CHAPTER 111
The air inside the council wing felt warmer than usual. The guards stood in their fixed positions, yet their glances often shifted toward Grace as she entered, Queen Juliet walking a step behind her. A faint murmur moved through the corridor but ended as soon as her boots struck the stone floor.
Grace noticed the silence. She had grown used to it. People had begun to measure their voices in her presence, as though even a whisper might trigger her hidden strength. Today, however, she felt something else. The silence was not fear alone. It carried a strange weight of expectation.
Juliet walked quietly, her hand brushing the folds of her gown. Her chin was lifted, her face calm, yet her eyes carried a spark Grace had not seen before.
