A strange chill spread through the hall as the murmurs rose again, softer now, edged with something that did not exist before.
Fear.
"I am somewhat scared… could she be of Duke lineage?"
"If that is true… does that mean the Moonshade family would rise above the other houses?"
"Rise above even the ancient lines?"
"That would change everything…"
Eyes shifted not just toward Cornelia, but toward one another. Calculations flickered in crimson irises. Alliances, marriages, power structures, succession lines. Every noble mind in the hall was racing.
Cornelia stood before the towering pillar of dark crystal, the Duke chamber waiting above the Marquis seal like a silent verdict.
One of the Blood Ancestors exhaled slowly.
"Proceed."
His voice was calm, but there was tension beneath it, like a taut string pulled too tight.
Cornelia stepped forward.
