Fishy

Damian bitterly smiled. Of course he understood what Leonel meant. If they remained in here for too long, no matter how convincing their previous act was, it would become suspicious. In that case, it wouldn't matter if he convinced Leonel to play along. 

"There's not much I can tell you." Damian said through gritted teeth. "But I think you're smart enough to know why this is the approach we must take. The more competent we seem, the more attention the Empire will pay to us and the less chance we'll have in the long run."

Leonel had already thought as much, but this wasn't enough to convince him of anything. 

"Do you think that the Empire is stupid? I doubt they're unaware that this is a facade."

"It doesn't matter if they know, they'll still underestimate us. A vague threat will always be taken less seriously than a tangible one. As long as they don't know the true extent of our depths, it'll be easier for them to neglect us."