though I suppose I should be grateful this time…"

Clenching his hands together with a sense of youthful vigor he had long forgotten, Leon smiled as he was blessed with an opportunity he believed he could never be afforded.

Tears streamed down his eyes as emotions flooded into his heart. He could finally rewrite all the regrets he had accumulated in his tempestuous life as a villain.

"I can do it all over again… I can be kinder… I can be better… I can avoid the lonely life I had led for so long…"

For a while after he uttered those words as a veil of tears obscured his vision, Leon simply basked in the quiet joy of being able to repent for all that he had done.

But all things must come to an end, and so did Leon's outburst of emotions. Giving way for the young man to begin his new life of kindness and good in earnest.

𝙎𝙇𝘼𝙋

Refreshing himself with a light slap to the face with both hands, the young man's eyes gleamed with a sense of purpose as he set out to accomplish the first act of kindness he wished to do.

"Where is my mother?"

Leon's mother, Ada Greenfield. A single mother who raised the reclusive boy all by herself for all fifteen years of his life.

She was a famed prosecutor who brought justice to many courts in her career, but all of it changed after she had conceived Leon after a momentary fling with a man she had once met on a certain case.

Where once stood a fiery and passionate prosecutor now was a reserved and cautious woman. More concerned with tending to her newborn son than any aspirations she once had for her career.

She made sure Leon's needs were always met. Even going beyond what he would always ask of her. Sometimes even putting aside her own needs to fulfill her treasured son's requests.

Ada Greenfield was a stellar example of what a mother was, and for all her efforts, she was met with only coldness by the very son she loved with an overflowing heart.

"Leon… rather, me, you have no idea just how fortunate it is to have such a loving parent…"

Leon's face became disgruntled as he remembered how he treated his mother so terribly in this life. Remembering the coldness of the dark city streets with no guardian to keep him warm, it burned the young man's heart with anger that such a blessing could so easily be overlooked.

'Now that I know better, I'll do my damndest to live a good life and appreciate everything that I have!'

Not wanting to relive the loneliness he felt as『Wild Hunt』, Leon raised himself from the place where he had been put to rest to search for his mother.

But before he could even begin his search, something had caught his eye. A steaming bowl of porridge had been left by a nearby table.

Instantly, Leon could tell that it was something his mother had made for him to eat. No doubt because of the fainting spectacle he had shown her prior.

"..."

As if that weren't enough, the surroundings of the place Leon had been resting in were significantly tidier than before.

Dust didn't permeate through the air. Clutter didn't spread across the wooden floors. All of it had changed for the better to accommodate his resting self.

"You ungrateful bastard"

Cursing himself with a level of animosity one might expect from a criminal, Leon ignored the porridge and began to hurriedly look for his mother. Wishing to mend their broken relationship as soon as possible.

He dashed through the numerous hallways of the large mansion he inhabited. Each corner of the place was devoid of life, but the traces of his mother's care and love remained as they appeared to be cleaned and maintained.

The young man shouted with all he had, but no voice came back to reply to his voice. After a while, Leon began to heave heavily as a result of his sudden burst of physicality.

"Haa… haa… haa… why the hell am I so weak?"

Though Leon's mind was currently dominated by『Wild Hunt』who was used to operating with the energy of one with a robust physique, current Leon's body was far from what he remembered in his past life.

Though he was always sent food, he was emaciated and lacking in any kind of muscle development.

Before he could curse his sedentary lifestyle and lack of self-maintenance, Leon's eye caught the figure of his mother beyond the window of his mansion.

She was currently walking along the long path through the estate's garden with the intention of reaching the car that currently lay in wait beyond the gates.

"She's leaving"

Leon remembered that his mother had long gotten used to this sense of distance, so after she fulfilled all that her son might've wanted her to do, the beautiful woman would simply quietly leave so as to not further burden her child.

Clicking his tongue in annoyance, Leon mustered his remaining strength to open the window and shout for his mother to return.

But his body was at its limits, and more importantly, he didn't know what to say to her. His mind was currently dominated by a person who had never once engaged in genuine love, much less interacted with a genuine family member.

What should he say to call his attention? What could he say in spite of all the horrible things he had done to her? There were so many questions that filled Leon's mind.

But soon, he swept them all away. It was this indecision and hesitation to reach out that caused him such loneliness at the end of his last life. So, even if it was an unsightly display, he would reach out with all his might to attain the happiness he desired so much.

"MOM!"

His shout was pathetic and held no resemblance to the feared criminal who awoke primal terror with his voice in the past.

But for the purpose he wished for his voice to serve currently, it was enough, as its sound traveled across the air. Reaching the ears of the woman who couldn't help but stop in disbelief upon hearing it.

"Leon?..."

Turning hesitantly, Ada doubted that her reclusive son was calling out to her then and there. It was something she had given up all hope of experiencing.

But, the possibility that her son might've called out to her was simply too much for her to ignore. With her chest beating with fear and anticipation, Ada's eyes widened as she saw what she did.

Her son, breathing heavily over a window. His eyes locked in with hers. His face flushed red with exhaustion.

"Leon!"

The mother's body moved before her mind could even process what had happened. Throwing open the doors of the mansion and rushing to where her son currently was, Ada eventually wrapped herself around her son's exhausted body.

"What are you doing?! You should be recovering! Your body is simply too weak to be moving after you collapsed!"

The beautiful woman's hands began to inspect her son's body with worry. Throwing away all the precautions she once had into the wind. Right now, her son's health was her priority above all else.

But before she could lose herself in recalling all the medical knowledge she could remember, Leon raised his arms and wrapped them around the neck of his concerned mother, shocking the woman greatly.

Before a word was even able to escape her lips, the young man let out all the emotions that currently resided in his heart.

"Please… don't leave… I don't want to be alone…"

His words were interspersed with countless heavy breaths, but his message was soon conveyed to Ada in its entirety.

Hearing her son speak such blissful words she could only imagine him speaking prior, the beautiful woman was left utterly silent at what to do.

But her body moved before her mind could. Greatly returning the embrace her son currently gave her. Letting free all the motherly affection she had kept away for so long.

"Of course! Your mom is right here, Leon! I'm sorry… I'm sorry that you felt like this… I'm sorry that your mother made you feel this way"

Ada was overcome with emotion. Even with her excellent skills in logic as a prosecutor, she was never able to understand the mind of her son.

But rather than chalking it up to illogical thinking, she always believed that her son's behavior was a result of her failure to be the mother he needed.

Even now, with a few simple words, Ada began to scorn herself for possibly making her treasured child feel like he was alone in the world. Even though she had been faithfully following the boundaries the same person had set up so long ago.

"Mom…"

But before she could continue accosting herself for her perceived incompetence, Leon took away all her attention from such a task with his next few words. The young man recognized somewhat the self-disdain that began to emanate from the woman who had birthed him. An atmosphere he too emitted not long ago.

"I love you…"

It was a confession of affection Leon had never spoken to both in this life and the previous one. It was a string of words so foreign to his mind and sensibilities, and yet, it felt like it had healed a part of his heart that had long been empty.

"Leon… I love you too…"

Overcome with emotion, Ada could only struggle to reply to his son's affection with a few words of her own. Her voice was unable to articulate her thoughts further amidst the outburst of emotions that struck her heart and mind.

In a hallway that was sparsely filled with traces of life and homeliness, the mother and son who had long been estranged from one another began to reconnect.

Their hearts began to heal from immense loneliness through the formulation of a miracle. One that defied the laws of life and death, to give way to a road of happiness.