At the foot of Mt. Philanos, which lay like an emerald wall in the east of Elysia, rising quietly behind the Imperial Palace, by the time Zora arrived, dozens of grand tents were already stretched across the field like a temporary empire with the banners of Elysia snapped crisply in the morning wind. Armor clinked, guards barked orders, and attendants moved in brisk lines preparing supplies.
The instant her carriage rolled into view, the lively noise thinned into a ripple of whispers. Countless gazes pivoted toward it.
Yesterday's storm had already swept through the capital: Minister Henry's humiliation in the Prince's Manor, Scarlett's injuries, the Prime Minister's frantic attempts at secrecy. Rumors were weeds; the more he tried to stamp them down, the faster they sprouted.
Scarlett, once a high-flying peacock who flaunted her status as future Crown Princess, had suddenly vanished from public sight. To the keen-eyed, this disappearance was more revealing than any confession.
