The Grim Etched on Their Faces

"Let me go. In exchange, I will give Rastislav's body to you."

"You're not in a position to negotiate, Arn."

"Why not?" Arnulp retorted sharply, a hint of bitterness in his tone. "In Cescil, you brokered a similar deal. You forgave Queen Oda and her cronies to retrieve Lorian Clementine's body. You should have razed them all to the ground! Why didn't you?!"

Arnulp's voice cut through the tense silence, carrying a bitter edge.

"Because it was Lavatri who died. What if it had been Sophia Mary instead? Would you have made the same decision? Would you have withdrawn your forces when you could have seized their throne right then and there, Ragnar Clementine?"

The question hung heavily in the air, laden with implications of moral choice and personal vendetta.