"So what do you say, Leo Skyshard? Do you find the terms of my surrender acceptable?" Dupravel asked, his eyes steady with expectation, but Leo found himself at a complete loss for how to respond.
On one hand, the offer was dangerously tempting, almost too good to pass up.
Gaining a slave like Dupravel could be a game-changer, not just for his own personal growth, but also for the security and stability it could bring to his immediate future.
However, the political fallout of such a decision couldn't be ignored. Presenting this arrangement to the Elders Council and the general public would be an uphill battle at best.
Accepting Dupravel instead of executing him might easily be twisted as a sign of weakness, or worse, as an act of sympathy towards the righteous faction.
And with the current tension in the Cult's internal structure, the optics of such a decision mattered more than ever.
The deal, while undeniably valuable, came with enough surrounding filth and complications to rival its worth, but that was life in a nutshell.
In life… nothing ever came for free.
"So give me some clarity on this… are you still a Monarch or not? And who exactly would you be subservient to, me personally, or the Cult?" Leo asked, narrowing his gaze, trying to untangle the potential chaos ahead, as Dupravel frowned, clearly expecting that line of questioning.
"Yes, I'm still a Monarch, but my strength is currently restricted to the Transcendent Realm.
I don't know how to restore myself to my peak, but I'm confident that a method exists, and Soron likely knows what it is."
Dupravel paused before answering the second part of the question, his voice level and candid.
"As for subservience, I would be loyal to you, not to the Cult.
But since you're a pawn of the Cult yourself, I don't see much of a difference between the two," he added casually, as Leo chuckled faintly at the sharp edge hidden in that honesty.
"Interesting…" he muttered, rubbing his chin, as his thoughts began racing at full speed.
Taking Dupravel in would definitely make his life harder in many ways.
The chances of him being deployed to the front lines with a volatile Monarch as his slave would be incrementally higher than if he did not have Dupravel under his fold.
After all, the Cult would never risk unleashing Dupravel onto the battlefield without attaching a leash strong enough to yank him back, meaning his master.
And yet, there was another angle to consider.
Having Dupravel under his command might grant him the leverage he desperately needed to defy the Elders Council.
If used sparingly, it could act as a stabilizing force, a shield of sorts, against the Cult's more reckless or self-serving demands.
Afterall, with a Monarch-level slave by his side, any threat of rebellion would carry real weight, enough to make even the Elders Council pause.
If the two of them ever went rogue, it would cost the Cult dearly to rein them in, which made for the perfect leverage to refuse dangerous missions.
'This is a difficult decision, no matter how I think about it… there are just as many pros as there are cons to accepting this deal,' Leo thought, his mind churning with conflicting calculations as he continued to wrestle with the choice.
"I need a moment to think…." Leo said, as he stood up from the porch swing, his arms folding behind his back as he slowly began pacing the narrow stretch of space that circled the front of the mansion.
His footsteps were slow, measured, almost silent against the stone-tiled floor, as though he was subconsciously trying to stretch the moment just a little longer to buy himself more time to think.
Dupravel remained seated, watching him without speaking, as though understanding that any interruption might shatter the fragile silence Leo was trying to navigate.
The wind was light, brushing past Leo's face as he walked toward the far corner of the porch, where the open sky stretched wide before him.
His eyes lingered on that endless blue canvas for a long moment, breathing in the quiet, as if hoping that the answer would simply descend from above.
When suddenly he recalled Luke, and how his brother had some very suspicious gaps in his memory.
'It might be nothing…. But on the off chance there is something dark ongoing with my brother, I might need Dupravel's expertise and strength to make it right—' Leo thought, as in the end, it was that singular point that swayed him to accept the deal.
*Sigh*
Leo let out a deep breath, one that seemed to empty every conflicted thought pressing against his ribs, as he turned away from the railing and walked slowly back toward the porch swing.
His hands were still clasped behind his back, his expression unreadable, but there was a certain clarity in his gaze now, a sharpened stillness that hadn't been there before.
He stopped just short of sitting, choosing instead to remain half-standing as he faced Dupravel directly.
"I accept," he said at last, the words falling out slowly, like stone being set in place. "But only under the exact terms you proposed. No last-minute additions, no subtle alterations, and no hidden agendas."
Dupravel gave a silent nod, his expression betraying neither triumph nor relief, as if he too knew that this was only the beginning of a far more complicated arrangement.
Leo continued, his voice steady.
"Thirty days a year with your son. He'll be raised within the Cult, as a free man, so long as he abides by its rules. In return, you will serve me, personally, for twenty years.
No theatrics. No rebellion. No under-the-table communications with outsiders."
He paused for a moment, studying the man before him.
"You'll be presented as my personal guard and war-dog. The Cult will be told that your life is bound to mine, even though it won't be. That lie is the only thing protecting you, so I suggest you act like it's the truth."
Dupravel remained silent, his dark black eyes unwavering, the faintest flicker of understanding passing across them.
"I won't treat you like a servant. But I won't treat you like an equal either. You may be a Monarch, Dupravel, but you're here because you failed. Because you were betrayed. Because you had nowhere else to go.
You will fight for me. You will bleed for me.
And when necessary, you will protect me with your life."
Another pause.
"But until then, you live. And if, somehow, you survive the full twenty years… and survive them by faithfully completing your duty to me as my slave, then sure, you will have earned your freedom"
Dupravel bowed his head slightly, acknowledging the gravity of what had just been said.
"I accept," he murmured, his voice low and calm.
"Good," Leo replied, finally sitting down once more on the porch swing, his eyes drifting up again toward the sky, where the wind had just begun to pick up.
The clouds were shifting slowly, peeling apart like layers of silk above him, and somewhere in the distance, unseen but inevitable, the future was already stirring, already rewriting itself, one consequence at a time.