'Talk! You've been silent for the past three minutes, say something!'
No matter how she nagged at herself internally, Roma said nothing externally. Her gaze dropped to the forest floor as they walked, watching leaves crunch beneath her boots rather than face the silence between them.
Northern was also silent. But for reasons she could never have imagined.
He had considered letting the Echo handle everything while he observed from a distance, but curiosity won out in the end. First, he wanted to see how well Caladhel was faring. Second, he needed to confirm what those intruders really were—if they matched his suspicions.
And indeed, they had.
This made Northern disappointed.
He looked at Roma for a few moments and finally broke the silence.
"Do you trust every single noble in Ryugan?"
Roma got slightly startled—not by the question but by Northern's voice cutting through after so long. She took a moment to steady herself, then actually considered what he'd asked.
