Help, I'm in Another World and All the Men Are So Hot! [BL]-Chapter 79: A Test of Loyalty

"Leonide, maybe cover up a little, yeah?" Damien suggested.

Leonide, teary-eyed with embarrassment, nodded his head but made no effort to actually cover himself. The others, though visibly embarrassed too, weren’t doing much to hide either, clearly trained not to. But in Leonide’s case, this was clearly different.

Tears began to fall from Leonide’s eyes, and Damien could hardly bear it. "Sebas, could we allow towels today, just for once?"

Damien almost begged as he lowered his head in desperation.

"If it is permitted by Sir Damien, then I have no objections. However, I would caution against too much leniency. It could hinder his growth. Perhaps allowing it just for today would be wise," Sebas replied with a surprisingly strict tone.

Damien considered Sebas’s words. It made sense—this wasn’t just playful banter anymore; it was a real issue, so a bit of sternness was necessary.

"Leonide, just for today, you can wrap yourself in a towel. But make sure this doesn’t happen again, alright?" Damien said gently.

Still crying, Leonide nodded and quickly headed back to the dressing room to grab a towel.

"And the rest of you—wrap up in towels as well, just to be safe, for today," Damien instructed.

The three others nodded, "Yes, Master," and followed after Leonide.

As Damien watched them leave, he couldn’t help but think how much he wanted a towel for himself, but he knew that wouldn’t be appropriate.

I’ll endure it, Damien thought to himself, even if it’s embarrassing.

"You know, these things happen," Theo commented, sounding like he was speaking from experience. "It’s actually not that bad right now. Wait until they get a little older—it’ll be a much bigger problem."

Theo’s words hit home for Damien. He, too, had been in plenty of awkward situations during his younger years—moments when his body reacted at the worst possible times. And these boys still had their peak to come, so things would only get more challenging for them.

To be honest, Damien wasn’t sure how he would be handling things himself if Theo hadn’t been there to help him release tension regularly. It was, after all, a natural bodily function, and ideally, he’d like to be more lenient. But when thinking about how embarrassing it would be if something like that happened in front of guests, he knew he had to enforce discipline.

"Well, the timing was just unfortunate this time," Theo said, trying to offer some perspective. "If it had been just me, I would’ve let it slide, but with everyone else here—including our colleagues—there wasn’t much we could do. He’ll just have to chalk it up to bad luck."

"Indeed," Sebas added, nodding next to Theo. "Typically, in such situations where there’s no avoiding it, one can excuse themselves by claiming illness. We’ve usually waited until they’re a bit older to teach these techniques, but perhaps we should start earlier from now on."

It seemed that Sebas wasn’t as angry as his earlier tone suggested, especially given that every man in the room understood the dilemma. They were all silently sharing a moment of sympathy when the three servants returned, now with towels wrapped around their waists.

"Where’s Leonide?" Damien asked, noticing the youngest was missing.

"Uh... he’s still crying and won’t stop," one of the boys replied awkwardly.

"We told him you’d forgiven him, but he doesn’t believe it... now he’s saying he just wants to go home," another chimed in.

Oh no, Damien thought, poor kid. He’s really upset now.

"Sebas...?" Damien turned his head to him.

"My deepest apologies, Sir Damien. I believed I had taken into account his age and emotional needs, but it appears my approach was lacking."

"No, Sebas, this isn’t your fault," Theo interjected. "We’ve had many servants of Leonide’s age before, and they’ve all been trained perfectly well under your guidance."

Theo was right. There had been plenty of young servants who had matured and grown capable under Sebas’s strict but fair training. Leonide’s case was different. He was a highly talented young servant, chosen specifically to work for Damien. This level of sensitivity wasn’t normal for someone selected for their ability. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"This is on me," Damien admitted. "I must’ve been too soft on him."

It was clear now that this was Damien’s responsibility. He was the one who had failed as a master by being too lenient with Leonide.

"Yes," Sebas agreed thoughtfully. "It seems he became attached to you, and in his affection, he grew complacent. Now that he’s made a big mistake, it’s natural for him to want to retreat. I had hoped his fondness for you would help him adapt, but it seems things didn’t go as smoothly as expected."

Theo had warned Damien about being too soft on his servants, especially when he’d first patted Leonide’s head in praise. Clearly, it hadn’t been enough of a correction.

"If he abandons his duties, we may have no choice but to dismiss him," Sebas warned gravely.

"Is there no way we can retrain him?" Damien asked, not wanting to give up.

"I fear it’s too late for that. Once they start longing for home, no amount of encouragement or reprimand tends to help," Sebas said regretfully. "I blame myself for being too strict in this case. My apologies once again, Sir Damien."

Damien couldn’t let Sebas take the blame for this. It was his own fault, and he needed to take responsibility.

"Wait a second, Sebas," Damien said, standing up straight, hands on his hips, unintentionally exposing himself in his determined stance. "Leonide is my servant. It’s my decision whether he stays or leaves. Isn’t that right?"

Sebas nodded. "Yes, Sir Damien, that is correct."

"But, Damien," Theo chimed in, "even though he’s young, abandoning his duties is still abandonment. If you let this go, the other servants will start questioning the standards we hold them to."

That was true. Damien knew that there were other servants Leonide’s age or even younger who were working diligently without complaint. Allowing Leonide to simply quit wouldn’t be fair to them.