14 Father and son's talk

Leto softly knocked on the dark brown door. His reserved attitude showed his respect.

''Come in.'' A calm, deep voice came from the room.

Entering the room, Leto saw the familiar figure sitting at his desk, going through the papers while smoking a pipe. His heart relaxed as a feeling of closeness naturally came to him.

''Father.'' Leto greeted with a slight smile.

''How's your health?'' Gile gestured him to sit as he put down the papers and glared at him.

Leto didn't stand on ceremony.

''Rest at ease, father. I'm completely healed now.'' He showed a natural smile to reassure his old man.

In truth, even though he had completely banished the decaying worms from his body, he wasn't completely healed yet.

The corpse poison was already completely forced out from his body, but not before they wreaked havoc in there.

The corpse poison was a peculiar medicine concocted from a bunch of queer ingredients. Its effect was rotting flesh. It was exactly because of that, the decaying worms had awakened. They were fooled, thinking the host had died, as the corpse poison turned parts of his body into a rotten piece of meat with dead cells.

It had to be said, the dosage he had ingested was well calculated. If he had taken even half a minuscule more than a drop, the cell necrosis would have brought organs failure much sooner.

Evidently, the sinister plotter made him suffer a lot.

He couldn't have been an amateur alchemist. This was half a reason why Calamity suspected Old Tian to have something to do with his predicament, as his medicinal knowledge was famous in the capital.

True, if the original Leto hadn't been plotted against, Calamity wouldn't have the chance to possess his body, but since he decided to accept his new identity, he felt obliged to avenge the host's resentment.

Besides, having been forced to deal with this complicated disease, Calamity already had a bellyful of anger.

Now, a small part of his body was still filled with dead cells, which dropped his already low potential. Evidently, even with his superior methods, his cultivation would still be somewhat delayed, lest he gathered at least double vitality essence of what he had for healing.

Just thinking about it, he felt depressed.

After studying his face, Gile was convinced. He patted his shoulder and laughed. ''Good, good!''

His heartfelt happiness warmed Leto's heart.

''Son, I heard what happened between you and Rudy, but I still want to hear it from you.'' After calming down, Gile inquired about the battle between him and Rudolph.

Leto sighed as he recounted everything. He knew Gile was worried about Rudolph, who left without notifying him.

''Rest assured, father. It's not necessarily a bad thing for Rudolph to experience the outer world. He's not a frog in the well, and I believe he has good potential. He'll definitely come back safely. By then, he'll be more mature and powerful.''

''Sigh, He's still so young. I'm worried about him. If I knew that was going to happen, I'd have sent someone to secretly take care of him. The outer world is too harsh. I'm afraid...'' Gile's expression was pained with worry.

''I believe he'll be fine.'' Leto tried to comfort him, feeling a little guilty inside.

''Sigh, alright. I've already sent people to secretly search for him. As long as he doesn't leave the capital, my people will easily find him. I just hope he doesn't meet misfortune until then, otherwise...'' Fierce aura radiated from him.

Using the outer world as a whetstone to groom and temper Rudolph wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Gile was just worried for him.

The world favored the powerful.

The power could only be obtained with blood and sweat. Greenhouse kids could never compare to an experienced warrior, who has gone through countless life and death situations.

There were many people with high cultivation levels, but most of them couldn't even beat the people on the same level. It was a matter of skill and experience. Not everyone had the ability to fully display their power...

''Ahem, son...can you...uhh...'' Gile indecisively stuttered, avoiding his gaze while sweating, wanting to say something.

''Yes?'' Leto was bewildered.

''When I heard you beat Rudolph, I couldn't believe my ears. Later, I came to understand what method you've used. It was...internal energy, correct?''

Leto nodded.

''Great. It's amazing. Uhh...cough, can you teach me about internal energy?'' Gile's face flushed red, but in the end, he managed to say it.

''Haha, of course.'' Leto readily agreed.

He felt bewildered. Was it that shameful to ask junior for guidance?

''Oh, haha, well then. that's good.'' Gile felt relieved, yet still ashamed.

''Why did you call me? Has anything major happened?'' Leto wanted to divert the subject of discussion. Gile's expression turned solemn as he turned silent.

''Son, listen, initially, I hoped to give Rudy the heir position and leave the family management to him as soon as you married Charlotte. I wouldn't have to worry about your safety then.''

Leto nodded. He already knew that. Leto gave him status in order to protect him. Without it, people would dare to scheme against him more brazenly. Everyone knew he favored Leto a lot, but since he was weak, Leto turned into his Achilles heel.

In the end, what he was afraid of the most had happened. Despite his position, he was still targetted...

As for him, previous Leto might have been fine with this arrangement, but current him found it disdainful to hide behind a woman's skirt. He knew Charlotte's background was just as good as his. Besides, she was exceptionally smart and powerful, but...he refused to act so shamelessly.

''Since she broke off the engagement, I'm afraid I can only retain your status. At least I thought like that, but...I want your opinion. I feel your heart has changed. You beat Rudy. You managed to stabilize your footing. These were the things you wouldn't be able to do earlier. You've gone through hell and come back. Now, I want to know what your heart truly desires. Your old man will support you.'' Solemn atmosphere filled the air.

After a brief pause, Leto decided to reveal his thoughts.

''I want to become stronger, but I can't lead the family. My little brother's more suitable for this position, but not the way he is now.'' Taking a deep breath, he resolutely added. ''I choose to devote my heart to the martial path.''

Gile nodded. ''I thought so. If you need help, just tell me. I will aid you with all that I have.''

