It was then, while wrecking the Pearl Glove, that Caelum finally cracked.
The Pearl Glove was a decadent hall where nobles gathered to sip sapphire wine and gossip under floating chandeliers. It had been built in honor of his late mother, Queen Sirethiel—a place of memory and grace. But now, its elegance was splintered.
Glass shards littered the floor like frozen tears. Coral furniture had been overturned. The chandelier that once shimmered with starlight pearls now lay shattered, its pearls scattered like spilled secrets. And at the center of the destruction stood Caelum, fists clenched, chest heaving, a scream still echoing off the curved walls.
His guards stood outside the broken door, frozen in disbelief.
He didn't care.
He didn't care that they would talk. That the court would whisper behind closed doors about the prince losing his mind.
Let them talk.
Aelius is gone. Virellan is lying. And no one believes me.
He staggered back and collapsed against a broken column, hands gripping his crown until it hurt. The pain felt grounding. Real. Unlike the whirlwind in his head.
"Your Highness," a soft voice whispered from the doorway.
It was Tirien, his youngest councilor, barely older than Caelum himself. Shy, quiet, but loyal—too loyal to abandon him, even now.
"I… I heard what happened," Tirien said gently. "They say you saw something."
Caelum looked up, eyes glassy. "Something?" His laugh was bitter. "I saw Virellan. I saw him casting a forbidden spell. I saw a siren turned into a pearl, Tirien. A living soul crushed and sealed."
Tirien stepped closer. "You're accusing the Grand Advisor of soul-binding. That's treason to even speak."
"I know what I saw," Caelum said, rising slowly. "And I'll prove it."
"Then you'll need more than broken chandeliers and angry eyes."
There was silence between them. Heavy. Then:
"The High Council meets tomorrow," Tirien said, barely above a whisper. "If you want to be heard… bring truth. Not just rage."
Truth. That word stung.
Because the truth wasn't enough. Not here. Not when the kingdom believed Virellan to be a saint.
But Caelum nodded anyway. "Then let it be a trial."