"Are you ok?"
Zayen looked at him, baffled.
Thales strained to adjust his disordered breathing so as to not reveal anything.
"Yes." Thales forced a smile and shoved away the plate of lettuce that he used as a prop. "I'm just full. I don't think I can handle more food."
Zayen was silent for a moment as his gaze turned keen.
"So in your opinion, vassals like me are still the culprit? And our selfish desires are the source of chaos in the country?"
Thales neither acknowledged nor denied it.
He looked towards the duke, trying hard to forget the scene in his mind.
"Perhaps.
"But it's not an accusation. Because you can't help it either."
'Can't help it.'
Zayen savored this phrase for a while.
He responded blankly, "So according to you, since everything is inevitable, there's no room for compromise between us?"
Thales looked at the duke for a good while.
