"...."
Ale held onto his silence as if his very life depended on it.
It was the only thing he could do. He did have two other options in his hand. Either lie or come clean. But they both sounded terrible.
Both Paul and Light were too surprised by Xion's sudden action that they remained frozen in place.
Normally, if someone dared grab Ale by the collar, Paul would plan the destruction of that person's entire bloodline in his mind.
As for Light, there was no need to even consider anything. The person in question would be turned into ashes before they even got the chance to realise what was going on.
That's what would've happened if it was anyone other than Xion. But they both knew how much Ale cared about him.
As for Light, he also spent a huge amount of time with the two of them together, so they were both like a guardian figure to him.