"Ilde! You're hurt! And we're not really alone... and I wouldn't want... I wouldn't want that to happen under this roof."
"You're right, I'm sorry. Maybe I'm losing my mind." The woman blushed deeply and withdrew the hand that had been holding hers.
Grimilde was stricken with shame because her behavior, to say the least, resembled that of a teenager, caught up in the heat of youth! Snow White, however, gave her no chance to apologize; she resolved the situation herself: "Don't apologize. I feel the same way..." She said it sweetly, accompanying those words with a kiss on the queen's lips, which took her breath away.
The two women rested in each other's arms, and soon the queen fell asleep. After an hour, Snow White rose from bed, careful not to disturb the blonde's sleep; she observed her for a moment, then left the room.
As soon as she was outside, she turned to the nearest royal guard and said, "Be vigilant. We don't know if the traitors will attack again. The queen is weak and this is their best opportunity."
"Yes, Your Highness!" The guards gave her a small bow and returned to their rigid, vigilant state, just as Snow White had ordered. No one had dared to doubt the girl's abilities, for it was clear she was competent. The guards had discovered the pride of receiving orders from their princess, just hours earlier when she had bravely decided to go and retrieve the queen herself, despite the dangers. Esteem for the princess had grown immensely among the soldiers, and the royal guard squad was willing to risk their lives more than ever to protect the regent and the princess.
While the women had rested, the nobles locked in the hall of the Sorton mansion were in the midst of a discussion. Panic had settled in their hearts, and they wanted to find the culprits as quickly as possible! It was so easy to change one's mind when one was at risk of capital punishment; in fact, many of Sorton's supporters didn't think twice about turning their backs on him.
"Quentin Sorton is responsible for failing to ensure the event was conducted in complete safety! Someone could have died today!"
"Unacceptable!"
"Capture the traitors!"
Astrael and Federik remained near the closed doors of the hall, keeping an eye on the nobles' discussions and their gestures, as well as their body language. The demon had cleaned himself up, returning to his usual composed and elegant appearance that characterized him in the eyes of the humans, who did not know his true form. Federik had given Astrael a surprised look when he returned safely, accompanied by rumors of his exploits (which had circulated very quickly): he had found the queen and brought her back safe and sound, and he hadn't hesitated to go to the marquis's mansion to oversee the investigation. He was a man to be respected, but at the same time feared, because it was clear that the queen and the princess treated him as an ally, without necessarily keeping him too close to them. They probably had their own reasons for doing so, and Federik would keep an eye out to monitor the situation. That said, they had other matters to attend to now.
"Should we stop this chaos?"
"We await further orders from the princess." Astrael's facial expression changed in half a second, seeming more interested than before. He always found it pleasant to see discord and desperation among humans, but what he loved was witnessing a conflict resolve itself, obviously not peacefully. He hoped the princess would shake many people before finding the traitors and punishing them. She was an intelligent woman, she would make the right choice in the end, but if Astrael could have influenced her during the inquisitorial process, he would have done so. He had long been waiting to collect the souls that would satisfy him and quench his demonic hunger.
It wasn't long before the princess's long-awaited arrival, and when she entered the hall, followed by two royal guards, the nobles immediately fell silent. Many stood up, their eyes wide, others seemed ready to turn and run, and what they all had in common was the feeling that things would get worse at any moment.
Snow White scanned the room, remaining silent and austere. Her posture said it all: she was powerful and calm, she was invincible and determined. "Don't let anyone out. Today we will have our culprits."
The girl's voice seemed to change and was no longer the graceful and gentle one that the guards and nobels were used to hearing, albeit veiled by a cold detachment. The change It was so shocking it took everyone's breath away.
"Yes, Your Highness."
"By the way, have you found the Sorton family?"
The guards whispered something to the princess, so as not to be heard by those present. The scene further tensed the nobles' nerves. "Good... make sure it doesn't happen again. There will be some important changes at the end of this story."
"Your Highness, you cannot hold us! You are treating us like prisoners!"
Federik took a step forward, away from the wall, but before he could speak, Snow White spoke up: "I do have the authority to do so. And it's precisely because you are all suspected of treason against the crown. Does anyone else want to express their opinion?" Her eyes rested on the poor fool who had spoken, now too shy to open his mouth again. He was sweating coldly, on the verge of fainting. At that moment in his life, he bitterly regretted having participated in that damned Hunt!
"You must be quiet... are you crazy? Don't you see the seriousness of the situation? This is a disaster!" Someone whispered behind him with a contemptuous hiss, and the man gritted his teeth and straightened his shoulders.
"I'll be in the office to start the interrogation. Don't make me wait." The princess turned away without glancing at those present. Astrael and Federik left with her and closed the doors of the hall.
"How was it?"
"You were a fantastic and chillingly vengeful princess, if that was your goal, Your Highness." Astrael stood beside the woman, smiling conspiratorially, while Federik watched them from behind, interpreting their body language. Snow White had stiffened slightly when the councilor took a step toward her, but she maintained a stoic expression. Federik adjusted his glasses, which had fallen to the tip of his nose, and snorted softly.
By the time they reached Sorton Quentin's office, the guards had already ransacked it and then rearranged it for their princess's arrival. Currently, the Quentins had been captured and taken back to the villa, and soon they would find themselves at the foot of the crown, begging for mercy. Snow White had already planned to keep Sorton in the office during interrogation, to show her potential allies that he had been captured and would pay for his betrayal. The guards had found nothing around the office, but somehow, councilor Astrael had managed to recover a letter the sect had sent to the marquis. No one could have known it actually came from the ashes lying in the office fireplace.
Could it have been an oversight on Sorton's part? Astrael smiled mischievously, thinking about it.
"Well, let's get started."