The hall had fallen into an unnatural stillness.
Caseous Morningstar's challenge had struck the crowd like a lightning bolt.
For a moment, no one even drew breath. Then whispers rose in a storm of disbelief, spreading through the gathered guests like fire racing across dry grass.
"Did I hear that right?" an elder of the Frost family murmured, voice quavering. "He challenged the Hunt heir? Here? Now?"
"How dare he," a matron in a silver gown hissed, clutching her chest. "Does he think this is a common arena? This is the Hunt family's ancestral hall!"
Some younger guests looked pale, unable to reconcile the arrogance in Caseous' eyes with the weight of the occasion.
"This is madness," a young officer whispered to her companion. "Even if he had ten lives, it wouldn't be enough. To provoke the heir…on the day of his inauguration…"
In the midst of the rising commotion, Ethan stood utterly unmoved.
