"The things you and Joshua can't bring yourselves to do—I'll do them. Isn't that a win-win for everyone? I'm not asking for much. Just three months. Can't you even give me that little bit of time?"
Stella's eyes widened, and she looked up at Leonard sharply. She knew that he hadn't risen from being an illegitimate son with nothing to head of the family just by being ruthless. His intelligence was certainly not to be underestimated.
Perhaps because he had always been at Aurora's beck and call and had a penchant for violence, people had tended to overlook his intellect. Now, after spending just half a day with him, Stella clearly recognized how formidable he was. He had even sensed that she was in secret contact with Harland Lerman.
His mind was so sharp. Sneaking a message to the outside world or escaping on her own would be nearly impossible.
"Leonard," Stella said, "three months won't necessarily change anything. You might end up with nothing."
"It's better to have had it for a moment than never at all," Leonard replied.
Stella's gaze grew complicated as she looked at him. She suddenly remembered her conversations with 'L'. She had always felt L's pure, unadulterated passion for art. The reason she had always pictured L as a young woman was that there was a certain idealism in L's way of thinking.
Take her own love for the violin, for example. As much as she loved it, she couldn't pursue it for passion alone, not without eating or earning a living. She just couldn't do it. But L had always seemed so idealistic, able to pursue something purely for the love of it, without considering anything else.
Because of this, Stella had always imagined L was some sheltered, naive heiress from a wealthy family, someone who had never known hardship or the harsh realities of the world.
She never would have guessed that person was Leonard.


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