Leon

Why the hell is she here?!

I turn to Luke, only to find him smirking at me with a face full of amusement.

How she got here is obvious considering Luke’s presence here, but why did father let her come in the first place? She should be too busy with her own work to come, not to mention that he knows how she gets when she is with me…

Unless that’s part of the reason why he let her come?

I turn my attention to Pallus, only to find him visibly shaking in fear as he looks at Ari.

He acted like that the last time we spoke about her as well. Does my sister really warrant that type of reaction? She has always acted incredibly sweet and overprotective towards me, so I can’t really imagine her as someone warranting that type of reaction.

Although, I didn’t really interact with almost anyone in the Raizel Empire outside of a small group including my family and my family’s friends.

I should ask him about that later.

For now…

I turn back to Ari – who I can tell is holding herself back from jumping over the desk to hug me – before I ask, “Why are you here?”

My question seems to remind her that someone else is in here besides me, her, and Luke before she turns to Pallus with a cold look on her face.

“Before I answer that, is this one of the people in your mercenary party?” she asks with a cold tone of voice that I can tell isn’t aimed at me, but at Pallus.

"Yes, he is," I answer her, not surprised by her obvious distrust of him, "and he knows."

To sell that point to her, I take my helmet off before placing it on my desk, revealing my lightly pointed ears.

Ari looks at me with surprise before turning back to Pallus and saying, "If you ever betray his trust, then I will kill you on the spot. Is that understood?"

My eyes widen at her threat as I begin to realize why exactly Pallus is afraid of her. Aside from her being Tier 6 that is.

Pallus noticeably trembles as Ari's aura sweeps over him in a dominating manner before he says without a shred of hesitation, "Leon is my friend, and I would never betray a friend!"

I smile at his words before focusing on Ari again.

She stares at him for several seconds while increasing the pressure until she suddenly withdraws it with a single word, "Good."

Ari's expression does a complete one-eighty as she turns to face me before she suddenly vanishes from her position on the other side of my desk.

Less than a second later, I find myself somehow standing up with my chair pushed behind me as Ari hugs me.

I resist the urge to push her away as I feel her noticeably relax whilst holding me.

She must have been worried...

I didn't think about it much until now, but the man she thought of as a little brother before I was even born died after he left the empire for a diplomatic mission, and while I didn't leave for any sort of mission, I did leave the empire as well.

Now I understand why father let her come.

I reach an arm around her before patting her on the back, making her briefly jump in surprise before she squeezes me a little bit too tightly.

As for the other two people in the room? Pallus just openly gapes at us, whereas Luke stands at the same place he was before Ari moved as he watches Pallus' reaction with unhidden amusement.

Ari suddenly begins mumbling into my chest, "I wish you didn't have to leave the empire..."

A few seconds pass after she says this before she lets go of me and steps to the side, giving me space.

"Aronia gave me a rundown of how Wolfdenn is doing, so I know that you are doing fairly well for yourself," Ari begins before walking to the other side of my desk and finishing, "but despite that, remember that you can always ask the empire for help if you ever need any."

I immediately shake my head at that before I say, "The only thing I want from the empire would be a trade deal. I don't want to give anyone any implications that I might be related to you."

Ari frowns at that but doesn't say anything against my decision.

Which is for the best considering that it could create several issues for father if people knew that he has a Hybrid child. After all, a lot of the Elves don't look kindly upon Hybrids in general.

"Actually, on that topic," Pallus speaks up for the first time since being warned by Ari, surprising everyone else in the room, "who is your Human mother anyways?"

All three of us turn to him in surprise before I answer, "I don't know."

My answer surprises Pallus as both of his eyebrows raise as he answers, "Wait, really?"

Ari and Luke both just shrug as Pallus looks at them before he turns back to me again as I explain, "Our father never actually told either of us who my mother is. All he said was that it was a onetime thing between them and that neither of them were expecting to conceive, seeing as they are of two different species, making the chances practically abysmal."

Ari nods her head before adding, "Although, he did tell me once that Leon's mother was a Tier 5 Cultivator."

"Really?" I ask her in surprise.

He said that?

She nods her head again and says, "Yeah, it was about a year ago when he did, and he was pretty damn drunk when it happened."

A smile comes to my face as I remember my father's 'drinking celebrations,' where he would drink entire barrels of whatever magical brands of wine he could find with his closest friends, all while I sat to the side and watched with Ari.

My smile freezes as a knock comes from the door before Aidan's voice comes from the other side.

"The new mercenary group found a World Ore sword as a reward on the sixth floor!"