Chapter 3 : Humiliation

Leonard thought he had misheard, his eyes filled with confusion and fear. How could Master Edward make such a request?

Even if he was shy in private, he would accept it, but now he was facing a room full of servants.

"Hurry up."

Edward urged impatiently, Leonard''s hand clutching his collar began to tremble. Even his words were trembling, he couldn''t do such a thing as undressing in public.

"Master, can, can we go to the room..."

Edward didn''t say anything, but signaled the butler with his eyes to "help." Ever since the marriage was arranged, the second young master had become increasingly violent. Albert Johnson braced himself and called some people to approach the newlywed wife.

"Let go of me... let go of me..."

Several hands were pulling at his clothes, and Leonard naturally resisted, struggling desperately in fear. His outer clothes were forcibly removed, and he hugged his body tightly in a final act of resistance.

The standoff lasted a long time, wearing down Edward''s patience. He threw the bowl in his hand to the ground, the shattering sound startling the group tangled together.

"It''s just a piece of clothing, how long is it going to take to take it off?"

Edward stood up with a stern face and walked over to the troublemaker, looking down at him. Leonard breathed a sigh of relief, his hair and clothes in disarray, but he couldn''t care less about tidying up, just grateful to have preserved his dignity.

"Master Edward."

Leonard called out with a hint of grievance, instinctively trying to please. This pitiful look only made Edward feel more disgusted. He suddenly raised his hand and slapped him hard across the face.

"!"

Leonard, who had just stood up, was almost knocked off his feet by the slap, stumbling back a few steps and hitting the edge of the table. Half of his face was already swollen and red.

"Remember."

Edward''s voice was cold and devoid of warmth. "In the Harkness Family, you are just a tool for carrying on the family line. Don''t delude yourself into thinking you have any status."

*********

Leonard''s swollen cheek hurt at the slightest touch, so he had to lie on his side to barely fall asleep.

After being beaten during the day, he had no face to appear in front of others and quietly retreated to his room. Leonard wanted to cry but couldn''t, sitting in a daze holding a yellowed handkerchief.

His mind was blank, and he spent the whole day in a daze until the sun set and the light in the bedroom dimmed. No one called him or brought him food. After what had happened, no one in the Harkness Family''s villa would think of him.

Leonard pressed his painfully hungry stomach and went to bed, thinking that if he slept, he wouldn''t feel hungry. This wasn''t his first experience with hunger; he was already used to it.

Before he was seven, he was isolated in the deep palace, often forgotten by the servants, and left starving. No one would have imagined that a prince, dressed in luxurious clothes, would often find even basic sustenance a luxury.

But being too hungry also made it hard to sleep. In his groggy mind, a figure seemed to approach him. It was Master Edward—

...

Six-year-old Leonard was too hungry and sneaked out of his palace.

He had lived here alone since he could remember, and even if he missed his mother, he could only see her after a long wait. He was used to enduring, but this time he couldn''t take it anymore. The servants hadn''t come for days, and he was too hungry.

Leonard didn''t know where he was going, but he vaguely heard music and noise through the walls. Although he rarely appeared in public, he was at least familiar with the palace and knew there must be some distinguished guests.

Where there was a banquet, there was food. Risking his father''s reprimand, Leonard wanted to sneak into the kitchen to get something to eat.