Leon continued watching the fight from the balcony.

"That guy using the shield and axe must be Spencer Flemming," he muttered quietly. "A reinforcement mage. I heard he’s had a crush on Emily Flemming, his own cousin, since childhood."

His gaze shifted toward the other two fighters. "And those two should be Julia Flemming and her brother, Sebastian Flemming. All of them are famous prodigies in Daselvia." A faint chuckle escaped Leon’s lips.

"But there’s one person constantly standing above them all, stopping their fame from ever reaching the top...

The Scarlet Frost, Emily Flemming.

The youngest S-Class hunter. A genius blessed with three powerful awakened abilities — fire magic, ice magic, and sword-wielding."

Leon leaned lightly against the balcony railing. "They probably curse her inwardly all the time... Yet still have to act like caring siblings in front of everyone."

Meanwhile, back in the courtyard...

Spencer had just sent Sol flying backward with a shield thrust when his eyes suddenly caught sight of Leon standing on the balcony.

He immediately stopped moving. The sudden pause brought the mock battle to a temporary halt, and the others also turned toward the balcony.

"Who’s that brat?" Sebastian asked while looking toward the balcony.

"It must be that friend of Emily’s," Julia Flemming replied from the side. "The one she desperately asked Uncle William to treat in the middle of the night."

"She did what?" Sebastian turned toward her in surprise.

"You didn’t know?" Julia raised an eyebrow. "Last week, she and Sol came back home late, carrying an unconscious boy with them. Emily could’ve called any healer she wanted, but she insisted on bringing Daselvia’s best healer specifically." A faint smile appeared on her lips. "And with Uncle Jason’s reputation, Uncle William obviously couldn’t refuse."

Julia covered her mouth lightly, suppressing a chuckle. "But honestly... since when did Emily start caring so much about someone else?"

No one noticed that the moment those words left her mouth, Spencer’s jaw tightened slightly.

After staring at Leon for a while, Spencer finally shifted his gaze toward Sol, who had just walked back after brushing the dust off his clothes.

"Sol, why don’t you introduce your new friend to us?" Spencer asked with a friendly smile, his earlier dissatisfaction already hidden behind a calm expression. "He’s been staying here for more than a week already, yet we still know nothing about him."

Sol followed Julia and Sebastian’s line of sight and noticed Leon standing on the second-floor balcony.

"You mean Leon?" Sol asked.

"If that’s his name, then yes," Spencer replied casually.

Sol scratched the back of his head. "I would’ve invited him earlier for some fresh air, but he only regained consciousness yesterday. I didn’t think it would be good for him to move around too much yet."

Sebastian immediately waved his hand dismissively. "Come on, Sol. We’re just talking, not dragging him into a battlefield. Go bring him already."

Julia nodded in agreement, curiosity clearly visible in her eyes.

Looking at their eager expressions, Sol let out a helpless sigh. "Alright, alright. I’ll go ask him first and see if he’s okay with meeting everyone."

With that, Sol turned around and started walking toward the mansion entrance.

Meanwhile, Leon watched the entire exchange quietly from the balcony. He couldn’t hear what they were saying from this distance, but judging from the repeated glances in his direction... It was obvious they were talking about him.

’They aren’t angry because I was watching their training, right?’ Leon wondered inwardly.

A short while later, Sol reached the second floor and walked toward him. "Big bro, my cousins want to meet you properly," Sol said casually. "Since it’s your first time here, they wanted to introduce themselves. Can you come downstairs?" Then he quickly added,

"But hey, don’t force yourself if you’re still not feeling well. I can just bring them upstairs instead if they’re that desperate."

"It’s fine." Leon smiled lightly. ’So they just want to talk. And here I was overthinking, wondering if I accidentally saw some secret training method or something.’

"I’ve already recovered completely," Leon continued. "Honestly, I was even planning to return home today anyway. So let’s go meet them."

"That’s good then." Sol grinned. "Come on."

But after taking two steps, Leon suddenly stopped. "Wait. I didn’t even freshen up properly. Meeting your cousins like this feels a little rude."

Sol stared at him blankly. "Huh? What are you doing, preparing for a job interview?" He rolled his eyes. "Stop overthinking and just come already."

Leon sighed helplessly and followed behind him. Soon, the two arrived at the training courtyard. Sol immediately took the initiative to introduce everyone.

"This is Leon Bale." He gestured toward Leon. "He’s eighteen years old and a D-Class knight from Delvan."

Then he turned toward the others. "And Leon, this is Spencer Flemming, the only son of my second uncle. And these two are Julia Flemming and Sebastian Flemming, my third uncle’s children."

He shrugged casually. "I have another cousin, too, but he joined the military and is away from home right now."

"You’re just a D-Class knight?" Before anyone else could react, Spencer spoke first.

His gaze swept over Leon dismissively. "What were my cousins even doing with someone like you in the first place?" Spencer asked coldly. "And you’re from Delvan too? The weakest country on the entire Northern Continent."

Sol’s forehead twitched slightly at the insult.

But before he could say anything, Sebastian frowned. "What kind of nonsense are you spouting, Spencer?" he snapped. "He’s a guest here."

Julia’s expression also stiffened slightly.

"And what exactly does someone’s rank have to do with whether they’re a lowlife or not?" Sebastian continued.

Neither of the siblings had expected Spencer to behave so rudely right from the beginning.

"Hahaha..." Spencer suddenly burst into laughter, instantly changing the atmosphere.

"I was just joking. Don’t take it seriously." The coldness from earlier disappeared from his face. Julia and Sebastian’s reactions made Spencer realize he had gone too far.

"But still..." Spencer continued with a faint smile. "For Sol and Emily to personally bring you into the Flemming residence for protection, you must be quite close to them, right?"

"What do you mean by ’quite close’?" Sol immediately cut in, still clearly annoyed from before. "He’s our benefactor. We’re even alive because of him."

"Oh?" Spencer raised an eyebrow before looking back at Leon. "Then he must be pretty strong and skilled to save you two."

His tone sounded casual, but his eyes carefully scrutinized Leon from head to toe.

"What else?" Sol said proudly. "You should’ve seen him wield a sword. Honestly, it was no less impressive than Emily’s swordsmanship."

"What?" Julia gasped in surprise. "Really?"

Even Sebastian looked genuinely interested now.

Spencer’s eyes narrowed slightly. "Is that so?" He smiled faintly. "Then why don’t we have a sparring match?" His gaze locked onto Leon. "Let us see for ourselves just how skilled the benefactor of our family really is."

Sol’s expression immediately changed. "No way. He only regained consciousness yesterday. He’s not in any condition to fight right now." Sol frowned. "And if Emily finds out about this..."

"Sure."

Leon’s calm voice suddenly interrupted him.

A faint smile appeared on Leon’s lips as he looked directly at Spencer.