[Note; Things Leon DOES know about are in black, things he does not know about, in red.]
Vinrarch is an ethnic Rjurik and Brecht national who Leon has had a tumultuous history with.
In the early days, Vinrarch was an aide to Leon's family after they fled to Rjurik lands following their expatriation from being Brecht nobility. Leon and Vinrarch knew each other at this time in a cordial way. They never had official duties together, but Vinrarch taught Leon in the early days how to ride a horse and kept watch over him a few times.
Before Leon knew of Freedonia's offer of leadership, he set out on a mission to learn business in practical terms in northern Brech lands, far away enough from the Hayek family's previous rulership to elicit no knowledge of his ancestry by the locals. With a ready supply of capital and quite a bit of naivete, a trading company set him on managing trade for a small fleet of ships, and to know the enterprise better, he set out on a journey with the crew on one of these missions.
It was during this mission that the merchant ships Leon was in charge of were attacked by pirates, but fortunately a merchant marine enforcer squadron was able to bail them out of the situation before all was lost - and who else led the rescue, but Vinrarch? Leon protested the enforcement charge they took but ultimately the trade mission was successful and Leon and Vinrarch took to becoming fast friends in the Gulf.
While working together, Vinrarch taught Leon further in the art of seafaring and engineering. After some time working together, the two parted as Vinrarch moved East. During this time, Leon was still managing the merchant fleet. During the interim, Leon heard of the opportunity in Freedonia, and after some deliberation, sold his assets and moved South.
Leon has no knowledge of Vinrarch's anti-royalist or revolutionary sentiments, and indeed still considers him a friend.