The courtyard had slipped into a stunned, breath-held stillness, the kind that followed only when reality abruptly overturned every assumption people thought they understood. It was not silence born of politeness or restraint, but the kind forged when certainty collapsed all at once, leaving no one sure how they were supposed to react.
Under the weight of countless shocked gazes, Lucian Graves stepped forward.
He did not rush. He did not hesitate either. Each step was measured, deliberate, carrying a gravity that seemed to bend the surrounding air. Conversations died mid-sentence. Even the faint rustle of clothing faded as though instinctively suppressed, as if everyone present understood—on some unspoken level—that this was not a moment to interrupt.
When he finally stopped, it was dir
