Leon fell silent after hearing his father's words.

'Tonight, huh.'

That was indeed sudden.

The king was desperate enough to meet him now. The same king who never once bothered to think about him before.

"Heh." Leon sneered unconsciously.

It was almost laughable when he thought about it.

How much influence he had created in the span of one month. How much worth he had built for the name Leon Valentine.

The same third-rate villain who was supposed to be dead by now.

Duke Orion noticed the little smirk on his face. He stared at Leon for a second, sinking into thought.

Leon had changed.

At first, he would not even dare to look at them. He always kept his head lowered, nervous and quiet.

Rowan, on the other hand, still stared at them directly. Even when Orion was cold and harsh toward him. Because of that, Orion used to think highly of Rowan for being able to stand straight.

He even believed Rowan would walk the same path he did. But Leon was never that son.

'What happened to him?' Orion wondered quietly.

Leon's personality and behavior had shifted overnight.

At one point, Orion had even suspected possession.

But that was not the case.

So what caused this change?

Maybe Leon had enough and finally learned to stand for himself. Even so, it was too sudden.

His intelligence as well.

'Was he always this bright?'

Raizen's words came back to his mind. That he might have another genius in his house.

Raizen would never say that lightly.

Maybe Leon had mastered spellcraft in secret. It sounded possible.

But his Light Affinity was not something to be explained easily.

Light was a mythical ancient affinity. Something that only appeared in folk tales.

Orion rubbed his forehead.

He could not connect anything. Veronica's support for Leon.

His high intelligence, his Light affinity.

None of it made sense.

For now, he decided to stop thinking.

He glanced at Leon again, who was now listening to Ezra without saying much.

Ezra would surely try to use him for her own influence.

It was useful, but not the way Orion preferred.

Putting that aside, the matter in hand was more important.

"Leon," Orion called. "If you do not wish to come to the royal council, just tell me. I will make up any excuse to the king."

Orion had to say it. He could not force Leon, not in this situation.

Leon noticed one important delay, that his father was opposing the idea of meeting the king.

The king surely called him because of his Light Affinity. He would see him as a national weapon now.

And that was the last thing Orion wanted.

His mother added, "Getting invited by the royal council is a big deal. Your sister was once invited as well."

Leon knew that. Before Veronica became the Tower Head, the council once tried to pull her to their side. But knowing her, she had probably shut them down without giving them even a sliver of hope.

Veronica never bowed to anyone. If anything, she made others bend first.

The Duke glared at his wife again. "No need to force him. You know damn well what those people were trying to do last time when they called Veronica."

"And?" Ezra glared right back. "She handled them well, did she not? Surely Leon is capable of doing at least that much. And even so, you would be with him. So I don't see why it is a problem."

"Again, for the hundredth time, Veronica was differen—"

"Dear," Ezra's tone turned sharp this time. "Stop calling Veronica different. She was near his age back then. A child. Do you even realize that?"

Orion froze for a second, his jaw tightening. He wanted to slam his hand on the table, but his fingers curled slowly, gripping the armrest as if holding his anger in place.

Before their argument spiraled further, Leon spoke. "I will go."

Leon wanted to see for himself. He's not scared at all, why would he be?

"What?" Orion narrowed his eyes. Ezra's face brightened with pride. "That is the spirit."

Before his father could say anything else, Leon continued.

"I know. The king will surely try to interrogate me. But he cannot possibly harm me."

They both went quiet.

Leon continued. "With my current situation, even if I act disrespectful in front of the king, he would not dare touch me. Is that not right?"

Even if the king had Ethan on his side, who also possessed Light Affinity, he could not ignore another similar existence. A kingdom with two mythical affinities would rise above every other nation. And no ruler would want to lose that advantage.

Leon could already foresee a few things the king might try to pull. Honestly, it was natural for a ruler to act that way.

Orion looked at him quietly. Those golden eyes of Leon's reminded him of Veronica more than ever. Eyes that saw too much. He felt a sense of déjà vu flood through his mind.

Orion's mode raced with many thoughts one more time.

What if Raizen was right? What if, like Veronica, Leon would become someone equal to her?

He lacked power now, yes. But that was only for now. In the future, he could even surpass her. Maybe that was why Veronica focused on him so intensely. Maybe she adored him because she saw herself in him.

Orion closed his eyes for a moment and gathered his thoughts. When he opened them again, his voice was steady.

