"So yeah. If you want to take a bath, then feel free to, and I am going to the count for changing this room. We both won't be able to sleep if we stayed in the same place. So Good Night."

"Leon, please don't." said Lina quickly standing in front of the door to block his path.

"Why?" asked James, with a confused expression on his face. He was just going to ask the lord of the house for another room. Simple.

"It's just..."

"Why are you doing this, Lina? You won't tell me why you are here? You don't want me to change the room? Just what do you want?"

"I just need some time. I... will tell you everything tonight." said the girl. There were a lot of things Leon need to know if he were to spend time in this town & she couldn't just tell him everything in few moments. It would take time & he needed to be with her for anther reason, which she was too shy to explain.

"Of course you can."

"Really..."

"But first let me go to another room." Said James, trying to grab the handle with an annoyed expression. He couldn't understand what this girl wanted to do with him & why she insisted on telling everything tonight.

"Please Leon, I will tell you everything, but please stay here." replied Lina in a pleading tone, lifting both of Leon's hands.

"Why can't you tell me everything now?" asked Leon with a sigh, but didn't pull out his hands.

"You will see it so..."

"When?"

"In dinner."

"You sure."

"Fine & my hands..."

"Oh, sorry." said the girl hurriedly dropping Leon's hands. She didn't even know when did she pick his hands.

"But won't you feel weird being here with me? Inside a room. Just two of us alone." Asked James as he was definitely feeling awkward about this whole situation.

"No." mumbled Lina with slightly reddened cheeks. She never felt awkward or weird with him. It was the complete opposite. She liked spending time with him, but was too shy to admit it.

"Well... What now? What should we do?" asked James, looking at Lina. He still had no plans to stay in the room with her but was waiting for what was going to happen at tonight's dinner & after that, he would choose.

"I should..."

"I should go to sleep & you can do whatever you want. Just don't try to do anything funny?"

Saying that, James went towards the bed & lied down once again stretching his arms. He needed to give some rest to his back, which was aching from all those bumpy rides & soon he was fast asleep. As for Lina, she stood there for a moment thinking about something before finally sitting on the same bed where Leon was.

Having nothing important to do except dealing with some weird guy, she had an abundant amount of time in her hand which she couldn't use, so she decided to take some rest & the massive bed was the only option. She sat there for sometime expecting Leon to say something or object her but he didn't.

So she lied down, facing Leon who was asleep like a little kid with no care to the world. Her hands slowly drifted towards his face as if she wanted to reach him, but couldn't.

He was always so close, yet so far away.

***

Inside the dining hall of Count Palatine, where 8 people could be seen sitting waiting for their food. Leon was given the head seat of the table as usual for his absolute authority as the future Duke. Lina sat to his right just & other people to his left.

Palatine was an amiable guy as he happily acknowledged & agreed to all of Duke's planning with no questions. From his words, James could deduce that he was a man who cared about his people, as he kept mentioning the plans which could have been implemented for improving common people's lifestyle.

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"Lord Leon, may I say something?"

"Sure."

"I think it would be unwise to dismantle our army. It is not easy to assemble such force & by relieving from their duty & asking them to become farmer feels like a joke. They are soldiers. They take pride in their work by protecting our motherland & if we tell them to become mere farmers all of a sudden... It would be foolish. They won't listen to us." said the count in a soft tone with a smile on his face.

"I understand that. But sometimes we have to be realistic. I am sure that you have seen how our region is doing recently & it would be naïve of me to tell that we are doing fine as, in reality, we are creeping towards complete annihilation. If we won't do something soon enough, then there will be noting left to do. You understand what I mean, right?" replied James with a stoic expression on his face. These noble needed to understand the gravity of the situation, otherwise it would be the main reason for their demise.

"Yes Lord. I know about the civil war. The letter from duchy mentioned it. Food shortages are getting critical with each passing day. Prices are increasing. People are failing at providing taxes due to lack of money they are earning. And like you said, we really are not doing well."

"This is one of the many reasons for which we are dismantling the army. I know it will have some major consequences, but in the long run, keeping the army would be futile. If we can't provide food to our people, then how are we going to maintain those troops? Everyone should remember that, for a human being, basic needs always come before loyalty. They won't stay loyal to us if we can't provide them with bread or salary."

"You are absolutely right, Lord. I was not seeing the future for a moment. I am deeply sorry, I..." Palatine realized his mistake as he was not seeing the impending doom & after recognizing the gravity of the situation, the only thing he could do was ask for forgiveness for his idiotic suggestions.

"It's fine. Everyone does that. You shouldn't worry about it. Just focus on improving people's life as a ruler & everything will be fine." said James with a beaming smile, which shocked everyone present at the table as his words & characteristics were not matching the old Leon they remembered.

This guy was the complete opposite of what they were expecting him to be. He was now calm, composed, & smiled very often. And the most important thing was he was discussing about fixing the whole duchy. Leon had no interest in those stuff, but today he spoke like he was doing this for ages.

Just what snapped inside him.

"And once again, I forgot to introduce my children to you. This is my eldest son, Lucas." said the count, pointing towards his son to the right who was looking towards Lina, but twisted his head to face Leon with a forced smile.

"I presume you both have met before." added Palatine.

"Yes. We have met many times." said the man named Lucas.

"Yeah..." replied James with an awkward laugh as he did not know anything about this guy before seeing him.

"So this is my daughter, this is my second son & that little one is my youngest daughter." said the count, pointing them one by one & each of them greeted him with a cheerful expression. And in response, Leon nodded, saying nothing, but his smile never left his face as it was the last thing he could do to increase his reputation among others.

James also had been working on a revamp plan to fix Leonhart's trashy image for quiet a sometime by now, because he couldn't be called a moron in public. Some of his revolutionary steps were to be lively during talks. Appear confident. Listen to other words before saying, don't talk when not needed, respect everyone & so on.

He was trying these steps everywhere & things were working pretty good. His image was improving slightly until that Marquess dropped an f-bomb on his head. Now he had no way to fix that damn problem without some concrete evidence.

Now to answer the question of why no one in the count's family showed any types of dismay towards Leon because Palatine was a good guy. He had no problems with Espers or with any other lords. He lived his life, took care of his region & raised his children.

There was no point in dwelling on others matter. And his family followed his motto by treating every guest with respect.

"So we will visit the barracks tomorrow where you will meet the soldiers."

"Sure & how many people you said were dismissed?"

"I think probably 200. Some of them objected, but after we announced the incentives, they all fell silent." Said the count. The incentives really were too much effective as the duchy was providing them with everything to become farmer.

"You told them about the contract, right?" asked Leon, as the terms written there were very important for the soldiers to follow.

"Yes & all of them happily agreed."

"That's a nice thing to hear."

"May I ask another thing, Lord?" asked Palatine & Leon nodded, saying nothing. "Who came up with this brilliant plan? It may seem stupid at first, but if someone tried to look into it properly, then it really can save our state."

"Father & his advisers came up with it & I just added some points here & there. It's not perfect, but it will work." Said James with a causal shrug. He was not going to take credit over this, as he was not a fan of the spotlight. Only two people knew the reality & that was more than enough.

"Well, Lord Heinrich was always exceptional in coming up with plans to solve diverse problems. So there is no doubt about it." replied the count.

"Yes & we should..."

"Leon, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure you can, but not when someone is trying to say something." replied James in an indifferent tone. No one liked people who butted in during other's talk.

"I am sorry, but my question carries far more importance than your petty talks." said the man named Lucas in a fearless tone.

"Really...?"

"Yes."

"Say it then."

"Just why are you here?"