The morning Cassian resigned, the palace felt quieter.
Not peaceful.
Just… hollow.
He stood in the courtyard before Aerin, dressed not in formal armor, not in royal insignia — but in simple clothes. Plain. Civilian. Human.
"I can't do this anymore," Cassian said quietly.
Aerin didn't interrupt.
Mira watched from the balcony, still as stone.
Elira stood behind Aerin, suspicious and emotionally prepared to stab something.
Cassian exhaled.
"I joined to serve. To protect. Somewhere along the way, I became a symbol. A weapon. A pawn."
Aerin stepped forward. "You were never a pawn."
Cassian gave a faint, tired smile. "That's kind of you to say."
He placed his sword at Aerin's feet.
"I resign my post as royal combat trainer and protector."
Gasps echoed through the courtyard.
"You're abandoning us?" a guard muttered.
Cassian shook his head.
"I'm choosing myself for once."
He looked at Aerin.
"I'll still be your friend. But I can't stand in that hall anymore pretending I'm not broken."
Elira tilted her head.
"…That is surprisingly mature."
Cassian chuckled softly.
"I'm evolving."
Elira narrowed her eyes. "That's my line."
Aerin clasped Cassian's shoulder.
"You'll always have a place here."
Cassian nodded.
"But not a title."
And just like that, the kingdom lost its most conflicted knight.
Valessara's Dirty Move
Valessara did not react publicly.
She did something worse.
She smiled.
And then she announced her move at the worst possible time — during a council session filled with nobles and foreign envoys.
"I have received intelligence," she said sweetly, "that Aqura's stability is compromised."
Aerin sighed internally. "Of course you have."
She produced documents.
Contracts.
Correspondence.
"Proof," she continued, "that King Aerin secretly negotiated trade agreements bypassing council oversight."
The room erupted.
"That's illegal!"
"That's tyranny!"
"That's treason!"
Aerin stared at the documents.
They were real.
They were signed.
They were… his.
Except he hadn't signed them.
Forgery.
Perfectly executed.
Mira stepped forward calmly.
"These signatures are altered."
Valessara tilted her head. "Are they?"
Elira stepped forward.
"You forged them."
Valessara smiled faintly.
"Careful, assassin."
The word stung.
The Crowd Turns
Nobles murmured angrily.
"First the poison."
"Now secret deals."
"Is he unstable?"
Aerin felt it — the shift.
Doubt.
Suspicion.
Fear.
Valessara's voice cut cleanly through the noise.
"Perhaps Aqura needs regency. Temporary guidance."
The implication was clear.
She wanted control.
Not marriage.
Not partnership.
Power.
Elira Almost Breaks
Elira's hands trembled.
Her breathing sharpened.
She stepped toward Valessara.
"Say it plainly," Elira said quietly.
Valessara looked amused.
"You are unfit to stand beside a king. You are chaos dressed as loyalty."
The world went silent.
Something snapped.
Elira moved.
Fast.
Too fast.
She crossed the distance in a blink, dagger flashing from her sleeve.
Gasps exploded around the chamber.
Guards reached for weapons.
Valessara didn't flinch.
Elira's blade stopped less than an inch from Valessara's throat.
The entire kingdom held its breath.
"You do not," Elira whispered, voice shaking,
"get to decide who I am."
Valessara's smile remained.
"See?" she murmured softly. "Unstable."
Elira's arm trembled.
Her old self screamed for blood.
Her new self screamed for restraint.
Aerin stepped forward.
"Elira."
Just that.
No shouting.
No panic.
Just her name.
She closed her eyes.
Her blade lowered.
The chamber exhaled.
Aerin's Public Stand
Aerin stepped between them.
"If anyone is to challenge my authority," he said firmly,
"they challenge me — not my wife."
His voice didn't shake.
"Forgeries and whispers do not make law."
He looked at the council.
"If I am to be removed, let it be through truth. Not manipulation."
Mira stepped beside him.
"Elira restrained herself," she said calmly.
"That is growth. That is strength."
The narrative shifted.
Just slightly.
Valessara saw it.
She didn't lose her composure.
But her eyes hardened.
Cassian Watches From Afar
In the city below, now just a citizen, Cassian heard the news.
"Elira almost killed the Queen!"
"The King defended her!"
"Valessara tried to seize power!"
Cassian closed his eyes.
"They're tearing each other apart," he muttered.
He considered returning.
He didn't.
Instead, he whispered:
"Aerin, don't become what she wants."
Aftermath
Elira sat alone later, staring at her hands.
"I almost did it," she whispered.
Aerin sat beside her.
"But you didn't."
She swallowed.
"I wanted to."
"I know."
She leaned into him.
"I'm scared that one day I won't stop."
Aerin held her.
"Then I'll be there."
Closing
Valessara stood on her balcony that night.
She hadn't won.
But she hadn't lost.
Elira had shown the world exactly what Valessara wanted them to see — danger.
The board was narrowing.
The next move would decide everything.
And for the first time, Aerin realized:
This wasn't just scandal.
This was a war for the throne.