Chapter 115 He Can't Take It Back

*Admiral Nugen*Court did not simply end.It only emptied, after a punishable stretch of time , like a reluctant bleed. Like marrow slipping out of a broken bone after the crack had already been heard.And then, at last, the carved doors yielded. Like a great beast, exhaling out to the halls beyond the courtroom.Nobles poured out into the corridors in a red flood, spilling velvet and fur and polished boots across marble, their movement bringing sound back into the palace: fine leather soles ticking in quick clusters, the soft drag of layered skirts, the clink of goblets and rings and jewelry that had been held too still during the announcement. Their laughter returned in full—unbridled and bright, still lingering on their fangs like a bad taste that they insisted was sweet.Voices rose as they walked. Careless gossip as always. Quick predictions. A dozen versions of the same event, asked in murmurs just low enough to pretend it wasn’t dancing with treason.Did you hear that?Did you

Chapter 115 Prt. II Clenched Fists

*Nugen*“And you’re her father,” The words drove straight through every defense Nugen had ever built—every glossy piece of armor to carry a careful silence, every sword sharpened to hold secret he’d forged into the very metal.Because in the end. One single sentence was all it could take. One undeniable truth spoke on the wrong lips.For a sick second, the corridor dissolved.He was twenty-two years back. He could smell that fleeting morning again—dry salt and horse sweat and sunbaked stone. He could hear the carriage door as it shut with that soft, a final thunk that never sounded final until it was too late. Dawny’s blue sigil gleamed on the lacquered panel, catching the breaking first streams of sunset like a promise made pretty for strangers. But it wasn’t the door that kept his focus. It was the precious cargo that took her seat within. Strong and firm, belly swollen as she moved with muted grace yet still, her head was held high even then.But at last she could not resist one

Chapter 116 The Last Days

*Nicoli*Nicoli was already on his feet and moving when the post horse reached the courtyard below.He did not wait for the usual procession to unfold—like the rider dismounting stiffly from the saddle, of the stableboy hurrying in, the servant summoned to carry the day’s correspondence upstairs in neat, indifferent stacks. After so many years of measuring afternoons by the sound of hooves striking stone and the creak of leather, the nearly eighteen year old was well accustomed to how long the entire line of command took. Enough that he needed no clock or to lean from the window like a child of the past. Rather, his body seemed to know before the rest of him did. And he trusted his instincts.Instinct, lately, was the only thing that still felt honest in these dark and confusing days. Everything else had become muddied.The days themselves seemed to move differently now, as though grief had altered the passage of time inside Dawny’s walls. Servants had learned to soften their footste

Chapter 117 A Cry Unheard

*Belinda*The latch caught for a half moment, as if offering one last protest, before the hinges finally gave.Afterward, the door gave no more resistance. It closed with a small shudder that was polite, almost nothing. Yet as it did, Belinda felt the change immediately. The corridor thinned behind her, the brief conversation she had just endured dimming to a muffled hush, muted and starved, as the wood sealed shut like a jar twisted tight.So nothing could get out. Or get in and see exactly what was inside. Like the castle herself knew better what secrets were permitted in its halls… and what was best kept out of sight.Even if it meant lying.Belinda did not look back. She did not need to. In her mind, the scene in the hall was already folding onto itself. The sound of Nicoli’s quick, hopeful voice; the angle of his shoulders when he tried not to look needy even when he was younger. The way he’d forced himself to stand straight even though he’d been hollowed by worry for the past f

Chapter 118 Dreams Shaped in Regrets

*Alexander*The burning ache tore up his back with a vengeance.He woke with a wince to a viciousness in his spine, and the acrid taste of bad sleep in his mouth, folded into an ungainly curve from who knew how long slumped in the world’s most uncomfortable wooden chair.It took a few swallows for the foul offenses to finally wash down before he dared to unfurrow his back. The dull ache behind his eyes did him no favors, of course. More like throwing a punch when the poor man was already down. As if drilling into him that this was his fault in the first place.For he had fallen asleep sitting upright. Again. A bad habit he was past starting to form and more like practicing for sport. If he wasn’t careful, he’d end up crooked with a hump on his back before he’d reach the age of thirty.And then how would that make my clothes hang? He found himself scuffing a soft laugh at the joke. Even in pain, he’d find some way to poke fun.Alexander yawned, the sound low and rough, and stretched h

Chapter 119 Heavy Does the Crown Weigh

*Alexander*Alexander blinked, slow and methodically. Immediately feeling the edges of his body fight him, as if wakefulness were not a simple action but a daunting task with weight. Even the act of opening his eyes took something from him. His lashes felt heavy, stuck together by sleep that didn’t refresh so much as steal. The world swam for a moment, then steadied, edges sharpening as his vision finally focused. Only to quickly find the telltale signs of the present. Heat pressed against his face. While bitter herbs stung the back of his throat. Somewhere nearby the hearth cracked, a sound seemed too loud for how quiet the room felt more than was. Being awake was daunting.But he forced himself into it anyway out of sheer stubbornness. “Belinda,” he managed, voice rough like sandpaper, before finding her gaze once again.Belinda’s grey eyes continued to hold his—steady, controlled, unyielding as a queen should have. Almost colder for how calm it was, despite everything going on