After Roland finished speaking in one breath, the hall fell into dead silence.
There was no applause, no praise or rebuke, only a sinister silence and eyes filled with fury lingering in the room.
Minerva wanted to stand up and clap at one point, but given the unspoken tension surrounding her, she had no choice but to remain silent.
The atmosphere was so dangerous, almost explosive, not because Roland had said anything wrong, but precisely because everything he said was correct, leaving the prominent figures with no outlet for their boiling rage.
— I'm just pissed off!
— Why doesn't this man respect us?
Those were likely the words the representatives most wanted to utter but couldn't due to their pride.
To be chastised by a mere commoner, even if the other party was speaking irrefutable truths, left the nobles in attendance humiliated. Bound by their statuses, they couldn't lash out; instead, like petulant children throwing a tantrum, they stayed silent and glared at Roland.