When dignity is fragile, honor becomes a performance, and a façade becomes the only shield which is left.

In such moments, who breaks first….? The deceiver, or the one being deceived?

…

A quiet tremor passed through the ten council members present in the royal audience hall. Some grinned in pure amusement while others gritted their teeth looking at Leon's arrogance.

The royal council circle was itself not united, they always opposed whenever they saw something unfit or unnecessary. That meant there were noble members among them who were not tightly bound by the king's loyalty, but they were present because of their historical influence.

The king could not really kick someone out if they opposed his judgment, that would not be wise and would not look good in the citizens' eyes either.

Leon met the king's gaze and simply asked, "I am here as you have requested, Your Majesty."

Leon kept his posture relaxed, but he did not let his eyes waver from the king. He had no need to fear him, not when someone as strong as Veronica was supporting him.

Though she could not come here with Leon, she still managed to make his work easier and more relaxed, and specifically told him not to show any fear in front of him, and to go there not as a Valentine, but as the Tower Head's younger brother.

The king would never ignore her existence.

Rinna covered her lips and looked at Leon with nervous eyes.

'Why is he provoking Father? Is he crazy?'

Surely she knew who was behind him, and she herself had witnessed many times how the Blood Tower Head called the king by only his name, but still, even as her younger brother, to provoke him was kind of stupid in her eyes.

She was told before this council gathering that there would be a discussion about today's incident in the audience hall, but she was not expecting Leon to get involved as well.

After getting sent back before the pillar of light appeared, she had indeed deduced that it was either Leon or Veronica's doing.

She was not surprised to find this out though, his result in the class allotment examination gave her enough thought that he was someone extraordinary and stronger than her.

Even so, it was fascinating to hear about the Light Affinity's existence in this era.

She had only heard about it in folk tales.

Eula on the other hand, despite knowing what he was up to, could not help but feel nervous. But she knew he would not be speaking this arrogantly if he did not have something planned beforehand.

'Provoking is a good tactic, but are you not going a little overboard?'

He greeted her and Rinna first, the king's two daughters, in a whole wide audience. This was indeed a very bold move from his side, and to those ministers who had their eyes on the princess to ask their hands for their sons too.

'That was unnecessary…' Even though Eula thought that, she could not help but laugh at it.

It was funny, all the ministers' faces were a sight to behold.

King Aster finally shifted his posture, placing both arms on the throne's armrests. His gaze settled fully on Leon.

"We have heard you saved our daughters. Me and the queen thank you for that, and for your quick thinking."

Leon blinked once, then gave a polite bow.

"I simply did what any noble gentleman would do when two princesses look at him with such trust."

He said it calmly, and his tone carried a faint hint of playfulness.

Rinna's face turned red again. 'What the hell?!'

Rinna felt something cracking inside her, in the past sure Leon always flirts openly, but this time, he was doing it in such a respectfully confident manner that didn't even seem annoying in her eyes. And above all…

'Why the hell is he pulling big sister Eula in all of this? Leave her alone!' Rinna knew Eula was the type who wouldn't hesitate to throw a punch or two. With that in mind, she turned to glance at Eula's face.

Eula sighed hard, rubbing her forehead. "I am not gonna save his ass." she muttered.

Myra was watching their exchanges from his side. She was here as his maid, but the king did not ask her anything, nor did he treat her like a maid. He must have already received the report that she was one of Veronica's trusted underlings.

That explained his quietness in front of Leon's constant arrogance.

Myra recalled a particular event from the past that involved the king and her lady.

It was during the early days when Veronica had first become the Tower head. The king had sent a formal request, asking her to come to the castle for a discussion.

A messenger delivered the sealed letter with great formality, expecting her to accept immediately.

But Veronica did not even look at the letter twice.

She wrote only one sentence on a new sheet of parchment and handed it back.

If you have something important to say, then you can bring your legs and climb up the Blood Tower. I am busy.

The messenger froze on the spot reading that.

After that the king did not summon her again for years.

Another time, the king tried to invite her to a banquet held in the name of unity between the royal family and the Calamity Towers. Veronica responded by sending a basket of red orchids with a note that said:

Not coming. Banquets bore me. Send the food to my tower instead.

Myra remembered the uproar that caused among the ministers. They did not know if they were supposed to be offended or honored.

It was common knowledge among those who served Veronica.

Veronica never cared about rank, and she never cared about titles even at once. For them, she was just an ordinary human girl, who was also one of the five strongest humans to exist in the world, a normal girl who was scary when she glared, but loves to lazily doze off inside her office.

Myra had seen all her sides, and to her Lady, the king was only Aster.

Someone she had known far too long to bother placing on a pedestal.

Myra lowered her gaze slightly at the memory.

'It is no wonder the king is holding back. He knows my lady would tarnish him. So he's trying his best and would never risk provoking her.'

She glanced at Leon from the corner of her eye.

'And now he is acting almost like her.'

Seeing the hall quiet, king Aster quit playing around and asked him directly.

"Leon Valentine," he began. "Let us move to the important matter here. Your Light affinity."

Even the ministers straightened their backs after the mention of it.

The king continued, "Tell me, why did you hide the fact that you possess Light Affinity?"

Leon met his gaze calmly and said.

"I simply did not find a reason to disclose it."

A ripple of confusion passed through the council.

The king's brows tightened. "No reason? You could have received royal support. You could have been protected by the royals?"

Leon shrugged lightly. "If I remember correctly, Your Majesty, light shines on its own. It does not need approval to exist."

