The hall erupted into an uproar. Dmitry, Alexander, the Duke of Sofia, and the Duke of Bucharest all sprang to their feet, disbelief written across their faces, their mouths hanging open. The Duke of Sofia's hands even trembled slightly, as if he had recalled something deeply unsettling.
Out of everyone present, Alexander Dimitrievich Romanov, prince of the Slavic Byzantine Kingdom and son of Dimitri Alexevich Romanov, was the first to react.
"That cannot possibly be true. How dare you spread such false information?" Alexander's face contorted with rage, flushing an intense red.
The officer who had barged into the palace to deliver the emergency report was trembling uncontrollably. Without hesitation, he dropped to one knee with a heavy thud, a dull pain shooting up his spine. He ignored it. At that moment, preserving his life mattered far more than a bruised knee. He could not afford to let His Highness believe he was fabricating such news.
