The carriage arrived as Leonard descended from it. He looked at the huge castle as he walked toward it, ignoring the guards' ridicule. He went inside and saw a very fancy place, with many chandeliers hanging from the roof and servants cleaning. He ignored them and kept walking until he reached his room, which was small with a worn-out bed, a writing table, and a window covered with metal. It looked more like a prison cell than a room, but Leonard smiled as he sat on the bed and thought about everything he had been through. He checked his status:
Name: Leonard Ziser
Race: Human
Age: 15
Level: 1
HP: 110
MP: 210
STR: 11
AGI: 6
END: 11
INT: 21
WIS: 8
Points: 0
Skills: [Sword fighting] lvl 2 [Eloquence] lvl 3 [Silver tongue] lvl 1 [Magical ability] lvl 1 [Basic mana manipulation] lvl 1 [Lying] lvl 1 [Acting] lvl 1 [Leadership] lvl 1 [Math] lvl 1
Leonard sighed as he looked at his status. "I'm still weak," he thought. Suddenly, someone knocked on the door. Leonard was alert because no one had ever cared enough to visit him in his room, not even the servants. He opened the door and was surprised to see his father. The man had black hair with small white streaks, a normal face that showed the effects of time, and was dressed in fancy clothing. Leonard looked at him, not recognizing what was happening.
"Something is wrong. This man has never cared enough to come to my room. I made sure to cause no problems. Does he want to throw me out or dispose of me? I have to be very careful," Leon thought carefully, but on the outside, he managed to smile warmly and activate his acting skills and persuasion abilities. "How can I help you, Your Highness?" Leonard called him "Your Highness" because the last time he called him "Dad," he had been punished enough to never say it again.
"Leonard, I wanted to invite you to lunch," his father said with a gentle voice, making Leonard's brain stop working. Even with his high intelligence, he couldn't figure out what was happening. "Eating with you, Your Highness?" Leonard asked, not sure if he had heard him right.
"Yes, and don't call me 'Your Highness.' Call me 'Dad,'" his father replied. "Okay, something is definitely wrong. What the hell does this old man want from me, calling you 'Dad'? The last time I said it, you made me sleep without food for three days in the dungeon," Leonard thought, not believing what he was hearing. But he kept acting. "Yes, D-Dad," Leonard said, feeling sick just from saying it.
"Good. Now follow me, Leonard," his father said, and Leonard followed behind him, thinking carefully about all the possibilities, but he couldn't find a single one. "What the hell happened so that he is now respectful to me, the disgrace of the family?" he thought but kept following his father silently and obediently.
As they reached the dining room, Leonard was surprised to find that all of his "family" was present, including his half-brothers, half-sisters, and his father's wife. The brothers were all blond, like their mother, while the sisters had long, black hair like their father. The eldest of the brothers was big and fit, while the second was a little plump, and the third was skinny. The two half-sisters were beautiful. The eldest had a voluptuous body and the second was petite. Both had green eyes like their mother.
Nicolaus was the name of the first-born son, Klaus was the second, and the third was Maya, the older sister. Nicollet was the fourth and the second sister, while Leonard was the last one, the youngest brother, and Tim was of course the youngest. Lastly, Elizabeth, the wife of Leonard's father, was mature and beautiful with long blond hair, green eyes, and appeared to be a MILF.
Leonard looked at them and noticed that they appeared nervous and reluctant to look at him. He noted this in his mind as his father told him to sit beside him. Despite being surprised, as the one who always sat beside his father was his stepmother and his eldest brother, Leonard acted like everything was normal. He sat down, looking at his eldest sister beside him, and used his acting skills to pretend like everything was fine.
As they all sat down to eat, servants brought in food, including cooked wild boar, wine, and many different delicacies that Leonard had dreamed of eating. He eagerly started eating, not caring if something was going on behind the scenes. After they all finished eating, Leonard's stomach was full, and as he sat back in his chair, everyone continued to act normally. Suddenly, his father coughed gently and started speaking.
"Leonard, I wonder where you got to know the princess," his father said, catching Leonard off guard. He had never seen a princess and had no idea who the princess was. But, taking advantage of the situation, Leonard acted nervously and used his persuasive skills to lie. "It's a secret, Dad. The princess told me to keep it all secret. How I met her," he said, trying to sound convincing.
His father nodded, believing him, as the princess's identity was undercover and no one wanted to know about her. Leonard then asked, "Dad, I wonder why the princess came to our house." His father rubbed his forehead and explained, "The princess came to our home and said that she is placing you under her protection and that if something happens to you, she will zap us."
Leonard thought about when Hanna had said something similar, and he wondered if it was the same thing. Could it be? No, it couldn't. Is Hanna Jones the princess? What the hell? When she said she wouldn't allow anyone to hurt him, he had thought she was just trying to console him and make him feel better, not like this. He didn't know what to say. No one had ever been so kind to him before, except for that servant.
Leonard sighed and smiled gently, looking at his brothers and sisters as they all forced a smile. He chuckled at their display of kindness and decided to take advantage. "Dad, I'm short on money. Can you give me one white gold coin?" he asked, knowing that the currency of the world was one bronze coin, one silver coin was worth 100 bronze coins, one gold coin was worth 100 silver coins, and one white gold coin was worth 100 gold coins.
His father forced a smile on his face. "Isn't that too much, Leonard?" "Ah, that's too bad. Well, I guess I'll go see the princess. Maybe she'll give me a white gold coin. Princesses are always rich," said Leonard. "Wait, Leonard. I'll give you one, no, two white gold coins. As my son, you are very precious to me, and I'll give you as much as you want," his father said as he quickly gave him two white gold coins, chuckling at the look of envy on his half-brothers' and sisters' faces. Suddenly, a notification came:
[Congratulations! The host [acting] has leveled up to level 2]
[Congratulations! The host [silver tongue] has leveled up to level 2]
[Congratulations! The host has acquired the skill [manipulation]]
[Acting] Level 2:
The host is slightly better than an amateur in acting.
+10% chance that people will believe the host when he acts.
[Silver tongue] Level 2:
The host is slightly better than an amateur in speaking.
+10% chance that people will believe the host when he speaks.
[Manipulation] Level 1: The host is an amateur in manipulating people.
+5% increase in the host's ability to manipulate people.
Name: Leonard Ziser
Race: Human
Age: 15
Level: 1
HP: 110
MP: 210
STR: 11
AGI: 6
END: 11
INT: 21
WIS: 8
Points: 0
Skills: [Sword fighting] Level 2 [Eloquence] Level 3 [Silver tongue] Level 2 [Magical ability] Level 1 [Basic mana manipulation] Level 1 [Lying] Level 1 [Acting] Level 2 [Leadership] Level 1 [Math] Level 1 [Manipulation] Level 1
Leonard smiled happily at his brothers and sisters, making them shiver as they felt something bad was going to happen. Meanwhile, Leonard thinks, "My precious grinding tools. I'm going to use you all very well," he smiled to himself, then went to talk to them, using all his skills to speak and act.
John watched all this, smiling and amused. "This brat has a ton of luck to meet the princess and gain her favor," he thought as he watched his host grind the skills in an interesting manner.