The sunlight that filtered through the arched palace windows felt almost too gentle for the atmosphere brewing behind me. It contrasted sharply with the storm churning inside the council chamber. The nobles had dispersed, their heavy cloaks brushing over polished floors, their heads bowed in false humility, their minds already sharpening their knives behind polite expressions.
My heels clicked with a steady rhythm as I walked down the corridor, Elara quietly following. Each step was measured, poised, yet my thoughts spun with silent calculations. I had displayed my strength publicly—now the game would shift to shadows, whispers, and unspoken alliances.
"Your Highness," Elara spoke again, more cautiously this time, "some of the young heirs… they were looking at you differently by the end."
I raised an eyebrow. "How differently?"
"As if they realized you were not a crown they could simply… take."
