Supreme Spouse System.

Chapter 721 721: Peace at the Table, War on the Horizon

Peace at the Table, War on the Horizon

"You're planning two already?" Rias teased.

"Three if no one stops me."

Laughter circled the table as everyone began taking their seats.

Some moved a little more carefully than usual. A few shifted subtly in their chairs, adjusting posture, easing themselves down slowly. The exhaustion from earlier still lingered in their muscles.

But their eyes told a different story.

Bright.

Alive.

Satisfied.

Leon sat at the head of the table, watching them with quiet amusement. There was a warmth in the room now that hadn't been there before.

Comfort.

Trust.

A strange kind of peace after the storm.

A quiet touch began when Rias slid her hand under the table, brushing against Leon's. Her fingers closed around his, slow and sure. Not a word passed between them - just warmth spreading through linked hands.

Close by now, she let her words slip out quiet, meant just for him. A hush hung around them as if sound itself had stepped back.

Softly, she spoke the words. "It is time to eat," came her voice.

Each person gave a small sign before picking up their fork. The first bite came right after.

A hush spread through the space, broken only by small sounds - plates nudged across wood, forks meeting bowls with faint rings. The smell of baked bread and browned meat curled around them, steady and rich. People moved slow. Words came in bits, not whole sentences. Morning noise had burned out, leaving something softer behind.

Halfway through the quiet, Leon stayed still, hands loose on the wood. His gaze rolled across them one by one, unhurried, sun-colored eyes catching light between faces. Not quite silent, but close, the space held the ones he'd come to rely on - their differences clear, their weight felt without a word being spoken.

Footsteps echoed before Syra spoke up.

"You know," she remarked, pausing mid-bite, shifting in her seat, "maybe we could secure the property more regularly."

Laughter slipped between them, quiet but clear. Eyes met across the wood, holding just a second too long.

Fingers pausing on the fork, Kyra looked up, breath escaping like a whisper. "It won't help if you back him," she said

Food went down. He lifted his gaze, steady like always.

"I did not encourage anyone," he said.

Nova lifted one brow right away, a grin tugging at her mouth like she wasn't buying it for a second. "Hmm. Is that so."

The fork landed on the plate with a soft click.

"You stood in a bath surrounded by sixty women and called it normal."

A hush broke into giggles by the plates. The noise slid between sips of tea.

Out came a snort from Syra. Kyra moved her head sideways, yet a small grin still showed. At the distant edge of the table, some serving girls dropped their eyes to their food, holding back loud giggles.

Across the table, Mia caught Cassidy's eye - both women flushed without meaning to. A silent moment passed between them, mother and child, cheeks warm for no clear reason. Words didn't come, yet the awkwardness sat plainly in the air.

Sipping her wine, Sona sat still, posture quiet as ever. Above the edge of the glass, her blue eyes watched Leon without rushing. The moment stretched, unhurried, focused only on him.

"You look lighter," she observed.

His eyes locked onto hers.

"For now."

Cynthia saw it right away. A small shift made her sit up a bit, arm finding the table's edge.

"There it is," she murmured.

The shift.

Heavy silence dropped through the space without warning.

Fork resting now, Leon set it next to his plate.

His smile faded like a light going out. Silence settled where the playful words once were.

"Well," he said calmly, "now I want to talk to all of you."

Footsteps paused while a few shifted in their seats. Then came that faint groan of old wood giving way to weight.

Laughter slipped away into silence. Quiet settled where noise had been.

Spines straightened.

Eyes sharpened.

Under the table, Rias' fingers lay soft on Leon's until a small squeeze broke the stillness. The quiet pressure said more than sound ever could.

"What are we talking about?" she said, voice low.

Back in his seat, Leon let his eyes drift from one person to the next. Each pause lingered just long enough for them to notice - his focus pressing down like a hand on their shoulders.

"The war."

Silence fell.

Away from the house, past its high windows, the land soaked up pale sunlight. Through flowerbeds, wings flickered above stone paths. Tasks continued, hands busy despite the quiet.

Yet within the walls of the meal room -

Back came the ruler.

Far past the high windows, the land soaked up pale sunlight stretching across fields. Through flowerbeds, wings flickered between hedges. Hands stayed busy along stone paths, tasks folding into motion.

Yet within the walls of the eating room -

Back came the king.

"Gary still lives," Leon continued evenly. "Aurelian is still at war. And most important of all… a new enemy is rising under the name of the Skyfall Kingdom. Overall, our situation is already tight. I know we cannot afford another two days of disappearance."

A quiet tone carried his words, yet their force spread through the room much like ripples after a rock breaks a pond's surface.

A flicker of tension crossed Syra's jaw. It held there, just a beat too long.

For a second, she just looked at him, noticing how steady his golden eyes seemed. Usually quick with a joke or a grin, she caught the change right away - something different in his stillness.

A hint of mischief curled one corner of her mouth upward.

