Leo stepped out of the office to find everyone standing behind the door, watching him with a blend of curiosity and tension, as if waiting for a moment of confrontation. Christopher was the first to speak, his voice carrying a note of challenge wrapped in suspicion: "Are you really Rita's son?"
Leo shrugged indifferently, his gaze reflecting a strange, chilling calm, "I suppose so."
A faint, skeptical smile appeared on Christopher's face, "Then you've done all of this intentionally, right from the moment you met Lisa; every move was calculated."
Leo leaned back against the wall, crossing his arms, his eyes sharp and unyielding. "And what if I did? Your base is hidden, and the letter was meant for my grandfather, Was I supposed to wander the streets in search of him? He's one of the kingdom's dukes; finding him is no simple task, I did whatever it took to reach him, Do you have any objections?"
A brief silence followed, as Christopher found no immediate response, It was clear Leo's convincing words had subdued any doubts, leaving Christopher uncertain whether he was dealing with hidden motives or pure courage.
Tyler broke the silence, attempting to ease the tension between them, "You must be tired. Come on, I'll show you your room" Leo followed him to a room some distance from the heart of the manor, where the air was cooler and quieter.
When he entered the room, he found his belongings, which had been brought over from the tavern, The room was shared with Tyler; though Leo wasn't thrilled about the idea, it seemed better than the alternative of sleeping outside.
Tyler gave a light smile, "I'll leave you to rest now, Tomorrow is the day of initiation."
Leo raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"
Pointing to a small tattoo on his wrist, Tyler replied, "Tomorrow, you'll get your mark."
He then turned and left, leaving Leo alone in the quiet room, Leo glanced down at the silver ring on his finger, feeling for a moment as if it held a hidden mystery yet to be discovered.
He lay back on the bed, his eyes tracing the dim ceiling, And in that darkness, memories and nightmares from a distant past descended upon him like ghosts haunting him, swaying between realms of past and present, He could almost hear echoes of old voices, a mixture of regret and pain, as though they were a hidden warning with every step he took.
Finally, he closed his eyes, unaware that what awaited him the next day was not just a tattoo but a new step into a path filled with challenges and secrets.
The slap's echo reverberated in his mind, followed by a flood of insults and humiliating words.
"I've told you a thousand times not to go to the village, you worthless brat! I work myself to the bone to feed you, and you defy the one thing I ask of you! I don't know why I even had you, only for you to become... this, I told you to train, to be stronger! Do you want to end up as an easy target? Go to your room and think about what you've done."
He held his cheek, stunned by the blow, feeling its sting reach deeper than just the skin, Inside, a bitter voice began to whisper,"She always scolds me if I get close to the village or try to make friends with the other kids, and now she slaps me! Why did she even bother having me? She's only hiding me away to avoid the shame of raising an illegitimate child. Everyone already knows anyway."
He shot her a look full of resentment as he climbed the stairs, then paused, turned around, and, with a voice trembling with suppressed fury, spat out, "If you're so concerned with your honor in the village, maybe you should've thought about that before having an illegitimate child."
He stormed into his room, ignoring the look she gave him; a mix of anguish and pain he barely noticed, For a fleeting moment, he felt a twinge of guilt, But the anger burned it away as he paced around his room, venting his frustration,"She deserved it I'll sleep regardless of what she says, Tomorrow, I'll go to the village, I'll make friends, How long does she think she can keep me locked up? I'm sixteen now. I've endured enough—today's slap was the last straw."
On the other side of the house, Rita sat down, one hand pressed over her heart and the other covering her forehead, her shoulders trembling as she cried silently, "Does he really believe he's an illegitimate child? Oh, dear God, what do I do? He didn't deserve that slap, but if I don't do something, they'll find us, I can't lose him too, I just… can't."
The house fell into a silence filled with misery, her quiet sobs like shadows lingering in the dim light, wrapping her in a shroud of quiet despair.
The morning light seeped through the window as Leo rushed downstairs, brushing past the breakfast his mother had painstakingly prepared She called after him as he stepped outside, her voice stern, "Don't go far, " The warning in her tone was sharper than any sense of care.
Leo was eager to meet the young men he'd befriended the other day, He spent the morning helping them bring horses into the stable, feeding them, and cleaning up after them, They had told him it was part of the fun, part of being one of them, even though he was the only one doing all the work. At first, he felt a twinge of exploitation, but quickly shrugged it off, "It's just part of the friendship," he told himself, But as the hours passed, he realized the others had vanished, leaving him to do everything.
After finishing most of the tasks, he went looking for them, That's when he overheard Carlos, the ringleader of the group, laughing and sneering, "I can't believe he did all the work just because I asked, It's like he's a servant."
Laughter echoed through the stable as another voice added, "Has anyone seen the clothes he's wearing? he looks like he's here to scare off crows, not hang out with us."
The group erupted into more laughter. Carlos, with a mocking grin, continued, "Forget the clothes he's the son of that whore, I bet she wouldn't mind spending a night with me for a little money, She cleans our house, you know, and to be honest, she's got a nice backside."
The room filled with raucous laughter, but Leo couldn't hold back his anger anymore, His fists clenched, and before he knew it, he'd lunged at Carlos, his punch landing hard on his jaw, But Carlos's friends quickly retaliated.
Leo barely registered the blows each hit more painful than the last, Insults rained down on him alongside the punches, "You'll learn not to overstep your place, you little bastard!" one of them spat before leaving him bruised and broken on the stable floor.
Hours later, Leo limped home, his body aching from the beating, His mother, Leo dropped the laundry she was folding the moment she saw him, rushing to his side, But Leo, filled with rage, shoved her away.
"Do you like what you see? This; this is all because of you and your filthy deeds!" he shouted, his voice trembling with fury.
Leo's eyes widened, "What? I told you not to go to the village!"
"The village, the village," Tyler mocked, his voice filled with venom, "Look at me! And all you can talk about is the village? Are you even my mother? Sometimes I wonder if I'm even your son."
Rita's face turned cold, Without another word, she turned back to her laundry, ignoring his outburst, "Sort yourself out," she said flatly, her voice devoid of any emotion.
leo stormed up to his room, cursing under his breath He didn't know how long he lay there, buried under the weight of his anger and pain, before his mother's sudden shaking jolted him awake.
leo's eyes blinked open, confused. "What's going on? It's the middle of the night."
"Get up quickly," Rita ordered, her voice filled with urgency, "There's no time."
"No time for what?" leo asked, still half-asleep.
"Just pack your things," she snapped. "You have to leave now."
leo sat up, his mind racing, "Leave? Where am I supposed to go?"
Marry wouldn't look at him, her expression as cold as before, "I don't care, I can't stand someone like you in my house anymore. Get out," Her voice was emotionless, as though she had rehearsed the words a thousand times.
leo's heart sank, He couldn't believe what he was hearing, The pain of the earlier beating was nothing compared to this, "She's really kicking me out", he thought, his hands shaking as he fumbled to pack a small suitcase, He stumbled out the door, barely able to comprehend what was happening.
Standing outside, suitcase in hand, he stared at the house; the only home he had ever known now rejecting him, pushing him away. "Is this some kind of nightmare?" he wondered.
With nowhere to go and no one to turn to, Tyler took a deep breath, steeled himself, and began walking.