A queen from the south quietly removed her crown and held it against her chest, her lips moving in silent prayer.
Some whispered in the halls.
"He really showed the king's final moments… just like that." "I'll never forget the look in her eyes when he took the blow." "Obinna's face… I think I felt his panic in my bones."
In their rooms, doors shut softly. Fires crackled low. Servants moved quietly, sensing the gravity in the air.
No one slept easily.
Some cried.
Some rewound the livestream, needing to watch again just to believe.
Some stared at the ceiling in silence, haunted by the question:
Why did the king do it?
Was it just because Nnenna is his daughter... adopted daughter?
And through it all, Lionara's name echoed across the continent, not for its riches, not for its soldiers, not for its ancient bloodline…
…but because, that night, they witnessed something few kingdoms ever dared to show:
Raw truth.
