It was about all Leon could possibly do to stop from grinning like an idiot as Cassandra handed him the mask that she’d wagered. The thing was supposed to help its wearer concentrate on their tasks, and he was looking forward to testing it out, but the main reason for his attitude was the simple fact that he and his retinue had won the wager. Both Penelope and Cassandra had killed more wyverns than he and his people did—in Cassandra’s case, she’d hunted almost a hundred in total—but the eggs and wyvernlings that Leon’s group had managed to seize had carried the day.

“Well done, Leon Raime,” Cassandra said with graciousness as Leon took the mask. It might’ve just been his imagination, but Leon thought he heard quite a bit of disappointment, anger, and competitiveness in her voice, and the way her ruby eyes were locked upon him made him think that she was going to remember this for a long time.

“Your Highness did admirably well, too,” Leon modestly replied, pulling the mask into his soul realm without examination. There’d be time enough for that later, but examining it here and now would’ve just been insulting to the Princess’ honor, and he didn’t want to gloat, despite his pride in his victory.

“My efforts aside,” Cassandra said, “your win is well-deserved. Infiltrating the aeries themselves and stealing the young of these monsters is a feat worth remembering.” The Princess’ eyes narrowed and she leaned in a little bit to whisper, “You’d best hold onto that mask, Leon Raime, I’ll be looking for a chance to win it back in the future…”

Without waiting for a reply, the Princess turned around and walked away.

From right next to Leon, Elise whispered into his ear, “I think she likes you.”

“I think she certainly feels something,” Leon said back as he watched the beautiful Princess walk away, his eyes riveted to her. They’d had their disagreements during the hunt, but he had to admit that, for his part, he liked the Princess quite a bit, and he hoped that they’d get an opportunity to test their skills against each other again.

At the very least, he knew that he and his retinue were going to be heading into the Sacred Golden Empire in the near future, and he couldn’t help but hope that they might run into Cassandra again during that time—though he knew that, being a Princess, this was hardly likely. She probably had better things to do than make friends with him.

Almost as if she had a psychic understanding of Leon’s distraction, Elise gently squeezed his arm just enough to bring his attention back to his surroundings, and with a quick step and soft pulling of his arm, she turned Leon enough to face Penelope as the other Hand of the Director participating in this hunt approached.

“Congratulations, Leon,” Penelope said, nodding to the group of Heaven’s Eye bureaucrats who’d effectively verified his win. They were standing next to a small mountain of wyvern heads, sans bodies, that Cassandra had dramatically revealed not five minutes ago, quietly talking amongst themselves as they prepared to process the Princess’ kills for her.

“Congratulations to you,” Leon good-naturedly replied. Penelope had considerably less frost and vitriol in her tone, and Leon felt like they’d achieved at least some kind of camaraderie following their slaying of the black wyvern, but there was still some awkwardness between them, with him not quite knowing how to act around her and her seemingly feeling the same.

“I didn’t win,” Penelope replied. “Congratulations don’t come often to those in last place.”

“Our wager notwithstanding, slaying more than seventy wyverns will always be something worth congratulating.”

“If you say so.” Penelope glanced back at the small crowd attending the banquet, many of whom were staring at them, some whispering amongst themselves. With an almost theatrical flourish, Penelope conjured the Bright Heart of Promise from her soul realm, the huge diamond set in the gold frame, the stone brightly glittering with entirely mundane light. “You’ve earned this.”

Leon smiled and took the diamond, barely resisting the urge to inspect the thing right then and there for the same reasons he didn’t with Cassandra’s mask.

Penelope then asked him, “Would you mind coming with me for a moment? Lady Elise, you’re more than welcome to come, too.”

“We’d be delighted,” Elise replied without giving Leon a chance to refuse.

Not that Leon thought that he would’ve, he could detect no ill intent in Penelope’s request.

