One knight, a stocky woman with calloused hands and a toddler back home, snapped out of her daze first.
She stepped forward, her voice hesitant, almost trembling. "Wait...You mean my baby daughter—she could go to one of those fancy schools? Like the nobles?"
Cassius nodded, his smile gentle but firm. "Yes. She can."
Another knight, her braid swinging as she edged closer, piped up, her tone thick with disbelief. "And my son too? Really?"
"Yes." Cassius said again, his voice unwavering.
A third, her eyes glistening, pushed forward. "My little brother—he's smart, reads everything he can get his hands on him too?"
"Yes, yes, yes." Cassius replied, raising his voice to carry over the growing murmur. "Every child here, every one in your families they'll all go...I mean it."
The knights fell silent again, but this time it wasn't shock—it was awe.
They stared at Cassius, their gazes softening, a reverence settling over them as if he'd just descended from the heavens.
