Chapter 398: Hit by Lightning
@ForgiveUsKing: Nobody’s chewing. Nobody’s laughing. Just grief and silence. That’s the power of truth.
No one announced the banquet was over.
It just… was.
People simply rose from their seats, plates left untouched, conversations fading into quiet nods and sighs.
The royal servers didn’t return to the floor.
The musicians never picked up their instruments again.
Even the chandeliers seemed to glow a little dimmer.
An apology hung in the air, unspoken, but deeply understood.
They hadn’t believed.
They had speculated.
They had judged.
But now… all they could do was acknowledge the weight of what they had witnessed. And mourn.
The banquet had dissolved into quiet clusters of murmuring figures and bowed heads.
Just as the first few guests began to excuse themselves in solemn silence, Somto rose to his feet again. His presence alone was enough to still the room once more.
His voice, though calm, carried the weight of finality. “Since the mood no longer calls for celebration,”
“I’ll keep this brief.”
Eyes turned toward him.
Nnenna, still quietly seated, looked up with tired eyes. Obinna, standing off to the side near the royal banners, folded his hands tightly in front of him, preparing for whatever came next.
“There is one last matter I wish to address.”
Somto turned slightly, his gaze landing directly on Obinna.
absence… one man bore a
didn’t ask for it. He didn’t
and the burden of uncertainty… he did
is Prince
Obinna smiled faintly, politely, like
fluttered like wind across the
a few steps forward, voice steady, but his tone
running when many of us were lost in
who wouldn’t, with vultures at your throat every
kept the gates defended. He balanced the court. He
“He led.”
smile
growing in his chest. The praise
His brows furrowed slightly.
saying all this now? What is he building
And then
today, I name him
I must travel, when other duties take me from
not out of convenience, but because I
Obinna “..?”
slammed into Obinna like a
He froze.
Eyes wide.
Mouth slightly parted.
He blinked. Once. Twice.
filled with disbelief. His
Please no.
Not again.
chair. He looked as though he might cry, not from
this to me. Not again. I
with unwavering steadiness. Not cruelly. Not coldly. Just…
his mouth again, finally
Somto… I accept. But only on one
The hall stilled again.
to return… if I ever need you. If things grow too
line of communication open.
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