Chapter 45

A moment of silence descended.

For five whole seconds, not a single word was spoken, as though the world itself had stopped.

Viretta’s usually bright and cheery voice—impervious to any insult or humiliation—fell silent for those five seconds.

Though brief, the silence was heavy, not because of some indignant reaction like "How dare a slave say such a thing?"

Saffron, having spent only two days with the group, felt a cold sweat drip down the back of his neck.

When the five seconds of silence ended, all three of them—Viretta, Iola, and Ranken—burst into loud, exaggerated exclamations, …