The silence in the clearing was heavy.
Aeron just stared at the letter, his mind refusing to process its meaning.
It couldn't be true. It just... couldn't.
"..." Livia was the first to break out of the shock.
Something about the letter didn't sit right with her. She didn't believe in her guess, no matter how logical it sounded.
"Aeron," she said, her voice softer now. "Let's read the other one."
Her words snapped him out of it.
"..."
He looked down at the second, unopened letter in his lap. With a shaky hand, he picked it up. Maybe this one would explain everything. Perhaps they were overthinking it.
Maybe...
Barely gathering courage, Aeron broke the seal on the second letter.
The handwriting was a lot different from the first one. The writer was obviously someone else.
"..."
His eyes scanned the first few lines.
He forced himself to read.
'... I, Emilia von Aveline, being of sound mind, do hereby declare...
