At that moment, the king remained seated in his chair, looking utterly shocked and completely overwhelmed by everything that had just been revealed to him.He was utterly unprepared for these revelations, wasn't expecting to hear any of this information from his own brother, the person he had trusted more than anyone else in the kingdom.His mind was spinning with the implications of learning that his brother had been secretly running a militant organization, that most of his family were involved, and that everything he thought he knew about the ongoing conflicts might be built on lies.Then he took a deep breath, trying to steady himself and find words adequate to express the chaos of emotions swirling inside him.“Ah, I don't really know what to say at this moment,” he finally admitted, his voice sounding tired and confused. “This is all so much to process, so many secrets revealed all at once.”Then immediately, seeing his brother's hesitation and the uncertainty written all over

At that moment, upon hearing the unexpected sound of clapping echoing through what should have been a completely private conversation, that was when the king's brother immediately spun around in alarm.His head swiveled left and right as he scanned every corner of the chamber, his eyes searching desperately for the source of the applause.But he couldn't see anybody anywhere in the room besides himself and his brother, which made the situation even more unsettling.“What did I just hear?” he demanded, his voice filled with confusion and growing panic. “Is somebody actually here in this room with us?”His tone became more urgent as the implications of being overheard hit him.“Who else has been listening to our conversation?”Then that was when the king, still seated calmly in his chair, shook his head with what appeared to be resignation mixed with something that might have been disappointing.“I'm sorry to have to tell you this,” the king said, his voice carrying an odd tone that his

Immediately after hearing his brother's harsh words about shame and disgust, that was when the king's brother felt a surge of desperate indignation rise up within him.His voice became more passionate and pleading as he tried to defend himself against these accusations.“Why would you possibly be disgusted with me?” he demanded, his tone filled with genuine confusion and hurt. “Like, seriously, if we're going to be completely frank and sincere about all of this, what exactly have I done wrong?”His voice grew more urgent as he pressed his case. “Are you honestly telling me that you are going to believe whatever lies and propaganda the Supreme King literally feeds you, and you will abandon your own flesh and blood brother who has always stood by you?”The brother's tone became more emotional. “Have I ever done anything, even once, that would give you legitimate reason to feel as if I don't literally want to fight beside you in battle?”His voice cracked slightly with emotion. “Have

At that moment, hearing the full extent of his exposure and realizing that every single one of his carefully constructed plans had been completely unraveled, that was when something shifted dramatically in the king's brother.The desperate pleading and emotional appeals disappeared instantly, replaced by something far more cold and calculating.He nodded his head slowly and deliberately, his expression transforming from wounded brother to something far more dangerous and controlled.“Well, fine,” he said quietly, his voice dropping to an almost eerily calm tone. “Fine, fine, fine.”He straightened his posture and smoothed his clothing with deliberate composure. “Everything is perfectly fine with me now.”His eyes became harder and more focused. “I'm not going to waste any more time defending myself against your accusations.”His tone became completely cold. “And I'm not going to say anything else that I don't genuinely mean anymore.”A thin, dangerous smile spread across his face.

At that moment, the king's brother's confident smile slowly began to fade as he pressed the phone harder against his ear and listened to the continuous ringing on the other end.He had called the ACE number, the most direct and secure line to the person he had personally handpicked and placed in charge of the entire Circle operation, his most trusted ear within the organization, his most reliable eye on everything that moved within the Circle's ranks.But nobody answered, the phone rang once.Twice, three times.Then more, each unanswered ring hitting him like a physical blow to the chest.Then he pulled the phone away from his ear and stared at the screen with growing disbelief, then brought it back up and listened again, desperately hoping for a voice on the other end.But Still nothing Just the hollow, mocking sound of an unanswered call echoing in the silence of the chamber.That was when the thoughts began flooding his mind uncontrollably, crashing through his carefully construct