"Eventually, the current acting boss saw eliminating you as his only way to regain control, at least enough to deal with the governnt and the Eastern faction. If you were taken out, the internal resistance from your supporters would likely collapse along with you, giving him a mont to breathe."
Hera explained all this with such clarity and precision, as if she were an insider who had seen everything unfold firsthand. Even Luke was taken aback, because so of the things she just laid out were things even he hadn’t realized.
Even Leo found himself looking at Hera with renewed appreciation. For the first ti, he truly understood why the idea of sharing this woman with others didn’t seem so impossible, because she wasn’t just captivatingly intelligent and kind; she was powerful in her own right.
She wasn’t the kind of woman who hid in a man’s shadow. No, she stood beside him, fierce, unshakable, and unwavering. Like the saying goes, ’behind every strong man is a stronger woman,’ and Hera was living proof of that.
And rather than them sharing her, it felt more like she was the one keeping them—like a queen surrounded by her loyal concubines.
Listening to her speak, watching her carry herself with such grace and strength, Leo felt sothing shift inside him. With her at his side, he feared nothing. It wasn’t about protection anymore; it was about partnership. Hera wasn’t his Achilles’ heel. If anything, she was a lioness, his queen, just as bold, just as brave, and just as unrelenting as any other man.
And in this mont, watching her, he realized, it was no longer clear who was protecting whom.
Maybe the Leo who hadn’t lost his mory never truly understood just how strong Hera was. Back then, he tried to shoulder everything on his own, believing he had to protect her from the darkness. If only he had been honest with her, if he had trusted her enough to share the burden, they might have already conquered even the underworld together.
But he chose to shield her, afraid of sullying her hands with the filth and blood of that world. His protective instincts overruled his reason, and in doing so, he never gave her the chance to fight by his side.
Leo smirked as he looked at Hera, his eyes glinting with admiration. "Not bad," he said, raising an eyebrow with mock arrogance.
’I swear, my Leo has really beco a tsundere,’ Hera thought to herself as she looked at him. The coquettish and charming Leo was gone, but this colder, sharper version of him had its own appeal. She smirked back at him, matching his energy, which made his brow twitch before she continued with her proposal.
"Now that we have Dave and Luke on our side, your odds just got better. This is exactly why I said we should be sharing intel and resources; it gives us a tactical edge. With Dave controlling the governnt side, we can lock down all the possible routes their smuggled goods might take. We can organize raids and even turn their own weaponry against them. And once their supply lines are cut, it’ll just be a matter of ti before they run out of resources."
She leaned forward slightly, her voice steady and clear.
"Luke’s people can work with Dave’s team on the raids, and they can share intel. That way, instead of Dave seizing all the smuggled weapons, which you’d never be able to get back once they’re in official governnt storage, Luke can intercept and secure them for you. Then later, you can strike a fair deal with him to reclaim what’s yours."
"Wait, wait—sweetheart, are you seriously talking about smuggled goods in front of the country’s young Minister?" Dave drawled with a teasing smirk tugging at his lips. "You really are fearless."
He couldn’t help but marvel. Hera had just casually suggested using governnt resources to raid smuggling routes, only to hand the confiscated goods over to Luke, with Dave’s full knowledge and cooperation.
And to top it off, she expected him to coordinate with Luke so the weapons could be retrieved before his own task force arrived on scene. That ant sharing his operation’s itinerary, an incredibly risky move and a direct violation of protocol. Just thinking about it made Dave’s temple throb. If he went along with this, he’d be actively breaking the law.
Realizing what she’d just proposed, Hera gave Dave an awkward smile. "Hmm... okay, how about this, what if Leo supplies the military with high-end weaponry at a discount? You’d save a chunk of the defense budget that way."
Unconsciously, she had started negotiating on Leo’s behalf, trying to protect his interests. Dave felt a mix of frustration and helplessness at how casually she shifted gears, but Leo, on the other hand, felt sothing bloom in his chest. He looked at Hera with an involuntary tenderness, as if seeing her in a new light once again.
"Hey, you do rember those are my goods, right?" Leo teased, giving Hera a playful look. She was making deals on his behalf without even checking if he agreed, but honestly, her proposal wasn’t bad. It was definitely better than having everything confiscated by the governnt. That would be a massive loss for him.
"Sweetheart," Dave chid in with a grin, "you do realize I’d save even more money if I just confiscated everything, right?"
Hera scratched her head, biting her lip sheepishly. "That might work, for now. But in the long run, forming a solid connection with the Northern faction gives you access to a reliable supplier of high-end weapons at a discount. Leo’s procurent team deals with top-tier equipnt. I’ve seen so of those weapons myself, from the group that was after him in the forest. Impressive stuff."
She gave a small shrug. "So, sure, you could go for a one-ti gain and seize everything... but I’m pretty sure Leo would hold a grudge. And good luck getting any kind of deal after that, he might even jack up the prices two or four tis higher next ti."
Leo burst out laughing, clearly amused. "She’s not wrong," he said. "If I’m losing that much in a confiscation, soone’s gotta pay for it—and guess who’d be first on the list?"
Hearing Leo’s smug laugh, Dave felt his insides twist. That laugh could only an one thing, he had no real choice but to go along with it.
Every year, the governnt allocated massive funding to maintain and upgrade its military weaponry and defenses, ensuring its forces remained at peak strength. It was a matter of national security. A country as large and powerful as theirs was always being watched, one mont of weakness, one exposed flaw, and rival nations would leap at the opportunity.
And top-tier military-grade weaponry wasn’t easy to procure. Most countries were wary of them and refused to sell advanced arms, fearing it would upset the balance of power. Smuggled weapons, on the other hand, offered a unique advantage: they flew under the radar. No one would know what kind of arsenal they were building, which in turn forced other nations to tread more carefully.
Now that Dave was weighing the pros and cons, Hera’s proposal didn’t sound so bad. In fact, the more he thought about it... the more tempting it beca.
And the fact that Hera was the one proposing this only proved how well she understood the political landscape, not just within their country, but in relation to its ties with other nations. It made Dave realize that, while it looked like he was bending several rules, he actually had the authority to make such calls. As a national leader, he wasn’t bound by the sa constraints.
After all, many governnts secretly cooperated with underworld syndicates to not get their hands dirty when diplomacy couldn’t handle things, and their only out was doing sothing outside of the law.
If it led to a mutually beneficial outco, very few senior officials would dare criticize him, especially since they, too, understood that the governnt sotis needed the underworld to handle what couldn’t be done in the light.
In that sense, aligning with the Northern and Eastern factions wasn’t reckless—it was strategic. Those two had the potential to be tightly controlled, ensuring they wouldn’t turn against the country. And by empowering them, he could eliminate the more chaotic Southern and Western factions, who were doing far more harm than good.
"Then, what kind of deal do I get?" Luke asked, his smile calm and disarming, but his eyes held a predatory glint—like a beast lurking in the tall grass, patient yet ready to strike. His gaze locked onto Leo with quiet intensity.
Leo t it head-on and offered with equal calm, "How about we split the Western and Southern factions evenly between us once they’re taken care of?"
"Isn’t that already a given?" Luke replied smoothly. "How about granting access to your secret trade and smuggling routes?"
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