King Julius did not look away from the scales.
His gaze remained fixed on the crimson ring, still dragging the pan downward as if the crown he had ruled with for decades weighed nothing in comparison. The artifact he trusted more than any adviser, more than any sea lord, more than even his own judgment, had spoken clearly.
Only then did he lift his eyes to Razeal.
"What is that marble?" he asked bluntly.
There was no mockery in his tone now, no casual arrogance. It was a king's voice stripped down to raw curiosity and suspicion. Julius fully trusted the Scales of Veridion. If they judged the ring as heavier in worth, then it was. Yet no matter how deeply he examined it.. through knowledge, experience, instinct he could not perceive anything extraordinary about the small blue core embedded in the ring. It radiated no overwhelming mana. No divine pressure. No aura of ancient will or anything.
It was… quiet.
That unsettled him far more than any blazing relica ever could.
