Bonus chapter 2 of 3
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For most of an entire day, Leon desperately tried to think of an excuse that he could use to get out of going to the games with Valeria. When remembering how much fun he used to have when sparring with her, a part of him couldn’t help but want to go with her, but his reason swiftly overpowered that desire, though he had yet to think of any reason he could invoke to excuse his absence.
His original intent was to consult with Trajan, but early in the morning, a messenger appeared at Emilie’s estate bringing word from the Prince that Leon had the day off. Accompanying the messenger was a letter that Prince Trajan wrote that strongly encouraged Leon to stay at home for a day or two while he worked something out.
In this, Leon was more than a little conflicted. For one, there was no reason for Leon to stay at home, so Trajan’s insistence on Leon not coming to the Royal Palace felt more than a little demeaning. It was an issue the last time Leon was told not to show up, and Leon was now sick of it.
And yet, Leon didn’t want to go against Trajan’s orders to stay home. He’d done plenty of reckless things over the past few years, and with Justin Isynos in the capital, he knew that it was best to be cautious.
But Leon needed to get out of going to the games with Justin’s daughter.
After spending most of the workday in Emilie’s estate, Leon decided to go and speak with Trajan.
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Trajan was furious. August had gone over his head and invited one of his knights to join the Royal Family for the games. It would all-but announce to the entire Kingdom that Leon was more than just a simple Valeman immigrant.
Still, Trajan wasn’t entirely sure how to deal with this situation. He could go directly to August’s office and shout at his nephew until the invitation was rescinded, but that might damage the credibility of the Royal Family. An honorable person keeps their promises, and August promised Leon a place in the Royal box.
On the other hand, Trajan didn’t want to do anything without consulting Leon first. He’d already made it clear that Leon was expected to attend, so he likely already had plans, and Trajan was hoping that he might be able to use that as an excuse to ensure August could drop the invitation without losing face.
For more than an hour, Trajan sat in his office blankly staring at a wall, carefully controlling his anger so that he wouldn’t storm over to August’s office and start berating his nephew. That option he wasn’t comfortable with, especially since he’d already pledged his support to August.
As he was contemplating August’s invitation to Leon, he heard a knock at his office door.
He sighed in irritation and growled, “Come in!”
The door opened, revealing Leon and one of Trajan’s secretaries. Trajan was so surprised at Leon’s appearance that he didn’t say a word as Leon entered the room and the assistant closed the door behind him.
After a few moments, Trajan overcame his surprise and regained his voice. “What are you doing here?” he asked the young knight in a low growl, almost as if Trajan was so enraged at Leon’s arrival that he was tempted to bite his head off. Despite this dangerous tone, Trajan’s face was completely, almost harshly, impassive.
“Wanted some answers, and needed to ask a favor,” Leon answered.
“Favor first,” Trajan said, wanting to know what Leon wanted of him before anything else.
“I need an excuse to not sit with Elise during the games,” Leon answered in an almost desperate tone.
“Did something happen between you two?” Trajan asked with an eyebrow raised in curiosity.
“No,” Leon honestly replied. “However, she just so happens to be friends with Valeria Isynos, Justin Isynos’ daughter, and Elise is inviting her along with another friend to share her box during the games. I would prefer to keep my distance from Valeria, if at all possible.”
“I see…” Trajan whispered. He closed his eyes and propped up his chin with his hand. He looked tired of life, but that wasn’t too different from how he had usually appeared during the past week and a half since the journey from the Bull’s Horns to the capital.
Silence fell between the two for what seemed like an eternity. However, it wasn’t much more than ten seconds.
“It just so happens that I received something last night,” Trajan said as he waved his hand dismissively toward the letter of invitation on the table between them. “August has formally invited you to watch the games in the Royal box.”
“I’ll be there!” Leon said without hesitation.
