Leon looked at them again, and this time he had a cold bloodthirsty aura seeping through his body, "Repeat what you have said."
"Master… the news… it was all over today's newspaper…" Blaze knew that it was useless to say the same words again and so he just opted to give Leon the information he needed.
He handed over the newspaper which contained 'Eli's love story' on the front page.
The title seemed to have irritated Leon as he almost used his magic to burn the newspaper at once immediately:
–
'The Great Inventor's Lover was the Young Master of the Prestigious Knight Family?!!!
It seems that the ever prominent inventor, who was also one of the most sought-after bachelorettes in the entire capital, finally revealed her beloved openly.
The mysterious princess of the Forgeworn and Farauld family was finally seen with a gentleman having a tryst on the most exclusive cafe shop in town - the Nouvelle Pâtisserie!
Moreover, the genius inventor's partner was none other than the Young Master of the Cross Family, Anderson Cross!!!
The two were seen entering the shop to which only members were allowed to enter. It is common knowledge to all that the handsome Young Master is one of the earliest members of the patisserie and has never brought any lady in despite having the privilege to do so annually.
It was only at this time that the young master had brought someone to enter! The very first and most probably the only one???!'
–
After reading the article, he immediately crumpled it hard so much that it almost turned into powder from so much grinding.
"Find out who put this news to the tabloid!" Leon ordered with an angry voice, it has been a long time since he has shown this kind of demeanor to his subordinates.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt"Yes, Master!" Blaze and Olivier responded and immediately dispersed.
Leon felt a little worn out and made his way into the office. The first thing he felt when he heard the news was not to blame or get angry at Eli or anything, however hearing such a ridiculous rumor was extremely unpleasant.
'Hah… what do I do?' He knew that Eli would never break his trust, he was also sure that they were both genuinely in love with each other.
However, how must he manage these feelings? To whom must he vent his anger?
Leon dragged himself into the seat and sat with a tired expression. Staring blankly at the ceiling he let out a heavy sigh and tried to calm down as much as he could.
"So this is how it feels to feel jealous…" He softly mumbled as he clutched his throbbing chest tightly.
"Such an unpleasant feeling, the words of insult I have constantly received during my childhood were not even that troubling…"
"But this one… how should I face Eli later…" He closed his eyes as he rubbed his aching temples.
Remembering that he would come home and closely interact with Eli, he was now getting anxious that these foreign emotions might hurt her unintentionally.
"What should I do?" He muttered under his helpless breath.
As he was thinking of how to contain his emotions, Leon's attention was suddenly caught by a call from the communication stone.
He tilted his head to see that the call came from Kayden, without hesitation he answered it believing that he had something important to say.
"What's the matter?" His voice rang in his office as soon as he answered the call.
"Yo!! My friend who must have been broken-hearted at this moment!!! How does it feel to know that someone has gotten ahead with you towards my sister??" Contrary to what he had expected, Kayden's teasing words immediately irritated his already terrible mood.
"You called here just to say that are you?" Leon grumbled as he felt that his headache rather intensified after his friend's teasing. "You seem to be rather free right now that you even had the time to gossip, Mr. Great Doctor?!"
"Oi oi!! I've worked hard these past few months and have been working non-stop even today. Even so, I am not stiff not to indulge in some gossiping~~ Come on, what did I tell you before, now you are reaping what you sow~~ How could the blood third prince move so slow~"
Kayden was not the least bothered by Leon's indifferent reply. He was just here to bother his friend and take advantage to push him to move.
He was rather concerned about how Leon was not seeing that Eli was someone that is capable of overturning the capital with just her wits and countenance.
Most probably due to the fact that Little Han was already around, and that they are already cohabiting due to the peculiar circumstance, he might take for granted his relationship with her.
"Sigh… how could a single man, without a kid, lecture me like that… Go back to me when you have already gotten a lover by yourself…" Leon understood his friend's concern but he would not leave his good friend unscathed with his merciless teasing.
"Ah! How dare you point out that I am a single man! How could I not be single when I am so busy doing this and that?! Besides, I am a happy uncle now~~~
Just you wait!!! I'll make cute babies even more than you could!!!"
It was rare for the two to bicker like this, but when they did, they turned into two youthful teenagers who would always go against each other.
"Tell that to me again if you already have a lover!" Leon retaliated once again.
"You-" Before Kayden could continue to speak, Leon had already cut off the call. But unlike before where gloominess loomed around, his mind was rather clearer.
With all the bickering that he had with his friend, one thing was true. He had progressed a little slowly towards his relationship with Eli.
And the reason why he was now feeling terrible was because of that very same problem.
He immediately stood up and went back to the palace once again.
–
Today was another typically busy day for Antoine as he moved to review the documents under his jurisdiction. Although everything has been smooth sailing, the biggest difference in why he was now working hard was his motivation.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmIf before, everything that he did was to prove to his mother that he could be an excellent prince without her help and endorsement, now he was working because he had truly accepted that this is what he was capable of doing.
Just as Leon said, he had to let go of some things to become a whole person. Not for his mother, nor his father, his wife, or his son but for him, himself.
Speaking of his brother Leon, although this younger brother of his had already made clear to them that he no longer hold any grudge against them, there was not much change that occurred in how they interacted with each other, aside from the fact that they now appeared cooperative during official duties.
He had once asked Kazimir about this, deeply troubled if they, the older ones, should be the ones who would find a way to improve their relationship or just wait for Leon himself.
But Kazimir answered,
"It's no use to worry about that this early. It may have been easier for him to forgive, but at the end of the day, this will all be our first time to recognize each other as true siblings.
We have no choice but to take everything slow, as embarrassing as it may sound. But this applies especially to us who were already fathers of our own houses."
Looking back, Antoine was a little bit amazed that their first brother could even say such deep words.
"Well, what he said made sense after all. Maybe time will come for us to really deal with our family relationships again… No one knows…" He shrugged as he continued to bury himself again with the files around his office.
Sometime after he heard a knock on the door announcing Leon's presence.
Surprised by the unannounced visit, Antoine subconsciously straightened his body and immediately looked at Leon who was entering the office with haste.
"Third Brother…" Antoine opened his mouth only to find out how unnatural he sounded when the words came out, "What brings you here?"
Looking intently at his brother, he could see that he obviously rushed to go here with the traces of wind on his red blood hair and the droplets of sweat on his forehead.
"Big Brother.." He then heard Leon call out. "I need your help…" He asked.
Antoine's heart almost stopped after hearing Leon's words while looking at his brother's rather expectant expression.
He stood up in his office chair and beckoned Leon to sit on the lounge chair in the room. While immediately asking the servants to serve tea.
"Let's hear it." After letting Leon breathe for a while, Antoine finally asked him to state his request.
"I need your advice… on…" This time, there was a trace of embarrassment on Leon's face as he continued…
"How to woo a lady…like you did with the Princess consort."