STRETCHED TOO THIN

Leonel's steps paused for a moment, and then he began laughing uproariously. The laughter was so piercing that it practically formed a spear that thrust through the skies above. In fact, that was exactly what it did. Leonel's Spear Force was at the point where it could move even without his conscious effort, rising into the skies with a momentum that could sunder the dome of Existence itself. He could understand what Prime Minister Green was playing for without even going through the farce of a back and forth. He wanted the method of recreating what Leonel had. And he likely knew that he would fail, so he was secondarily angling for the little World Spirit on Leonel's shoulder. Regardless of which it was, Leonel would be infuriated. But to have intentions on the latter was enough for something far worse. "Wash your neck, old man." All text © NôvelD(r)a'ma.Org.

These were the only words Leonel said in response before slamming the door shut. Even Grand Prime Minister Green was taken aback. He had yet to remove the veil of cordiality between himself and Leonel, and he was still following protocol to its end. So how had things ended up this way? Grand Prime Minister Dove frowned. They had already made so many concessions for Leonel, but he was relentless, unwilling to take even a single step back. This was unlike the Leonel he remembered, but he was also only able to sigh. Was this just his form of grieving? He had no idea.

But whatever it was, it was trouble. An Empire couldn't exist without its laws, and though the Emperor wasn't here, that didn't mean that he wasn't paying attention to the situation. It could very well be that Gervaise would have to step in eventually, and if that happened, then any odds of this matter being resolved peacefully might go out of the window. Leonel was making several things clear. He wasn't here to freeload. He wasn't here to follow their rules. He also wasn't here to be disrespected. These youths had been pining after and scheming for his wife all this time, and they expected that things would just be blown over? Then after they died, their family came to his door seeking revenge and didn't expect to suffer a blow? All of the spectators couldn't help but feel their hearts trembling. Until now, the Empire had some internal conflicts, but it was mostly left to a superficial level. No one killed any others, and while there was some jostling about for position, it never crossed any lines. But Leonel had crossed several of them just days after waking up, and now he was leaving a mess no one knew how to clean up. Even if they wanted to be biased toward him, there was a limit, wasn't there? "Call the Legion here," Grand Prime Minister Ji said. "He will be found guilty on all eight counts since he's refused to defend himself, and the crime of threatening a Grand Prime Minister and inciting violence will be added to his counts.

"Shatter the formation and bring him in for detainment. The Emperor will make the final ruling on this."

The command came down like thunder, and it was executed upon swiftly. What no one expected was that it would take the Legion an entire half day to break down the formation. And by the time they entered, there was nothing to be found within the courtyard at all. The inner circle of the Empire was in an uproar, and no one knew what to do. Even the Grand Prime Ministers began to feel some reluctance. Had they sent in stronger warriors, then maybe the formation would have been cut down with much greater speed. However, it wasn't just that the Slayer Legion wasn't strong. The reality was that many of them were just reluctant to act. When they saw that Leonel wasn't even present, they even breathed out sighs of relief. However, while Leonel wasn't there, there was a very clear message left for all of them. Any talks of his wife, attempts at his wife, or wishes to be with his wife, would be met with the cruelest of deaths. What no one knew was that Leonel hadn't left at all. He was in the Segmented Cube, still within his courtyard, and too lazy to leave just yet. He had war to prepare for. …

Leonel's grandmother sat in silence with tears streaming down her cheeks. From time to time, she would wipe them away, but more would come back in to fill their place just seconds later. She wasn't Aina; she had never wanted such a big family, maybe because she had already seen how family could fall apart with the Luxnix… A person could only have so many strong relationships with so many people before even their grandchildren became like vague recollections in their memories. What was even crueler was that with their memories and strength, it was easy to remember everything… and yet it was too difficult to care about them all equally. Gervaise had never taken a second woman, so all of the Imperial Princes and Princesses were her children… and all three of the princes Leonel had killed were considered to be her grandsons. The mother that had died was her daughter-in-law. And yet, she couldn't help but be wracked with guilt because she didn't care nearly as much as she should. It was like her emotional bandwidth had been stretched so far and thin she couldn't give them all the loving care and affection that she wanted to. Leonel's grandmother rubbed her belly. And now, yet another child was on the way… all to make her husband happy. She felt her heart shuddering, and the pain of the moment was becoming too much to bear. Her soul seemed to flee her body as her heart convulsed. She pressed a hand to her chest, a shred of panic coming to her as she collapsed. Her thoughts were too out of order, and now she felt that her consciousness was fading into something.

At that moment, in a flash, Gervaise suddenly appeared, hurriedly catching her before she could fall.