One month later
The sun gently filtered through the window of a luxurious chamber. Leon lay on a bed spacious enough to accommodate five people.
As the door swung open, a woman entered. Her face suggested she was in her forties, but her posture betrayed something ancient and formidable.
She paused beside the bed and quietly sat down beside Leon, who remained deeply asleep. Gently moving a lock of his hair to see his face more clearly, she whispered, "Rise and shine, little one."
Leon's eyes fluttered open slowly as he took in his surroundings. He saw the woman before sitting up and said, "So it wasn't a dream." His voice carried disbelief and a hint of sadness. The woman reached out to touch his face, but Leon withdrew. "Don't be frightened, Leon," she tried to reassure him.
Leon let out a sigh. "It's not your fault, miss. It's just that... all of this is happening too fast for me." He moved to the other side of the bed.
"Two weeks ago, I was just a boy in a village that despised my very being. They hated me so intensely that they killed me. Now, I find myself as the supposed heir to the great House Frostborne."
The woman rose smoothly, smoothing her dress. "Sitting here won't solve anything. Wash up and come down for breakfast." She moved towards the door.
Just before she reached it, she paused and glanced back. "Would you like me to send a maid to assist you?"
A small, knowing smile played on her lips.
Leon's face flushed. "That won't be necessary, Miss Eleanore."
He bowed quickly—too quickly—and hurried into the bathroom before she could say another word. 'Maids,' he thought. His first week at Jotunheim, he was enjoying a bath—something he wasn't able to do in Windfall until a maid walked in and started bathing him. He screamed—louder than he ever had in his life.
The maid was confused, but Miss Eleanore found it amusing. As a precaution, he slightly wedged the door before she could carry out her wicked plan.
---
A few minutes later, he was walking down the corridor leading to the dining hall. The halls were decorated with paintings of people. 'Hmm. They all look like Collins. Must be the previous patriarchs,' he concluded after observing one up close.
When he reached the door, he stopped to take a deep breath. 'Remember what the miss said. Act as if you belong. Don't show any weakness. Be ruthless,' he repeated these words as if they were his lifeline—because they were.
Even though he had never met a noble before, he had heard stories about them. And one of them was that they will eat and spit you out if they sense weakness. And it didn't matter if you were related to them or not.
He pushed the door open. The dining hall was vast. In the middle, a table stretched far and wide. Seated around it were several people. Some familiar to him, others entirely new. They were already in the middle of eating and conversing when he entered.
'Act as you belong,' he murmured to himself, then began walking toward the left side of the table—towards Eleanore.
"Leon. Come. Sit," she beckoned, indicating an empty seat beside her.
Without hesitation, Leon moved to sit down. His legs felt as if they might give out under the weight of the intense stares he was receiving. Yet, he knew he couldn't afford to show any weakness.
'Don't show any weakness,' he repeated quietly to himself. He closed his eyes once, and when he opened them, a coldness lingered behind his gaze.
"Leon, allow me to introduce everyone," Eleanore said, clasping her hands before gesturing toward the man sitting opposite her. "This is my late husband's elder brother, Cedric." The man had a sharp gaze, with a thin scar crossing his left eye. Cedric offered only a curt nod before returning to his meal.
"The lady beside him is his first wife, Sarah, and their son, Rex." Rex looked at Leon with contempt and open hostility, concluding the introductions with their side. Turning toward our side, Eleanore continued, "The one beside you is my daughter, Lenor." Lenor's face wore a playful, mischievous smile. She resembled a very young version of her mother.
"This is my daughter, Martha." Lenor gestured toward the young lady sitting close to her.
"Say hello, Martha." Lenor nudged her daughter gently.
"Hello," Martha replied, holding Leon's gaze for a moment before quickly looking away.
"She's shy, that one," Eleanore remarked. She then turned towards everyone, "And this, everyone, is Leon. He is the son of my son, the current heir of this house, and my grandson."
Leon bowed his head slightly—enough to show respect but not enough to show weakness. "It's a pleasure to meet you all." His voice was calm and cool. Eleanore smiled at his display. 'He's a quick learner.'
After that, Leon took a fork and knife and proceeded to feast. Tears welled up in his eyes when he took the first bite. They almost spilled out, but he managed to swallow them back. Unfortunately for him, Rex had his eyes on him and noticed.
"Weren't you fed where you came from, commoner?" Rex's voice carried a mocking tone. "He almost cried because of a piece of meat." He held his mouth, trying to suppress his laugh.
Leon set down his utensils before he spoke. "Where I came from, we didn't have our food served on a silver platter. We tilled fields under a scorching sun. We waited days in harsh weather to catch food. But it's not something I'd expect someone like you to understand." Rex's mocking smile faltered. He wanted to erase the commoner for daring to talk back, but instead backed down—not before throwing a final glare at Leon to show that he wasn't done with him.
'Holy shit. I nearly pissed myself,' Leon thought. His hands trembled lightly as he took up his fork and knife again.
But before he could return to his meal, Sarah spoke up. "But that is their responsibility, no?"
Leon's hand froze mid-cut. "Excuse me?" he asked, a hint of anger in his tone.
Hearing the anger in his voice, Sarah smiled and continued. "Our society is one built on responsibilities," she said. "The commoners have a responsibility to till the land and serve. While we..." She gestured toward everyone at the table except Leon, "...have the responsibility to manage and govern them."Leon stared at her, his grip on the fork tightening. "I'm sure it's very easy to say all this. After all, it's those in power who get to dictate who is responsible for what."
'Ha. Take that, bitch,' Leon sneered inwardly, preparing to return to his precious steak. Sadly, he wouldn't be able to. The space around him stretched as a pressure bore down on him, making him almost bash his head on the table, 'Shit,' he thought. His eyes moved toward Collins, whom he thought was the culprit, but Collins gave him a shrug as if to say he wasn't the one. 'If he's not the one, then who is it?'
Gritting his teeth through the mounting pressure, his eyes darted from one face to another until they landed on Rex, who had a smug smile on his face.
'It was this bastard,' he thought angrily.
Rex, upon discovering that he had been found, decided to increase the pressure on Leon. Instantly, Leon went from feeling like he was carrying a rock to carrying a boulder. His forehead began to sweat, and his eyebrows creased as he struggled to stay upright. But even through this, his mask did not slip. His eyes still held the same defiant, cold gaze.
Rex did not like it one bit. 'That fucking look!' He decided to stop holding back and release the full extent of the pressure.
"Rex," Eleanore spoke finally. And whatever Rex had planned was shut down with one word. The pressure around Leon vanished as if it had never been. Immediately, Leon stood up and left the room. Mocking and pitying gazes followed him as he exited the hall.