On Leo’s call, the bulky elder walked toward him and gazed in the direction he was pointing.
“Elder look, doesn’t something seem odd?”
“Hm?” Intrigued by Leo's mention of something odd, the elder's gaze swept the room, seeking the peculiarity.
Realizing his explanation fell flat, Leo gestured pointedly at the servants gathered around Yu.
“Young miss Yu’s servants, elder. Look at them. Don’t you think they’re a lot?” Leo said and turned to look at Yu with a smile.
Yu frowned and stepped in between Leo and her servants, blocking his sight. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“Oh, so beautiful…” Leo clasped his hand and said with a smile.
Yu frowned harder. “Know your place, you—“
“Indeed, really very beautiful,” said Leo after cutting her off and walking past her. He paused in front of a brown-haired butler who shared his slender build, as an amicable smile crinkled the corners of Leo's eyes.
Witnessing Yu's public humiliation, gasps rippled through the crowd, further inflaming the tension and sending a flush of anger up her neck.
The interruption was timely. Before Yu's anger could truly ignite, Leo pivoted, his gaze landing once more on the bulky elder.
“Elder, I want this butler.”
He placed his hand around the guy’s shoulder and pulled his cheek. “Look, this guy looks so similar to me. Almost like a twin. Something tells me that we’ll become best friends, haha!”
“…”
The elder had no idea what to say in such a situation. While the family's younger generation were undeniably entitled, spoiled brats, they maintained a certain decorum, never stooping to mingle with the likes of the servants.
To say something like becoming best friends with a servant…
An unspoken rule choked the air. In the family's eyes, servants weren't just a step below commoners; they were practically invisible, no different than slaves.
The stoic butler remained a statue, head dipped low, well aware that saying anything could spell disaster.
Yu's jaw clenched, rendering her speechless. True, Leo might be ostracized for his birth, but as an Ignis, his social standing towered above most nobles. For him to say something so disgusting as a noble…
The very notion of being best friends with a servant made Yu's stomach twist in disgust.
But still, Yu couldn't let Leo have his way. To allow him to touch her servant would be a public humiliation, a blatant power play she couldn't tolerate.
Walking close to Leo, Yu said, “You, know your place—“
“Oh right. Elder, what I wanted to say was young Miss Yu has a lot of servants, and isn’t that out of the rules?”
Ignoring Yu for nth time, Leo cut her off mid-sentence, his hand clamping onto the butler's wrist as he strode past her.
Yu, on the verge of erupting in anger, found herself in a messy situation and knitted her brows. Knowing Leo would cut her off if she spoke, she chose to stay silent and watch what this fool was trying to do. Her eyes fixed on the bulky elder in front of her, she waited to hear his response.
“Hm?” The bulky elder gestured to Leo to elaborate.
Leo pointed his finger at the people behind Yu. “Before awakening, the youngest generation is not allowed to have more than two servants. Since that’s the case, why does young miss Yu have twelve of them? Do family rules not apply to someone like her?”
The elder had a frown on his face, expressing his displeasure. Leo’s words were true, and he knew it. However, since no one had complained, the Disciplinary Hall had overlooked the matter.
With him bringing this topic up in front of so many youngsters of the main and branch families, along with their many servants, silence was no longer an option. The elder, his face hardening, strode towards Leo. Placing a hand on Leo’s shoulder, his grip sent a jolt of pain through him, eliciting a grunt.
“You are right, young master Leonard,” said the elder. He sounded quite displeased but kept his tone subtle for face. “This matter won’t be overlooked.”
The elder’s gaze shifted to Yu, who stood with a dumbfounded expression, her brows knitted, and her palms curled into fists.
“Young miss Yu, please report to the Disciplinary Hall after the awakening ceremony. As for now, you are only allowed to take two servants inside.”
The elder then looked around.
“This goes for everyone present. You are not allowed to take more than two servants.”
Yu gritted her teeth, restraining herself from uttering some truly awful words. The only reason she held back was because the awakening ceremony was important, and causing a scene would only delay things. She decided she could deal with the current situation later.
Yu shot Leo a hateful look, staring daggers at him. To which he responded with a smile, which only creeped her out. Realizing this, her face twisted even more in anger and disgust.
“Alright, we should leave too,” Leo said to the brown-haired butler he had just picked up.
The butler glanced at Leo, then at Yu, his expression worried. Servants were not allowed to question the orders of their masters. The dilemma now was: whom should the servant obey?
“Where are you taking him?” Yu asked with her gritted teeth.
“Hm?” Leo titled his head slightly.
“You. My servant. Where are you taking him?” Yu repeated word by word as if Leo was an idiot who couldn’t understand basic vocabulary.
