For a moment, the room seemed to hold its collective breath. The Duke, the Head Butler, and Cassius simply stared at Ashok, their expressions caught between disbelief and reluctant acknowledgment.
It wasn't that Ashok's identity as a student of the Academy was a secret. His uniform had been a silent declaration of the fact from the moment he stepped into the mansion, something none of them had missed.
But reconciling that knowledge with the feats he had accomplished was another matter entirely.
The memories of Ashok's recent deeds loomed large in their minds. He had dispatched a cultist in a way none of them could comprehend, his methods both mysterious and efficient.
Then came the haunting image of the witch—sacrificed without hesitation after destroying her eyes. And, as if those were not feats enough, Ashok had offered a solution to save the Duke's daughter—a cure even Ascended beings had been incapable of providing.
