Leonel gave Aina a reassuring smile. It seemed that even now, his top priority was making sure that she was comfortable.
He knew exactly what she was thinking. In this kind of oppressive environment, especially one where these old men and women were doing their best to portray themselves as gods, any sort of dissension would be squashed with impunity.
It didn't matter if Leonel had something "clever" to say. In fact, the more clever he was, the more inclined they would be toward directly killing him.
Everyone knew that, even the greatest fool could read the room. No matter how useful they thought Leonel may or may not be to them, if they had to pick him or their prestige, the choice was obvious.
It wasn't just a matter of face. This would quite literally decide whether or not they could maintain control over their subordinates. In the coming war, especially with all these variable chess pieces at play, they couldn't afford any sort of hesitation.
