Thankfully, Ernie wasn't alone in the whole awkwardness of the situation. For the first time since he stopped playing the piano, he looked down. The gaze just had to be broken, and Ernie made a fist with his hand, making his knuckles crack on their own.
"Why do you need handcuffs?" The question slipped out before Ernie could stop it, and he was actually a little embarrassed by having asked. He knew what it was for, but he wanted to hear it from him. Because Ernie knew what Zacharias must have heard about him from the older students that had been friends of Cynric.