The city lord was taken aback the moment Leon stepped into view.
It wasn't his looks, though Leon was undeniably beauty personified, the kind of presence that could make even a hardened soldier falter. The lord had his priorities straight, and he wasn't a man easily swayed by appearances. No, what unsettled him was something far deeper.
It was Leon's presence.
Something in the young man's aura tugged at the edges of his instincts, a quiet pressure that made the lord's chest tighten. His brow creased as a thought flickered in his mind like a shadow he couldn't grasp: 'Why does he feel like "that"?'
He had no answer.
Before he could dig deeper into his unease, Leon's voice cut cleanly through his thoughts.
"Oh, James—you're back."
James' face immediately lit up with a fawning smile, his posture just shy of groveling. "Yes, Leon. And the Lord himself has come to greet you personally."
Leon's eye twitched.