Fine, then - regret's been sitting on you since two days back, husband? She spoke low, voice almost airy, yet her gaze stayed fixed, watchful.

His eyes met hers without turning away.

"No. My wife… the time with you, the tea, and those pleasant nights… those are things I will never regret."

Out of nowhere, the reply showed up fast. It just appeared, no pause at all.

A quiet settled, just for seconds. The air softened where it had been tight.

Her grin stretched further across her face, pleased by what she heard.

"But," Leon continued calmly, his voice steady again, "I will not let indulgence weaken vigilance."

A shadow crossed his face, as if duty had stepped in where kindness once stood.

Tsubaki nodded faintly.

"But," Leon continued calmly, his voice steady again, "I will not let indulgence weaken vigilance."

A shadow crossed his face, softness slipping away like sand through fingers. Sharp attention settled into his eyes instead, cold and precise as a blade drawn at dawn.

A small nod came from Tsubaki, shadows deepening in her gaze while she looked him over.

"Sounds like you've learned something new recently," she said quietly. Then, tilting her head slightly, she added, "What made you so alert all of a sudden? Tell us, husband."

Stillness shaped her words, yet a soft wonder slipped through. Speaking only when meaning pulled at her attention - that was Tsubaki.

His eyes stayed on hers.

"Yes."

A silence settled as his gaze moved across the room - each face familiar, each woman once sworn to protect him not as royalty but as man. Then again, things had shifted since the crown.

Back he eased, a pause hanging before his words came through.

"Listen carefully," Leon said. "Before we indulged in those two days of peace… I met three old men in the prison."

The room grew quieter.

Even the servants outside the hall felt distant now.

"They were prisoners," he continued, "but not ordinary ones. Scholars… or perhaps madmen. It's hard to say."

Rias leaned forward slightly, crimson hair falling over one shoulder.

"You went to the prison alone?" she asked with a raised brow. "How unlike you to keep secrets from us, husband."

Her tone carried a playful edge, but there was real curiosity beneath it.

Leon ignored the tease and continued.

"They spoke of things most people would call myths."

Lira's icy blue eyes sharpened.

"Myths?" she murmured.

Leon nodded slowly.

Leon slowly looked at all of them, his gaze moving from one face to the next.

"Listen," he said calmly. "Before we indulged in those two days… I met three elderly men in the prison."

The room grew quiet.

His wives immediately noticed the change in his tone. This wasn't casual conversation anymore.

Leon continued, his voice steady.

"I spoke with them for a long time. At first I thought they were simply old prisoners trying to pass time with stories." He paused briefly. "But the more they spoke… the more I realized they knew things."

Syra leaned forward slightly, her playful expression fading into focus.

"What kind of things?" she asked.

Leon folded his hands on the table.

"They spoke about the Galvia real history."

The words hung in the air for a moment.

The name alone made several of them glance at one another, silent questions passing between their eyes.

Leon let the quiet stretch before continuing. He leaned back slightly, his fingers loosely resting against the table as he began to recount what the old prisoner had told him.

"The old man said what we know about Galvia… is only the version written by those who won," Leon said calmly. "According to him, the real history of Galvia was erased long ago."

His wives listened closely.

"He claimed the Galvia Empire was once far greater than the records show. Not just stronger in armies or territory—but in knowledge. Ancient knowledge. Things that kingdoms today would call impossible."

Syra frowned slightly.

"Impossible?" she asked. "Like what exactly?"

Leon met her eyes.

"Power drawn directly from the elements themselves."

That answer only deepened the confusion around the table.

When he finished recounting the old man's explanation of Galvia's lost history—the rise of the empire, its mysterious fall, and the disappearance of its deeper knowledge—the reactions around the table were anything but uniform.

Sona's icy blue eyes sharpened.

"The Galvia history…" she murmured slowly. "That history hasn't appeared in any modern record."

Her voice carried quiet certainty. Sona was not someone who spoke carelessly about knowledge.

Leon nodded slightly.

"That's exactly what the old man said."

He continued.

"They also mentioned element crystals."

Several of his wives blinked in confusion.

"Element crystals?" Syra repeated. "Do you mean the elemental rituals used by certain mages?"

Leon shook his head.

"No. Something different."

He leaned forward slightly.

"Powerful crystals tied directly to the elements themselves. Not the kind merchants trade in markets."

He paused before clarifying.

"Mana crystals are common. Even if they're valuable, they're still something kingdoms understand."

His golden eyes hardened slightly.

"But element crystals are different. Far stronger. According to that old man… even I don't fully understand how powerful they might be."

The table grew quiet again.

Cynthia frowned thoughtfully, her fingers lightly tapping against the wood as she processed the idea.

"If something like that exists…" she said slowly, choosing her words carefully, "it could change the balance of power between kingdoms… or even empires."

Leon nodded again.

"That's exactly why I'm taking this seriously."