John Jeska acted as if he hadn't heard anything, focused intently on carving the chess pieces.
Winters fiddled with a water cup, also silent.
In the silence, Colonel Alec gradually came to his senses. He slowly stood up, squinted his eyes, and hesitated to ask; "Could it be... you never signed the oath?"
John Jeska snorted disdainfully a few times.
The truth became clear! Signing the oath and distinguishing oneself from the Kingsfort puppet government is a process that all officers serving in the military government must go through.
Under the military government, the consequences of refusing to swear allegiance are not as simple as just "stopping salary."
That John Jeska had not been detained, tried, or executed was perhaps a privilege granted out of consideration for his blindness.
Colonel Alec didn't even know what to say: "It's just a piece of paper, is it worth being so serious? Why bother? It's already your luck not to be executed…"
