Chapter 314: Little Leo.
Deep within a forest, in the depths of the darkness —
... where no one would have expected even the slightest trace of human presence, there was a small mansion, tucked behind the thick curtain of towering trees, and concealed from the prying eyes of the outside world.
Deserted.
Alone.
Almost as though it had long been forgotten.
However ...
Not everything hidden is forgotten by everyone.
Just like this place.
Although isolated from the world, the mansion wasn’t empty.
Especially on this particular night.
Inside the secluded estate—
Even beneath the warm glow of golden lights, an oppressive tension hung heavily in the air ...
A girl barely looking older than seven sat curled up on a velvety sofa, scratching its surface almost absentmindedly. Her nails scraped relentlessly across the seemingly expensive fabric, sounding no different from the tiny paws of an anxious kitten desperately trying to soothe itself.
Scratch ...
Scratch ...
Scratch ...
The grating sound echoed continuously throughout the silent hall, irritating everyone present.
Yet not a single person had the spare attention to tell her to stop.
Nearby, a bald man in his late forties paced restlessly back and forth.
Every few seconds, he craned his neck toward the staircase, hoping ...
Praying ...
That someone would finally emerge from the room upstairs.
But seconds became minutes.
Minutes stretched into hours.
Yet the tightly shut door remained exactly the same.
Closed.
Silent.
No one stepped out to ease the suffocating tension weighing on everyone’s hearts ...
"This ..." the bald man muttered irritably, not able to hold on even a second longer. "What are those healers even doing in there? They still haven’t said a single word."
He glanced at the old grandfather clock before adding,
"It’s already been more than twenty-eight hours. Have they still not been able to improve his condition?? Or is it that they simply don’t know how to?"
An elderly man stepped forward and gently patted his shoulder.
"We all know Master’s condition isn’t something that can improve within just a few hours," he said quietly. "The healers inside must be under tremendous pressure as well."
The bald man’s head snapped toward him before he nearly scoffed.
"They’re under pressure? Oldie, are you even serious?"
He abruptly pointed toward the blonde-haired girl on the sofa.
"Look over there," he said, "That’s what being under pressure actually looks like."
"In just a few hours, she’s already destroyed almost every plush toy, every cushion, and nearly every piece of upholstery in this place. This place already looks like a cottony mess."
He stared at the girl scratching away at the last untouched velvet cushion before galncing around the place.
"Do you seriously think another hour will be enough to contain the insanity she’s trying so hard to suppress?"
"I’m telling you ... our lives will probably be scratched apart by those little paws before this night is over."
Oldie frowned.
For once, he couldn’t argue.
Because deep down ...
He knew Baldie wasn’t exaggerating.
The blonde-haired girl looked calm for now.
Almost peaceful.
She was merely scratching the final remaining cushion in their humble mansion.
But everyone knew ...
The moment she lost control—
There would be no stopping her.
"And now ..." Baldie continued, pointing toward the darkest corner of the living hall.
"Look over there."
At first glance, there seemed to be nothing.
But after following Baldie’s finger carefully—
Oldie finally noticed the tall figure sprawled behind one of the high-backed chairs.
Soft ...
Almost inaudible sobs quietly drifted through the room.
They had become so faint ...
So constant ...
That everyone had nearly forgotten they were even there.
"Blondie isn’t just the one; we’ve got another one who’s gone insane there," Baldie sighed dramatically.
"Saddie has already gotten started. He is only crying quietly now because he thinks raising his voice might worsen Master’s condition."
"But tell me ..."
"If we still don’t hear anything from those healers ..."
"If he finally breaks down and starts bawling at full volume ..."
"Do you honestly think any of us will make it out of this place alive? Even those wilds out in the forest might run but still won’t be able to save their lives."
Oldie fell silent.
There were simply too many disastrous possibilities.
And every single one sounded equally terrifying.
The current silence hanging over the mansion wasn’t peace. It was merely the dreadful calm ...
Just moments before a violent storm.
"Oldie," Baldie continued, rubbing his bald head anxiously, "you’ve already lived more than half your life. Maybe you won’t mind if death comes knocking next hour."
"But I’m still young."
"I still love living just as much as I did the day I left the faction. I can’t die. At least ... not at the hands of those two insane rogue beasts."
He pointed toward Blondie and the sobbing Saddie.
"So don’t tell me the healers are the ones panicking. It’s me who’s truly panicking here."
Oldie simply pursed his lips.
Although Baldie had listed everyone else’s dangers, he had conveniently left out his own.
If this bald, demented rogue lost his sanity —which he already seems to be losing gradually —the outcome wouldn’t be any better.
Shaking his head helplessly, Oldie swept his gaze across the room.
Blondie.
Baldie.
Saddie.
Three completely unhinged people.
Each somehow more terrifying than the last.
If there was anyone who truly had reason to fear everything spiraling out of control ...
It was him.
His old bones no longer possessed the strength to restrain even one of them. Let alone all three together.
Yet ...
That wasn’t what worried him the most.
His greatest concern remained the condition of the one lying unconscious upstairs.
His eyes instinctively drifted toward the staircase once again.
Still ...
There was no movement.
No sound.
Nothing.
Letting out a weary sigh, Oldie slowly turned toward the entrance.
"I’ve already sent word to the Great Ancestral Uncle," he muttered quietly.
The moment those words left his mouth—
Three heads snapped toward him simultaneously.
Baldie.
Blondie.
And Saddie.
All three spoke in hopeful unison.
"Then ..."
"Is the Great Ancestral Uncle coming?"
Oldie’s expression grew solemn.
"I don’t know. He hasn’t replied yet. But ..." His voice carried unwavering certainty.
"He won’t abandon Master."
The room fell silent once again.
No one dared to say anything.
Yet without realizing it ...
Every ounce of their hope had quietly shifted toward the arrival of that one person.
Just as their composure was beginning to crumble once more—
The atmosphere inside the mansion suddenly changed.
The air grew heavier.
Colder.
Everyone instinctively shuddered.
Before any of them could react—
A deep, cold voice echoed from the entrance.
"Where’s Little Leo?"
Every head whipped toward the doorway.
There—
Standing silently beneath the moonlit entrance was the very man they had all been waiting for.
"You’re here ..." Oldie breathed in relief.
"Great Ancestral Uncle," Baldie whispered.
Even Blondie stopped scratching, and Saddie stopped sobbing.
Nigel merely glanced at him before walking inside.
Behind him ...
Aegen followed quietly.
Nigel didn’t waste another second. His sharp gaze swept across the hall before asking once more,
"Where’s Little Leo?"