“Listen, boy, you shouldn’t be so quick to jump to acceptance,” Trajan said as he sat forward to reprimand his knight. “You’ll be in the most public place in the entire Kingdom, where a hundred thousand people will be able to see you rubbing shoulders with Royalty. They’ll wonder why a Valeman is there, and what secrets he could possibly hide. It might not be the best place for you if you want to avoid attention.”
“Is there any other place I could go to get out of being around Valeria?” Leon asked with deadly seriousness.
“I could make some arrangements to have you seated with my other knights,” Trajan said.
“I’m dating the daughter of the Heaven’s Eye Tower Lord, and I’m one of your knights. There’s no way Elise wouldn’t ask me to ditch them,” Leon said. “If I’m with you in the Royal box, I have an excuse to not only stay away from Valeria but to do so for the entirety of the games. I won’t be asked to stop by for an hour or two, I won’t be expected to make an appearance in her box.”
Trajan sighed deeply enough that his entire body seemed to deflate.
“I don’t think this is a good idea,” Trajan said after spending a moment to let his stressed and fatigued mind rest. “There are better ways to get you out of this…”
“I’m open to suggestions,” Leon said.
Trajan stared at Leon, his pitch-black eyes boring holes into the younger man. And yet, he didn’t pick up on any hesitation, Leon genuinely wanted to get out of watching the games with his lover and her friends. Since one of those friends was the daughter of Justin Isynos, though, Trajan completely understood Leon’s desire to not hang around.
“Very well,” Trajan whispered with great reluctance. “I will inform August that you’re accepting his invitation.”
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Two days after Leon agreed to August’s invitation, the day that the games were scheduled to begin arrived. The arena could seat a hundred thousand people with ease, plus even more in the private boxes. Hours before the games would begin, the people who had bought tickets had already started to file in.
Leon and Elise were not among these people, and neither were most of the people who bought private boxes. The arena catered quite well to those who didn’t want to mingle with the mob, and so offered private entrances to VIPs.
“I would prefer if you were coming with me,” Elise said with a look of dejection. She and Leon had taken care of their morning rituals, gotten Anzu settled into the stables with plenty of food—the griffin wasn’t too happy to be left behind, but he was finally starting to get used to it—and made their way to the entrance of the estate.
“An invitation from Royalty isn’t an easy thing to deny, I would much rather spend the day with you than trapped in a box with three Princes, especially since two of them despise each other,” Leon said. He was completely honest, if Valeria wasn’t going to be there, then he would’ve happily gone to the games with Elise.
Elise hugged Leon and pressed her lips against his. When they parted an instant later, she smiled and said, “I suppose it all worked out in the end, we were able to find someone to give your ticket to.”
“Oh? Who?” Leon asked. He knew that Elise didn’t have many close friends other than Valeria and Asiya. There were plenty of people she was friendly with, but actual friends were difficult things to come by for someone in her position.
Coincidentally, just as Leon asked his question, the estate servants escorted Alix through the front door.
Elise happily smiled and ran to give Alix a quick hug.
Leon smiled, then walked over. “It’s good to see you,” he said in greeting.
“And you, Sir,” Alix replied.
“Drop the ‘Sir’,” Leon said. His rank of Tribune hadn’t been restored, so he didn’t outrank Alix anymore after she had been knighted. In fact, from a purely technical viewpoint, since she was now ranked as a Prefect, she outranked him.
“That’s… still going to take some getting used to,” Alix said with an ecstatic grin. Minerva had been running her ragged with her duties and ensuring she was properly trained, so she hadn’t had much time to spend with Leon and Elise in days.
“Take as much time as you need, you certainly earned it after following me around for more than a year,” Leon responded with a self-deprecating smile.
“It wasn’t that bad,” Alix replied.
Leon shrugged. He didn’t think he could have ever done what Alix had done, that being to follow someone she barely knew to the other side of the Kingdom and becoming their subordinate.
“To each their own, I suppose…” Leon said.
“Less talk, more walk!” Elise cried as she started pulling Alix and Leon toward the door. They had about an hour and a half to reach the arena, and even with her Heaven’s Eye carriage, their journey would take at least an hour.
