When Vlad had first entered the chamber, the mood had been jovial and full of excitement—a moment of triumph following the end of a long and brutal war. But now, that feeling had vanished. A heavy silence loomed, and the atmosphere had turned grim.
Marshal Maximo, once a towering presence of martial pride and confidence, now felt the weight of a terrible shadow cast over the Graecian Empire.
If Vlad's theories turn out to be true—if the Zanis Association had indeed betrayed the Empire from within—then they were not merely dealing with foreign threats but standing on the brink of internal collapse.
Mishandling the matter could lead not just to scandal, but to absolute damnation.