"If that is what you want, then who am I to stop you."

Hearing that, Ezra smiled with satisfaction.

Orion continued, "Make preparations. I will inform the maids and guards. We leave in two hours."

Leon nodded.

'Good. It is going exactly as Veronica predicted.'

Next, it's up to how Eula fulfilled her part.

After the conversation, his mother told him that she had already prepared a suit for him, as if she knew he would agree from the beginning. Leon said nothing to that. Ezra always acted two steps ahead whenever it came to reputation and influence.

Leon left the office after that.

He was tired, but there was something else stirring inside him. He felt a faint excitement.

The situation had changed completely from the original storyline. Not even close to how the game played out. It felt like stepping into an unknown route.

For a hardcore gamer like him, that made things thrilling.

Where would this path end? What consequences would unfold next?

He wanted to see it with his own eyes.

Walking down the corridor again, he headed toward his room to make preparations. He would bring Moonblade with him to the royal palace. That might be the smartest choice.

His feet halted right at the end of the staircase. He suddenly remembered something.

'Layla. I have not seen her since I returned.'

She must be in her room.

'Should I ask how she was doing?'

Leon considered it for a moment.

Layla cared for the old Leon more than anyone else. The current Leon did not fully understand why she acted that way. Except for Veronica, none of his siblings cared this much. Layla was strangely attentive.

'Maybe something happened between them in the past.'

He did not know if it was a good thing or a bad thing, but he knew Layla would never harm him. At least that much was clear.

With that thought, he walked up the stairs and stopped in front of her room. From the inside, he heard heavy breathing. Something like jumping or moving around.

'What is she doing?'

He knocked anyway.

He waited. The door did not open.

"Hm? Is she busy by any chance."

He decided not to interrupt her and turned around. He could meet her tomorrow. Just as he took a step, the door opened behind him.

"Leon?"

Layla stood there, slightly breathless.

She was wearing pajamas, and she was sweating a lot. In her right hand she held a wand.

'She had been training? At this hour?'

"You seem busy?" Leon asked.

"Oh, no, not at all. I always train my skills every day before sleeping."

'Every skill. Every day?'

Leon almost clicked his tongue.

'She is insane. But she is on the right track.'

Training regularly caused mana drain, but it also speed up the skill rank by a huge margin.

"What brings you here?" she asked with a small blink.

Leon looked carefully at her face.

'No injuries, good.'

"I came here to check on you."

Layla's eyes widened a little. "That is surprising. I thought you changed."

"What?" Leon replied automatically.

Layla tilted her head. "What what? When we were little, you spent most of your time with me whenever I visited. Did you forget?"

Leon paused. "Oh. No, I remember."

It was awkward, but he said it anyway.

'So they were close.' Leon repeated.

That made him smile faintly.

'Heh. I thought the old Leon had no one.'

Layla stepped aside slightly, giving him space to enter. Leon walked in.

The room was dimly lit by the fireplace. A few books and metal practice plates were scattered around, though the room still looked clean.

"Sorry if it is messy. I tend to scatter things around," Layla said.

Leon glanced around and cracked a light joke. "If this is messy, I wonder what you would call my room."

Layla let out a small laugh. "Probably a battlefield."

Leon sat on the sofa, and Layla sat across from him. She looked at him with a calm expression, but her eyes showed something else. Maybe she felt relieved that he visited.

"What is on your mind?" Leon asked calmly.

Layla shifted slightly. "Hm? Oh, it's… nothing."

Leon played along. If the old Leon was close to her, then they must have shared things openly. He needed to play the part.

"You can tell me. I do not mind."

"You sure you want to hear?" She looked directly at him, almost as if she had wanted to say this for years.

Leon nodded. "Yes."

Layla took a breath. "Alright then. I noticed that you and Princess Rinna have gotten close these days…" She paused.

Leon listened quietly. "Go on."

"…I want to know why you are even after her. After what the king did to you that day."

Leon blinked. "Hm? What?"

He had never heard anything about that.

But Layla continued. "It might not be humiliating for you, Leon, but for me it is frustrating."

Leon saw her clench her fist.

Her voice trembled slightly at the end.

She finally said it. "I despise those Lunovars."

Leon's eyes widened slightly. There was a genuine hate in her expression. A hate so deep that it almost felt dangerous, and… evil.

.

.

[A/N: 100 PS in 24 hours, for 2 extra chapters]

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.