“I’m taking him to my table. Is there a problem with you?” Leo said. Before Yu could respond, he wrapped his arm around the butler’s shoulders and walked away, dragging him along. “If there is, young miss Yu can always say it to the elders. Please don’t disturb me till the ceremony is over.”
Leo waved his hand and left just like that, acquiring a new servant for himself.
The servant was panicking. His young miss had not relieved him of his duties, but defying Leo was also not an option. If things continued this way, he might very well be beheaded!
“Elder! Elder, how can he take my servant like that!?” Yu raised her voice and asked the bulky elder.
The elder narrowed his eyes and said, “Young miss Yu, maintain decorum.”
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Yu walked close to the bulky elder, unafraid of him, and said, “Elder, that servant is bonded to me. I have the seal. How can he take him away? You said I can get two servants to the ceremony, right? I’d like that one to be one of the two.”
Leo stopped in his tracks. He turned around and responded, “What are you saying, young miss Yu?”
Leo took out a red and black token from his pocket and showed it to Yu.
“I have already bonded with this servant here. How could you so shamelessly lie to the Elder? Tsk. Tsk. Elder, it seems like someone needs to pay a visit to the Medicine Hall and get their head checked."
“You…”
Blood rushed to Yu’s head, prompting her to take rapid strides toward Leo.
“I am warning you, don’t cross your limits.”
“What limits?” Leo asked in an unhurried tone.
“Lying about the bond with the servant!” Yu raised her voice even further this time, realizing she didn't need to filter her language in front of Leo, who wasn't an elder.
“Oh, that,” Leo clasped his hand. “I didn’t lie about it. Can’t you see this token?”
Leo waved the red and black token in front of Yu.
“Lies! Total lies! There’s no such bond in it. Give me that, I’ll prove it to the Elder!”
With these words, Yu extended her hands in an attempt to snatch the token. Fighting was prohibited in this hall, and Yu, knowing that no one could attack her, had let her guard down, leaving herself vulnerable. Seizing this opportunity, Leo swiftly swiped his hand holding the token away from Yu, grazing the tip of her finger in the process and getting some of her blood smudged on the token.
In that instant, the brown-haired servant beside him felt their stomach drop and experienced a sense of weightlessness, as if they had just jumped from a cliff and were free-falling.
With Yu’s blood on the token, Leo quickly pricked his finger with the sharp edges of the token and let his blood drop onto it.
The brown-haired butler felt the strange sensations dissipate, and internally heaved a sigh of relief.
“Give me that!” Yu shouted and tried to take the token from Leo.
“Elder, please ask young miss Yu to stay in her place. If she keeps acting like this, I’m afraid I might have to break the hall’s rules by hitting her.”
The youths in the hall gasped in astonishment. To them, Leo appeared like an outsider or someone from the branch family, given his hair and eye color. Unlike Yu, who held a lofty position in the hierarchy, Leo lacked a pure Ignis bloodline. Speaking so boldly to someone of Yu's stature... the youths couldn't fathom the potential consequences.
Yu found herself startled by the comment. Never before had anyone spoken to her in such a manner.
Her patience finally broke and she snapped. “How dare you—“
“Young miss Yu.”
The bulky elder positioned himself between Leo and Yu. While his voice retained a hint of authority, it lacked the same domineering edge present during his previous interaction with Leo.
Yu stopped and frowned. Pointing her finger at Leo, she said, “Elder, that guy is clearly lying through his teeth. Check his token, there’s absolutely nothing on it. I want my servant back.”
Despite having an abundance of servants at her disposal, Yu insisted on having that specific one. Her reasoning stemmed from pride; it stung her ego to see someone taken away from her side so effortlessly, even if they held no significant importance to her.
The bulky elder turned his gaze towards Leo, who responded with a nonchalant shrug, handing over the token without hesitation. As the elder inspected it, his eyebrows lifted subtly in surprise.
What? When did he do this?
The elder was keenly aware of the situation. That butler belonged to Yu and should’ve had a bond with her. Breaking such a bond wasn't an easy feat, especially for an unawakened child. In light of this, the elder couldn't help but wonder how he had managed to accomplish it.
Numerous questions swirled in the elder's mind, yet one fact remained unequivocal — Leonard was innocent. Not because he hadn't done anything, but rather due to the absence of evidence against him.
The elder turned to Yu and showed her the token. “See for yourself,” said the elder and tossed it to her.
Yu caught the token and had a look.
“Huh? What? How? How is this possible?!”
Before things got messy, the elder took the token from her and gave it back to Leo.
“You can leave.”
