Chapter 297

"Did I summon you here to argue?"

The warning echoing in the darkness wasn't sharp, but it was enough to instill a sense of caution.

Noel stiffened his expression, returned to attention, and bowed his head deeply. Meterion also looked up at the darkened ceiling, furrowed his brow, and turned his gaze elsewhere.

Thanks to Venum, who had been rolling his eyes in the middle, slowly clearing away the darkness in the conference room, a dim light spread, providing some visibility.

Hugo looked around at the battalion commanders, including the three in front of him, and laughed coldly as he faced their current situation.

The state of these commanders leading the Council's army was far from ideal. Tearing each other apart, suspecting, and blaming one another. It wasn't that this had never happened before, but with Leonardo's handcuff issue overlapping, this group felt particularly irresponsible today. Himself included, of course.

Hugo decided to calm his own excitement first, rubbing his eyebrows with his palm. From leaving Fidele, evading the Imperial Knights, returning to headquarters, and entering the conference room until this moment. Everything felt like it was gripping his nerves and not letting go.

Several hours had passed since his return, but the combat uniform he hadn't yet changed out of clung to his body, making his chest feel tight. Because of this, his emotional temperature seemed to rise more easily than usual.

Was this how Leonardo had felt when he was rubbing his dry face in the interrogation room in the past?

"...Right, it was my oversight to start with accusations right away. It wasn't proper behavior for a Commander."

Hugo cooled his heated head, recalling Meterion's words about not knowing where to feel trust in his actions. He then gathered the cold that had been spreading in all directions, but the temperature that had already plummeted didn't rise again.

He pressed his eyes firmly, then removed his hand and slowly raised his head.

"But what needs to be made clear here is that this incident is a ridiculous farce that occurred due to our carelessness."

He spoke in a stern voice, making eye contact with the battalion commanders.

"Leonardo Blaine's honor and safety were threatened throughout the subjugation because of this. Due to the control instability problem constantly holding him back, he had to endure silently in the midst of discriminating gazes and dangers he shouldn't have had to face."

Hugo recalled the conflict between himself and Leonardo over Leonardo's control instability problem in the past. He gradually furrowed his brow, reflecting on their mutual trust that had shattered and barely been pieced back together, and the emotional wounds Leonardo must have suffered all this time.

"He bore the responsibility carrying all the anxiety, not even knowing he was the victim. And it's no exaggeration to say that the various accidents that occurred in the process also threatened the lives of our members who were part of the subjugation team. This means that we, the Council commanders who should protect the empire's citizens, failed to fulfill our individual duties. Therefore, whether this incident was someone's mistake or intentional, I will definitely find the root cause and hold the person responsible accountable."

His blue eyes glowed fiercely against the darkened background. Along with this, a firm resolve could be felt in his tone, which was calm to the point of being frightening.

"From now on, only the Deputy Commander and I will jointly be in charge of the armory and equipment management room until the investigation of the incident is concluded. It might feel unreasonable, but it's just a temporary management system to prevent evidence concealment. The 1st Battalion and I will grasp the facts on our own and verify one by one when and where gaps occurred, focusing on these three individuals. Of course, the rest of the personnel are no exception."

The fact that the 1st Battalion would conduct the investigation on its own meant that this issue was seen as a serious matter for the organization itself, and they intended to root out the cause. As the situation grew more serious, Shorendo opened his mouth to say something.

At that moment, Meterion, who had been listening to Hugo's statement, cut in with a displeased face.

"Wait, haven't I been saying this from earlier? When I visited the manufacturing facility, even the outline of the peninsula expedition hadn't been decided. I don't think there's any reason for me to be grouped with these two guys who attempted to contact the person in charge at the time and the handcuff production manager just because I have a visit record within three months and participated in the peninsula subjugation."

"Meterion."

Hugo briefly raised his tired gaze upward, then lowered it coldly.