Without much further ado, Penelope led them out of the courtyard, down a stone path, and out into the grounds of the palace-tree’s upper chamber. The chamber within the tree’s branches was enormous, with the stone courtyard only taking up a small fraction of available space. It was like an entire park had been built up there, and Penelope took them a fair ways away from the court, though not so far that they were out of sight.

“You seem to know your way around here,” Leon observed in an attempt to make some conversation. “Are you friends with the Princess?”

“You could say we have a pretty good relationship,” Penelope replied, “but I wouldn’t call us friends. We’ve known each other for about seven years, now, ever since her twentieth birthday celebration, and I’ve been her primary contact with Heaven’s Eye for her entire adult life. Our relationship is friendly, but professional in nature.”

Elise added, “For us in Heaven’s Eye, becoming friends with political figures is a tough thing to do.”

“Aren’t you friends with Princess Cristina?” Leon pointed out.

“I am, which shows that I know what I’m talking about.”

Leon shrugged and half-grinned, half-grimaced.

Elise continued, “You know that it’s extremely important to Heaven’s Eye to be neutral in political dealings, but you’ve hardly had to experience it that much first-hand, given your lack of interest in making friends. If you interacted with politicians more often, you’d probably be getting this principle drilled into your skull on much more regular basis.’

“Indeed you would,” Penelope agreed with the exasperated tone of one who had much personal experience with something aggravating.

The Director’s daughter came to a stop at a small flower garden along the path, which featured several intricately decorated wooden benches. None of them took a seat, but it seemed like as good a place to have a private chat as any.

Penelope took a deep breath, then turned to face Leon head-on. “I need to thank you, Leon Raime. When you arrived to reinforce me during my fight with that black wyvern, my injuries were more severe than I was letting on.”

“No need for thanks,” Leon said with a modest wave. “That black wyvern was dangerous, but I think you could’ve gotten away if your life was truly in danger.”

“You still saved me a great deal of pain, and who knows what might’ve happened had you not arrived? Besides, my retinue wasn’t faring too well against those other wyverns, and even if I could’ve gotten away, they couldn’t have. My gratitude is owed, and I intend to pay that debt.”

“There’s no debt at all,” Leon said again as discomfort started to settle in his stomach. As far as he was concerned, she was making a bigger deal out of this than was necessary, and he just wanted them to move on. “I only wish I could’ve aided your people more, before casualties were inflicted.”

Penelope frowned in grief for the briefest of moments, then, with a sigh, schooled her countenance. “Your generosity only makes this worse.”

Leon awkwardly shrugged. “I’m not one for formalities.”

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

With a quick interjection, Elise said, “Maybe you should be a little more formal right now, husband…”

Leon smiled at her, but took her light rebuke to heart. Turning back to Penelope, he said, “Your gratitude is well-received, though I think myself unworthy of it.”

“It’s not just for the healing and the reinforcements,” Penelope continued. “You also supported me when I recommended we fall back when fighting the black wyvern. For that, I’m grateful as well.”

Leon fought the urge to wave away her gratitude again, replying, “It was the best thing to do at the time. No point in continuing the fight if we were taking a beating, especially since we weren’t operating on a time limit.”

“Still, all of this has caused me to think over the past few weeks. My thoughts have distracted me to the point where my retainers have noticed and grown worried.”

“What sort of thoughts are you having,” Elise asked, “that would distract you from wyverns?”

Penelope took a long moment to respond, appearing to struggle with admitting what was on her mind. As the silence between them grew awkward, Penelope quickly responded, “Most wyverns… are fairly weak… They don’t provide much in the way of moment-to-moment occupation…”

Leon nodded in agreement, but he didn’t interrupt her, and she slipped into silence for another long moment.

Finally, she took a deep breath and looked Leon in the eye. “I… was wrong about you. I thought you were just riding in on Lady Emilie’s coattails, that you were going to be insufferably arrogant because of your power and age, that you weren’t going to submit yourself to any authority and be a thorn in my father’s side. You’ve proven yourself to be none of those things, so far.”

