The Capital hadn't changed, but I had.
The last time I stood at the gates of Oakhaven, I was a disgraced noblewoman with a death warrant and a prayer. Now, I was arriving in a carriage bearing the seal of the Sovereign Lexen Free Zone, escorted by a battalion of the Prince's personal guard.
"Look at them," I whispered, peering through the silk curtains. The streets were lined with citizens. Some were cheering, but many were whispering. "They don't know whether to throw flowers or stones."
"Let them whisper," Kaelen said, his hand resting on his knee, the sunlight catching the gold of his medals. "By the end of the week, they'll be too busy counting the stimulus checks your trade treaty is going to provide to care about your 'Villainess' reputation."
"I don't want them to forget I'm a Villainess, Kaelen," I said, leaning back. "Gratitude is a fleeting asset. Fear? Fear has a much better shelf-life."
The carriage stopped not at the Lexen Estate, but at the Imperial Palace. I was to be a guest of the Emperor himself—a tactical move to keep me close, and perhaps, to keep me under surveillance.
The Grand Gala was only forty-eight hours away, but the "Audit of the Capital" began the moment my heels hit the marble floor of the foyer.
"Lady Elara," a voice like cold honey called out.
I turned to see Duchess Solange. In the original novel, she was the "Queen Bee" of the court and my primary rival for Kaelen's attention. She was draped in enough diamonds to fund a small war, and her smile was as sharp as a guillotine blade.
"Duchess," I said, giving her a nod that was barely a bow. "I see you're still wearing the House Thorne rubies. I heard those were held as collateral by the Bank of Valos. Did you manage to pay them off, or are you just... 'renting' your status tonight?"
Solange's smile faltered for a fraction of a second. "I heard you've been playing at 'business' in the mud of the Southern Isles. How quaint. But this is the Capital, Elara. We don't care about ledgers here. We care about lineage."
"Lineage is just a long-term historical record of genetic assets," I countered, stepping closer until our skirts brushed. "And from what I've seen of the Thorne family's recent 'investments' in illegal crossbows, your lineage is looking like a very high-risk liability."
I leaned in and whispered, "I'm the Grand Auditress now, Solange. And the first thing I'm auditing is the Imperial Household Budget. I've already noticed your 'Dress Allowance' has been inflated by 40% over the last year. I wonder where that extra gold is actually going?"
Solange went pale. She knew as well as I did that the "extra gold" was being used to fund the remnants of the Shadow Council.
"Enjoy the Gala, Duchess," I said, turning away. "And make sure you keep the receipts for those diamonds. You're going to need them when I file the seizure warrants."
Once inside my private quarters, Hans appeared from the shadows of the wardrobe, looking frantic.
"My Lady! I've managed to intercept the Internal Palace Ledger as you requested. But there's a problem."
"Only one?" I asked, sitting at the vanity and beginning to unpin my hair.
"The numbers don't just 'not add up,' My Lady. They're... impossible. According to these records, the Emperor has been paying a 'Protection Fee' to a group called The Iron Hand for twenty years. A sum that totals nearly half the national debt."
I froze, a silver hairpin halfway out of my bun. "The Emperor? Paying protection money? To whom?"
"The records don't say. But the payments are authorized by the Grand Chamberlain—the only man who has seen the Emperor in private for the last month."
I looked at my reflection in the mirror. The "Villainess" was back in the Capital, and it looked like the biggest audit of my life wasn't going to be about trade routes or taxes. It was going to be an audit of the Throne itself.
"Hans," I said, my voice cold and focused. "Tell Kaelen we aren't going to the Gala to announce an engagement. We're going there to perform an Involuntary Liquidation of the Imperial Cabinet."