"Whether you participated in the peninsula subjugation or not has nothing to do with the criteria for determining the main suspects. Even if you didn't participate in the subjugation, you could still be the cause of this incident. There are many ways to enter and exit the peninsula even if you weren't selected as expedition personnel."

Hugo placed his hand on Meterion's shoulder and gripped it tightly. Yet, he slightly lowered his head and whispered softly into Meterion's ear.

"You know that best, don't you?"

In an instant, Meterion's lips hardened. He quickly rolled his eyes and stared straight at Hugo beside him.

Hugo also stared at him with sharp eyes, without any particular expression. Then he moved his upper body back, maintaining an appropriate distance as if he hadn't said anything.

Even though the other had taken a step back, the pressure Hugo had left still lingered in Meterion's ear. It seemed to have worked quite well, as he remained quiet afterward as if he had never interrupted.

Hugo, who had been carefully observing Meterion's expression, raised his chin again and explained to the battalion commanders.

"Not only these three in front, but everyone present here, as honorable commanders of the Council, has the duty to ascertain the truth of the incident and sincerely participate in the investigation. If in the process you realize that this problem occurred due to your own or your subordinates' carelessness, there may be room to decide on treatment with consideration, under the assumption that you report to me immediately. However, if intentionality is detected by others, including myself–"

Hugo's eyes closed slowly. Suspecting a colleague, huh. It was a hypothesis he absolutely didn't want to consider.

But as Meterion said, when coincidences become consecutive, they're no longer coincidences. And even if external forces were involved in Leonardo wearing the old-style handcuffs, it was virtually impossible without the cooperation of someone at the battalion commander level.

So now, as a member of the Council and as Leonardo's protector, it was right to open up all possibilities and dig into the truth. His thin eyelids slowly opened.

"If intentionality is detected, be prepared for judgment."

As his intelligent eyes flickered ominously, the battalion commanders swallowed hard. By calling everyone together to discuss this fact, the Commander had sown seeds of suspicion among the commanders, and they would struggle to find evidence to remove themselves from the list of suspects.

Throwing a bomb into this relationship that had been governed by harmony until now was far from the Commander's usual way of handling things. But if someone among them had really manipulated the incident, harmony had already been broken anyway.

"Understood?"

An authoritative voice rang out in the heavy silence.

The voices of the tense battalion commanders answered in unison.

"Yes, understood–"

***

An invisible hand had stretched out its demonic claws overnight. It made them suspect trusted colleagues, amplified anxiety, and instigated conflict.

The night of the safe return, which should have been joyous, was heavier and gloomier than ever before. The dark faces of the battalion commanders returning from the conference room also transferred the unsettled atmosphere to their subordinates.

However, that night, the one most enveloped in anxiety in the Council's white building was undoubtedly Leonardo. Just when he was feeling that this place wasn't safe, an incident that could completely shake his mental state had occurred.

Flynn, who remained by his side, explained the existence of the old-style handcuffs throughout the night, but deliberately didn't mention the possibility that someone had intentionally caused Leonardo's control instability. This was because of Hugo's order to keep him at ease.

"It seems new members accidentally mixed them in while trying to fill the handcuff quota. This has never happened before... Blaine, I'm sorry."

Flynn simply said it was a mistake on the Council's part and apologized to Leonardo several times on behalf of the entire organization. However, Leonardo didn't show any reaction - neither anger, nor sneering, nor any response at all. He just stared at Flynn with a blank expression in silence. His face looked extremely empty and anxious at the same time.

After that, he couldn't fall asleep at all and his condition noticeably worsened, so the detailed examination was naturally postponed to the next day.

Flynn, who had been awake the whole time taking care of him, at some point succumbed to fatigue and collapsed onto the sofa, falling into a deep sleep. Leonardo also hugged his knees and blankly waited for Hugo, but without realizing it, he fell asleep, almost passing out from exhaustion.

He vaguely felt someone picking him up and moving him, but his heavy eyelids refused to open.

After drifting through a dream wrapped in warmth, when he finally came to his senses, Leonardo realized he was lying alone on the bed.