Chapter 189: A Father’s Desperate Plea

The meeting was finally adjourned after several more discussions regarding the dual contaminated zone and the Association’s request.

One by one, the leaders gathered their terminals and rose from their seats, while the holographic display that had occupied the center of the conference room gradually dimmed until only a faint outline of the contaminated zone remained suspended above the table. The tension that had filled the room for most of the meeting eased as people began leaving in small groups, although few seemed eager to forget the subject they had spent hours discussing.

Amber Cedar remained seated for another moment.

From his chair, he watched the room empty, his gloved fingers resting loosely against the armrest. The other leaders who had been bold enough to speak during the meeting were now considerably quieter, and several chose a different path rather than pass Felipe Anatolia as they left.

The older man had not moved.

He was still standing beside his chair, his shoulders lowered and his face drawn from everything that had happened.

Amber eventually rose.

He had barely stepped away from the head of the table when Felipe suddenly crossed the remaining distance between them and dropped to his knees.

The sound of his knees hitting the floor carried across the chamber, drawing the attention of the few people who had not yet reached the doorway.

Amber looked down at him.

His expression remained cold and unreadable.

Felipe lowered his head, both hands braced against the polished floor as his shoulders trembled. The dignity he had managed to maintain during the final moments of the meeting was gone, leaving only a grieving father who seemed to have run out of other options.

"Commander Cedar..." His voice broke, and he swallowed hard before forcing the words out. "Please. I’m asking you as a father. Please look into what happened to my daughter."

Amber said nothing.

Felipe bowed his head even lower until his forehead touched the floor.

"Galithe shouldn’t have died like this. There has to be something the Federation can do. She was one of our S-rank Guides, and she was supposed to..." His voice failed him again, but he forced himself to continue. "She was supposed to become your wife."

A few of the people near the doorway exchanged looks.

Amber slowly turned his head toward them.

He did not need to say anything.

He only lifted one gloved hand and made a small, dismissive gesture.

"Leave."

The order was quiet, yet no one dared question it.

The remaining leaders quickly filed out, and the doors slid shut behind them one after another until only two other people remained inside the chamber.

One of them was Major General Darius Vale, the Deputy Commander of the Golden Wings. He had remained behind because of his position and because Amber rarely allowed important military matters to be discussed without someone from his direct command present.

The other was an aide stationed beside the conference table, who quietly excused himself once the doors had closed.

Darius looked down at Felipe before approaching him.

"Sector Leader Anatolia, you should stand up."

Felipe didn’t move.

Instead, his fingers curled against the floor as tears gathered in his eyes.

"Please, Commander..." His voice came out hoarse. "I’m begging you. Galithe was my only daughter. She was everything I had. If the Association had protected her properly, she would still be alive. You know how dangerous those expeditions are. You know what the Sentinels are expected to do. Why should my daughter have been the one who died?"

Darius exchanged a brief look with Amber, but the younger man gave no indication that he intended to intervene.

Felipe raised his head slightly, his eyes wet and swollen. "And you were going to announce the engagement soon. Our families had already agreed. Everyone knew it was only a matter of time before the announcement was made. She would have become the Commander’s wife, and our family would have stood beside yours. You can’t let her death pass like this."

Felipe was appealing to everything that might have mattered to a man in Amber’s position, from Galithe’s status as an S-rank Guide to the alliance their marriage would have created.

Instead, Amber let out a quiet sigh.

"It is unfortunate that your daughter died," he said, his voice controlled and measured. "I understand why you’re grieving, and I understand why you want someone held responsible. But you cannot allow grief to make you forget where you are."

Felipe stared at him.

Amber’s eyes narrowed slightly.

"You nearly accused the Association of murder in front of military leaders, sector leaders, and researchers who were gathered there to discuss the contaminated zone. You demanded that the Admiral should have sacrificed his life to protect Galithe even though she entered the zone outside the operation parameters."

Felipe’s face stiffened.

Amber continued without raising his voice. "You were angry, and everyone understood that. But anger doesn’t excuse saying whatever comes into your mind. Some of the people sitting in that room are responsible for entire sectors. Others command soldiers. If you continue to make accusations without thinking, you won’t gain their support. You’ll only make them dissatisfied with you and your family."

Felipe’s breathing slowed.

His gaze dropped to the floor as the scene from earlier came back to him—the hand he had slammed against the table, the accusations he had thrown at the Association, and the demand that Zeke should have given his life for Galithe. At the time, there had been nothing in front of him except the image of his daughter’s body disappearing inside that contaminated zone.

Now there was no audience left to blame, and Amber was standing in front of him, waiting for him to understand the consequences of what he had done.

He had lost control.

"You’re right," Felipe whispered.

He slowly pushed himself upright, although his legs trembled from kneeling for so long.

"I... I shouldn’t have acted that way."

Darius stepped forward as if he intended to help him, but Felipe managed to stand by himself.

"I’ll apologize," he said, wiping at his face with the back of his hand. "I’ll speak with the military leaders and sector representatives personally. I shouldn’t have spoken to them like that, especially during a confidential meeting."

Amber’s expression eased.

Felipe looked at him with gratitude that was almost painfully obvious.

"And thank you," he added, his voice steadier now. "You stopped me before I embarrassed myself further. I don’t know what I would’ve said if you hadn’t interrupted me."