“Is Lady Emilie not coming?” Alix asked as they climbed into the waiting carriage out in the long driveway of the estate.
“My mother has work to do, though she’ll attend a day or two of the games,” Elise explained. Since the games would last a week, no one would miss much if they skipped out on a few days.
The three then took off toward the arena. They made good time, at first, but as they approached their destination, the roads became more and more crowded, leaving the carriage with little room to maneuver. Most people who attended the games would walk, but there were a few others like Elise who took their carriages.
By the time they finally arrived at the much less crowded private entrance, there were about twenty minutes left until the opening ceremony. The entrance itself was much like the main entrance, with a massive stone archway acting as a frame for a set of double doors almost fifteen feet high. The atrium behind it was all marble, white stone, and red carpet, with all the statues, painted walls, and tile mosaics that Leon had come to expect from Bull Kingdom decoration.
Despite buying private box seats once before, this was Leon’s first time using the private entrance. The hallway that connected most of the boxes also connected to the main areas, as the private entrance was mostly for people of sufficient social status to use.
“I guess this is where we part ways,” Elise said with a sad smile.
“I guess it is,” Leon replied. “I’ll see you after the games.”
The two lovers embraced, and then Elise and Alix made their way toward the back of the atrium, toward the doors that would lead them to the hallway that connected all the box seats.
Leon, however, went in a different direction. To the side of the atrium was an enormous stairway, and after climbing to the top, Leon found himself in a smaller atrium, with a desk, a set of majestic doors, and about three dozen security officers, all of whom glared at Leon as he appeared at the top of the stairs. None of these security officers were stronger than the fifth-tier, though, so Leon had little trouble walking over to the desk despite their threatening attitude.
“Can I help you, Sir?” the beautiful receptionist politely asked.
“I was invited to the Royal box,” Leon replied. He’d been told he didn’t need the invitation to be allowed in, but he still felt a little awkward just walking up and saying he was invited.
“Your name, Good Sir?” the receptionist inquired.
“Leon Ursus.”
The receptionist didn’t bat an eye at Leon’s last name, and he quickly realized why: she had a short list of everyone invited to the Royal box, so she knew he was coming.
In the end, though, he still had to present his I.D to be allowed in.
When he entered, he found the Royal box as opulently appointed as he expected, with perfect temperature control, glass enchanted so that those on the other side couldn’t see inside, and enough furniture to seat about twenty people. Seven people had arrived before Leon, all of whom he recognized. The Chief Steward, the Chancellor, and the Spymaster didn’t react much to his presence save for some curious looks, but any thoughts they may have had to question his presence were quickly dispelled when August paused his conversation with Trajan, Roland, and the Brimstone Paladin to greet Leon.
“Ah, Sir Leon, I’m so glad you were able to come!” the young Prince said as he walked over to welcome Leon into the Royal box.
“Leon, good to see you didn’t ditch this,” Trajan said sarcastically. He didn’t actually expect Leon would refuse to show up, but he also wouldn’t have been surprised if Leon had done just that.
“I was invited, Your Highness, couldn’t refuse,” Leon tersely stated. He was already closing up being in the presence of so many powerful and important people. He could feel the three ministers staring at him in curiosity, and Roland was smiling at him in a way that he didn’t appreciate—he guessed the Paladin was just trying to be friendly, but Leon wanted none of it.
“Yes, yes you were…” Trajan muttered as he glanced at August. He still didn’t know why the younger Prince had invited Leon, though he had made it perfectly clear to August what would happen if he were to reveal Leon’s identity. The Fourth Prince had, in response, told him that that wasn’t his intention.
Trajan hadn’t gotten a clear answer as to why August wanted Leon there, and August hadn’t told him. The younger Prince knew that if Trajan knew the real reason, he’d lose his mind over how petty it was.
‘Octavius made such a big deal about Leon being in the council chambers, I can’t wait to see him react when he sees Leon here in the box with us!’ August thought in anticipation as he glanced at the clock and waited for Octavius to arrive.
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