Silad's eyes narrowed slightly. He had not expected Leiya to know, much less react so strongly. He set down his wineglass, his gaze grave. "Leiya, don't think that way. The Empire has its own difficulties. Haven't you been ransomed back now?"
"What about Helde and Mengke?"
Leiya stared at Silad, her gaze bearing down on him with intense pressure.
Silad's gaze wavered. In front of Leiya, he seemed unable to lie. He kept his voice as steady as he could. "The Empire is at war right now. Gathering those ten billion in resources already took everything we had. The Beast Tide will erupt soon, and the mutant beasts in the seas are stirring. The Empire must keep enough supplies to deal with them!"
He sighed softly and said:
"The Empire plans to wait until reinforcements arrive before demanding their return from the Tianli Sect. It's all for the greater good. You have to understand!"
"I can't understand!"
Leiya's face flushed as she stared at Silad. "We are soldiers of the Empire. For hundreds of years, you and I have fought across the sea of stars for it. How many civilizations have we destroyed? Surely it's no exaggeration to say we've braved life and death! Yet just because we were captured, they refuse to ransom us. How could that not chill our hearts?"
A flicker of anger crossed Silad's eyes too, but he softened his voice a moment later:
"Leiya, you're back now. Stop saying things like that. They won't do you any good!"
Leiya said coldly:
"I've already died once. There's nothing left for me to fear. I just feel so stifled!" She looked at Silad, a glimmer in her eyes. "You must have fought with everything you had to ransom me this time too. Otherwise, the governor would never