A Lion's Burning Passion! Leone X Male Reader

Ch.1

After hours of riding across the rough and badly maintained dirt roads of the high mountains, the wheels of the carriage finally found the smooth paved roads that led into one of the imperial capital's gates. Inside were the four of us.

I sat on one side of the carriage with my sister Air, while on the seat across from us were our friends, Fal and Luna. Air had long pink hair, it contrasted my (H/l/c) hair, but I always thought it suited her bright and childish nature. Luna's hair was a short dark blue that except for the bangs that framed her face was usually hidden under the hood of her coat. Fal was tomboyish and had kept her blonde hair short for as long as I'd known her.

The taxes on our village had gotten absurd, even with all the money I was sending back home, it just wasn't enough anymore and now these three were being sold to someone in the capital to help support our home.

The same thing was happening all over the outer parts of the Empire. While some villages didn't have a problem paying, others, like ours were sending many of their children out to the capital as soon as they reached their late teens to help however they could.

The same thing had happened to me when I was a kid when a group of martial artists had passed by our village to train in the mountains. They took a liking to me so they took me in and offered a very generous payment for me to be their newest recruit.

Now fate was putting my little sister, Air, down the same path as the wealthy nobles of the Empire had recently begun treaty people from the countryside as a new trend of servants.

Air: We're almost at the capital! What do you think our master's going to be like, (Y/n)?

Luna: I bet he's probably an old man. He may be aiming for our bodies, like some beast.

Fal: Hah! If that happens, we'll just smash his balls and run!

Air: Eh?! (Y/n), is the capital really filled with people like that?!

(Y/n): Hm? I wouldn't say it's "filled" with them... The people I usually see are nice for the most part... if not a little weird. But you should be careful, just in case.

I tried to comfort her, but she still seemed nervous about her new job that was so far from our village that she had stayed in ever since she was born. I chose to go back just so I could accompany them back to the capital, but I didn't feel right giving her high hopes about what to expect when they reached the capital.

Fal: Listen to me, Air, all right? We're unlike other village girls who've been sold off all over the Empire, we're the best out of them all. We've been chosen to apprentice at the capital!

I had completely forgotten how different things were for me when I was first sent here.

Was how Fal saw it how most of the children being sold off saw it? As some kind of privilege?

Fal: We're going to work hard and start a dreamy life in the capital!

Luna: I think you're being too positive, Fal...

(Y/n): There's nothing wrong with that. Fal's right to be excited, and once you've all gotten used to the capital, come by my bar and we'll drink to your success!

Air: (Y/n), I think you're looking too far ahead. We haven't even started working yet.

Air was the only one of us who had been avoiding looking out the windows of the small carriage for most of the trip, only gazing outward now as the capital came into view. She laid her hand on top of mine as it rested between us, jingling the adorned bracelet around my wrist as she kept watching the capital grow as we got closer to it.