'What is he saying? How is it that they already know? Is she truly gone?'
Damien found himself indifferent to both the uprising and his imminent arrest. What preoccupied him was the unsettling reality that Rosalie had vanished, leaving him clueless about her whereabouts and the reasons behind her departure.
His pallid face turned toward the Emperor, who, too, appeared somewhat perplexed by the unfolding events.
"Is it true, Damien? Has your wife truly fled?"
Luther's voice, icy and composed, finally reached the duke's ears. Damien flinched, narrowing his eyes, still deliberating on the kind of response that might shield Rosalie's innocence amid the escalating turmoil.
A raging current of both thoughts and emotions surged through his mind, only to eventually still render it blank. Reluctantly, he released a long exhale as if to try and stall for more time before speaking in a composed tone,
