Unaware of her thoughts, Leo sighed and said, "Please cooperate with me and you'll be fine. In case you're wondering why I am helping you, it's because I want you as my ally."
Leo could elaborate further on this, but he chose not to. Sometimes speaking less was more beneficial. Given the girl's current state of mind, even if he elaborated more on why he's harmless and she should be with him, she wouldn't understand. It was better to have her experience everything one by one and then come to a conclusion.
With the calmness she had displayed so far after reincarnating, it gave Leo some confidence in knowing she would make the right choice. If she was dumb enough to go against him, then sadly, he would need to eliminate her, which was going to be a hassle.
This was going to be a gamble, but it was something worth risking.
Being left to herself, Ellyse's head hurt with thousands of thoughts popping up in her mind one after another. Who was this guy? What did he mean by ally? Where were they heading? What will happen when her enemies see her? What will they do? Will she be killed again?
Excess worry made her clutch her head. She was under tremendous stress, on a scale much larger than she had ever been before.
She didn't respond to Leo's proposal and tried to sort her thoughts out.
The carriage went to the center of the island, towards the base of an active volcano.
Rows of buildings were present along the volcano's slope with stone stairs connecting them together instead of pavements or roads. People could be seen walking around, appearing as small as ants when looked from the base.
The carriage stopped in front of a rectangular building with a massive dome on top.
It only had one large entry gate shaped in an oval arch. Expensive marble replaced the cobblestone pavements from the gate's entry point.
Leo got down from the carriage and Ellyse followed him. She was suffering through extreme anxiety as the thought of coming across this body's killers lingered in her mind.
Staring at the entrance of the building and noticing many red-haired youths entering it along with various servants, Leo said without turning back, "Stick close to me and do not disobey any command I give you. If you don't, the consequences will be dire and I won't be able to save you."
"Remember…" Leo turned his face to the side. "Your life is worth nothing as of this moment. Move with caution."
Leo began walking towards the entrance without asking Ellyse to follow him. He had already emphasized how important it was for her to stick close. If she didn't do it even now, then there wasn't much he could do to help her.
Gulping in nervousness, Ellyse hurried to Leo's side and walked behind him with a matching pace.
Entering the building, Leo found himself in a large hall adorned with bright golden and white chandeliers, and colorfully tinted windows.
There were many tables and chairs in this hall and Leo casually sat down on one in the corner, hoping nobody would come to bother him.
As minutes passed, the hall was filled with a sea of red as youngsters aged 16-18 of the Ignis family gathered together.
The round tables around Leo were filled, and even if he wanted to, he couldn't hide from these people's gazes. Not that he was planning to do so in the first place.
"Oh? Who do we have here…"
A familiar voice rang in Leo's ears. He ignored the boy and focused on sipping tea that was served to him a while ago.
Sitting beside him, Ellyse trembled as she heard a voice directed towards Leo. She put her head down and stared at the tea in her hand, not wanting to see who it was that was trying to bother them.
"Eh? Young Master Viren, you know this outsider?"
A red-haired boy with a bootlicking expression on his face asked Viren as they walked towards Leo.
"Hahaha, how could I not know of him? He's Uncle Patrick's son."
"Eh? The Patriarch candidate Sir Patrick?" The bootlicking boy asked with an exaggerated shocked gasp, showing off his top-tier bootlicking skills.
"Yes, that's correct."
"How is that possible?" A girl around Viren asked. "Uncle Patrick has one of the purest bloodline, how come he has a son with no purity?"
"Shhhh… we must not talk about that," said Viren while putting a finger on his lips. His voice wasn't hushed. It was loud enough to have the whole hall hear.
"I heard that a woman threw herself at Uncle Patrick, and taking pity, he took her in as a wife. She's quite the seductress from what the rumors say, but the seductive body was incapable of producing even a single heir with the family's bloodline. Her children don't even qualify to be in the branch families."
"Damn…"
The people around Viren gasped as they heard that and shot a vicious look at Leo.
Leo was still calm and drinking his tea. He was listening to every single word Viren was saying, and it was honestly making his blood boil, but the time wasn't right to react. He thus kept quiet.
"So does that mean that Sir Patrick has allowed this boy to be here as a form of pity for the woman?" A quick-witted boy beside Viren asked, adding fuel to the fire.
"That's right," Viren agreed without even thinking about what he was agreeing to.
"Wrong."
A melodious and loud voice shook Viren and his lackeys.
Turning around, everyone saw a petite red-haired girl in a white and red hanfu walking towards them. Her sharp eyebrows expressed her stern reaction, and coupled with her bright red hair, it instilled fear in all the dark red hair kids around Viren.
"Young miss Yu!"
Someone quickly identified her and exclaimed.
"Shit, it's really that young miss Yu!"
"She's more beautiful than the rumors!"
"Such a doll-like cute face… ah… I'm melting…"
"Young miss Yu! Young miss Yu!
Fans of the girl called Yu flocked all around her trying to curry favor and earn some brownie points by bootlicking, giving tough competition to the bootlicker by Viren's side.
Behind the girl called Yu, a dozen servants guarded her from the annoying red-haired pests flocking close to her.
Her arrival made Leo's brows flicker. He still didn't react and sat quietly in place.
"You are totally wrong!" Yu repeated her words, this time with more firmness as she walked close to Viren.
A butler made a red-haired boy move away from his seat and placed it behind Yu.
She sat on it and crossed her legs.
"Do you think Uncle Patrick is someone who's moved by pity? He's a man that only cares about benefits. If that boy is here, then isn't the answer obvious as to why that's the case?"
"Young miss Yu, forgive this ignorant one, but he truly does not understand your profound words," said a boy near Yu, even though he was capable of understanding what she was implying.
Yu scoffed and answered while staring into Viren's eyes, "Given how lecherous Uncle Patrick's character is, what do you think a woman that's rumored to be seductive would've offered him? Isn't the answer obvious? She obviously—"
BAM—!