episode_0016

It was dawn, and Leo woke up in a state as if his body was half dead.

His whole body was cold, and pain surged from the blood-stained wounds.

However, what was more terrible than the pain dominating his body was the fact that his mind remained blank, not reflecting the pain at all.

The moment he opened his eyes, he saw nothing in the darkness for a long time.

“Hmm…”

Taking a deep breath, he slowly raised his body.

Although it was morning, the sun didn’t shine through the windows, so the world was still quiet and gloomy.

His hand, which tried to check the clock, trembled, barely grasping the object placed in front of his eyes. His heart was still beating fast, and that beating rhythm made him alive again.

“Ha… Ah…”

He stood up, enduring the pain while stroking the wounds that covered his face.

His body was so exhausted, and his skin felt like it would burst any moment.

He straightened his back and painfuly moved his broken arms and legs to approach. He sat down on a small chair and prepared to treat his wounds.

“Now… I’m back home.”

He picked up the medicines and disinfectants placed on the wall with his fingertips.

The movement of tearing the wounds and trying to revive the skin evoked a misery, as if a dying animal was trying to save its own life.

His hands trembled slightly as he unwound the bandages and placed disinfectant on the wounds.

Torn flesh and blood kept seeping out, and the wounds were deep. His lips had already hardened, and his eyes stared into the darkness, exhausted.

“I have to do something…”

But at that moment, a sound was heard from outside.

It wasn’t the sound of knocking on the door, but the sound of someone entering the house.

Leo flinched slightly at the sound and listened intently. Just a moment ago, his thoughts were filled with his battle with the Empire, and

how to somehow collect his messy and tired body. But at this moment, something felt strange.

He slowly raised his body and walked towards the door with his injured arm. The sound clearly came from nearby.

Along with the sound of footsteps, the image of someone opening the door and entering was formed.

“Who is it…”

Leo quietly lent an ear. Only after regaining consciousness, he stood frozen in place.

His body was still not whole, but his eyes had already sharpened.

The sound approached with a slightly different tempo than he was hearing. The sound of footsteps approaching from outside, and short conversations were heard.

“There’s… nobody here.”

As the sound became clearer, Leo stiffened.

His intuition quickly returned. He instinctively felt that someone had entered this mansion, and that they were looking for him.

“Someone… has come.”

He led his broken body and slowly approached the living room.

His wounds ached stiffly, but his head was already spinning rapidly.

The fact that someone had come to the mansion was a danger signal to him. Who could it be? Sierra, or someone else?

Without opening the door, he quietly approached a position where he could hear them.

And then, he stopped his steps again and held his breath. At that moment, another person’s voice was heard from behind.

“You did enter this house, right?”

It was a stranger’s voice.

It was a cold and resolute tone. Leo held his breath and inferred the situation only from the sounds inside the house. But at that moment, a thought flashed through his mind like lightning.

“Someone has come in to investigate the house.”

He thought so inwardly and focused his consciousness. Although his body was wounded and weak now, what he needed in this situation was… quick judgment and action.

“Leo, are you there?”

Suddenly, a familiar voice was heard.

He had a premonition that something unexpected was about to happen.

In the dark atmosphere of the house, the only name he could recall was… his father.

His father was always a cold and strict person.

Rather than interfering with his plans or actions, he told him to find his own way. But his expectations were just as great.

His father had a great interest in what role he played in the Empire, how excellent his abilities were, and everything about him.

But today, the fact that the person who would appear at home without notice was his father felt uncomfortable.

His heart began to pound. “Why did he come so suddenly?” he asked himself inwardly.

As he opened the door and entered, his father quietly surveyed the room, holding a bundle of documents in one hand.

Leo looked at that figure for a moment, then finally lowered his voice and asked.

“Father…?”

His voice couldn’t hide his surprise and discomfort at the same time.

He couldn’t understand at all why he had come in person like that.

His father slowly turned his head and looked at Leo.

“Leo, it’s been a while.”

“But what’s that state?”

Is he talking about these wounds?

“Ah, I was hit by a carriage on the way.”

“Yes, I understand.”

A voice devoid of worry or comfort.

An indifferent voice as if saying your circumstances are none of my business.

His voice was as cold and authoritative as ever.

“It’s a little late, but I’ve come to give you important news.”

Leo paused for a moment and stopped walking.

“Important news…?” He let out a short breath and looked at his father. “What is it?”

His father stopped speaking for a moment and handed the documents in his hand to Leo.

“You will be admitted to the Academy.”

At those words, Leo’s eyes widened for a moment.

The Academy? That was a completely different direction from his plan to go his own way.

The Academy was a place where the children of the Empire’s high society gathered to learn, and being admitted there meant becoming a verifiable elite of the Empire.

And it was something that had a high possibility of leading his life in a completely different direction.

“To the Academy? Why me?” Leo seemed flustered for a moment.

There was no reason for him to do so. What he had already set as his goal was anti-Empire activity, and he did not want to live within the framework of the Empire.

The Academy was something completely contrary to the plan he had made.

It wasn’t unexpected, but he hadn’t thought he would actually go.

As if predicting his reaction, his father spoke with a cold expression. “That is what you must do.

Now, don’t delay any longer, and follow this path as a member of the Empire. The place where you can properly display your abilities is there.”

Leo remained silent for a moment.

His father’s words split his heart like a blade. The pressure felt in those words was more than just a warning uttered by an Empire authority.

His father was not simply forcing his will, but trying to make it so Leo could not choose another path.

“You know well what kind of results your choice will bring, don’t you?” His father opened his mouth again.

His voice was still cold and heavy. “If you don’t enter the Academy, what awaits you is being considered an enemy of the Empire.

Have you ever thought about how miserable the result will be?”

Hearing those words, Leo let out a deep breath. His father’s intent was clear.

That he could not escape from under the law and authority of the Empire. To continue anti-Empire activities, he would be completely excluded from the framework of the Academy, or even punished.

Nevertheless, the desire to stubbornly pursue that path was still simmering in his heart.

“I want to go my own way.” Leo said once again, a little more resolutely.

But a little anxiety was now mixed in his voice. His father’s cold eyes made him recall the reality he could never avoid.

The ‘price’ his father was talking about was never light.

“There are two paths you can choose.” His father took one step closer. His voice seemed to present all options.

“Enter the Academy and perform your role as a member of the Empire, or lose everything as an enemy of the Empire and simply live a confined life.”

Hearing those words, Leo felt a suffocating pressure. Conflict arose in his heart between his longing for anti-Empire activities and the heavy command to follow his father’s order.

The life of becoming an enemy of the Empire he could imagine was like hell. Everything was pressing down on him.

“Why… why are you forcing such a choice on me?” Leo could no longer suppress the emotions he had held back.

“Shouldn’t I be able to choose my own way, in my own style?”

His father replied with a calm expression. “I understand what you want.

But, the Empire does not become what you want. That path doesn’t open just because you want it to.

What we want is for you to become a safe and powerful being within this Empire.

You have no choice. This is how you live in the Empire.”

His words sounded like a final verdict.

Unpleasant thoughts intertwined with each other in Leo’s mind.

Could he really live under the shadow of the Empire?

If he chose anti-Empire, he would simply become an enemy of the Empire.

If he entered the Academy, that path was the path of submitting to the Empire again, and it was something that would make him give up all the dreams he had wanted to achieve.

Leo slowly bowed his head.

He realized that there was only one choice left for him. But he kept agonizing. Is this the best choice

And then

“If you don’t enter the Academy, I will kick out that maid you cherish, was it Sierra?”

“Understood. I will enroll in the Academy.”

There was no further hesitation.