And winning meant surviving sisters who no longer underestimated her, an Emperor who was still testing her through different methods, and a political landscape where every ally might become an enemy at any moment.
But she'd survived six months.
She'd passed the Emperor's tests.
She'd built power from nothing.And now she had Duke Romian—a sixty-three-year-old military commander with forty years of experience and a hidden daughter he'd protect at any cost.
It was enough.
For now.
Elara continued working until dawn, when a servant knocked to inform her that the marriage ceremony preparations were beginning.
Time to become a duchess.
And time to show her sisters that the Fourth Princess was no longer the weakest link in the succession battle.
She was a legitimate threat.
And she was just getting started.
.
.
.
Three days after the succession dinner, Elara received an unusual summons.
Not to the throne room. Not to a formal audience hall.
To the Emperor's private study.
