Chapter 351: Plans [2]
Hm?
Leon’s posture stayed the same as the question lingered in the air around us.
"Plans?"
I tried to feign ignorance... pretending to be unable to understand what Leon was referring to.
It was a baseless attempt, but being outright honest while answering would have been a foolish thing to do.
"Surely, you must have something in store for your house... after they had abandoned you."
Leon stressed the last part of the statement, as if reminding me that it was better to be straightforward in my answers than playing the game of puzzles.
"Before you say anything, I know that you had voluntarily left your house, but still... after being removed from the position of the heir, isn’t it the same as being abandoned?"
Leon once again stressed the last word, making the corners of my patience twitch slightly from the way the guy was trying to describe the past events.
"You are overestimating me. A single person can’t possibly imagine going against a behemoth like House Frost and live—"
"Hm? From what I had heard, there wasn’t a slight ounce of hesitation in your blade when you had cut off Victoria’s dominant arm."
"..."
"What’s the logic in pretending otherwise, if the entire academy knows about your deeds?"
"Then what’s the logic in asking a question, if you have the brain to differentiate between what’s pretence and what’s not?"
"..."
This time it was Leon who had gone silent.
Was this guy a fool?
"Even if I had some plans for the Frost, why would I ever mention them before you?"
I mean... this should be a part of common sense, or did the brains of the vampires work in some different way?
Well, I was a fool to expect intelligence from some mere bloodsuckers.
They were animals at the end of the day... just tamed ones with the tag of culture and the history of their bloodline.
This time the silence wasn’t just long, but it was growing into one that could be called a silence of pressure.
Sigh.
If Leon thought that such tactics would work on me—
"My apologies."
Hm?
Leon bowed his head, and not just superficially but deeply enough to be called a proper humble bow.
"Let me rephrase my question."
Ending his bow, Leon made himself comfortable before meeting my gaze, which was now fixed on him.
"Do you have any plans for your house?"
"I do."
My reply was immediate.
After my open show of hostility towards Victoria and Kevin, it had become a known fact that I was against the Frost.
There was no real need for me to hide it, and more than that, it was beneath me to hide something like that due to the fear of a single noble house, even if it may have been a power like the Frosts.
I had the dream to take over the world... fearing at every turn of my life wasn’t going to help me.
There was a difference between being cautious and being a coward, and I was the former, but that too only if it was actually required for my goals, or else I wasn’t scared to act first and then sort out the consequences of my actions later on, as with the fight against Victoria and Noah.
"It’s obvious that you don’t fear them, but just asking... what are the chances of your victory?"
Hm?
Why was he so fixated on the details regarding my house?
"Defeat has always been a myth for me."
The statement wasn’t an exaggeration.
I may have been defeated in some battles in my past life... but that had never stopped me from winning the war.
And that was the outcome I would call a victory.
So in that regard, I had never been defeated in the real sense, leaving aside some small skirmishes with the governments across the world.
As for in this world—
"I must commend your confidence... I only hope it isn’t born of self-delusion."
The words had hit harder than any weapon could, but I restrained myself from reacting to the provocation.
Leon’s expression had stayed the same as before, though I could notice a faint smirk on his face.
He seemed to be serious in testing me, but—
"If your curiosity had been fulfilled, then I must take my leave. You may have free time on your hands, but I am not the same."
"..."
"Not everyone is as privileged as you... Mr. President."
The second statement was meant to be sarcastic, though I had kept my voice as polite as it could have ever been.
"You think I have climbed my way to where I am now merely because of my family’s backing?"
Just as I was about to stand up, Leon asked the question in his usual tone, but there was a hint of hidden threat lying in its depths.
"I never said that, but if you have such thoughts in your mind, then... it may be true."
"..."
The air around me began to feel suffocating for some reason, though with my capabilities it was easy for me to breathe.
I wasn’t affected in the least by the display of the vampire before me.
Leon wasn’t the only one good at provocations. In the field, I could be considered a sort of master, one should learn the art of provocation from.
I had now dropped the idea of getting up, as the situation seemed to be moderately more intense than before.
And I wasn’t one to give way under the pressure of some random student, even if it was the president of the student council and the heir to House Black.
"They say one shouldn’t try to play with fire without being ready to burn themselves."
The pressure around me disappeared as Leon gave a faint smile, which was kind of unnatural for the current scenario, but maybe... the vampires had their own customs of socializing.
"Let’s get to the point then."
Standing up from his place, Leon walked towards me, his eyes never leaving mine, before taking a seat beside me.