The entire garden fell into a deathly, suffocating silence.
Every eye was locked onto Cassius, who had remained perfectly quiet throughout the entire tirade, his face an unreadable mask.
The guests assumed he was frozen in place by pure, unadulterated terror.
Paralyzed by the realization that his women were about to be stolen right in front of his face while he lacked the power to lift a finger.
They braced themselves to witness the inevitable—expecting him to drop to his knees, shed tears of submission, and hand over the keys to his household just like the others.
But Cassius...
Cassius just took a slow sip of wine and set down his glass. He then turned his head slightly, and Lucius appeared at his side, whispering the full account of what had happened in the corridor.
Darius's patience snapped.
"Are you ignoring me? I'm trying to make a generous offer, and you're—"
Then Cassius looked at him.
And the world went cold.
"Arghh..."
