Leone's father, Marco, had finally entered Stoneguard Fortress along with his men.
The view that welcomed him made him realize that his son hadn't been joking.
Nearly everyone inside the fortress had gotten sick. The cause was contaminated well water.
If he and his men had arrived a day earlier, then they might have already fallen sick. Or worse, the nobles who considered him a thorn in the side might have used this opportunity to frame him.
Marco was a righteous person, but he also understood that anyone could be framed for a crime, even if they were innocent.
As for the evidence?
Evidence could be forged.
Witnesses?
Witnesses could be bought.
He had learned this the hard way after his own son had been exiled to the Borderlands because of the political games that the nobles liked to play.
It didn't matter whether Leone was innocent.
In their eyes, he was a mere pawn they could use to make people bend to their will.
However, Marco didn't bend.
And neither did his family.
