"Fexi Ilo, Lord of Ilo City, was found dead naked in the bedroom of his sixth wife, Sophie Redmoon. Cause of death..." Leon frowned as he read the report.
He had only a vague impression of Fexi Ilo. The man was not particularly strong, and his skill at handling government affairs was merely average. Overall, there was nothing especially noteworthy about him. Leon had seen him a few times at court banquets of the Blue Moon Dynasty and exchanged a few words with him. As a junior, Fexi had offered him a toast. That was all.
In truth, Fexi had very much wanted to build a friendship with Leon. The Sword Saint of Gars was famed far and wide, regarded by many as the strongest person alive in this age. Though the Ilo Family was not weak either, would it not be even better to have ties with him?
Unfortunately, Leon was an upright man and disliked Fexi, whose hands were far from clean. In particular, the man could not keep his trousers belted and was notoriously absurd in his dealings with women, having done quite a few things that gravely clashed with Leon's moral principles. Had this been back when Leon was still His Highness the Prince, he might well have drawn his sword and cut the man down. Only now that Leon was older, more mature, and more tactful—or rather, now that his blood no longer ran quite so hot—could he console himself with the thought, "If even the residents of Ilo City will not stand up for themselves, how can I stand up for them?" Thus, he had not gone looking for trouble with Fexi.
Fexi's death, generally speaking, pleased Leon. But after reading the report on the state of Fexi's corpse, he felt somewhat confused and