Inside the royal palace of Kaesakchel, the council chamber was weighed down by a suffocating atmosphere...
Dozens of ministers shrank in their seats, heads bowed, not daring to make a sound. Flanking the room on both sides, they seemed to have stopped breathing, too terrified to even glance at the King seated at the head of the table. His face was ashen, so grim it seemed water could be wrung from it. He sat in cold silence for a long moment before clearing his throat. His low voice carried an unforced authority, piercing the ears of everyone present.
"You are all usually so full of energy. How is it that no one has anything to say now?"
Chapter 103