The Crystal shattered due to anger alin its fragments are scattered in the air like falling faint stars that have lost their light.
She stood for a moment staring at the ashes scattered on the ground, and then Liz said
Her voice came out choppy like a rope tearing:
- "Even his father... He never gave up on the idea of Adam entering the Mana pit... So what about me?""
The tip of her lip trembled, but she pressed it hard, then suddenly turned around and left the room with quick steps, making her heels an angry Echo that filled the long corridor.
At the door, she paused for a moment, sent him one last sharp look mixed with disappointment, and then closed behind her violently.
Silence fell on the desk, heavy as ice.
Leon sat down slowly, resting his palms on the dark wooden table, and his protruding veins trembled. He did not speak and did not answer.
From the distant shadows came out a slender man in an old black coat, his back slightly bent by age, but his eyes were as sharp as swords.
He is Smith's personal butler, the man who has accompanied Leon since his childhood.
He laughed softly , shook his head:
– "What a strong lady she is, but her anger is nothing compared to a crazy step you made. Believe me... I haven't laughed in a long time like I do now."
Leon slowly raised his eyes to him, but he did not respond.
Smith suddenly stopped laughing, and his tone became serious , as if weighing every word before throwing it:
- "But let's get out of it, Leon. I want an answer... Why, why did you let him in? I'm the one who raised you.I'm the one who knows everything about you... So why are you pushing him to ruin?"
Leon applied his fingers to the table until it sank into the wood , and answered in a laconic voice:
- "I don't know... Or maybe I don't want to admit."
Smith approached with slow steps:
- "Your usual games don't fool me. What happened in the office, Leon I was unusually silent."
Leon closed his eyes for a moment , as if remembering a picture engraved in his memory, and then said:
- "When Adam entered... I felt something I hadn't felt in over 8 years. Since the death of his mother."
Smith was confused , his eyes widened:
- "Something?"You mean..."
Leon opened his eyes and stared straight at him:
- "Feelings."
Smith trembled as if he could not believe his ears:
- "Impossible... You say that Adam... That empty boy showed showed feelings?""
Leon nodded slowly , his voice hesitant:
- "Yes. At first it was as usual... The cold is endless. But suddenly, a feeling of death overwhelmed me, then anger, followed by a deadly Frost... And then..."
He paused for a moment , his voice breaking as he whispered:
– "Then came love, longing, regret and sadness. I felt them all at once, like a storm pierced my heart. It was not just an illusion... I'm sure."
Smith approached as well, staring at him impatiently:
- "But... How?"She always told me that Adam has no emotions, does not laugh and does not get angry, even when his mother died in front of him he did not shed a tear."It is impossible for Adam to know about the blood baskets of the family
Leon answered , gritting his teeth:
– "Only my father, my son, my daughter and I know the truth. Even Elise and because he did not know adam Adam are without emotion. It was just a human shell."
He lowered his head and said:
- "But today... Believe me, Smith. I felt something different."
Smith blew a short whistle, then muttered:
– "So, either Adam has changed... Or he became such a genius of deception that he deceived you yourself."
Leon fell silent, his eyes sinking into the deep darkness around him.
---
After a few moments of stillness, Smith, putting his hand behind his back, said:
- "By the way... the rumors I've heard... I think they're real."
Leon suddenly raised his head:
- "Any rumors?""
– "About the lucifar family. Everyone is talking that they are preparing for a coup. You know that elite families plant their spies in each other, and this is an old game that everyone knows about. But despite this, there is an unspoken agreement: no one kills these spies so as not to consider it a provocation. But in the past months, all the spies disappeared... they were killed. Even our spies inside Lucifer... have become corpses without a trace."
Leon's face froze, and his features darkened:
– "...So it's not just rumors."
Why do you think this
- Alan "the Mana power I sensed from now on was terrifying. They crossed the permissible line. They are no longer the same as they were."
Smith breathed slowly and said:
-" Have they reached the rank of SSS?""
Leon shook his head:
– "No... not yet. But now they are at least as strong as a full SS rank... and maybe even more. This alone is enough to tip the scales of the elite family."
Smile an ironic smile:
- "Are you saying that someone is stronger than you now, Leon?" You are stronger than at the top of the SS rank."
Leon did not reply, his silence was informed by no confession.
Smee turned his head slightly and said:
- "So what to do?""
Leon answered him slowly:
– "We are waiting for dad to return from the raid. Only he is able to cope with this situation. As for me... I'm going to order an SS Mana stone for Adam."
Smith gasped as he stared at him:
- "What?"! SS stone?: Have you lost your mind"
Approached angrily:
– "Every child from elite families uses the F-stone for meditation month after month until he wakes up at the age of nine. Those who try to penetrate the Mana directly use the B-Stone once, and often die. SS Stone is used only for elevation, even adults are afraid to handle it... how to give it to a child who wakes up for the first time!"
Leon raised his eyes and said coldly:
- "I received death threats if Adam died ."
A heavy silence reigned , and then Smith burst out laughing in a hoarse voice:
- "Hahaha! What a paradox... The most powerful awakener of his generation has become threatened by crazy princes and driven her crazy! Time, Leon... No mercy for anyone."
---
Elsewhere in the palace, it was
Adam sat on the edge of the bed, his eyes hung in the sky.
He raised his hand to the iron hoop around his neck , his fingers slowly passed over it, then whispered:
- "Stubborn... As I expected. Leon has not changed an inch."
He laughed softly , his voice dripping sarcasm:
- "The easiest way to deceive smart people is to convince them of what they think is true. And bloodlines... The biggest things have always been the ones that are believed to be true no matter who happens."
His head leaned against the wall, and his eyes stabbed at the ceiling.
And as he chanted the words inside him, a name appeared from the bottom of his heart , like an old wound that refuses to heal:
- "Arin..."
Sir, I've got the car ready to go
Adam came from outside the room so the auction will go
Outside, the black carriage was waiting for him, along with Talia, his guard and the old driver.
Adam rode up, while his black eyes looked at the cloudy sky.
"To the same point, then... That's where my first step begins."
And the chariot set off, leaving the ivanhart mansion behind, heading towards a fate that no one but Adam knows about.