Leon sat alone on the cold alcove bench. Reinhardt Windsor's undisguised contempt and icy farewell kept echoing in his mind, like a festering wound, deepening his humiliation and helplessness. He felt like a battered piece of furniture abandoned in a corner of a magnificent palace, out of place among everything around him. He had even begun to wonder whether his efforts to change his fate had been doomed from the start. In this deeply entrenched aristocratic world, did an "outsider" like him really stand a chance?
Just as he was nearly swallowed by a wave of self-doubt, a soft, melodious female voice, tinged with timid uncertainty, sounded nearby. Like a small stone thrown into stagnant water, it broke the suffocating silence.
"P-please... are you Young Master Hohenzollern?"
Leon snapped out of his self-pity and looked up in surprise. A young woman stood a few steps away, watching him with some unease. She wore an elegant lavender satin gown, simple in style but still dignified, which complemented her fair skin and gentle manner. Her smooth flaxen hair was loosely braided over one shoulder, with a few tiny pearls adorning it. Her features were lovely, and she had the quiet air of a bookish young lady. Her pale blue eyes were clear as a spring sky, now glimmering with nervousness and curiosity.
Leon searched his memory and quickly recognized her: Cecilia Grey, the granddaughter of Duke Gray, the Minister of Justice, and the niece of Judith Grey, the First Prince's Consort. The Grey Family was one of the Empire's oldest and most traditional noble houses, renowned for its strictness, rigidity, and emphasis on pure bloodlines. Cecilia was known in the Imperial Capital's social circles for her tranquil disposition and love of literature and the arts, a stark contrast to Eleanor Soros's dazzling,