"If I may ask, have you ever felt guilty for what happened to your family?" Alfraed ventured, his voice softening as he probed the depths of Cedric's conscience.
Cedric's eyes flickered, a shadow passing over his face before he answered. "Guilt is... a complicated emotion, Lord Alfraed. I did what I believed was right, but it doesn't erase the pain of losing them. Every night, I dream of their faces—my father, my brothers. I wonder if there was another way, a path that could have spared them. But in the end, I know that silence would have been a greater betrayal." He paused, his voice tightening. "So yes, I feel guilt, a tremendous guilt. But not for reporting the corruption. For not being able to save them from themselves."
