Chandeliers dangled from the ceiling, their light so dazzling it felt like it could shred your eyes. Flowers, plucked at their peak, wilted gracefully around the room, while the kingdom’s red banners, embroidered with its crest, jutted up like lances ready to strike. Cheerful music filled the air, but a strange, solemn tension hung over the banquet hall.
In truth, every noble at the birthday banquet could sense it.
Her Majesty has something up her sleeve today.
There’s going to be trouble.
King Perat, bedridden with illness, hadn’t shown his face at official events for years. With the queen as regent firmly in control, the king’s existence had become little more than a means to postpone the succession. Recently, with the first princess Selestid dethroned and peculiar rumors swirling about the royal family and the throne, it was hardly surprising that a political incident could erupt at any moment.
Like the masterful schemer she was, Queen Rabiosa sat on her lofty throne, her gaze impassive as she surveyed the banquet hall. Before…