The Church was located within the core of Camelot, some distance away from the Castle. They stood on two opposing sides of the city like two pillars holding up the world. Regardless of which it was, Leonel could feel an oppressive aura weighing down on him as though neither would be satisfied unless he bowed his head.
It was true that Leonel didn't grow up in a world that emphasized the importance of bowing, but what he didn't like was being forced to do anything. He subconsciously straightened his back beneath this pressure, his shoulders standing broad and wide.
Lionus blinked slightly when he saw Leonel's reactions. But, aside from a small smile, he didn't say anything else.
Due to the oppression he felt at the gates, Leonel had subconsciously expected to walk into a warzone of sorts, but what he had never expected was that even after an hour, no one had come to receive him and Lionus.
Leonel wasn't sure how to react to such a thing. Wasn't he a Holy Son? Wasn't he one of the only four in this Kingdom with this title? Why was it that he was suddenly being treated like this?
Leonel sent a gaze toward Lionus who sat to his side, but the latter only had his eyes slightly closed and didn't seem to have much of a reaction.. This left Leonel stunned. He didn't feel uncomfortable about this even as the Crown Prince?
The waiting room the two Holy Sons sat in could hardly be called as such. The walls were decorated with polished stone in neat arrangements, the wooden furniture radiated a pleasant fragrance that carried hints of nature, and the tea placed before them — although cold by now — was quite good.
Of course, these were just Leonel's speculations. He knew nothing about tea at all. He could probably count the number of times he had drunk tea on his two hands without much issue. He only knew that it felt quite smooth running down his throat and had a faint sweetness to it even though he hadn't used sugar.
In the end, since Lionus didn't say anything, Leonel didn't say anything either. But within his heart, he already felt discontent.
For him, it wasn't about whether he was a Holy Son or not. He just felt that this was a lack of respect.
Since his youth, his father had ingrained those two concepts — Respect and Persistence — into his very soul. He always had a particularly bad reaction when someone was lacking in them. Though is was a bit difficult to call out someone who lacked in persistence, someone lacking in the former was too easy to identify.
Wasting a person's time was probably one of the most blatant shows of disrespect there could be. It was one thing if there were sudden matters to attend to or if their visit was sudden. However, not only had they not sent anyone to inform them of any sudden changes, but they were also the ones who had called Leonel here to visit in the first place.
Leonel took a deep breath and sunk into his Dream World. If it wasn't for the fact Lionus was here waiting with him and that he couldn't afford to make enemies of The Church within this Zone, he would have already left after the first 20 minutes. Since there was nothing to do, he might as well continue practicing.
The second hour came and went. Then the third. It wasn't until a few minutes into the fourth that there was finally movement at the doors they entered to come to this waiting room.
A knight wearing silver armor with gold engravings pushed the door open. A large shield in the shape of a triangle with curved edges was attached to his back and a proud halo hung about his forehead. He was one of the special knights The Church gave the title of paladin to.
The necklace-like halo that hung from the paladin's forehead reminded Leonel of the mental type treasure Aina used during their escape from the Fort. It radiated a strong Light Elemental Force that was likely the source of much of their strength.
'Where did they get something like that…?' Leonel wondered.
With his improved knowledge base, Leonel understood many things now his Soul Force couldn't grasp in the past.
For one, he could tell that this knight had a special affinity. Or rather, lack thereof. Meaning, if he was a mage, his robes would be without embroidery.
Secondly, it was because he was without an affinity and had decent Spirit Pressure that he could make use of that Light Elemental treasure.
Leonel guessed that most paladins probably had no affinities so they could continue using this child of the light facade.
"Pope Margrave will see you now."
The haughty air of the paladin was practically palpable. Leonel kept his eyes closed for a moment as he was close to grasping something. It wasn't until a few seconds later he registered the words of the paladin and opened his eyes.
Yet, it seemed those few seconds were already enough for this paladin to be close to blowing his top.
Leonel frowned lightly seeing the paladin's reaction. They had been forced to wait over three hours, yet a few seconds was enough to get this paladin up in arms?
In the end, Leonel pretended not to notice the dissatisfaction.
Lionus smiled. "Please lead the way, Sir paladin."
Lionus' words seemed to ease the tension. No matter how haughty these paladins were, they did still feel a hint of something when a mighty Crown Prince was so respectful to them.
"Hmph."
The paladin harrumphed once and turned down the hallway, leading the two young men up a winding set of stone stairs.
From beginning to end, Lionus didn't say anything to Leonel. It was as though he wanted Leonel to experience all of this on his own first. Or, maybe he was just curious about Leonel's reactions without guidance.
'It seems it becomes more difficult for him to hide that ingrained haughtiness when he feels a lack of respect.' Lionus smiled to himself. 'It's truly odd. If he really was an orphan, he should have seen the cruelty of the world long ago. Had he, his true disposition would have shone through already.
'But, the way he acts it's as if he's lived in a cocoon his whole life, like he's never had to fight for anything… Such a disposition makes it much more likely that his identity isn't what he says it is, but it's equally unlikely that he was sent by Modred. There's no way he would be so sheltered in a place like the Demon Army…
'Just who is this Leonel really…?'