Ken's voice had barely risen in the hall when a harsh silence fell, as if everyone had suddenly lost the ability to breathe.The music stopped, the servants froze, and the Safinan delegation exchanged wary glances.Even the king stepped back a small pace, his hand tightening unconsciously around the arm of his throne.
Darius calmly shut the alliance docket with a cold, measured motion, then descended from the platform with steady steps.He stopped right in front of Ken.Placed his hand on the hilt of his sword with a deliberate gesture… and Ken did the same.
Darius spoke in a low voice, quiet yet clearly heard:
"My fourth brother… did you choose this moment to discuss family matters?"
Ken replied without blinking:
"If they were family matters… you wouldn't have kept them in your institution's vaults."
A subtle tremor ran through the nobles.Some stepped back, others looked toward the king in uncertainty.
Marvin stepped forward and set a small box between them.Ken opened the lid, pulled out the first document, and lifted his eyes to the king:
"This is a financial transfer from the treasury… executed two days before the mineral crisis was even announced."
Darius raised his hand as if explaining something routine:
"A precautionary measure. A forecast of market fluctuation."
Ken spoke immediately:
"But the crisis didn't exist yet."
Nobles picked up the documents the servants had just delivered to them, several flipping through the pages with visible concern.
Darius lifted his head confidently:
"I served as head of economic planning. Early action was my duty."
Ken didn't let him continue:
"Then why did the Investors' Council—also chaired by you—approve the same loan on the very same day?"
Darius's eyebrows rose slightly, then he answered coolly:
"Because I was working… while you were missing."
Sharp murmurs burst across the hall like sparks.Some nobles nodded, as if they had found a lifeline.
But Ken stepped forward, his voice growing clearer:
"I was missing… and you were manufacturing crises without anyone questioning you!"
And just like that, the hall split.
Several nobles shrank into their seats, while others began defending loudly:
"Prince Darius saved the kingdom!"
"These documents are incomplete!"
"There must be an explanation!"
At the back, Elaine stood frozen.She glanced at the papers in a noble's hand and whispered:
"Father… was among them?"
Then came a voice no one expected.
The King of Safina rose from his seat, speaking in a tone dry as stone:
"If Orvalis is unstable… then perhaps we should postpone this alliance."
Chaos rippled through the hall.Everyone looked to Darius, who quickly turned and said:
"Your Majesty, please do not rush to judgment—"
But the Safinan king interrupted:
"What I see now… is a dangerous division at the heart of your royal council."
Darius clenched his jaw, losing a fragment of his composure.
The king, who had been silent for long, turned toward Darius.His voice wasn't loud, but it carried unmistakable weight:
"Are these documents real?"
Darius didn't hesitate.He answered firmly:
"Yes. But they were for the kingdom's benefit."
Ken responded immediately:
"And for your own."
Ken lifted another document—a copy of a sealed decree passed on a day the king was outside the capital.He said:
"Here… you signed a decision in the name of the Reform Council without the king's knowledge. You hid the signature and exploited your position."
The king took the paper, reading it slowly.Then he said in a quiet voice:
"I thought you were saving the kingdom…I didn't know you were building a path I could not see."
For the first time… every trace of Darius's smile vanished.
The nobles froze.Some subtly stepped away from the front rows.Others exchanged panicked looks.
The entire hall felt the same truth:
The fracture was no longer hidden…It had become a blade between the two princes.
End of Chapter.