Leon stared at Penelope in abject surprise, his stoic mask slipping off completely. For a moment, he thought this was some kind of trick, perhaps a bait-and-switch just meant to insult him.

But the switch never came, and when she paused to think over her words, he realized that he’d have to take her at face value.

“Your words,” he said, “are greatly appreciated. I’m sure there are quite a few people who might dispute them, considering me quite insufferable, but I’m happy beyond measure that you seem to be moving out of that group…”

“I am,” Penelope replied, a shallow smile spreading across her face. “In hindsight, I should’ve ‘moved out of that group’ sooner, but… I kept provoking you, and using your response to justify staying in ‘that group’. I was too proud to admit that my initial judgment may have been incorrect.”

“There’s always time for me to change, if that would make you feel better,” Leon said with a self-deprecating smile. “Just say the word and I’ll be the barbarian you thought me to be, give you some vindication.”

Elise, with a playful smile of her own, sharply pinched his arm. Leon quickly glanced at her and winked, only to see her winking back, and sticking her tongue out at him, to boot.

Penelope chuckled and said, “No, no, that won’t be necessary.”

After a moment of silence where none of them seemed to know what to say or how to end their conversation, Leon set aside his more joking demeanor. He had something weighing on his mind and this was probably the best time he could ever pick for giving voice to those thoughts.

“Penelope,” he said with great seriousness, “I think I also need to apologize to you.”

“What for?” Penelope responded, her tone curious and apprehensive.

“That black wyvern probably wouldn’t have attacked you if I hadn’t provoked it. It’s not like that monster was well-known, he probably would’ve sat this hunt out given how those other wyverns were bringing him food. If I hadn’t led my people out to those aeries, then all of that might not have happened…”

“Maybe,” Penelope whispered, but it was Elise who spoke more in his defense.

“That might not have been the case,” the fire-haired woman said, pausing until Leon turned to look her in the eye. “That hoard of his was very large, wasn’t it? Where did he get all of that treasure? Stealing it, most likely. Probably robbing trade ships passing along the southern coast or caravans moving through the Kyron Steppes. Either way, it seems clear to me that that wyvern was a raider and had likely killed before. Maybe he wouldn’t have gone after anyone specifically, but killing him has still made this region much safer.”

“That doesn’t change the fact that my orders led directly to the black wyvern’s retaliation, and that left dozens of hunters dead.” Leon broke eye contact with Elise to give Penelope a genuinely apologetic look. “You were injured and you lost retainers because of that, and it was my fault.”

Penelope sighed and shook her head. “Don’t take responsibility for the choices of a beast, Leon. If we were to follow that logic, then we wouldn’t have had our bet and I’m sure you wouldn’t have gone into those aeries if I hadn’t provoked you. That wyvern wouldn’t have done anything if he lived further away and didn’t see you, or if he didn’t care about what you were doing, or an endless host of other reasons. Ultimately, the responsibility for what happened is on the black wyvern, not on you.”

Leon grimaced, but he was grateful for her words, anyway. “You’re too kind.”

Penelope sighed again and fell into a faraway look, her eyes seeming to stare at something far in the distance. “No, I’m not,” she whispered. Before Leon or Elise could ask what she was talking about, she focused back on Leon and said, “As a courtesy, Leon, I’ll let you in on a little secret: I don’t know why, but you’re a person of interest to a lot of people.”

Leon stared at her, both confused and alarmed. Alarmed because he knew why a lot of people might want to consider him a person of interest and confused for who she was talking about and what reasons they may have chosen. “Could you be more specific?”

Again, Penelope paused for a moment, clearly thinking over her words. It appeared to be quite the struggle to say, though, leading Leon to think that she was not supposed to be saying these things. When she did find her voice again, it came tinged with bitterness and a hint of resentment.

