Control Before Chaos [Part-2]

His eyes sharpened.

"It's about control."

Silence hung thick. Not a soul risked breaking it.

Clutching the table's rim, Johny's grip turned fierce, his fingers pale like frost on glass - yet silence stayed put. Up went Ronan's spine, rigid, chin forward, a quiet storm banked behind steady eyes. Not even Black shifted, though stillness wasn't his usual tune.

Beyond their feelings on the matter… what he said held truth.

Worse still, it only added to the problem.

Back against the chair, Leon shifted just enough to show he was always further along than the rest. His pace unhurried. A quiet kind of control lived in that small motion.

"You don't need to prepare the army."

A silence followed. Way too still.

A flicker of surprise crossed Johny's face. Had he heard that right? His voice wavered slightly when he spoke again, questioning the words just said. The idea hadn't landed yet, hanging oddly in the air between them.

A shadow crossed Ronan's face, one small line cutting through the space above his nose. Forward he moved, just an inch, words tight but sharp at the edges. Not a plea - more like steel wrapped in silk - he said, "This choice leaves no room for risk, my king."

A soft breath came out of Black's nose, his gaze tightening on Leon like something just shifted. What exactly are you getting at? The words slipped forward cautious, each one weighed in silence first.

Pausing before he spoke, Leon let silence hang in the air. A beat passed. His reply stayed locked inside until the moment shifted.

Over there, his eyes passed slowly from face to face - steady, quiet, not swayed. Not merely seeing, but judging what stood before him. Picking apart truths without words. Pausing long enough that the quiet began to press. The moment grew heavier with each breath.

Rias first, then Aria showed up. Cynthia arrived later. The others came too.

A flicker too long in their eyes, like silence just after a door clicks shut. Each pause felt heavy, expectant - not demanding, but leaning forward, breath caught. They stared as though warmth might return on its own. A single moment stretched beyond what felt natural, filled with quiet want.

He didn't.

His gaze held nothing but stillness. Not even a trace of hesitation slipped through. Only calm conviction remained - thick, silent, pressing down like weight across the ribs, slowing each breath without force.

"I mean exactly what I said."

Quiet it was. Not a shout required. Still, it moved through the air - calm, firm, ending things.

A pause.

"No army."

Quiet filled the room. A pause stretched between them.

The air shifted.

Heavier.

Tighter.

Something small shifted - Aria tucking her hand into her cuff, fingers pressing slow. Cynthia stood up tighter than normal, almost stiff, as if stopping words from slipping out. Silence hung around Syra, whose usual quick jokes or teasing never came.

A faint shift in her neck angled her face his way.

Something shifted in her gaze - no rage there, not just then. As if peering through his sentences, hunting what hid between them.

"You're not taking the army…"

Yet somehow her words stayed steady, though a sharpness curled beneath them now. Something tight had slipped into her tone, unseen until today.

Frozen silence filled the room. His lips stayed shut, no excuses slipping out.

That was when she moved nearer.

A pause.

Then -

Her voice dropped.

"…so you're going alone?"

A weight settled in the air, the unspoken words thicker now.

His gaze held hers now, steady, unbroken. Not a glance away. Just there.

A hush slipped out of his lips, nearly a sigh - yet somehow less. Not warmth. Not sound. Just stillness.

"Not alone."

A moment stops - space wide enough to draw their attention back.

"But not with an army either."

Frowning just a little, Rias said his name like it mattered. Not really what I asked, she thought, voice steady but low

That's the only chance you'll have, he said, still calm but more solid in his voice.

A flicker of frustration crossed her face. "Do you even hear yourself? Walking into enemy territory without backup isn't strategy - it's - "

"Necessary."

A silence fell when he spoke, his tone quiet yet heavy enough to press down like thunder without sound.

Silence followed.

This time, Leon looked away - more slowly. His eyes moved with a quiet delay.

"I'm not avoiding risk," he continued, quieter now. "I'm controlling it."

Cynthia broke the silence, words hushed, deliberate. Was the plan really to dissolve the military altogether?

"Yes."

That single word didn't waver.

Aria exhaled softly, crossing her arms. "Or by placing all of it on yourself."

Leon didn't answer immediately.

And that silence said enough.

Rias let out a small, humorless breath. "You always do this."

His eyes flickered back to her.

"Decide everything on your own… then expect us to just accept it."

There was no accusation in her tone—just something heavier. Something more personal.

Leon held her gaze.

"I expect you to understand."

"And if we don't?"

For the first time, there was a faint shift in his expression. Not doubt.

But something sharper.

"Then trust me anyway."

That did it.

Rias looked away for a brief second, jaw tightening, before looking back at him.

"…you're asking for a lot."

"I know."

He didn't raise his voice. Didn't try to defend it. Just those two words—quiet, steady, almost… unguarded.

And somehow, that took the sharp edge off the room. Just a little.

Not enough to ease the tension.

But enough to stop it from snapping.

The air still felt heavy, thick with unspoken thoughts—but it wasn't suffocating anymore. It held. It steadied.

Just like him.

Leon smiled.

Soft.

Simple.

Not the kind of smile meant to reassure. Not the kind that asked for trust.

Just… acceptance.

"Yes."

A single word. Calm. Certain.

And this time—

The silence shattered.

"What?"

Syra stepped forward immediately, boots striking the floor with a sharp echo. Her brows furrowed, green eyes blazing as she stared at him like he'd just lost his mind.

"That's not even a plan," she snapped, throwing a hand out in disbelief, "that's stupidity. Pure stupidity, Leon."

Kyra didn't move as fast—but when she spoke, her voice cut deeper. Cleaner.

"You're walking into a war zone," she said, each word measured, controlled—but the tension underneath it was impossible to miss. Her arms folded tightly across her chest. "Do you even hear yourself right now?"

Leon didn't answer.

He just stood there. Watching them. Listening.

Nova exhaled slowly, her gaze darkening as she stepped closer, not as aggressive as Syra—but far more intense.

"You expect to face an entire kingdom alone?" she asked, quieter… but heavier. Her eyes searched his face, like she was trying to find even a crack of doubt. "Or is this some kind of joke we're not getting?"

Still—no response.

Cynthia remained where she was. Silent. Still.

But her gaze had already changed.

Cold.

Sharp.

Not emotional like the others. Not reactive.

She was already breaking it apart—every possibility, every outcome, every flaw. Calculating risks. Measuring consequences.

Her fingers tapped lightly against her arm, once… twice… then stopped.

"…This isn't just dangerous," she finally said, voice calm but distant, like she was speaking from somewhere far ahead of the moment. "It's inefficient. The probability of success is low."