'How to deal with Leonard?'
Velin already had an answer.
'Execute him on the spot?'
'That would be the simplest solution—and the most foolish.'
It would create a rift between him and his uncle that could never be healed.
'Let him off easy? That would be courting disaster.'
Being merciful to someone like Leonard was being cruel to oneself.
He wouldn't be grateful. Instead, he would see you as weak and easy to bully, then wait like a venomous snake for the next chance to strike.
'So, I must give him a glimmer of hope—one he can see but never grasp.'
'I'll give him a title of Knight.'
'I'll send him off to a remote fief to manage it on his own.'
If Leonard learned to accept his reality, he could live out his days as a country Knight in the middle of nowhere.
But if he still caused trouble...
Well, many down-and-out nobles died in "accidents" every year.
Count Leman understood Velin's meaning almost instantly. A genuine, even relieved smile spread across his face.
