Temporarily stopped talking, and under the leadership of Saru, the group quickened their pace, and when they approached, Leo took the initiative to bow slightly to the snow-white old man on the opposite side

"Your Excellency the Heavenly Knight of Lealdo, I am Leo from the Northern Realm, it is my honor to accept your invitation to come here, and I am glad to have this opportunity to visit this great academy up close!"

After the same serious salute, Lealdo was already crawling with wrinkles, and with a sincere smile on his face, he carefully looked at the man in front of him, and the clarity in Leo's eyes made the old man who had adhered to virtue all his life extremely satisfied, and he stretched out his hand slightly sideways to invite him

"It is also my honour, Lord Leo, I have long heard of your deeds in the Northern Territory from the mouth of Saru, and aside from the justice of your war with the Duke of Orlando, I have greatly admired the various benevolent deeds you have done to the people of the Territory, and now many people have forgotten where their rights come from...... Please come with me, the cold weather outside is not suitable for conversation"

With smiling faces, Leo and Lealdo walked side by side towards the house, and they also had a preliminary impression of this stubborn old man in their hearts, old-fashioned, unsophisticated or disdainful of it, even if it was the first time they met, he could see in his tone that he still disapproved of the war that Leo had launched in the northern territory......

Leaving most of the accompanying knights to wait outside, Leo left only Finn alone, and in the academy's reception room, after a brief introduction to the rest of the academy administrators, Lealdo sent everyone away, leaving Saru alone

Leo wondered if it wasn't for Lealdo's boredom to show him that he had control over the house, then it was an intimate conversation, which made him begin to regret a little that he hadn't heeded Auston's advice......

In the simple and simple living room, Leo and Lealdo sat opposite each other, and in the end, it was the old man who broke the silence first, habitually touching his gray beard, and said to Leo with some meaning

"Lord Leo, if it weren't for my dazzle, I just made out the Merovingian family coat of arms from your guards, and it seems that that Auston guy is very worried about your safety...... Oh! Also, you must have a very close relationship with the Lancaster family, and of course, Elena is a good girl! ”

"Oh? What do you mean? ”

Lealdo's tone made Leo a little dissatisfied, and no one had spoken to him in such a way and tone for a long time!

Laughing and waving his hand, the old man poured Leo a glass of water with his own hands before continuing

"You haven't fully learned how to really hide your thoughts, dear Leo, words are the weakest weapon, don't let him hurt your heart......"

Taking the water glass handed by Lealdo, Leo was also a little embarrassed, the recent church affairs made him a little sensitive

"I'm sorry, but you should know that the Duke and the Marquis are my friends, and I have roughly guessed some of the purposes for which you invited me, but I don't understand what this has to do with me as an outsider? You know, I haven't even been summoned by His Majesty and I've been authenticated yet."

Leo said self-deprecatingly, the resentment in his tone was clearly discerning, and in front of this famous old man, he didn't want to hide his thoughts, and slightly vented his dissatisfaction with the inefficiency of the empire

Looking around, Lealdo put away his smile and slowly spoke, "Do you know that it is your joining that makes the already chaotic situation in the imperial capital even more unbearable...... Of course, I am not inviting you to come to rebuke you, but if, I mean, if I may ask Your Majesty to face your demands, can you ......

**********************

The conversation between the two did not last long, and after about an hour, Leo walked out with Finn pushing the door, leaving Lealdo alone in the room

The cold air outside cleared Leo's somewhat drowsy brain a lot, and he turned his head to look at the inconspicuous door behind him again, and sighed at the silent Finn

"His Excellency Lealdo is a truly respectable elder, and perhaps he is the only one in the entire empire who is still worrying about the continuation of the empire except for His Majesty......"

"You're right, my lord, after coming into this world, I think he's the only one who can deserve the title of knight! This decaying empire does not deserve to have his following, and it is the luck of all of us to be able to follow you in comparison. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ”

Finn was probably also touched a little, and his mood was somewhat low

"Huh!" Hammering the opponent's breastplate, Leo grinned, "My friend, when did you learn sycophant kung fu?" But it's okay, this time you passed the grade haha"

After the joke, Leo couldn't help but fall into deep contemplation, according to the information that Lealdo had leaked before, intentionally or unintentionally, the empire is now surging with the gradual deterioration of Bernadotte I's health, and the undercurrent of the struggle for the throne is becoming more and more turbulent

This is also one of the reasons why Lancaster and other families are co-opting Leo, in this unpredictable time, it can almost be said that everyone is in danger, and after the growing power of the church, the ambition for political power has also begun to swell, which has caused concern for Lealdo and others who are still loyal to the empire......

Finn, who was on the side, hesitated for a moment, and couldn't help but interrupt Leo's musings

"My lord, with all due respect, I can hear the hidden determination in the tone of His Excellency Lealdo, but...... If he did what he did, he would not only be completely on the opposite side of the forces that represented Rolf, but even His Majesty...... No emperor wanted his ministers to interfere in his own affairs! ”

Raising his head, Leo looked at the knight leader who had followed him from the beginning, this extremely resolute man, with a hint of begging in his eyes at this time, and after thinking about what was going on, Leo finally shook his head

"Finn, my friend, I'm sorry, we can't help it, first of all, here we are the real outsiders, we don't have enough strength at hand to act as we do in the Northern Territory"

"In addition, according to Lealdo's approach, in the end, whether the eldest prince succeeds or Rolf wins, I am afraid that he will still die, no matter how merciful the emperor is, he will not tolerate this kind of behavior of his courtiers, and the competition for the throne has always been only cruel, and absolutely black and white"

Although he couldn't bear to disappoint Finn, Leo forced himself not to be impulsive, and pressed Finn's shoulder hard

"That's why I can't accede to his request, my dear friend, the foundations of the empire are rotten, and it can't be changed by one or two wise emperors, or a few loyal courtiers like Lealdo......"

Turning around and looking at the majestic gate of the academy in the distance, Leo put on his gloves and gradually regained his determination

"Now is not the time to worry about others, there is not much time left for us, from now on, we must speed up our pace, we must get everything we want before the empire changes greatly, Finn, no matter how prosperous the imperial capital is, our roots are still in the far north, here, at least for now, we are only passers-by......"

(To be continued.) )