The community of nobles was just as Leonidas remembered it. Well-paved roads, neatly trimmed lawns and bushes, the fresh air, free of dust and the smell of dung, it was all the same.

However, the looks Leonidas received this time were not.

In the past he received looks of apprehension, bordering on fear. This time, anyone who saw him steered well clear.

Leonidas didn’t have to guess too much to understand why this was happening. News of Maw’s fate at his hands had definitely spread.

These nobles were quite used to doing as they pleased with those of ‘common’ birth like Leonidas and expecting no retaliation in return.

In the past, Leonidas could only bark back with his words. Now, however, his fists were larger than most.

By his side, Anabel seemed to be walking on clouds. She didn’t notice the odd atmosphere in the slightest and was entirely focused on clinging to Leonidas’ arm.

She looked every bit the part of a young lady in the springtime of her youth. Her cheeks blushed a healthy rouge, her large and deep brown eyes sparkled, and her skin seemed to glisten and glow.

Of course, the last effect wasn’t entirely a trick of the eye. Anabel’s fragmented Water Body made her sparkle beneath the sun’s rays, albeit subtly.

The pair made it back to the Siris family’s estate. Much like last time, Leonidas didn’t bother to wait for guards or servants, directly making it to the door. But this time, he directly turned the knob, inviting himself in.

As expected, locking doors wasn’t a widely accepted practice among nobles. Even someone as large and unassuming as Leonidas could simply stroll in, his heavy steps causing the lush wooden floors to whine.

The house had a somber and heavy atmosphere. Paved by dark wood grains and deep lavender and red carpets, it carried more of the air of an abandoned estate rather than one currently being lived in.

This wasn’t true, though. Leonidas could hear the movements of several, proving that there were easily two or even three dozen people who all called this place home.

Leonidas ignored the scrambling butler and maidservants. Taking Anabel’s hand he led her into the dining room, taking his place at the head and placing her to his right.

Anabel blinked, suddenly understanding the situation. It took her exactly this much to snap out of her fairy tale and realize that this matter wouldn’t be so simple.

This wouldn’t be a casual visit to her family home.

The first to rush in were Anabel’s parents. Her father seemed red-faced and her mother’s expression warped with shock and a subsequent ecstatic happiness.

“Mother, father!” Anabel rose from her seat to greet her parents before returning to Leonidas.

Both suppressed whatever emotions they were feeling and bowed deeply, understanding that the status of this young man was even greater than what it had been in the past.

The two understood that it wasn’t proper etiquette for them to sit, especially when the two of them weren’t who Leonidas was waiting for, so they soon found them awkwardly standing, unsure of what to do as more footsteps approached from the distance.

“Sit,” Leonidas said lightly.

The couple froze, unsure of what to do until Leonidas looked up at them with those deep, crimson eyes.

“I said, sit.”

The command was clear, and its underlying meaning was even clearer.

The person who set the rules of etiquette here wasn’t the Siris family or even their current family head, it was Leonidas and Leonidas alone.

As though sitting on pins and needles, the husband-wife pair slowly found their seats by their daughter, sitting on the very edge with their backs overly straight.

Seeing her parents act like this, Anabel could only sigh inwardly. She wasn’t much different, now was she? Even now, she was still quite careful around Leonidas and had yet to fully unleash her true personality.

She had relaxed a small measure after she became a Paladin and they finally consummated their relationship, in a way. But, she was still keenly aware that Leonidas could snatch it all away whenever he so pleased.

It was then that the main character arrived. Or, rather… characters.

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An old man wearing an off-white colored robe and a single black pauldron on his left shoulder walked forward.

He had a hint of dignity between his brows, but his skin was wrinkled and worn, his eyes sunken, and his irises murky.

The man was well past his prime, but it was obvious he still took pride in his former glory. There was no doubt that this man was the head of the Siris family, their former only Paladin, Bertran Siris.

However, at this moment, the head of the family was following a step behind someone else entirely.

When this person saw that Leonidas had taken one head of the table, their nose practically tilted upward in a snort.

Without missing a beat, they pivoted, taking the opposite head of the table for themselves.

As for Bertran, he didn’t take a seat. Even in his old age, he stood as straight as a javelin, clasping his hands behind his back and taking up position behind the seated gentleman.

Leonidas recognized this so-called gentleman quite well. He was one of the old men who had left right after Deacon Bruthers during Leonidas’ first banquet amongst nobles, and he was also one of the two old men silently watching among the Rardins during his trial.

By now, Leonidas was certain that this old man was one of the Healers of the Rardin family, and he was correct.

This man was Averit Rardin, Level 3 Healer.

