The boy who had dared to look straight into the queen's eyes was already known.
His name was Laury.
People whispered it with admiration, not fear. His friends laughed as they followed him through the narrow streets, shaking their heads in disbelief.
"You're insane," one of them said. "No one looks at a queen like that."
Laury only smiled.
A girl ran toward him, breathless, her eyes shining with pride. Emily, his girlfriend. She looked honored, almost glowing—because in Salvania, hating the monarchy was not rebellion; it was survival.
"The boys are waiting," she said. "They want you to train them."
Laury leaned down and kissed her cheek gently before leaving. As he walked away, hands reached out to greet him. Voices called his name. People smiled at him the way they never smiled at soldiers or ministers.
He was strong, yes—but more than that, he was kind.
Everyone knew he would soon be engaged to Emily. It was spoken of like a certainty, a small hope in a country that had so few.
By nightfall, the city settled into its familiar rhythm.
And with it came rumors.
Whispers traveled from mouth to mouth, from tavern to alley, from market to home: the neighboring kingdom Sani scabar was watching. Waiting. It had always wanted Salvania—its land, its weakness, its silence. And now, with a woman on the throne, they believed the moment had finally come.
A country ruled by a girl, they said, could not resist conquest.
High above the city, inside the palace, Queen Margret paced her chamber.
She bit her nails as ink stained her fingers.
Letters lay torn across the floor—half-written commands, abandoned plans, words that failed her the moment she put them down. She did not know whom to trust. She did not know where to begin.
From the distance, laughter echoed.
Her family feasted.
Drunk voices filled the halls, careless and loud, as if nothing beyond the palace walls existed. As if a country were not slowly unraveling beneath them.
Margret closed her eyes.
Tomorrow, she decided, she would face reality.
She would go to the soldiers. She would see the truth of Salvania's strength. And she would learn what kind of war awaited her.