Seraphina stood beside Caelan in the grand antechamber of the Crown Hall, holding a sealed bundle of documents tight against her chest. The weight of it had long since settled into her arms, but her grip remained unyielding. Every record inside had been chosen with care. Every page, a piece of truth that could no longer remain hidden.
She wasn't here to perform. Her words weren't calculated for sympathy. What she had brought was evidence. Cold. Clear. And necessary.
The chamber was silent. The only movement came from the breeze pushing through the stained-glass windows. Blue and gold banners framed the length of the walls. The royal colors caught glints of sunlight but gave no warmth.
Then the double doors opened.
Empress Eleanor entered first, dressed in ceremonial robes of blue and gold. Her presence was calm and commanding. She wore the imperial crown and walked with the steady authority of someone who had passed judgment many times before.
Thalion followed her. He wore a formal blue tunic with golden embroidery at the shoulders and cuffs. His expression was difficult to read, but his gaze shifted first to Seraphina, then to the bundle in her arms.
They took their places at the dais. Eleanor sat. Thalion remained standing beside her. The guards along the chamber stood immobile.
Eleanor looked directly at Seraphina.
"Bring forth your truth."
Caelan moved first. He stepped forward, bowed with formal Warden discipline, and waited as Seraphina approached the base of the dais.
"There are two bundles," she said, her voice steady. "The first contains records of financial sabotage, political interference, attempted assassination, and coercion. These are presented for official review."
Caelan passed the main bundle to the steward, who carried it to the Empress.
"The second is sealed," Seraphina continued. "It contains documentation of my bloodline. It is for the Crown only."
Caelan delivered the sealed packet directly into Eleanor's hands. She gave a small nod and set it beside her without opening it.
"Speak," Eleanor said.
Seraphina began.
She laid out how funds earmarked for House D'Lorien had been quietly redirected through a chain of falsified ledgers and forged correspondence. Shipments had been rerouted, supplies delayed, and public records adjusted. She listed each official involved, backed with dates and account transfers.
She moved on to the poisoning.
"I was trained to recognize toxins," she said. "But I have a natural resistance to most common poisons. When the symptoms began, I ignored them. They were too subtle, and I had learned to live through worse."
She inhaled slowly.
"It wasn't until my food taster collapsed that I realized the danger. He reacted violently. He was unconscious within hours. That was when I understood that someone was targeting me with precision, using a compound tailored for slow deterioration."
She explained how she consulted her usual healer first but then chose to seek confirmation from a second apothecary with no personal connection to her or House D'Lorien.
"I knew my word wouldn't be enough," she said. "The second healer confirmed the presence of the compound. He had no stake in the matter. I paid him for silence until I could gather proof."
Then came the garden ambush.
"This was not a random attempt," Seraphina said. "It happened the night I met privately with Caelan."
She looked between them to be sure they were listening.
"Caelan and I were together that night," Seraphina said. "We had arranged a private meeting near the old well in the palace gardens. No one was meant to know. But someone followed us."
"The air changed. We heard nothing at first. Then six cloaked figures emerged from the trees. They didn't hesitate. They didn't speak. They were trained killers."
"We fought them off together. I was injured, but we survived. One of them carried gear linked to a hunting guild in the south. On paper, their funding comes through militia support, but some of those shell grants trace back to accounts affiliated with House Vessant."
She paused briefly.
"At first, it looked like Alaric's doing. But that attack didn't serve his interests. If I had died that night, others would have moved instead. Someone else stood to gain from silencing me early."
"This wasn't about eliminating a threat. It was about preventing something before it could take form."
"Caelan submitted his report that night," Seraphina said. "I've attached the full record of the weapons recovered and the guard report that confirms the breach."
Then came Evelyne Malenthra.
"Evelyne was never openly involved," she said. "But she was always present when things went wrong. Her reach inside the court runs deep. She has used her position to interfere with investigations, redirect conversations, and control narratives. She is a strategist, not an executioner. But her fingerprints are on every thread of this."
Seraphina paused. Not for drama, but for breath.
"There is one more matter."
She stepped forward again.
"The death of my father, Duke D'Lorien."
The room didn't stir, but the silence changed. It thickened.
"His death was ruled a casualty of a border skirmish," Seraphina continued. "But that explanation never sat right with the few who knew the details."
"Caelan began reviewing the incident months ago. Quietly. He cross-checked the patrol reports from the day of my father's death. The official logs claimed conflict with enemy scouts. But the recorded border activity shows no movement. No foreign soldiers. No skirmish at all."
She paused to let the weight of that contradiction settle.
"He also uncovered that the first set of scout reports were edited after submission. The original versions listed the scene as calm, with no bodies, no tracks, no evidence of retreat. Just my father's remains. Alone. And a blade discarded nearby—one bearing the insignia of a private Vessant house guard."
She looked directly at the Empress now.
"The royal investigators suspected something was wrong. But there was no chain of custody for the weapon. No physical proof. They couldn't move forward. The case was quietly closed."
Seraphina gestured to the sealed bundle already in the Empress's hands.
"Inside are the unedited scout statements. And the suppressed patrol logs Caelan recovered. This is the foundation needed to reopen the investigation."
Eleanor reached forward and began reading the main bundle. She flipped through pages with a calm, methodical rhythm. She took her time. Thalion did not speak.
When Eleanor finished, she passed the documents to her son. He began reading with the same focus.
"These are serious accusations," Eleanor said, her voice even. "If the evidence holds, it implicates not only a member of court, but an entire noble house. These are crimes against the Empire."
"I understand," Seraphina said.
Eleanor turned to Thalion. "What is your assessment?"
"If the documents and testimonies are confirmed by outside sources," Thalion said, "then these are acts of treason. And the death of Duke D'Lorien was not a battlefield incident. It was a targeted elimination."
Eleanor nodded once.
"The records stay here. They will be reviewed and verified privately. If word spreads before confirmation, it will fracture court stability."
"I agree," Seraphina said.
Eleanor tapped the armrest.
The guards subtly changed position. The session was formally concluded.
Caelan began to move toward the exit.
Eleanor's voice cut across the room.
"Duchess D'Lorien."
Seraphina turned.
"Stay."
Caelan paused. Seraphina gave him a slight nod. He left the chamber.
Thalion remained standing. The room emptied around them.
Eleanor reached for the sealed bundle. She opened it without ceremony.
Inside were lineage records, birth seals, private correspondence, and the final letter written by Duke D'Lorien. There were historical bloodline charts, connecting Seraphina's maternal ancestry to an older line of Warden nobility with claims of imperial descent.
Eleanor read first, slowly, without commentary.
Then she passed the contents to Thalion. He read each page. Neither one of them spoke aloud, but Seraphina could see the shift in their expressions.
When Thalion finished, he met Eleanor's gaze. There was understanding in that silence. No confusion. No protest.
It had never been Alaric who wanted her dead. That much was clear now. He had positioned her carefully, not to discard her, but to use her. She was meant to serve his path to the throne. Her elimination wouldn't have served his plans it would have ended them. Which meant the attacks on her, the poisoning, the ambush, all pointed to someone else. Someone who saw through Alaric's intentions and wanted to end them before they took shape. As Eleanor and Thalion read the final lines of the sealed records, the truth settled heavily between them. This wasn't a single betrayal it was a layered conspiracy. A calculated attempt by other players in the court to stop a rise to power before it began.
Eleanor stood.
She stepped down from the dais, robes brushing the floor. She crossed the chamber to a narrow door beside the throne. She opened it, turned, and looked at Seraphina.
"Come with me."
Seraphina followed.