Morwenna's gaze drifted from Aurelia, lingering on her granddaughter with a heavy, silent scrutiny that seemed to weigh the very soul of the girl's plea. The silence in the room stretched, becoming a jagged thing, sharp enough to draw blood.
She looked at the obsidian table.
She looked at Rex, her eyes searching for a crack in his monolithic composure.
She looked back at the table, her jaw set in a hard, uncompromising line.
"I am not withdrawing the observation," Morwenna finally declared, her voice a low, resonant vibration that commanded the room's attention. "I want that noted formally in the annals."
"The capability similarity is not a phantom; it is a documented reality, and it is etched into the record by my own hand."
"If the truth is a mask, it is a masterfully crafted one..."
"If further information emerges that shifts the light and changes the picture, let the record show that the shadow was identified long before it was chased."
"Noted," Valentina intervened.
