Heads turned sharply. Though the royal council had already known the decision, hearing it from Asher's mouth—calm, firm, and without apology—made it real in a new way.
Lilian stiffened where she stood, still flanked by guards as though awaiting a sentence. Her breath caught, eyes wide, lips parted but silent. Roselyn, in the background, clutched her hands together, stunned.
The Queen's cup clinked against its saucer as she set it down with more force than necessary.
"Is this your idea of gallantry?" she asked, her voice clipped, her gaze sharp enough to draw blood. "Announcing what we already settled in secret—as if it were your noble idea?"
Asher turned to her slowly, the faintest flicker of a smile tugging at the edge of his mouth—but it wasn't joy. It was acknowledgment. Of the game. Of the role he'd chosen to play.
"It matters that they hear it from me," he said. "Not from a decree. Not through a whisper."
The Queen's eyes narrowed, but she didn't reply. She knew he was right.
The King exhaled and stepped forward from his throne. "It's done, then," he said, more to the court than to anyone else. "Let it be announced to the public within the day."
But before he could dismiss them, the Queen raised a gloved hand.
"He may be right," she said carefully. "But what happens when Zareth hears of this? They will know Henry was rejected. They will know he was... unfit. Zareth will say? That we swapped princes like chess pieces and expected no outrage?"
The silence pressed in again, but this time… Lilian stepped forward.
Her voice wasn't loud—but it was clear, steady, surprising even herself.
"They'll say I chose it."
The court murmured, startled by her audacity.
Lilian met the Queen's gaze head-on, spine straight. "They'll say I discovered my betrothed defiled our union before it began. That I found comfort in a man who respected me. That love grew… in the ashes of betrayal."
She turned briefly to Asher—not to seek strength, but to confirm her own. "They'll say I wanted it."
The Queen's lips parted slightly, a glint of something like disbelief—or perhaps admiration veiled behind disdain—crossing her face. "Clever girl," she murmured. "But you think a story is enough to tame Zareth's fury?"
At that moment, the chamber doors swung open.
The royal advisor hurried in, panting slightly from haste, his expression tight with unease.
"My King… Your Majesty…" he bowed hastily. "Zareth has heard the news."
The air snapped tight.
"They're furious," he continued. "Their delegation will arrive by dawn."
Gasps fluttered through the court. Henry flinched. The Queen slowly lowered herself back onto her seat, her posture rigid with unease. Even Asher's jaw tensed, though he remained composed.
Lilian didn't move. Her heart thundered in her chest—but she didn't flinch.
"They'll want answers," the advisor said gravely.