Some ministers choked on their breath.

Myra's lips twitched. That line felt like something Veronica would say.

The king's expression stiffened for a moment. He quickly masked it with a cold smile.

"When did you awaken it?" he asked sharply.

Leon replied, "A while ago."

The king pressed, "When exactly?"

Leon looked thoughtful. "I don't want to remember."

A minister's whisper reached his ears, "He is not answering anything."

Leon has no intention of answering from the start.

The king, suppressing his irritation, changed his tactics.

"Fine. Then let me ask another way. Why did you not reveal it during the academy entrance? You could be placed at the top."

Leon replied calmly, "I did not hide it your majesty. No one really asked, so I kept it to myself."

"Is that so… And now you reveal yourself during this incident?"

Leon shrugged.

"It was a good time to surprise the nation. Marketing, Your Majesty."

Even Eula covered her face now. 'What the hell am I witnessing.'

She could see her father clenching the armrest. 'Well, at least it is working.'

The king exhaled slowly, visibly fighting the urge to shout. "You speak like your sister."

Leon bowed slightly. "Thank you. I aspire to be at least half as irritating as her."

"Leon Valentine." The king's words sharpened all of a sudden. His blue eyes shone with a dim light before he asked, "Tell me honestly."

Leon's golden eyes reflected the light in return.

Leon simply looked at him without blinking. This time, the king's question carried a strange force when it reached his ears. He understood instantly what had just been used.

[Command of Grace]

He dared to use this skill here, in front of all these ministers. No one else noticed it. Only Leon and the king understood what happened in that brief moment.

'Checkmate.' Leon smirked inwardly. His provocation worked.

Leon narrowed his eyes slightly and stated loud and clear, "Not a chance in hell."

The king almost rose from his throne when he heard that.

'Impossible.' Aster's mind trembled. 'My skill did not work.'

Command of Grace was not supposed to fail. It had never failed before. The only time it would fail was when used on someone with royal blood.

But that was impossible. How could Leon possess royal blood?

That single moment shifted everything. The tide of the room turned completely. Not only had his attempt to intimidate Leon fallen apart, his skill had been rendered useless.

Aster felt his composure slipping.

This was exactly what Leon had aimed for from the beginning. This was why he pushed him. This was why he acted arrogantly all this time. This was why he stepped on every line in the room. To force the king into using Command of Grace, and Leon succeeded.

By doing so, he achieved two goals, both hidden and psychological.

The first was placing the king in a state of complete confusion about why his skill did not work. He could think for ages and still fail to reach the conclusion that Leon possessed the same skill as his, capable of nullifying it.

And second, was to push the king toward the final option in his plan. The one Veronica warned Leon about.

The one Leon expected too. The one the king believed would trap him.

Leon's eyes narrowed slightly, a faint gleam of victory sliding through them.

Leon knew what he would say next. And he was right to think that.

Opening his mouth, the king stated, "I received the report from the Authority this evening. Tiara Town had traces of Dark Mana. You know what I am talking about, do you not?"

His eyes narrowed at Leon's face. From the look he was giving Leon, anyone else would have been terrified.

The old Leon surely would have been. But the current Leon, who created this very king as an NPC seated on a high throne with belittling eyes towards his own creator, maintained complete calmness.

"Finally decided to stop playing around," Leon said. He made his own eyes match his tone. "Go on. Say it."

The entire hall went silent. The ministers gulped. The queen silently looked at Leon with a trace of pity, and Rinna stared at him in stunned surprise.

The king did not hesitate after that.

"Leon Valentine, by the Cathedral of Everbright, it is marked clearly that Light and Dark repel. But at the same time, neither can exist entirely alone. There must be a catalyst for the Demon God to finally decide to descend into this realm after so many centuries today. Can you guess what could be the reason?"

Leon knew. And almost instantly, everyone in the audience reached the same conclusion.

They understood what he was referring to. They understood the direction he was trying to push the boy toward.

It was a huge allegation he was placing on him. But at the same time, he coated it as concern for the common people and spoke as if he was only stating a possible theory.

The whole hall fell into deep thought, except for Leon, Myra and Eula.

They all briefly smiled at once, inwardly rejoicing that it finally reached this point.

In their minds, Veronica's words echoed clearly, the ones she said word for word mimicking the king.

King Aster Lunovar will do anything to get his hands on Leon as his political puppet, and that includes doing something as shameless as a false accusation and controlling.

She predicted that Aster would surely use the Demon God's failed attempt at descending into the realm as an excuse to shift the focus and blame everything on Leon. She predicted that he would make sure Leon visited him all alone with no adult to look out for. He made sure that Raizen and Orion were not included in today's gathering.

It was all because he wanted to corner Leon.

After all, Leon hid his Light affinity all this time.

If he had declared it earlier, the kingdom could have prepared for any future trouble it might bring them. Including something similar to what happened today, which took thousands of lives.

Because Leon hid his light all this time, the Liora Kingdom was unaware of his true existence. They considered him a normal young noble boy with little to no importance.

How would they have guessed that the Demon God might sense him and choose the same town and same day when Leon was visiting it to descend?

How would the kingdom have guessed that a Light user was hiding among them, practically calling for danger?

How would the kingdom have guessed that Leon would one day be the cause of thousands of innocent deaths?

The king watched Leon intensely, waiting for him to crumble under the accusation.

Leon Valentine, was the sole cause of the Tiara Incident.

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[A/N: Weekly goal, 600 PS for 3 extra chapters!]

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