Merisa stood straight, silent, her expression unreadable.
The silence that followed was eerie, suffocating. Her voice still echoed faintly in the air, carried off by the ocean breeze. Even the waves seemed to quiet themselves, their crashing replaced by a tense, hollow stillness.
Celestia, who had remained composed all this time, finally stirred. Her calm eyes, platinum bright like cold stars, flickered as she turned her gaze from the horizon to Nova's back. Her brows jumping violently, betraying her thoughts.
Just how far was Nova willing to go?
Celestia's mind swirled with disbelief. To call her mother names was one thing. To yell, to throw tantrums, even to challenge imperial law these were things she had expected from Nova Virelan, the infamous drunken wildfire of the Empire. But this? To openly point at Merisa Virelan, her own mother, the current Matriarch of the household, and demand she step down from her position?
It was lunacy. Madness painted in flesh.
