Fang paused knowing well no reason to kill is ever justifiable.
A silence followed that didn't feel empty so much as crowded, like the air itself had grown too heavy to move through.
"Well, he... defied the queen. I was power hungry back then. I had no leverage against the crown to make a better place for my people. This village suffered from the lack of a leader after my mother. The elders were the most useless, honestly, they still are. My uncle was the external affairs minister around a decade ago when I was a teen. That was the time when the queen was slowly taking on more power given the declining health of the king. My uncle was one of the opposing ministers in the power shift; one can say he almost co-lead the rebellion to her power."
Fang's voice stayed even, but his jaw tightened slightly at the memory, like the words themselves had weight he didn't enjoy lifting anymore.
