Baron Caden ground his teeth. This situation was entirely unexpected.
"Ray's name wasn't widely known to begin with!"
Typically, an illegitimate child lives quietly within the family, and it's no surprise that most people in the territory had never heard of Ray. Yet now, someone had appeared, declaring Ray as their lord. For the first time, Ray's name was known, but only as "someone's knight."
"Damn, this will be a headache later."
Now, even if Ray decided to serve the family, there would be complications. Someone would inevitably question why Ray broke his oath of loyalty. For a knight, breaking a lifetime contract is a severe disgrace, and naturally, the Winslow family, Ray's own family, would be swept into the gossip.
"I had hoped to end this quietly, so why…?"
"Father!"
Leon approached Viscount Caden, who was biting his lip. Leon's face didn't look pleased either.
"You've come. Did you hear the rumors as well?"
