Back in the cramped confines of the textile shop, the air was thick enough to cut with a knife. The two Black Guards stomped around, their arrogance a thin veneer over a deep-seated suspicion. One of them idly prodded a bale of fine silk with the tip of his sword.
"Heard some funny rumors, weaver," the guard said, his voice a low growl. "Whispers about old loyalties dying hard. You wouldn't know anything about that, would you?"
From behind the carpets, Minato's breathing was shallow and ragged. Sakura remained perfectly still, a coiled viper ready to strike. Himari, however, projected an aura of absolute calm.
"My husband is old and deaf," came a new voice from the front of the shop. A woman, as old and wrinkled as Minato but with eyes as sharp as obsidian chips, stepped out from a back room, holding a tray with a steaming teapot and three cups. It was Minato's wife, Sora. "He meant no disrespect by closing the shop. It was time for his afternoon tea."
She spoke with the simple, unassailable authority of an old woman who had seen everything and was afraid of nothing. She offered the tea to the guards, her hand steady. The guards, momentarily thrown off by her sudden appearance and mundane explanation, hesitated.
"We're not here for tea, old woman," the first guard grumbled, though his aggression had lessened.
"Of course not," Sora said, her voice soothing. "You are here to keep us safe. A difficult job. The Duke is lucky to have such strong men in his service. Please, a moment's rest before you continue your important duties."
Her flattery, delivered with a perfect blend of sincerity and deference, worked. The guards, their egos stroked, relaxed their posture. After a cursory, final glance around the shop, they turned and left, grumbling about wasting their time.
As the door closed, Minato slumped against the wall, his face ashen. "Sora… you saved us."
"I poured tea, husband," she replied calmly, turning her sharp eyes to the figures emerging from behind the carpets. "Now, Your Highness, you were saying something about a star that is not yet dead?"
Later that night, in the hidden cellar beneath the shop, the true state of the city was laid bare. Minato and Sora were part of a small, fractured network of loyalists, mostly old merchants and former city officials who remembered the reign of Himari's father.
"The Duke's grip on this city is absolute," Minato explained, his voice low and heavy with grief. "He controls the food supply, the city guard, and the trade guilds. But his true power comes from his new advisors."
"Advisors?" Himari asked.
"Men and women in dark robes," Sora elaborated. "They possess strange and terrible powers. They can turn a man's blood to fire or twist his mind with a whisper. They are the ones who enforce the Duke's will. The people call them the 'Shadow Weavers.'"
Sakura's mind immediately cross-referenced this with her own observations. The guards were a physical deterrent, but these Shadow Weavers were the source of the psychological terror that gripped the city. They were likely the same type of magic-users Haruto had just observed near the fortress.
"The loyalists are terrified," Minato continued. "To speak your name is to invite a visit from the Weavers. They need a symbol. A sign that the true royal line has returned and possesses a power greater than the Duke's."
"What are you suggesting?" Sakura asked, cutting to the chase.
"Tomorrow, the Duke is holding a public ceremony in the grand plaza," Minato said, leaning forward, his eyes alight with a desperate fire. "He is to melt down the Silver Throne of your ancestors and forge a statue of himself. It is an act of ultimate desecration. He will be there, surrounded by his guards and his Weavers."
"It's a trap," Sakura stated flatly. "A public gathering is the easiest place to control and the hardest place to escape. They'll expect someone to try something."
"It is also an opportunity," Himari said, her voice quiet but firm. Her eyes shone with a new, dangerous light. "To destroy the throne is to destroy the heart of the kingdom. I will not allow it. If the people need a symbol, then they shall have one."
"Highness, what are you planning?" Minato asked, his voice trembling with a mixture of fear and hope.
Himari looked at Sakura, her expression one of regal, unwavering resolve. "I will attend the ceremony. And I will give the people of Silverwood a miracle they will never forget."