Kaelen entered the castle. The knights guarding the entrance stopped him, but the knight who had been escorting him made a subtle gesture with his hand, warning them that touching Kaelen would bring them a punishment worse than death.
They hesitated. Who was this man?
Kaelen pushed past them without waiting and entered the castle. The knight thought it was over for everyone. But Kaelen simply asked, "Where is the lord?"
The knight, sweating, quickly retrieved the man in charge of managing the creation of debate cafés.
Kaelen walked straight into the lord's office without knocking and said, "How dare you not welcome me? I am the son of the Leonheart family."
The lord was caught off guard. He stammered, "Forgive us… but we received no letter…"
Kaelen activated his power and said, "Are you giving me excuses? I'll be sure to mention this to my father."
The lord, nervous and clearly buying the act, decided to comply.
Kaelen saw that his plan was working and said, "I'll give you a chance. I lost my money."
The lord nodded and handed him two gold coins and five copper ones.
The knight, shocked, thought to himself that this amount could cover six months of living in luxury. He felt a deep envy toward Sir Leonheart, but quickly lowered his eyes.
Kaelen turned to him and said, "Take me to the nearest café, bar, or wherever people gather to debate."
The knight looked confused. Kaelen then realized that the man probably didn't even know what a debate was. So he adjusted his request.
"Just take me to the nearest bar."
The knight obeyed and led him there. Before leaving, the knight said he had to go and wouldn't be able to stay.
The knight left.
Kaelen then heard a drunk man complaining loudly about how monstrous beasts had destroyed the harvest, and how his sick daughter wouldn't survive because of the greedy lord and his taxes. He begged his friends for help, but they all looked away. They were going through the same thing.
Kaelen decided to talk to the man and ask him more about his situation. This, he thought, could be the perfect opportunity to be seen as a hero.