Leonel's endless barrage of fists suddenly came to a grinding halt, his indifferent gaze flickering.
Unconscious, Noah finally fell heavily to the ground, his breathing short and hurried. Maybe he could consider himself lucky to be in such a state, or it would be impossible to measure the amount of pain he would be in.
At that moment, the roaring white ape finally got an opening to attack, but it seemed to lose its will when Leonel swept a gaze over it. It felt a heavy gravity field envelop it, making its knees tremble.
Leonel frowned, shifting his senses toward Jessica who was still in a state of agitation.
Ignoring everything else, Leonel's palm flipped over to reveal the flat disk-like dictionary.
"Who is my grandfather?"
[ *Ping* ]
The dictionary flickered, causing Leonel's eyes to narrow. It had been a long time since one of his questions caused a recording to appear. Usually, if Leonel didn't want to watch a mechanical version of his father, he had to go back and watch the lessons his old man left on Force Crafting. But, it seemed he wouldn't have to this time.
"Ah, I never expected you to ask this question."
Leonel's father appeared with his usual carefree demeanor, scratching the back of his head. Eventually, he pushed his glasses up and looked forward.
"I know you wouldn't care enough to ask on your own, so it must have been some busybody flapping their gums a bit too much. Ai, what a headache."
Leonel didn't seem to realize that the entire battlefield had focused on him. In fact, the others felt their knees go weak, any surprise they felt for Leonel being a member of the Royal Family being washed away by the sight of the man in the projection.
It wasn't because they recognized who this man was but because… just his projection made them feel as though they were standing in the presence of a wild beast. But, what was maybe more shocking was the fact that Leonel seemed completely unaffected.
Leonel had lived with his father all his life, so how could he possibly notice the kind of effect he had on others? Just his mere projection was like a strangle hold on all those who saw it.
It felt like his words were accusing them of wrongdoing, as though it was their fault Leonel was asking this question and that he now had to answer it.
Noah coughed violently at Leonel's feet. But, simply had no strength to stand. Even knowing that Leonel was looming over him, there was nothing he could do.
His eyes locked onto the projection. He didn't know who this man was, but considering his resemblance to Leonel… was this the uncle his grandfather had said was far beyond what his mother could compare to?
"Forget it. Your grandfather is dead."
Leonel's expression flickered. He suddenly realized that this recording must be about his other grandfather, unless Jessica had really been lying, that is.
As far as he was aware, Emperor Fawkes wasn't dead, so this could only mean that his father wasn't talking about him.
Still, Leonel didn't react much to this. His grandparents had never been in his life, so one way or another, he had always assumed they were dead. Like his mother before he had memories of her, he didn't care much.
Well… He didn't care much until he saw a flicker of rage in his father's expression.
In all his life, Leonel had never seen his father become angry. Much of his own personality came from his father, the same cheery, charming smile they shared obviously originated from him.
There was only one time Leonel could even remember his father displaying any emotion other than carefreeness, and that was when he spoke about treating Familiars like friends.
Back then, Leonel's father had been adamant that he must treat his Metal Spirit well. But, even then, though his father had formed a murderous aura… it wasn't rage. It wasn't this kind of visceral gut punch this projection was reflecting now.
The temperature of the surroundings seemed to plummet.
"This part of the recording will only trigger if you've mentioned Scarlet Star Force and your grandfather, while also reaching a certain standard of strength. It seems that you haven't just yet, so this is all I will say."
The recording flickered and disappeared, leaving Leonel staring coldly at the silver disk in his hand.
His father's words were short and brisk, but they already made his already foul mood worse.
Jessica panicked. When she sensed the shift in Leonel's mood, she thought that he would think she had been lying. Though she didn't know what that treasure of Leonel's was, she could tell that Leonel trusted it.
But, it was also impossible for Emperor Fawkes to be dead. Just saying such a thing was tantamount to questioning the Royal Family's Sovereignty, not that Jessica dared to bring up such a thing now.
'It must be his paternal grandfather that recording is speaking about. That's right, I just need him to ask about his mater –'
Before Jessica could finish her thought, Leonel had already spoken again, his voice carrying a chill several times more potent than the last.
"Is Emperor Fawkes my grandfather?"
[ *Ping* ]
To Leonel's surprise, another recording formed soon after the first. This time, his father's presence was much more casual. Even still, Jessica and others felt as though their bodies were being constricted to the point where even breathing became difficult.
"Oh, you finally found out about that old fart, huh?"
Those members of The Empire choked on their own spit. This was The Emperor they were talking about. Who dared to call him an old fart?!
"Gervaise is indeed your grandfather. Only after meeting him did I learn where your mother gets her hard-headedness. Now that I think about it, you're stubborn like that too, aiya, my precious gene pool… I should consider getting myself a concubine or something…"
Leonel's father unwittingly shivered and looked over his shoulder as though checking for something. Only then did he sigh a breath of relief, feeling pleased with himself as though he had gotten away with something.
"… Still, be careful of that old fart. His ambitions reach far and family isn't his main priority… Whatever, he's still your grandfather.. Do as you please, I guess."