[Talvan Estate—Office—Continuation]
Count Talvan's gaze lingered on his daughter, sharp and unreadable. "The Princess is not… someone easily subdued, my dear," he said slowly, each word like gravel in a wound. "Stop with your nonsense before it gets dangerous—"
Sirella's lips curved into a faint, calculating smile. "What if I prove it, Father?" Her voice was soft, but it carried a steel edge, a challenge wrapped in silk.
Count Talvan's eyes narrowed, the cold flicker of caution passing across his features. "And how, pray tell, do you intend to do that?"
She leaned forward slightly, eyes glinting with a hunger for getting the throne. "I have a plan, Father… a plan to end the Princess before she even touches the crown with her so-called divine benediction. To ensure the throne never rests in her hands… but in mine."
The Count studied her, weighing the ambition in her gaze like a blade against a whetstone. A slow, approving smirk formed on his face.
