Protagonist? Antagonist? I Reject Both

The revelation this time was too hard for him to swallow.

Leon coughed as his voice cracked seeing Sophia's fiery gaze that might burn him down.

Sophia leaned back, crossing her legs as she stared at Leon, a mischievousness glinting in her eyes. "Blind, clueless, or just plain ignorance? You really have a talent for underestimating things, Leon."

Leon, feeling the weight of the conversation, tried to lighten the mood. "Come on, Sophia, don't tell me you're upset over a picture."

Her soft laughter echoed through the restaurant, turning heads. "A picture? Leon, the Queen of Ace is no ordinary figure. And I have an 8k HD picture in the profile so…."

Leon scratched his head nervously. "I guess I missed something important."

"Sophia, the reason I couldn't identify you is because the real you is much, much, more beautiful and perfect than the picture. Moreover, I didn't spot any beauty marks in the profile pic."

"What? Really?"Sophia asked skeptically, trying to suppress the happiness fluttering in her heart, after hearing Leon's praise.

"You know I am blunt and don't like to lie. You look stunning for real."Leon answered, teasing a smile.

If he was in his real self rather than in disguise, the smile had a profound effect. Sadly he wasn't as it was a hassle to go out as Leon and then draw troubles.

"Thanks, "Sophia acknowledged his response with a slight blush.

"Then do you know this woman Feng Ruoxi,"

"Why are you looking for her, "Sophia raised her brows with a suspicious look."Do you want to add her to your harem?"

Leon gave a dry laugh.

"No, I am just curious about the title Feng. There isn't any Feng family in the noble circle as I know and as per records Feng meant Phoenix."

Sophia nodded and lifting her spoon, scooped a portion of soup, and drank it elegantly in a gentle manner.

"She is my half-sister."

Leon's movements halted again. Fortunately, he hadn't taken anything otherwise he might have spat out in shock.

'What's going on today? I am getting shock after shock.'

Leon cast a weird look at Sophia who looking down at her food continued taking small bites and spoke nonchalantly.

"I know what you are wondering. I am a product of a one-night stand and conceived by mistake. There were a few complications and defects in my mother's womb so if she aborted me, she might have died or might not be able to birth anymore so she gave birth to me and abandoned me while the man named Father just paid for me but I wasn't granted entry to his family register."

Leon could sense the frailty and tint of sadness in her voice. Though she looked indifferent, Leon could see the grief and sorrow in her heart along with jealousy.

'Why do most of the heroines have a tragic story? Is it because it's easier to win the heart of a tragic character.'

Putting down his eating weapon, Leon extended his hand. Holding her hand with one, he caressed her soft silky skin with another one giving her warmth and solace.

"I can't say I understand your sadness but I will try my best to empathize with you and provide you support both mentally and physically."

Sophia burst into laughter hearing these words, they sounded cheesy when they came from him.

However, his words had a great effect and she couldn't help but find herself in awe of Leon. His words might sound rough and misleading, unable to express themselves but she found that his eyes conveyed everything he meant.

Most of the time his eyes were hollow and cold, as if he lacked emotion but when he looked at her it always conveyed his true intention.

It was weird seeing him, who might be a cold expression demon at one moment, become an emotionally warm man at another.

"So where was I? Yeah, the Feng family. They are purely a cultivation clan who don't appear in the public word but they hold some authority in the military. As for the Phoenix thing. Most members of the Feng Clan had Phoenix as Martial Spirit. And if you don't awaken Phoenix as Martial Spirit, you will be thrown out of your family and can't use the name Feng."

"Isn't this too much?"Leon muttered angrily.

"It is but what can we say? Their clan, their family, their rules. I think it's my blessing that I didn't have to grow up in that socially awkward family."Sophia nodded her head as if telling herself.

"And about your sister? How did you two become assassins?"Leon's eyes gleamed with curiosity.

"My step-sister is the only one whom I can genuinely call a family. She often sneaked out and stayed with me. She also shared her cultivation resources with me. Once we were taking a stroll, we found a fucking rapist."

Leon was taken aback by her roughness. She didn't look like someone who cursed, however it seemed she was a wild girl inside.

"We saved the girl but our attack almost killed the man. Seeing the girl's terrified condition we were disgusted by such activities so we decided to do some social service. One way to another led us to Blood Net where we became assassins and took missions to kill scum men."Sophia went on narrating her tales.

Her eyes were beaming with nostalgia and sadness as she spoke about her past and her sister. It was also a way for her to unburden herself of the weight she had been carrying in her heart.

Leon heard everything patiently. He was genuinely impressed with the way she had grown up. Her mother abandoned her to marry into a good family and left her behind so that she could create her own happy family. She was like a discarded piece wanted by none of her parents.

Concerning that, at least her father supported her financially with a good amount that provided all the comforts and let her daughter mingle with Sophia.

Much better than her mother who lacked the basic empathy of a mother.

However, Leon's expression became strange the moment he heard about her sister's running away from home.

"Why did she run away?"

"She felt suffocated."

"Really," Leon gave her a suspicious glance."Is that it or she ran away from the engagement?"

"Why are you always sharp at unusual things, "Sophia sighed, hitting Leon's hand softly.

"You are right she ran away due to an engagement problem. She was in love with a man who also loved her but on the day of engagement, he cheated on her with one of our cousins. Both were cooking some wild thoughts about how to destroy her pride and throw her out of the family later and luckily she heard that, "Sophia closed her eyes as that day still haunted her.

"Leon, she was madly in love with the man and it hurt her a lot. So, she started doing assassin missions crazily to vent her frustration and our target was mostly men as I said before. And I was really worried about her so I also followed through. Even if we're doing something dangerous at least, we will die together. And I have regretted that decision. The only reason she is ranked below is because she wasn't able to break through into Martial King Level due to her inner demon."

Leon's mind became blank on hearing all this. As he analyzed the situation, he quivered inwardly at the sudden realization.

'I thought she was the heroine but now it seems she is fit to be a woman protagonist.'

Leon's expression worsened thinking about this as the situation might become complicated later.

...

While Leon and Sophia were enjoying each other's company, a bit away from them a group of people dressed in black robes lay hidden around La Belle Saveur…

"Captain our Target Noel Star is dining inside with a woman who might be his lover so how do we proceed?"A man reported to the captain of the group.

They were Red Falcon, an assassin squad trained by Jeffson who was now working with two Martial Lord 4-Star assassins Mob and Harry.

Larson, the captain of Red Falcon, pondered for a moment and relayed the information.

"Just stay put and don't try anything funny. From the data collected, Assassin Noel Star is found to be a fearless willful guy. He was able to ward off Martial Lord pressure. For now, we assume his combat power to range from peak Martial Grandmaster to peak Martial Lord."

"Let them come out, I will distract Noel Star while you all kidnap the girl to use as a hostage. Remember, though our primary goal is to kill him, we need to extract the information of what exactly he encountered in that mysterious realm and whether he had killed Master Reno or not."

"Do you copy?"

"Roger that!"

"Roger that!"

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