A ripple of unease spread through the room. Faces paled. Some shifted uncomfortably in their seats, but none dared to rise or speak. The air grew thick with fear and apprehension as the emperor's words settled like a storm cloud over the assembly.
Leo's gaze swept across the gathered men, his unspoken accusation pressing heavily on the room. Though young, he carried himself with the commanding presence of the lion his father had trained him to be.
"It is truly disheartening," the emperor said, shaking his head slowly, his voice calm but laden with disappointment. With a swift motion, he pulled out a scroll of paper and raised it high. "To hold here, in my hand, a list of names—men among you—who have conspired in a treasonous plot to overthrow this empire!"