Chapter 4
Two years had passed since the incident when Leon lost his mother. Since then, he no longer considered the family his own. They were just strangers to him, sharing only a name.
Over the years, dreams of revenge and rising from the depths of weakness filled his mind. But he had nothing. No mana, no support, and not even a strong body. Leon was weak, weaker than anyone in the castle.
The Attempt to Train
One day, Leon decided to challenge his weakness. He went to the grand training hall, the place where the noble Rinaldi brothers trained along with the family's knights and soldiers.
When he entered the hall, all eyes turned toward him with disdain. Even the soldiers, who were supposed to show respect to family members, didn't hesitate to express their contempt for him.
"What are you doing here? Did you come to waste our time?" one of the soldiers laughed.
Leon didn't respond. He walked to a corner of the hall, away from everyone, and began trying to train on his own. But it wasn't long before some soldiers and a few of the brothers gathered around him.
"Oh, look at this. It seems Leon wants to become a knight!" one of them mocked.
They had no reason to attack him other than the desire to break him. It had become a habit. To them, Leon was just an easy target for ridicule.
The Absolute Ban
That evening, the brothers complained to their father, the duke. "Leon is hindering our training. His presence here is disturbing us."
Without hesitation, the duke made his decision: "Prevent him from entering the training hall."
The next day, Leon went to the hall as usual. But this time, the soldiers stood at the entrance, blocking him from entering.
"You can't come in," one of them said coldly.
Leon tried to explain: "I'm a member of the family. It's my right."
But instead, they started laughing. "A member of the family? Who do you think you are? Just a failure with no mana!"
Beating and Humiliation
Leon didn't stop. He tried to push past the soldiers to enter, but they grabbed him and beat him. The beating wasn't just a punishment; it was deliberate humiliation.
"These soldiers, who are supposed to protect the family, are beating a family member…" Leon thought as he fell to the ground, his body aching from the pain.
As he lay on the ground, his brothers arrived. Leon thought they might stand by him or at least try to convince the soldiers to let him in.
But he was wrong.
Instead of helping him, the brothers joined the soldiers in mocking him. And when he tried to convince them to let him in, he received the blows personally from them.
"You don't deserve to be here. Your presence in this hall is an insult to us."
They beat him violently until his left hand was broken.
The Feeling of Shame
Leon sat on the ground after they left, his body aching and his dignity shattered. The rain began to fall again, as if the sky was silently comforting him.
"Why? Why is this happening?" he wondered, feeling an anger he could not express.
This moment was a turning point in his life. He realized that the castle was not his place, and the family he bore the name of was nothing but an enemy to him.
"I will never ask for their help again... I will find my way on my own."
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End of Chapter