Silence followed Kael's words like the aftermath of a blade drawn too close to the throat.
As the man whose name was dragged into this war beside hers.
The atmosphere inside the council chamber shifted immediately. Nobles exchanged uneasy glances while the Chancellor studied Kael with sharpened attention, the old strategist clearly aware of how dangerous that statement truly was.
The Crown Prince had just acknowledged personal involvement publicly.
Not political obligation.
Not royal responsibility.
Personal.
And in a room filled with ambitious nobles and frightened wolves, that distinction mattered more than blood.
Selene stood quietly beside him while the implications spread across the chamber like cracks through ice. Several academy-aligned nobles already looked alarmed. Others appeared calculating, their expressions tightening beneath carefully controlled masks as they reconsidered the balance between the Crown and House Valemont.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
