It took Ben and Leo a few hours of discussion to clear up their misunderstandings, with Ben only forgiving Leo once he understood that all of Leo’s actions so far as a rebel had been driven by the belief that Ben was dead.
Upon receiving the sad news of his death, Leo, filled with hatred towards the Empire, decided to take matters into his own hands, which was why he became the rebel leader, and once Ben recognised these facts, it became easy for him to forgive Leo.
Naturally, this also made his attitude towards Leo a lot softer, as instead of scolding him for his lofty ambitions, Ben now praised him subtly at every chance that he got during the course of their conversation.
“Boy, I still don’t understand how you managed to master [Mirror World] to the advanced stage?
37 years…. That’s how long it took me to do it, yet you did it in under 3.
There has been no-one like you in the history of the Faulkner clan” Ben praised, as he patted Leo’s back in joy.
Embarrassed, Leo scratched his chin and remained silent, as it was true that he could only progress so fast because he believed that his master was dead.
If not for the raging emotions within him, which made him unable to rest even for a second while training, Leo would perhaps not have mastered [Mirror World] as fast as he did, which was why, in hindsight it seemed like everything had worked out for the best.
Since you have already decided to walk the path of being a rebel, I guess there’s no turning back now.
The only way out of this mess for you is to kill the two remaining Duke’s, their sons and Julien’s remaining heirs.
The East Duke is dead.
The South Duke is toothless.
So if you manage to kill the North and West Duke’s, and their heirs…. The Empire will implode on itself” Ben said, as once he determined that Leo was not seeking the throne for selfish reasons, he became more inclined to help the boy.
“I see…” Leo responded, nodding attentively, as while he was not used to listening attentively to anyone, Ben and Luke were the only two people in the world that always had his undivided attention.
“Lord Father, if I may…..” Dumpy said, raising his hand and interrupting the two, as Leo immediately glared towards him to warn him off.
“You may not boy, this is a discussion between adults here” Leo said, as he immediately received a smack on the head from Ben as a reprimand.
“Let the frog speak boy…. Don’t be rude” said Ben, as he gestured for Dumpy to speak, much to the frog’s joy.
“The names you have just mentioned, give me a month’s time, and I will present before you all their heads which shall be decapitated in your name.
If you just allow me, I will prove myself worthy–” Dumpy said, as instead of looking towards him, Leo instead gave Ben ‘The look’, as Ben coughed nervously.
“Did you drop this frog on its head when it was little?” Ben questioned, as Leo exasperatedly threw his hands in the air in a show of protest.
Unlike Ben who did not understand Dumpy’s true nature yet, Leo already did, which was why he shot Dumpy down before he could speak his mind.
Leo was sure that Dumpy would make some ridiculously bold claim, as in Dumpy’s mind the whole world was a battle saga, with the women being there to breed and conquer while the men were there to be vanquished.
He was extremely detached from reality and did not understand the difficulty of the mission he suggested to undertake, making it sound like child’s play when it was nothing but.
“You’re not strong enough to take them all down yet, little frog, the North Duke is nearly as strong as me, while the West Duke is even stronger than the North Duke.
You can’t possibly hope to beat one of them, much less both of them, making your claims absurd” Ben said, trying to reason with Dumpy, who slumped in shame upon listening to these words.
“I see how it is…. Dumpy is a useless frog” Dumpy said, sounding sad, as now Ben did not understand what to do anymore?
He did not wish to discourage the frog, but he could not encourage him either.
It was like dealing with a five-year-old whose dream was to become Superman. You couldn’t let him jump off the roof, but you also couldn’t crush his dream of becoming a hero one day, making the situation very complicated to handle.
“Master did not say you were useless, he just said you’re not strong enough yet.
But since he’s back here now, perhaps after he teaches you a few techniques here and there, maybe…. Just maybe you can become as strong as me” Leo said, trying to uplift Dumpy’s mood, as listening to his words Dumpy became energetic once again.
“Is that so? Will Lord Grandfather really teach me? Will he?” Dumpy asked, panting happily, as looking at his excited face, Ben could not hope to say no.
“I will, but I don’t teach kids who interrupt adults as they talk, so be a good boy and let us finish our conversation” Ben said, as Dumpy immediately brought a finger to his lips and sat in a corner without uttering a single noise.
“Haha–” Leo chuckled, as at times he did find Dumpy to be incredibly cute.
Ben too smiled looking at the pet, as Dumpy proved to be much more interesting to him than Ben had anticipated, with the little one having a one of a kind personality.
Nonetheless, having the talent to back up his arrogance, Ben could foresee Dumpy becoming a great fighter one day, which was why he had no qualms to train him upon Leo’s request.
——–
/// A/N – Mass Release Chapter 2 of 5 for the day. ///