Chapter 6: Then Let’s Go Together Once

Alfred’s body stiffened.

He stared at the eerie black patterns, feeling the sudden chill that had materialized in the air, and the color drained from his face in an instant.

He tried to say something, but found his throat as if it had been strangled.

The next second, a pale bony hand shot out violently from the center of the magic circle and slammed down onto the ground.

“Crack!”

The crisp sound made Alfred’s whole body tremble.

Then, under the old steward’s horrified gaze, a complete skeleton wobbled and crawled out of the magic circle.

Its hollow eye sockets burned with two flickering blue soul flames as it tilted its head, looking at Alfred kneeling on the ground.

The air in the warehouse seemed to freeze.

Alfred opened his mouth, filled with shock and a trace of fear.

A summoning spell.

And a forbidden Necromancy at that.

“Your Highness… you…”

His voice trembled.

“Now, do you understand?”

Leo’s voice was calm.

He watched Alfred’s reaction with some anxiety.

After all, Necromancy in this world was easily associated with evil and ill omens.

If the old steward fainted on the spot or shouted, “Your Highness, you’re possessed by a demon!” things would get out of hand.

Alfred knelt on the ground, his body rigid.

He stared fixedly at the skeleton, then looked up at the serene Leo.

His mind was in chaos.

After a long moment, he finally found his voice.

“You… you possess the talent for summoning?”

“Not possess.”

Leo corrected him.

“I’ve ‘always had’ it.”

He slowly revealed the truth that had been hidden.

“I was born with an extraordinary talent for summoning, but my three elder brothers, when I was very young, sealed my talent with a cruel magical potion.”

“That’s why I became the ‘waste’ known throughout the capital.”

The shock on Alfred’s face gradually turned into anger.

His lips trembled, and his fists unconsciously clenched.

“As for how it was unlocked…”

Leo shrugged, half jokingly.

“I’m not quite sure. Maybe, just like in those stories, I was reborn by facing death.”

“They took everything from me and exiled me to this place, but ironically, that broke the seal.”

This explanation was reasonable.

The fury in Alfred’s eyes slowly gave way to immense sorrow and heartache.

He recalled all these years of Leo’s scorn and ridicule, his lonely and suffocating childhood in the palace.

All of it had been the deliberate persecution by those three princes.

“Your Highness!”

Alfred suddenly became excited.

He lifted his head, eyes rekindling with light.

“Now that your talent has returned, we should return to the capital immediately! Once you display your power before His Majesty the King, he will surely value you again, and those shameless lies and conspiracies will be exposed!”

He spoke quickly, eagerly.

But as soon as he said it, his voice abruptly stopped.

The excitement on Alfred’s face cooled rapidly, as if doused with cold water.

His facial muscles twitched, and the light in his eyes dimmed, replaced by a belated fear.

Go back?

Let those three princes who already regarded him as a thorn in their side find out that this ‘waste’ not only wasn’t destroyed, but had regained a talent strong enough to threaten them?

If they could poison him once with magic potions, they could use even more ruthless means to take his life.

Would the king… really punish the three promising heirs for the sake of a son who had fallen from grace years ago?

Alfred dared not think further.

Leo, seeing the change in expression on the steward’s face, knew he had come to realize the truth.

“Seems you understand now,” Leo said calmly.

“The capital now… if I go back, it’s like walking into a trap.”

Alfred lowered his head in shame.

“It’s this old servant… who thought too simply.”

“Don’t blame yourself.”

Leo reached out and helped him up.

“So, we won’t go back. We’ll start over right here, in this shabby place everyone looks down upon.”

His gaze shifted to the dark outline of the forest outside the window.

“My talent, sealed for over a decade, can be used well to train here in this monster-infested forest.”

“My talent is our capital to stand firm on this land, even to change everything.”

Alfred looked up, staring at his young yet unusually composed lord’s profile.

The last trace of doubt disappeared.

He straightened his back and became resolute.

“I understand.”

“From now on, all your will shall be the direction this old servant moves forward.”

“But…”

“Even so, please allow me to accompany you to the forest. Your safety comes first. What if…”

“What if danger arises, at least this old servant’s life can buy you time to escape.”

Leo looked at him, a little helpless but also touched.

Alright.

The steward had already said so much.

If he turned out to be a traitor after this, it would just be his bad luck and poor judgment.

Besides, it would be good for him to witness it firsthand.

The level-one monsters at the forest’s edge — never mind two skeleton soldiers, even one alone, if handled properly, would be manageable.

Let Alfred see the fighting power of his summoned creatures.

Next time he tried to act alone, it would be much harder to resist.

“Alright.”

Leo nodded.

“Then we’ll go together.”