Leon had come to this place to analyze the Geling family and see if they would be useful to the prince. The one the prince was most interested in was their daughter, who had disappeared years ago. From what he knew, that girl had run away for personal reasons, and during her escape she declared she would never be part of the Geling family again. Years later, she was earning the title of Water Witch at only fifteen years old—the same age Leon was at the time.
'He asked me to see if we could use this family to bring her in as an ally'
The plan was to offer a deal impossible to refuse, forcing them to search for that rebellious daughter, but seeing that scene, Leon only thought they were a bunch of useless people who would hinder more than help. In fact, they might make the daughter hesitant to follow the crown prince if they forced her too much to come to their side. That would be somewhat beneficial for him, but since he was currently known as the most loyal of his generation, he had to at least try to gain the prince's trust as much as possible.
'Maybe I can use this family's crimes to bring that girl back'
If Leon revealed everything to her, it would undoubtedly break her heart, especially since, from what he knew, she was kind-hearted and would take part of the responsibility upon herself, thinking—
'If I had stayed, I could have stopped it… that's why good people are always easy to manipulate'
But he would need witnesses who had suffered at the hands of the Geling family, and that's when his eyes once again fell on Surfien and the woman who had almost been dragged inside. Metkus Geling, the father of the arrogant noble, noticed his cold gaze passing over everyone, making them shiver. His eyes shifted to the royal emblem on Leon's chest.
'Damn it, I knew someone from the castle would come, I just didn't think it would be in the middle of the night'
"Father, this is—"
"Yes, Diedha, don't do anything stupid and don't embarrass me"
Both father and son approached with fake smiles while signaling behind their backs for their knights to take the two away into the mansion. Just as the knights were about to move them, Leon raised his hand, stopping them.
"Did I ask anyone to leave?"
His voice echoed in their ears, freezing all the knights in place. It was as if his authority had physical weight, preventing them from moving. That was because Leon was perfect at using the authority granted to him by the prince, combining it with the attitude of someone powerful. Even though he was weaker than those knights, he was perfect at wearing the mask of someone strong.
"Sir, please help us, these bastards are monsters"
Even while being thrown to the ground, Surfien tried his best to speak to that man. This person clearly held far more authority than them, so if he could convince him to help… the only problem was that people at this level usually only interfered if there was something to gain, and they had nothing.
'How can I convince—'
"Monsters? To me, they look like rats"
To his surprise, Leon was already crouched in front of him, staring into his eyes, seeing the restrained hatred within him—and that would be useful, very useful. With a snap, several royal knights appeared in the alleys, simply observing in case anyone tried something against Leon. It was an order of total protection for the most loyal of his generation.
"Release the two of them"
Metkus began to sweat heavily. If this family were freed, all his crimes could be exposed to the current king, especially the woman who had been in his mansion for years. He needed to stop this somehow. While his father thought, Diedha began to grow irritated with Leon's attitude.
'Even if he has authority, taking what is mine—'
"Is there a problem, son of Metkus?"
Suddenly, Diedha felt fear rise inside him as he saw the cold eyes of the younger man before him. Every part of his body urged him to lower his head—and that was exactly what he did. Sweat ran down Metkus's forehead as he tried to interfere.
"Sir, they are criminals—"
"That's a lie, they framed our family"
This time, it was Surfien's mother who spoke. Her eyes were filled with fear, as if this were her last chance to escape the Geling family's grasp. If not, they would be condemned forever. The knights seemed ready to silence them, but Leon once again ordered them to release them, and they stepped back. Both Surfien and his mother approached and knelt at his feet.
"That's a very serious accusation coming from you, so I'll ask only once… can you prove it?"
"Yes, I know where there is plenty of evidence, sir"
Metkus was growing increasingly desperate, so the only thing he could do was find a way to kill the two of them. Even if his son argued later, it didn't matter—his wealth and ambitions were at stake. With a glance toward the knights, he signaled with his finger for them to kill the woman and her son, but to his surprise, none of his knights obeyed.
'You bastards, even if you lose your heads, you swore loyalty to me'
It was obvious that if any of them acted, they would be killed, so they remained silent, listening as the woman and her son revealed everything that had happened to them. She even offered to take them to a secret room where documents of slave trading to enemy kingdoms and bribery for an invasion were stored.
"Interesting… if I recall correctly, an attack that caught us off guard happened a few days ago in the prince's ballroom, and the Geling family was one of those assigned to guard"
A dark smile appeared on Leon's face as his eyes shifted to the two men, now pale. With a signal, all the guards that came with him pinned them to the ground, making Surfien and his mother feel relief for the first time. Leon leaned down beside their ears and whispered the words Surfien had longed to hear—and perhaps his mother as well.
"Do you want to kill them? I'll give you that chance"
After that day, the Geling family was almost entirely arrested. The daughter who had run away, upon learning of her family's actions, seemed disgusted and furious. With determination, she swore she would do everything to help those her family had harmed. As Leon told her that the prince would support that, the girl decided to become a loyal servant of the prince.
As for Surfien and his family, they were freed. His father and sister were filled with anger upon hearing everything, and his sister cried tears of relief for being freed. Now that everyone was safe, and as Leon had promised, they were allowed to kill those two. The prison was opened only for the knights and two people to enter and execute them.
'Of course, those who deserved this revenge the most were my parents'
Surfien wanted to kill at least one of them, but chose to leave it to the adults, as his parents themselves had asked. With the execution carried out, the two died without even understanding how. From that day on, Surfien decided without a doubt that Leon was the man he would follow forever. His freedom belonged to him, his motivations belonged to him, and all his goals as well. Just like Surfien, his family also began to serve Leon's house, each carrying their own loyalty in gratitude for their salvation. After finishing reviewing all the evidence, he walked through the corridor and saw his lord training through the window.
'That's why I will never stop following this man, because I owe my entire life to him'