"Why did I spend so many years dreaming about revenge?" Leo asked himself in the room. He sat down on a chair near the window, looking out at the falling night sky. He felt so tired inside, wondering if getting even with his enemies would ever bring real peace to his heart."I fought so hard every day just to make those bad men pay for what they did," Leo whispered. "I thought that taking away their power would fix all the pain inside my chest. Now I sit here and my heart still feels so heavy and empty inside."Sad memories from his past suddenly flooded into his mind. He remembered how Clara used to laugh at his torn clothes while her mother threw water in his face. "You are just a useless, poor trash boy who cleans our floor!" Clara had shouted at him in the falling rain.He remembered sleeping on the kitchen floor without a blanket to cover his body. He remembered how Julian would kick his bowl into the dirt and laugh out loud with his friends. "You will never be anything more than

"Your useless life ends tonight, Clara Sterling!" the assassin sneered in the rain.."Please do not kill me!" Clara cried out. Clara closed her eyes and screamed out, expecting the metal to cut through her skin.Suddenly, a shadow flew across the path and blocked the sword. A strong blade stopped the assassin's weapon. Leo stood in front of Clara, his shoulders shielding her from the killer's strike.Leo twisted his sword with force, knocking the killer's weapon out of his hands. He kicked the assassin, sending the man backward as the killer coughed out blood.Clara sat in the grass, staring up at Leo's back with shocked eyes. "Leo... why did you come back to save my life?" Clara wept in surprise and confusion. "You told me that I was a person who brought death and pain to everyone around you," she sobbed."Why would you risk your own life to step between me and that killer after everything I did to you?" Clara asked. "I lied to your face, I gave away your secret hiding place, and I a

Leo stared at the Emperor in shock, his hands trembling as he dropped his sword to his side."What are you saying to me right now?" Leo asked, his voice shaking with disbelief."Are you telling me that my mother is still breathing somewhere in this world after all this time?""I am telling you that the body buried in the royal cemetery eighteen years ago was never your mother," the Emperor answered calmly.Leo stepped forward, grabbing the edge of the desk as his eyes burned bright."Give me the proof right now!" Leo demanded, his voice ringing with royal authority and desperate emotion."If my mother is alive, why did you let me live eighteen years of hell while thinking she was murdered by those monsters?"The Emperor opened a drawer in his desk and pulled out a document tied with red silk."I received this secret intelligence report three years after the palace fell," the Emperor explained, sliding the paper across the desk."I never dared to reveal it publicly because Lord Malakor

Black smoke poured through the shattered roof of the old timber mill as men in dark coats kicked the gates open. Leo parried a heavy iron sword and drove his boot into the attacker's chest, throwing him back against the wall.He watched the guild fighters tear through the room, ripping floorboards and tossing wooden chests aside. They ignored the food stores completely, tearing open old strongboxes with brutal intent."They are not trying to burn the mill down!" Leo shouted over the clanking steel. "They want Thomas's physical evidence. They are searching for the ledgers and records!"Victoria ran to his side, her two short daggers held firm in her hands. She looked back at the frightened families hiding beneath the stairs and pointed toward the rear archway."I will lead the evacuation through the southern tunnel," Victoria said with steady breath. "The smoke is getting thick, and if we do not move now, the families will suffocate."Leo gripped her arm, his face pale with worry as he

The echo of the Shadow Master's declaration hung over the capital. Inside the damp cellar, Leo leaned over the table, staring down at the city map while the bells tolled. Victoria sat nearby, cleaning her dagger while Elena watched the door."The capital is falling apart faster than we can patch it," Victoria said, sheathing her blade with a quiet sigh. "With our funds frozen and the lords arming their guards, we cannot hold out here for long."Elena turned from the entrance, "My father called an emergency council, but many lords refused to answer. The people are terrified, and the throne is losing control."Ethan rested against the wall,"If we do not give the people something real to believe in soon, the enemy will march inside without a fight."The wooden hatch creaked, and Thomas walked into the room. He carried a leather bag, his weathered face showing an urgent purpose as he looked at them."You will not find your answer in these city maps, Leo," Thomas said, his voice cutting th