Leon's POV

I was busy hauling a cart through the capital. Because of the increased expenditures from training the heirs (especially Chris), I needed to pretend to be generating income. Luxion was a lifesaver with his mining drones. All I had to do was be seen delivering raw and processed materials to the stores a few times. The plan was to eventually open my store after convincing people I could procure supplies. We could fake the sales afterward.

Progressing through the capital, I kept thinking about the five's progress.

Brad was developing as expected. He was ahead of where he needed to be, thanks to Olivia being such a prodigy with magic. Additionally, he was more focused on himself than on me. I could drop his training for the most part. Olivia would take care of the rest.

Chris's development deviated from the game's route by quite a bit. If it were not for the fact that the Sword Saint acknowledged his efforts, I would have been concerned. As it were, having the endorsement of the Sword Saint during the first year convinced me that my training was working. I just wished I didn't have to spend so much on bullets.

Greg was slowly adding new armaments to his armor. His willingness to use better equipment was good for his development, but I did not know what to do with him. He was supposed to make this decision because Olivia wanted him to take better care of himself. Since he took advice from a war veteran, he was more concerned with winning at any cost. As it stood, Greg was becoming more of a berserker. It was an effective strategy, but it was more liable to get him killed before Olivia could heal him.

Jilk was getting better in CQC. He was learning to evade more effectively and make counterattacks. His fragility was always a game-ending aspect of combat. With this bit of skill, he shouldn't be a glass cannon like he was in the game. I may need to adjust his training to be in armor soon so that he can get used to applying his new skills in one.

Julius... I scowled as I thought about him. Olivia told me he had yet to apologize to Angelica, but he still had the gall to train with her. While it patched up his combat skills, his reluctance was putting a gap between him and Olivia. Angelica and Olivia were friends, and Olivia had a strong sense of righteousness. It was ironic that for Olivia to romance the prince, the prince needed to be on good terms with his fiancee.

Regardless, I needed to find a way for Julius to apologize to Angelica.

Now that I was thinking about the romance aspect of the game, Greg and Jilk were also problematic. Greg's competitive nature had almost made him forget about Olivia. Jilk argued with Olivia, but she wouldn't tell what about. The unfortunate result of the argument was that Olivia was acting cold with Jilk.

Three of the five heirs weren't progressing with Olivia. It was odd to see since I was more used to the boys being cold with Olivia because she hadn't impressed them enough rather than Olivia being cold with them, but I suppose this oversight was due to me playing as Olivia.

Perhaps I should reel back my training for a bit. The five were likely more than frustrated, which was something Olivia could pick up. Some time to cool off would likely resolve a few of the issues. The thought that I was struggling would probably brighten their moods as well.

I could also use the downtime myself. Luxion and Olivia mentioned that my body was breaking down. Science and magic could only go so far.

"Leon?"

"Angelica?"

"Thank you for the delivery, Sir Leon. Your ingots are always the best," the local blacksmith said gleefully.

"It's no problem. Your business is appreciated."

As I moved on to my next destination, Angelica walked beside me. Despite her low mood, she was interested in what I was doing.

"You do this often?"

"Need to find some way to make income. I can't rely on taxes, given I have no one to tax. Thankfully, courier service and manufacturing are easy sources with the Lost Items I found."

"Your family isn't helping you pay for your expenses?" Angelica asked with concern in her eyes.

"They would if they could, but Zola is rather greedy."

"Zola?"

"Right, I never did tell you about her. She is the Bartfort Matriarch. She tried to bar me from entering the Academy."

"Whatever for?"

"I'm the second son from the illegitimate line. She thought it would be a waste of time and money."

"You're here now, so what changed her mind."

"She didn't. I had to pay for it using what I found on my expedition. She tried to set me up with her friend and would have sent me on the front against Raschel. Bitch sold me and expected me to die for the pension."

"The Forest of Ladies is real?" Angelica asked. Her face and tone indicated she was aghast.

"Unfortunately. And as the Prime Minister has so adequately stated, they are above the board. While such a practice is frowned upon, the group did nothing illegal. It makes me wonder if there is some conspiracy about it. Bastard didn't even have the decency to sound sorry about it."

"Lord Atlee? But that doesn't make sense. He's a kind man. He makes it a habit to suggest reforms to deal with such oversights or injustices."

"Then either he does not care for frontier nobles, or there is a conspiracy against them since I highly doubt funneling money to women spending frivolously on cake and alcohol to be of any benefit. Or he is in their pocket. In all cases, the Forest of Ladies is allowed to operate unopposed."

The money was wasted, given how much Zola spent on frivolous goods rather than investing.

"I'll bring it with the Queen when we next meet. Surely she will listen," Angelica said passionately.

"You can try, but I doubt it would matter. She likely already knows about the matter and approves."

"Mylene is not like that!"

