Wandenreich
Beneath the dome of eternal ice, at the center of a mirror-flat expanse of ice, two figures knelt.
Chains of Reishi bit into the ice from their wrists, locking them firmly in place.
Yolanda Hübner held her head high, the veins in her neck bulging with her labored breathing. Gerda Schwarz knelt at her side, his rock-solid back bent for the first time, yet his eyes remained fixed on the top of the stairs.
Around them, the members of the Sternritter had gathered.
No one spoke.
The knights in white uniforms stood among the ice pillars, restrained indifference on their faces, but a heavy silence hung in the air.
At the top of the stairs, Jugram Haschwalth's golden hair draped over the shoulders of his white cloak. One hand rested on his sword as he looked down disdainfully at the two below.
Yolanda was the first to break the dead silence. Her voice exploded beneath the ice dome, hoarse with desperation and fury. "We aren't deserters!"
She threw back her head, the veins in her neck standing out as half the chain bit deep welts into her wrists. "We withdrew only after confirming Ursula had fallen and judging that the position could no longer be held! That monster cut down Ursula, the Urn couldn't contain him, and even Lena was completely suppressed! Did you expect us to stay there and wait to die?!"
Haschwalth did not interrupt her. He merely waited quietly for her to finish.
And that silence was heavier than any reprimand.
"Are you finished?"
His tone did not change. Haschwalth slightly raised his gaze, moving it from Yolanda to Gerda.
"Gerda Schwarz, what is your judgment?"
Gerda's lips moved.
He truly wanted to argue. He wanted to say that Lena had already been completely sealed inside