The room fell into silence. The maidservants and butler that scurried in after them pressed themselves flat against the closest wall they could find, hoping that they just might blend in and vanish from sight.

Averit and Leonidas’ gaze met across what must have been a three-meter distance. However, the long length of the table didn’t do much to alleviate the pressure in the air at all.

Suddenly sensing something, Averit’s gaze shifted, landing on Anabel.

Finding herself beneath the scrutiny of a Level 3 Apostle, Anabel’s neck shrunk. Her heart beat wildly, her thoughts of fantasy and fairy tales being blown away.

“… I guess I should say congratulations,” Averit spoke, shifting his attention back to Leonidas, “or maybe I should say you’re welcome?”

“A family as rich as yours wouldn’t miss a single Level 3 weapon, right?” Leonidas replied.

As expected, Averit assumed that Leonidas was only able to afford Anabel’s Promotion by stealing Maw’s sword. This wasn’t the only reason Leonidas had taken it, but it could be said to be a convenient cover until his true Level was exposed in the future.

For now, the only people who should be aware that he was Level 3 were Deacon Bruthers and Lady Eve. And, neither had a reason to expose this to the Rardins just yet.

“It is true, my Rardin family is quite blessed. If you had needed a loan, you could have just come directly to our estate.”

“Is that so?” Leonidas tapped on the table, his sharp claw splintering the wood. “I could have sworn your Rardin family was hostile against me. After all, you targeted my woman without cause or reason.”

Anabel blushed, her head lowering further. Her parents, though, seemed very happy with the establishment of these clear boundaries. It was good to know that their daughter at least had some title, even if it was as vague as this.

Averit’s gaze narrowed.

“Without cause or reason? I can forgive the young for being ignorant, but it seems that you’ve forgotten that the Siris family is under my charge. Your “woman” has been groomed by resources provided by the Rardin family since her youth.

“And, now, her Promotion has also occurred only due to Rardin family property. Doesn’t that make it clear who she does and doesn’t belong to?”

It only seemed to now settle in what it was Leonidas and Averit’s words implied…

Anabel was a Paladin!

Bertran’s gaze couldn’t help but shift to his granddaughter. He had too many wives to account for, let alone children and even further, grandchildren. Anabel was one of the few whose names he bothered to remember because she had displayed enough talent to gain the family’s nurturing.

In the past, Bertran had been certain that Anabel and her peers would display enough to be chosen as the next Paladin of the Rardin family. But, for whatever reason, Averit had never shown any interest in replacing him as he grew old.

Over time, Bertran was called forward less and less, and the Siris family began to fall by the wayside.

Anabel’s Promotion was like a light at the end of the tunnel. The Siris family had gained a path toward survival.

Regardless of who won this power struggle, a Paladin was too valuable to just ignore, especially since the Rardins had recently lost a Paladin to Leonidas’ hands just four or five days ago!

Bertran’s expression never changed, but the weight on his heart vanished. It seemed the Siris family would survive with or without him.

“Your resources?” Leonidas tapped again, the wood splintering further.

“That is correct.”

“So does that mean you’ve never properly compensated Sir Siris for his decades-long service to you?”

“Don’t speak nonsense, the Rardins have always been generous with their retainers.”

“Then why do you still say it is your resources? If I pay a blacksmith to forge a sword for me, and he uses this money to feed his family, am I to appear the day his daughter comes of age claiming that I’ve already paid her bride price? That sounds a bit ridiculous, don’t you think?”

Averit seemed to have only now realized that he had made a mistake.

“Sir Siris was under your charge, he put his life on the line at your behest for decades, and he was thusly compensated for his blood and sweat. He then used these resources to raise his family up. Where in this could they still be considered your resources?

“You do not own any of the Siris family’s land, nor do you have a say over anyone outside of Sir Siris himself as he is your Paladin.

“So, when I took Anabel as my Knight, under the promise that she would one day become my Paladin, she had already become mine.

“And yet your family still deemed to touch her. Do you not think that this demands compensation?”

Leonidas’ meaning was clear. Not only had he shot down Averit’s claim that his resources had raised Anabel up, but he also gave himself moral superiority in snatching Apostle Maw’s sword on the ground out of compensation.

Healer Averit remained silent for a very long time, continuing to meet Leonidas’ gaze. He didn’t fly into a rage, and his expression remained calm. It made it difficult for Leonidas to read exactly what he was thinking, until he suddenly smiled.

“I must say, you have a way with words, Mage Leonidas. I would not expect this from a commoner, though I guess no normal person can become an Apostle.”

“I read a lot of books in my youth,” Leonidas said lightly.

“I see, this early education must have had a profound impact on you, then. I am impressed.”

Averit slowly rose from his seat, brushing down the wrinkles in his robes.