As Agnes and Adrian sat across from Rachel, the air between them felt strangely calm compared to the chaos earlier. The three of them occupied a quiet corner of the imperial guards’ cafeteria, a place that had just recently been filled with whispers and stares. This update ıs available on 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡•𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔢•𝕟𝕖𝕥
It had all started because of Rachel.
When Adrian had suddenly disappeared from his quarters suddenly, Agnes had been caught off guard. He wasn’t the type to leave without notice When she pressed him for answers upon his return, she’d learned the truth, he wasn’t being racist. He actually knew the elf that had been brought in by the lieutenant.
The revelation surprised her, but what caught her curiosity more was the nature of that elf’s stay. A guest, not a captive. That detail alone was rare enough to stir interest across the base. So, against her usual caution, Agnes had dragged Adrian along to meet the elf. Visiting a prisoner might have broken rules, but seeing a guest? That was harmless enough.
At least, that’s what she’d thought.
On their way there, the raised voices from the cafeteria drew them in. The commotion, the stares, the awkward tension, it all spiraled into the scene they’d just resolved. Now, with everyone dispersed and order restored, Agnes finally had a chance to breathe.
She glanced across the table at Rachel. The elf girl was graceful, her expression serene as she took slow bites of her meal. But what unsettled Agnes wasn’t her beauty or her race, it was the faint, suffocating pressure that lingered around her like invisible smoke.
’Are my senses deceiving me?’ Agnes thought, her gaze narrowing slightly.
When Rachel had been escorted into the base, she’d seemed no stronger than a Rank 2 Professional. Yet now, sitting barely a few feet away, Agnes felt a quiet, dominating force beneath that gentle smile, something that could Match her and every first class guard in this cafeteria without effort.
It reminded her of the first time she met Adrian.
Back then, too, she had sensed the same dissonance, a young face concealing monstrous strength that shouldn’t have existed at his age. ’Where in the world are these people coming from?’ she wondered, a faint unease stirring in her chest.
Silence lingered until Agnes finished her meal. The utensils clicked softly against her plate, and only then did she finally lift her gaze.
"So," she began, eyes shifting between Adrian and Rachel, "how did you two get to know each other?"
Back in the accommodation granted to Leon, the room was quiet save for the faint hum of the emperor’s presence hitting the walls. It was a simple space, too simple for the weight of the conversation taking place within it. No one, not even the imperial advisors, would have imagined that a matter capable of shaking the entire empire would be discussed in a room .
Leon sat across from the Emperor himself. Alexander’s posture was straight, composed, yet his eyes held the sharp gleam of someone trying to see through another’s soul. Between them sat a table untouched, no tea, no food, just silence thick enough to carry tension.
"Before we negotiate," the Emperor finally said, his voice even but probing, "I must first know... what do you know of corruption?"
It was not a casual question. To Alexander, corruption wasn’t just a curse upon the land, it was a living blight, a will of its own. And sitting before him was someone who, in his eyes, embodied it. If anyone understood corruption’s nature, it should have been the one born from it.
But Leon’s answer was not what he expected.
"Corruption," Leon said quietly, his tone as calm as if he were discussing the weather, "is undying and insidious."
Alexander blinked. "...?" He waited, thinking more would follow. But Leon didn’t say another word.
The Emperor’s brows furrowed. "That’s... it?"
Leon nodded slightly. "Well, I also know that it first appeared three years ago."
For a moment, Alexander just stared at him — completely stumped. His mind tried to piece it together, but the expression on his face said what his lips didn’t: Is he serious right now?
The silence stretched before the Emperor leaned back, exhaling a breath that was half disbelief, half resignation. The man before him, this creature of corruption, didn’t even know the nature of what he was made from.
Leon noticed the look, the mix of confusion and frustration, but his own expression stayed indifferent, almost bored. To him, corruption wasn’t some grand mystery to unravel. It was part of him, sure, but that didn’t define who he was.
Alexander finally broke the silence again, his tone softer now, more resigned than curious. "So... that’s truly all you know?"
"Yes." Leon’s answer was firm.
The Emperor rubbed his temple, muttering under his breath, "It doesn’t make sense..." He let out a heavy sigh, then straightened once more. "Before we can negotiate," he said at last, meeting Leon’s calm gaze, "you’ll have to know more about what we’re dealing with."
Leon tilted his head slightly, as if the statement had caught his interest for the first time. The faintest smirk ghosted across his lips.
The Emperor still couldn’t quite wrap his head around it. How could Leon, the very being whose existence was steeped in corruption, knows so little about it? It was like meeting fire that didn’t understand what burning meant. But everyone had their secrets, and Alexander had long learned that pressing too hard often yielded nothing but silence.
So, instead of prying further, he decided to fill in the gaps himself.
"It’s good that you know corruption appeared three years ago," Alexander began, his tone calm but deliberate, the kind of voice one used when lecturing a student rather than confronting a threat. "And yes... you’re right, it’s undying and insidious. You got those points correctly."
He paused, watching Leon’s unreadable face before continuing. "But to truly understand it, you need to know the mechanics behind it."
Leon’s gaze sharpened slightly, the faint glint of curiosity appearing for the first time since the discussion began.
"Corruption," the Emperor went on, "is spontaneous by nature. It can’t be predicted, it doesn’t follow logic or pattern. It can appear anywhere, at any time." He clasped his hands together, leaning forward slightly. "But before corruption manifests in a region... a tether is first formed."