Angelica's temper spike made me halt. Looking at her, I saw her face red from anger. The two must have been close.

"Mylene? You're on a first-name basis with the Queen?"

"She was like a second mother to me. I won't tolerate you speaking ill of her."

That would explain it. It would make sense for the Queen to groom the next. While there was likely genuine affection on both sides, I saw how the Queen could act in the game. She was not above tossing Angelica aside even if Olivia did not pursue Julius. The Queen was capable of cruelty, and now that I knew how Angelica saw the Queen, I felt worse knowing how much Angelica would be losing. She wasn't just losing her fiance. She was losing a mother figure.

Shaking my head, I responded in a conciliatory tone.

"I'm not speaking ill of her. She's the Queen. As kind as she may be, she may not have the luxury of acting on such kindness. She has to make decisions she believes are best for the kingdom, and sometimes, the best decisions are morally reprehensible."

"But for what reason could sending children to die be justifiable?"

"I don't know. If you figure out anything, I would love to know. Collin is next on the chopping block," I mused.

"Collin?"

"My younger brother. Zola will surely try the same thing with him, and you can bet she won't allow me to help pay for his tuition. She'll probably even game the system harder by arranging an engagement for him earlier than she had for me."

"... Can you amass one hundred platinum coins?"

"Angelica?"

Why was she suddenly asking me for money? It was a sudden change in the direction of the conversation.

"I'll give it back to you with interest. It's just that I need something to convince my father to investigate the matter. I'll even try to help supplement whatever amount you are missing."

"Angelica, I appreciate the thought, but I think your father would be in on the matter... Not to say anything rude about your father, but if he cared, the Forest of Ladies wouldn't be a thing. He is a duke, after all."

"If it is only one person, he may be willing to help. But he's the type of man who would only do so if there was a clear benefit. Earning your favor may be enough incentive so long as you can show him your value."

"And how does paying a hundred platinum coins help? Last I checked, it is a rather paltry sum for your family."

"But it is not a paltry sum for a newly established baron in school."

Why was Angelica so insistent? It was appreciated, but I did not expect her to go to such lengths for me. I didn't think we were close enough for that. Did it have something to do with Julius?

If I considered that fact, it made a little more sense. Julius mentioned her attitude towards commoners as a reason why he distrusted her. Was this her way of correcting her behavior? Become more involved in helping those deemed lesser than her? It wasn't an exact equivalence, but it followed the same logic.

Regardless of the reason, she was willing to help. I also didn't see it interfering with Olivia's relationship with the prince. It might even help since Julius would see he was wrong but still question if the change in attitude was only because Angelica was challenged about it. Julius might even apologize and then fix the awkwardness between him and Olivia.

Remembering the current relationship status between Julius and Olivia made me worried. Was my original plan going to work in its current state? The plan was developing more issues as time went on. New scenarios not in the game altered the course further and further. Differences between the game script and human reactions jeopardized the plan. It was controllable for now, but what if Olivia couldn't deepen her feelings enough for the boys? Her last skill had a countdown tied to the affection level she had. If her feelings weren't strong enough, would that affect how long the countdown would last? Would the boys be able to hold the line long enough?

Perhaps it would be wise to amass a secondary force to protect the Saintess for a bit longer. If I remember the game events correctly, the Redgraves were almost annihilated during the opening battle. If I could convince Lord Redgrave to put the Partner on the frontlines, fate could be averted. Holfort would be much less likely to fall with the aid of the Redgraves.

Would this change the scenario significantly? Yes. But I only needed to follow the plot until Fanoss was dealt with. Anything else after was irrelevant.

"Leon? What are you thinking?" Angelica asked hesitantly. My pondering had taken too long that she seemed nervous.

"How much to seek an audience with your Father?"

"You would seek an audience with him? That would cost far too much."

"Number?"

"One thousand platinum coins."

Nodding to myself, I took two suitcases in my cart and handed them to Angelica.

"Take two thousand. If he asks for more, I'll find more. Don't argue with him."

"What are you planning?" Angelica asked with narrow eyes.

"Family is most important," I mused.

Luxion's insistence on tagging the Forest of Ladies would pay off dividends, and he would be insufferable about it.

AN:

1) A slow chapter. This was mainly to set up this arc's focus. The progress report and the FoL was used to help direct Leon's current thoughts toward seeking aid outside the main cast.

2) This detailed the progress Leon sees in the main cast. There are some ups and downs since a game can only simulate real life to such an extent. It introduces more doubts in Leon since his best efforts can't possibly match the game's mechanics.

3) I also wanted to state that Leon's reaching his limitations.

4) Did a little worldbuilding around the FoL as well. While fans know, it feels necessary to discuss the FoL's influence in the context of the world. I wanted to show how people perceive the idea, react to learning it, suggest the high noble's acceptance, etc.