“… My father doesn’t tell me much. Or anything, really. He keeps all of his cards close to his chest, and only shows one or two at a time to those who he feels needs to know. That includes me. No one knows what he knows or what his plans are. All I, or anyone, can do, is guess at what his motives are.

“But a few things can be pieced together, on occasion.”

Leon nodded along, while Elise asked, “He sent you to watch Leon, didn’t he?”

Penelope nodded. “Ten years ago,” she explained. “Part of my job was to watch all of you, but he specifically called you out. You were to be put under covert observation at least until he could meet with you.”

Leon frowned as Penelope stared at him, a curious look in her eyes. “Any idea why?” He felt like he already knew, but he wanted confirmation, anyway.

“No,” Penelope replied, and as far as Leon could tell, she was being sincere. “But I know other things. A sharp uptick in internal investigations following your recruitment, accusations of Imperial espionage in Occulara, research into blood magic, and the transfer of funds and personnel for a private project…”

Penelope trailed off, and Leon did his best to absorb what she’d said.

“How does all of this relate to me?”

“I’m unsure, though your name keeps cropping up whenever I try and get an idea of what’s going on,” Penelope replied. “And all of this shady business started around the time of your recruitment. Maybe I’m being paranoid and making connections that don’t exist, but it certainly feels like your arrival has disturbed quite a few anthills down here. And I don’t know why.”

Penelope regarded Leon with a searching look, as if she hoped his secrets might be revealed if she simply observed him long enough.

But he remained tight-lipped. He was concerned about all of this—it definitely sounded like he was under some kind of Imperial surveillance, but that was hardly surprising given that Anastasios had all-but outright stated that he knew who Leon was. However, he didn’t want to offer too much to Penelope, either—not so much because he was trying to keep his identity a secret, as that wasn’t really true, but because he just didn’t want to involve her too much in his affairs.

What was more, he didn’t really trust her, even after her apology.

“Do you know which of the Empires are supposedly active in Occulara?” Leon asked.

“All of them,” Penelope replied, and Leon felt his heart skip a beat.

“Really…?” Leon whispered distractedly. If he had to guess, it seemed that all four of the Empires knew about him. Of course, they may simply be targeting Heaven’s Eye for more practical economic reasons, and it was just a coincidence all of this started as soon as he showed up, but he doubted that. He was the last descendant of their ancient enemy; keeping an eye on him was something that he expected.

He just didn’t realize that all of the Empires would be involved. He glanced back at Cassandra’s court and wondered how many of them might know who he was.

‘Cassandra, maybe? She has been staring at me since we met, and this would handily explain why. But she didn’t really feel like she knew who I am. Wouldn’t she realize that I was the smith who forged Sunlight if her Empire was keeping an eye on me?’

Leon scrunched his face up in thought, but Penelope soon interrupted him before he could get too far.

“I don’t know what’s going on,” she said. “However, I’m going to be keeping my eyes open. If you want my advice, Leon, you stay on your toes. There are a lot of eyes that are, if not looking directly at you, then at least are trained in your general direction. So it would be best to act with discretion.”

Leon nodded appreciatively. “Thanks for the heads-up.”

“It’s the least I can do,” Penelope replied. “Now, how about we all get out of this place, yeah? Enough of the heavy talk and the banquets and all that.”

“Yeah…” Leon absent-mindedly replied.

“I suppose it’s best we leave early,” Elise said with some reluctance. “You’ve given us a lot to think about, Lady Penelope. We’re grateful.”

The two shared a few more parting words, and then all three of them returned to the courtyard, picked up their other followers, and then begged their leave of the Princess. It was still quite early, but fortunately, Heaven’s Eye policy demanded they not stay too long.

But Leon wasn’t too happy, his mind turning what Penelope had revealed to him again and again in his mind. Not even the overcast sky, the smell of imminent rain, or the rumble of distant thunder was able to raise his mood. All he wanted to do now was to collect whatever materials had already been processed and accounted for by Heaven’s Eye and get home as quickly as he could.