Leto felt grateful to have his father's support. He felt blessed to be taken care of. In his previous life, he had been a lone wolf. He was already too tired of this kind of life. Having a place to return to was the greatest blessing for him.

Now he wouldn't have to fight only for himself, but others. Some might consider relations a burden, but it could also be a form of strength. Sometimes, people who had something to protect could explode with unimaginable power.

''It's good to have the strength to protect yourself. Keep my advice in mind, though. Try to lay low. Don't show off. The undercurrents in this country are too deep. I'm afraid massive change is about to occur. If somehow you are also swept in this current, your power will give surprise to others. A miscalculation on their part can bring you hope of survival.'' Gile frowned, appearing to be lost in thought.

Leto was startled.

''Is there something going on?'' He was somewhat alarmed.

Sighing, Gile decided to tell him.

''I was gone for a while. Do you know where I have been?''

Leto naturally didn't know. He shook his head.

''To visit Charles.''

''What for?''

''To demand an answer for his daughter's actions.''

Leto frowned.

''You think something's fishy here too, right?'' Gile tested him.

''I think someone wants to sour the relationship between you and him...but why?''

''You're right. Out of curiosity, I decided to play along to see what happens.''

Leto's eyes brightened. Everybody knew Gile's explosive personality. Someone must have predicted how he'd react, so he decided to play his part. Not many people were aware of Gile's wits. His rash and headstrong persona was just an image he had created for military control and deception.

''What was the result?''

Gile grinned as he recounted.

''Everything went as planned. We had a good fight, then I left with a few of my escorts. Unsurprisingly, I met assassins on the way. On the other hand, the traitor revealed his tail on Charles side, attempting to kill him when he was exhausted from fighting with me.''

Leto coldly sweated as he couldn't help but ask in worry. ''What happened next?!''

''Haha, don't worry. We were just acting. To draw out these people, I intentionally didn't put any armor and brought only a few escorts. As for our fierce fight, it was just a play. We only pretended to fight. I almost overturned his whole palace though, haha. I wonder what kind of face he made after learning I broke his precious aquarium, hahaha~''

Leto felt something wasn't quite adding up. If he broke his aquarium in the fight against him, how did Charles not know? How could Gile not have seen his reaction?

...Could it be?!

''Haha, you realized? As soon as I came, he met me prepared. Some people couldn't help but laugh seeing Charles fully equipped in his tanky armor just to resist me. Ah, this fooled a lot of people, giving them wrong ideas.''

''I don't quite understand.'' Leto felt quite irritated, as Gile was dragging the story. His nerves were taut, worried about what had occurred. Seeing him fine made him relax, but he still wanted to know what happened.

''Carlos was the one who betrayed Charles. He wanted to kill his brother, but alas...we played him hard. As he was about to kill 'Charles,' he removed his helmet. As you must have already realized, he wasn't Charles. Only their voices were similar. Honestly, if I didn't know beforehand, even I wouldn't be able to recognize him, as he was wearing Charles' battle gear.''

''What happened on your side?'' Leto was the most interested in how he dealt with the assassins. Since it was a preplanned attack, the assassins must have been strong enough to bring Gile down.

''Haha, I was hiding my battle armor in my traveling carriage. As for my weapon, it was attached underneath the carriage. After overturning it, I grabbed my spear and slaughtered the assassins. Of course, they came well prepared, as they had the ability to kill me even in my best condition, but...how could they beat two generals?'' Gile grinned.

Leto was enlightened. ''So, Charles hid among your escorts?!'' He exclaimed dumbfoundedly.

''Exactly.''

''Genius.

''Aha, that little girl's not bad. Sigh, it's really unfortunate. I couldn't have dreamed of a better daughter in law.''

''Eh? Everything was set by Charlotte?'' Leto understood his hidden meaning.

''Of course. How else could that blockhead be so bright?'' Gile gnashed his teeth. Leto was startled. He guessed Charles was a bit stronger than him, hence his anger. Of course, he wouldn't inquire that.

In his heart, he was amazed by Charlotte's intelligence. He only heard bits and pieces about her. Previous Leto was just a carefree idiot, who cared only about his hobbies. He would follow his father's arrangement without bothering to waste his brain cells about it.

Leto understood everything. Charles was plotted against by his brother and his father was also endangered greatly. Anger silently sipped into his heart.

''Who was it?'' He asked with clenched fists.

''Sigh, god knows. Carlos was captured by Charlotte and her knights, but in the end, he died in a bizarre way.'' Gile sighed dejectedly.

''You don't need to worry about all that. All you need to know is, your father's strong and smart. You can do your own thing without overthinking it. Since we ruined their plans, I guess they'll be delayed too. We have more time for investigation.''

Leto nodded, but his heart was heavy. He didn't like the feeling of others having control over his life and death. Someone was plotting against their family. He made up his mind to get stronger as fast as possible. He didn't want to lose his family again.

The father and son duo talked for a long while. Leto was moved, as there was no invisible wall between the duo, as they were able to chat freely without concern.

He knew most people weren't like that. Most people weren't so openminded as distance existed between family members too.

Leto told him about the benefits of cultivating in his garden and asked him to cultivate there. Gile was first doubtful, but when he saw his garden, his jaw almost dropped. He asked about how this happened, but since Leto refused to speak, he didn't press the matter.

Leto made his preparations. Gile gifted him rare grade crossbow and shortsword. After making his arrangements, Leto departed to Scrying Forest for training, his goal - increasing his power.