A/N: I know that I was gone for a while, but I hope you guys didn't forget what happened in the previous chapter. XD

To kickstart your weekend, enjoy reading this chapter!

(P.S. Wish me luck for my exam on Monday! I'll update the next chapter soon~)

~ Chapter 15 Resentment ~

Days of enduring hardship...

Months of hovering between life and death...

When the Commander of the Royal Arms was satisfied with their progress, he decided to grant the slaves one of their yearning wishes - to send letters back to their families.

Leo didn't know the whereabouts of their parents. Were they truly fine? What about their health, especially his mother? In his letter, he wrote that they were doing fine. He wasn't quite sure what he should write, knowing that their letters would be inspected. He almost wrote about their living conditions but had a change of mind. He didn't want to devastate his mother anymore than she should be.

But one thing was certain, he wanted them to know that none of this would last forever. He would do whatever it takes to get his family out of this alive, no matter what price he has to pay.

In the end, he only penned down a few words.

"How are you, Father and Mother?

We love you so much. Please take care of yourself.

We are praying for both your health and safety everyday.

We'll see each other soon."

Along with the other slaves, they watched as the carriage carrying the bulk of letters left the mineshaft. Fervently praying in their hearts that the letters would reach safely in the hands of their loved ones. Days went by, but their hopes never faltered as they waited for news of receiving letters from their families.

It was probably three months later when they finally received words from their families. Hands gripping a rolled parchment to his heart like his treasure, he, along with his sister, settled down on his bunk bed with utmost anxiety, not knowing what they should expect.

And then they wished that they had never opened that letter.

"It is futile to hide from you both as you will find out eventually. Your father has passed away, but he is now in a better place. My illness has caught up with me and I don't know how much longer I have."

The words that his mother wrote were slightly lopsided, as though she was having a hard time to write on.

"But regardless of the misfortune that fall upon our family, I am grateful each day just knowing that both my children are alive. The only regret that I have is that I won't be able to see your faces anytime soon.

I will continue to pray with all my heart that my children will be safe and be in good hands.

We love you both so much."

Ever since then, for days and nights, Leo was restless. His sister broke down and wept every night. His eyes traced her red-rimmed eyes, her quivering body and the soft whimpers escaping from her cracked lips. During resting times, she would bundle herself up at the corner of the bed and wept silently. Her body grew skinner as she grieved for the loss of their poor father and the foreboding death coming upon their mother. Despair replaced hope and she cried to herself for having such an ill-fated life.

Unlike her, Leo couldn't seem to tear up. He was hurting so much on the inside that the pain numbed him. Oh, how much time has he wasted thinking that one day his family debts would pay off eventually by working their bodies to their limits. It dawned on him that his family was never going to be let go easily by the government. He blamed himself for being naive.

At the same time, there was a fire slowly building up within him - hot and raging. He felt a need to crawl out of this wretched hellhole and fly away.

No more crying, he decided. No more waiting for a miracle that would never come.

By all means, it was time to get out of here.

~ oOo ~

"I am so sorry for your loss, Leo-san." Upon hearing the story, Nike's eyes watered up in profound sadness. Despite her bounded wrists, she covered her hands over his to solace him.

In return, he flashed a small, bitter smile at her.

"Your mother… Did you manage to find her?" she asked quietly.

Leo shook his head sadly. "I never got to see my mother's face since her last letter. I didn't know what had happened to her. She didn't tell us their whereabouts, perhaps fearing that we would go to her."

"But," he added shortly, "I found out where she was. And what had happened to our Father. I gathered all the slaves and we plotted our escape. The night we broke out of that place, I confronted the Commander in his tent while he was asleep."

"He thought we were a joke and never took us seriously. He never knew that we were capable of taking down his soldiers. Even when I put a sword to his throat, he merely laughed."

"You are about to kill the wrong man, boy."

Leo scoffed at the heinous man, still clad in his sleepwear. A rare sight of him being so vulnerable without his armour or weapons. "Unfortunately, you are wrong about that. I have always wanted to kill you the day I first met you."

"Then you should divert your murderous intent elsewhere. Haven't you ever thought who put your family through such a nightmare?"

Leo knew the crafty old man was trying to buy time, but decided to play along instead. "Enlighten me with your words then."

"Ever since the discovery of the new mines, the new king wanted to extract the rare stones quickly. But we were shortage of manpower. And that's when he thought we should round up slaves, even if we had to create them. Your family ended up in bankruptcy, but it was not in the law to strip off your title and turn you into slaves. Your situation then was an excuse to turn your family into a disposable asset." His eyes twinkled in amusement as he watched Leo's indifferent face.

"Our orders were to bring the kids to the mines. As for the older ones, we had to bring them to the processing plant to process the ores. Terrible place to be at for those oldies, especially with the toxic gases. Your old man tried to be brave and attempted to steal the ores to sell them away to settle his debts. He was caught and punished for his actions. His death served as a warning to others if they harboured the same thoughts as him. Your mother is alive, but perhaps not for long."

Leo didn't realise he had stopped breathing. His fists clenched tightly as his side as he eyed the Commander, his emotions swirling inside him violently.

"So, what you are saying that the king reason behind everything that has happened?"

"Yes, son." The Commander spread his arms wide. "Would you like to join us as a soldier in our coup d'état? If you do, I will do everything in my power to help bring your mother out of that place safely."

"I-" Leo stopped short. The resolve he had in him wavered slightly as the truth behind the whole fraud sank into his mind. He was finally given a chance to save his mother. To join or not to join the man? More importantly, could he trust the words of a man who forced him to do labour for the past few months?

Thankfully, in the next moment, the burst of soldiers from behind forced him to make a split-second decision.

"He almost had me fooled. But he forgot that I came from a pretty rich family. Before we were stripped off our family title. I started learning swordsmanship when I was very young. I managed to took down those guys and killed that scoundrel." His face flickered to a frosty smile. "And now, I am here to kill the king."

"That's impossible. There must be a misunderstanding. That wasn't Livi's doing..." Nike's words trailed off in disbelief.

Anger flashed in the eyes of the man standing behind her. "The orders came from above," Leo snapped. His eyes hardened with fury. "Without blinking an eye, he made it happened. He involved so many innocent people in this scheme for his greed. Whether he is a child or not, he is still responsible for ruining so many people's lives."

"No, Livi isn't like that! Deep down in his heart, he cares for everyone's wellbeing. Please, there must be some sort of a mistake," Nike pleaded with him.

Leo sighed loudly and ruffled his hair. "No matter what I say, you still don't get it, do you? Then I guess this is the end of our temporary friendship." He stood up abruptly and stared down at her with merciless eyes.

"Come, my princess. It is time for us to go to the Sun King," he announced.