"I’m just asking you to save her and yourself," she replied. "And I hope you remember what happens to foreign princesses who become state assets. They don’t sew uniforms, Austin. They sit in dark towers and produce heirs for alliances. Is that what you want for her? A different version of the contract she is already in?"

"No," Austin replied immediately.

He didn’t even think for a second about it.

"No?" Audrey repeated, stunned.

"I am neither leaving Alina nor I’m proceeding with the marriage."

"Austin, you’ll lose everything."

"I’ve already lost everything once," he smiled bitterly. "When my mother died, my sister was burned, and my father....I’ve already been at the bottom, Audrey. I know what it looks like. And I know that the bottom with Alina is better than the top without her."

Audrey stared at him with a mix of hurt, anger and sadness.

"Then I can’t protect you," Audrey said and stood up.

"I never asked you to."

"Fine," she replied coldly. "Goodbye, then."

She then left, closing the door loudly behind her.

Austin knew Audrey well enough to understand what that ’goodbye’ meant. Audrey was saying her next move would not be persuasion. It would be war.

It was already evening when Alina returned to the study. Austin was at the desk, waiting, his hands resting on the table as if trying to keep himself steady. The moment she stepped inside, he looked up, and she knew something had happened.

"Sit down," he said.

She did.

"Audrey came to see me this afternoon while you were at the sewing circle," he told her.

Alina’s hands froze on the table.

"What did she say?"

"She gave me an offer."

"What kind of offer?"

"She said she would keep your secret from her father and stop him from investigating you. In other words, she would protect you from the king, and me from the consequences."

"In exchange for what?"

"Me leaving you and proceeding with the marriage with her."

The words settled between them like a blade laid on the desk. Alina wasn’t even shocked anymore.

Of course this was Audrey’s move, generous from the outside but cruel underneath.

"What did you say?" she asked, though she already knew the answer from the way he looked at her.

"I refused," he replied firmly. "I told her the bottom with you is better than the top without you."

Alina stared at him with a flicker of warmth.

"You said that to Audrey?"

He nodded. A faint smile appeared at the corner of his lips.

"And to be honest, refusing her was very easy," he continued. "But strategically... it’s terrifying. She left saying ’goodbye.’ And from Audrey, that word means her next move will not be an offer. It will be an attack."

"So she is going to the king."

"Maybe she already has."

Alina reached across the desk, took his hand and held it firmly between hers.

"You told me. You didn’t hide it," she said. "You waited for me and told me everything."

"I promised you."

His fingers tightened around hers. And for a very long time, they stayed like that.

The next morning, Alina was busy with the sewing circle when Evelyn intercepted her near the garden gate and pressed a folded fabric into her palm.

"From the western route," Evelyn murmured. "It arrived with the dawn wagons."

Alina muttered a ’thank yo to her and went to the quieter part of the garden. She sat on the bench, made sure no one was watching her, and opened the letter.

The ovens in three houses are warm and ready. We can bake for your kitchen if yours breaks. But the flour supply is limited as too many loaves will stretch us thin. We can manage for weeks, not months.

Also, a rare eastern flour has been whispered about in the southern ports. Someone else is speaking of its quality. The flour may not stay hidden much longer.

Rumours of an Arcasedian heir were already spreading in the capital. What should have felt like a victory that the network had answered her with remarkable speed was followed swiftly by fear.

During lunch, Austin spotted her in the corridor looking lost.

"What happened?" he asked.

"Just wondering whether Emeric found anything yet,," she lied.

He studied her for a moment, then nodded.

"Don’t worry. I’m sure he will get back to us soon," he said and walked into the hall.

The guilt lingered in her chest as she watched him go. She was keeping secrets from him again, even after promising not to.

At night, while lying in the dark, they heard a knock at the door. Austin stood up at once and found Evelyn standing in the corridor, holding a sealed letter.

"I’m sorry," she whispered. "This just arrived through the scholarly network."

Alina took it and carried it to the desk. They opened it together.

Alina , I found it. One of the original redaction documents from Audrey’s palace incidents when she was twelve. The authorizing signature is not the king’s.

It belongs to Lord Mervyn Crane, the Royal Chancellor. And it is not only one document. Crane’s signature appears on seven sealed records spanning ages twelve to sixteen.

One thing is sure: Audrey’s history is far more extensive and more serious than we knew. The signature belongs to someone who fears what Audrey truly is.

Give me more time. I am close to the original content.

Austin read the letter again, his expression turning colder with every line.

Lord Mervyn Crane.

She had not bribed a servant for silence or a minor official burying scandal for favor. Infact, the Royal Chancellor himself was involved.

He was the man who cleaned royal messes before they ever reached the court. The man trusted with secrets dangerous enough to destabilize kingdoms.

Alina slowly set the letter onto the desk, thinking about Emeric letter as well.

Whatever Audrey had done seven years ago, it had scared powerful men enough to erase it repeatedly.

Austin leaned back in his chair and rubbed a hand over his face, exhausted.

"This means the palace has been protecting her for years," he said. "And it’s not because she’s innocent. But because revealing the truth would damage the crown itself."

Alina looked at him with a newfound hope. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"Then if we find out what’s inside those records..."

"We will gain leverage powerful enough to scare people like Crane or dangerous enough to get ourselves destroyed before we can use it."