Leo nodded briskly and departed with his new butler, disregarding the torrent of curses Yu had begun to unleash.
“You cheap fuc— just wait! Just wait and see what I’ll do to you! If I don’t make you growl beneath my feet and kiss it, I wouldn’t be called Yu Ignis anymore!”
In the final moment, Yu restrained herself from cursing out loud as she caught sight of the elder's intimidating gaze. While it prevented her from uttering vulgar words aloud, it failed to quell the steady stream of yelling and complaints.
Leo paid no attention to her, instead returning with the new butler to his seat at the table. Ellyse sat nearby, her expression uneasy and her demeanor visibly unsettled, clearly uncomfortable with the sudden change in surroundings. Leo's disregard for decorum only exacerbated her unease.
Leo motioned for the new butler to take a seat beside Ellyse, then settled himself opposite the pair. With composure, he poured himself a cup of tea and said, “Both of you might not be aware of what’s going to happen next. Even if you are, listen carefully to what I am going to explain now.”
The world was a dangerous place. The awakening ceremony? Even more dangerous.
For the next ten minutes, Leo briefed the two on several important matters. While the butler might have been privy to some of the information, Ellyse was undoubtedly clueless about it.
“…and lastly, no matter what happens, focus on your own selves.”
Whatever Leo had conveyed sounded like generic advice to any eavesdroppers. However, both Ellyse and the butler would discern the hidden significance later, especially during the awakening ceremony.
Ellyse and the butler nodded their heads in understanding. With that being done, Leo laid back on his chair and said, “You two, introduce yourselves and get familiar with each other. We have five minutes before the ceremony starts.”
The butler smiled awkwardly and gave a slight bow to Ellyse, then to Leo. “This one’s name is Everett, young master Leonard.”
Leo nodded in acknowledgment and then turned his gaze to Ellyse. She felt a twinge of discomfort knowing she had to introduce herself as the individual whose body she now inhabited. Describing it as mere "occupying" felt inaccurate, given that the person was deceased and the body now belonged to Ellyse. However, having just reincarnated, the body felt unfamiliar to her. It would take time for her to acclimate and fully accept it as her own.
In any case, Ellyse cleared her throat and said in a low voice, “My name is Raquellina.”
The butler nodded and bowed with his palm on his chest. “A pleasure to meet you, Miss Raquellina.”
“Raquellina… hm…” Leo rubbed his non-existent stubble and said while staring at Ellyse.
“That name’s difficult to pronounce. We are going to avoid that. From today onwards, you’ll be called El. No, El sounds like L, too weird for a lady. Let’s go with Alice.”
Ellyse blinked in confusion and glanced at Leo, while Everett remained indifferent to the situation. It was customary for masters to change their servants' names if they found them unfavorable.
Leo shook his head at his own comment. “No, Alice is too generic. I’m pretty sure there’s going to be some cousin or something of mine with that name. It’ll be troublesome to call her that. Hm… then… let’s go with El-Alice… El-lice… El-lyce… Ellyce… oh yeah, this is cool. Ellyce, but the c won’t look good when written down. Let’s substitute it with the letter ‘S’.”
Leo nodded to himself. “Yes, that does sound good. Ellyse, Ellyse, yeah, yes. That’s a good one.”
A blush crept across Ellyse's face as she experienced secondhand embarrassment from Leo's behavior. No one had ever considered her name in such an odd manner before.
As for Everett, the butler remained unfazed by the situation, as Leo's actions fell within the usual norms. With the name matter resolved, Leo engaged in idle chatter with Ellyse and Everett until the loud chimes of a bell caught his attention.
DING! DING! DING!
“Attention, younglings of the Ignis. The order to enter the ceremonial grounds will be decided now. Make your way towards Elder Kim and collect your participation slip. The rest will be explained once everyone has a slip with them.”
DING!
Once the announcement concluded, Leo rose from his seat and addressed the servants, “Stick close to me and remember the things I’ve said to you. Understood?”
Ellyse and Everett got up and bowed with their palms on their chests. “Yes, young master.”
Leo nodded. “Good. Let’s go get the slip then.”
The trio approached Elder Kim, the bulky elder from before, to retrieve a slip each. For the young members of the family, their slips were pearl white, while their servants received gray ones.
Leo stood in a corner with his white slip and servants, patiently waiting as everyone collected their slips. His demeanor remained calm, his gaze neutral as he observed the other youngsters in the hall.
‘I won’t forgive the ones who had wronged me this time around. I have to take the butterfly effect into consideration, but I can’t control every single thing. Let’s see who keeps their life and who doesn’t with the small move I’m about to make.’