His jaw was tight. His eyes flickered with something heavy, something painful.
"This…" he began, voice low, "is a letter from Ruth."
Everyone stilled.
He held it up like it weighed more than it should. "She sent this to me just before they were imprisoned. Before communications were cut off."
Nnenna moved quietly to his side. She didn't say anything, but gently placed her hand on his shoulder. Just a touch.
That was all.
But it was enough.
The trembling in his hand lessened as if her calm had transferred to him. No magic. No system cheat. Just her presence, solid, unshaken.
"She wrote down everything," Abuchi said, straightening slightly. "The positions of remaining loyalist soldiers, the weak points in the occupation routes, a few supply locations, and even some hidden pathways they used when evacuating the palace. If the Council had approved sending reinforcements sooner… if our second brother hadn't stalled…"
He didn't finish that thought. He didn't need to.
