Chapter 12
The Beginning of Something Sharp
Where it all started..
Flashback
"The Duchy is Too Quiet"
The Palace is Drowning
The imperial palace is running on fumes.
Everyone's working overtime. The Empire is understaffed. Ministries are backed up. And even the Emperor is privately grumbling to Duke Rudolf:
"Summon the Crown Prince back. Summon her. The girl. The Seraphim's daughter."
Duke Rudolf (sarcastic): Oh, you mean the same girl whose position you publicly threatened? Whose lover you humiliated? That girl?
He bows deeply.
Unfortunately, I believe they are both… indisposed.
The Seraphim Duchy Reawakens
Suddenly, salons open. Cafes buzz again. Libraries reopen. High-ranking aides return to the capital, reporting only to the Duchy.
But Adrien and Ophelia? They stay hidden.
No public appearances.
No letters to the Emperor.
Not even gossip leaks from their estate.
Chaeri:
"This is absurd. How do they still have control?"
She tries everything—
Subtle rumors: ignored.
Anonymous threats: intercepted.
Aides bribed: laugh in her face.
And now the nobles have nowhere to vent. Ophelia closed all her salons before—now she's reopened them, but no one's invited. Adrien had closed parks and restaurants—and now they only open to those with letters from his estate.
Everyone's resting, except Chaeri.
Killian is Sent
The Emperor (scowling): If they won't come to us, send someone they can't ignore. Send Killian.
Killian (deadpan): Because nothing says diplomacy like sending their most estranged sibling.
Emperor: Just go.
He's dispatched to the Seraphim Duchy to deliver a "harmless message." But when he arrives, he isn't even let through the gate. The steward politely explains:
"His Highness and Her Highness are currently unavailable for audiences. Please wait."
He waits. Three days.
He only sees Adrien once—from afar, riding with Ophelia, laughing like he's never been scolded by the Empire in his life.
Chaeri Notices Him
Chaeri sees Killian on horseback near the Duchy gates on his second day and doesn't recognize him at first. She's riding past with her ladies when she pauses, eyebrows raised.
Chaeri (quietly): Who's that?
Lady: One of the princes, I believe. Killian?
Chaeri (faintly amused): Ah. The clever one.
They don't speak. She simply watches him—dusty, unshaven, frustrated. She files him away as another pawn of Adrien's.
Killian Notices Her
Later, Killian hears about Chaeri at court:
"That's Duke Rudolf's daughter."
"The one trying to replace Ophelia."
"Dangerous."
He passes her in the capital a few days later. She's walking down the palace stairs, expression blank, flanked by trembling maids.
She notices him too. Their eyes meet.
He nods. She doesn't.
The moment passes.
But the tension doesn't.
Chaeri's First Real Threat
She starts scrambling for allies. Anyone. Her father is buried in imperial papers. No one is loyal. Everyone's afraid of Adrien and Ophelia returning.
Chaeri (pacing): I need leverage. Before they return fully and wipe me out.
Advisor: My lady, the nobles only talk about the Duchy now. Seraphim this. Adrien that. You've been out of the papers for days.
Chaeri (coldly): Then put me back in.
Killian (writing in his journal):
"Something is building. I don't know what.
But the Seraphim's silence is too loud.
And the girl—Rudolf's daughter—
she looks like she's listening to ghosts."
The war hasn't started yet.
But the board is finally set.