The air thickened. The kind of silence that feels like it's listening. Watching.
His words were a match, and suspicion was the wildfire.
Whispers bloomed instantly across the chamber like creeping vines.
"Wait… I forgot about the broken engagement," someone muttered under their breath.
"Could this be personal for Vladimir?"
"But he said it was about justice…"
"Funny how now he suddenly cares so much about King Ikechukwu."
And outside, online, in the streets, in marketplaces, the gossip was already spreading like smoke on the wind.
#JusticeOrRevenge
#WhatIsKingVladimirHiding
"Why now?"
"Since when was he close to the late king?"
"King Vladimir is too calculated for this to be pure justice."
Among the guests and online, foreign diplomats and nobles were already exchanging theories.
"He never got over that brokem marriage alliance with Lionara to begin with," whispered one minister.
