Unexpected joy at dawn

Chapter Three: The First Secret

By the following morning, Eliora Robert had already settled into the uncomfortable reality of palace life. She had been given a small office in the government wing of the palace where she could examine the records the King had authorised her to access. It was quieter than the main halls and far enough from the royal family's private quarters that she could work without too many interruptions. Still, she could feel the curiosity surrounding her. Every time an official passed her door, their eyes seemed to linger a little longer than necessary. Eliora understood why. She was an orphan with no political connections, yet the King had given her access to confidential government records. In a place where information was power, that alone was enough to make people wonder who she was and why the King trusted her.

Eliora ignored the attention and concentrated on the documents in front of her. She had spent several hours comparing transportation records with financial statements and regional supply reports. The first few pages showed nothing unusual, but the deeper she went, the more inconsistencies appeared. Payments had been approved for shipments that the receiving regions claimed they had never received. Some deliveries were recorded as complete even though the quantities listed by the regional offices were smaller. More strangely, the missing amounts were not always the same. Whoever was changing the records was careful enough to make every alteration look like a small administrative mistake.

Eliora picked up her pencil and began writing the differences on a separate sheet. She checked each figure twice before moving to the next one. After nearly an hour, she stopped and stared at what she had written. The pattern was becoming clearer. The supplies were not simply disappearing. They were being redirected before they reached their final destinations, and the records were being changed afterwards to hide the movement. Someone knew exactly how the system worked and was using that knowledge against the government.

A knock came at the door.

Eliora looked up.

Before she could answer, the door opened, and Charles Finch stepped inside.

He was dressed more casually than he had been during their first meeting, but there was still something formal about him. He closed the door behind him and looked towards the desk. His eyes immediately went to the piles of documents covering it.

"You have been working since morning."

Eliora glanced at the clock and realised he was right.

"I didn't notice the time."

Charles walked towards the desk and picked up one of the reports.

"You found something."

Eliora looked at him. "I found more evidence that the records have been altered."

Charles read through the page before placing it down.

"How much more?"

"Enough to know this isn't one person's mistake."

He looked at her.

"Who is doing it?"

"I don't know."

Charles studied her face.

"But you have an idea."

Eliora hesitated before turning several documents towards him. "The person responsible needs access to information from different departments. They would need to know when shipments were approved, when they were delivered, and how much each region was supposed to receive."

Charles looked through the papers.

"That means someone in the government."

"Possibly."

"Possibly?"

Eliora leaned back in her chair. "I don't want to accuse anyone until I know exactly what I'm looking at."

Charles gave her a questioning look.

"You don't trust anyone."

"I don't know anyone here."

There was a brief silence between them.

Charles seemed to consider her answer before looking back at the documents.

"You should show this to my father."

"I will."

"When?"

"When I have enough information to tell him something useful."

Charles frowned. "You already have enough information to tell him someone is manipulating government records."

"That isn't enough."

"Why not?"

"Because if the person responsible finds out that we know, they will change whatever they are doing. Then we lose the trail."

Charles remained silent.

Eliora continued examining the documents.

"If someone is careful enough to manipulate three different departments without being caught, they won't make the same mistake twice."

Charles looked at her for a moment.

"You really believe they are watching."

"I believe people protect secrets when they have something to lose."

Before Charles could respond, someone knocked on the door again.

This time an attendant stood outside.

"The King wants to see both of you."

Eliora gathered the most important documents and followed Charles through the corridor. They walked in silence until they reached the King's office. When they entered, the King was standing beside his desk with several files in front of him. Two ministers were present, both of whom Eliora recognised from the previous meeting.

The King looked at her.

"Have you found anything?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Eliora placed the documents on the desk and explained everything she had discovered. She showed him the altered figures and explained how the same discrepancies appeared across several departments. The King listened carefully while Charles stood beside him, occasionally examining the documents himself.

When Eliora finished, one of the ministers shook his head.

"It could still be a series of administrative errors."

Eliora looked at him.

"It could have been if the errors were random."

She pointed towards the documents.

"They aren't."

The minister stepped closer.

"What makes you so certain?"

"Because the same amounts disappear from the records after the shipments are marked as delivered. Different regions, different dates, and different departments, but the same pattern."

Charles looked at the minister.

"She's right."

The minister fell silent.

The King picked up another file.

"There is something else I wanted you to see."

He handed it to Eliora.

She opened it and began reading. The file contained a list of payments made by the government over the previous several months. Most of the companies listed were familiar, but several names stood out. They had received large amounts of money despite having no obvious connection to the kingdom's official supply contracts.

Eliora turned another page.

"Who are these companies?"

"We are investigating them," the King said.

Eliora continued reading.

"When did these payments begin?"

"Approximately six months ago."

She looked at the supply records in her hand.

"That was when the shortages began."

The King nodded slowly.

Charles took the file from her and examined it.

"Could these companies be receiving the missing supplies?"

"We don't know," the King replied.

Eliora reached for the file again.

"Maybe we can find out."

She placed the payment records beside the transportation reports. One by one, she compared the dates.

Her eyes moved from one document to another.

Then she stopped.

Charles noticed.

"What is it?"

Eliora pointed to one of the payments.

"This company received money two days after a shipment was redirected from the northern region."

She checked another.

"And this one was paid three days after another shipment disappeared from the records."

She looked through the remaining pages.

The same thing happened again and again.

The payments were following the missing supplies.

Someone was making money from the kingdom's shortages.

The King walked around the desk.

"Can you trace where the money went?"

"I can try."

"You have full access to the records you need."

Eliora nodded and continued searching through the file. She was so focused that she almost missed the small mark in the corner of one page.

A series of numbers had been written beside the payment details.

She frowned.

"Was this part of the original document?"

The King looked at it.

"I don't know."

Eliora ran her finger lightly beneath the numbers.

"They aren't part of the financial record."

Charles leaned closer.

"What are they?"

"I think they're a code."

The room became quiet.

Eliora copied the numbers onto a clean sheet and began comparing them with the dates of the payments. At first, nothing made sense. Then she noticed that several of the numbers corresponded with dates. Others matched department codes.

Her breathing slowed.

She looked at the names of the officials connected to the records.

"These aren't just payment references."

Charles looked at her.

"What are they?"

"Meetings."

The King stepped closer.

"Whose meetings?"

Eliora looked down at the names.

Several were senior government officials. One was connected to the military. Another had direct access to the King's private schedule.

People close to the King.

The King took the paper from her.

"These men have no reason to meet secretly."

"Maybe they do," Eliora said.

Charles looked at the final number on the page.

"This one hasn't happened yet."

Eliora looked at him.

"What?"

He pointed to the date.

"This meeting is scheduled for three days from now."

Eliora checked the document again.

He was right.

Every other meeting listed had already taken place.

Only one remained.

A meeting that had not happened yet.

The King looked at the names again, and the expression on his face became harder.

"Who authorised this?"

"No one has," one of the ministers answered.

Eliora slowly turned the page over.

Something was written on the back.

The words were faint, almost as though someone had tried to erase them. She tilted the paper towards the light and read them carefully.

The King will fall from within.

Charles stared at the sentence.

For the first time since Eliora had met him, she saw genuine concern in his eyes.

The King took the paper from her but said nothing.

Eliora looked around the room. The missing supplies, altered records, suspicious payments, and secret meetings were not separate incidents anymore. They were connected, and someone had been building the plan for months.

Then Eliora noticed something else.

A name.

It was written beside the final meeting date.

A name she had seen before.

Her eyes widened.

She looked towards the King.

"Your Majesty."

Everyone turned to her.

"The person listed for this meeting..."

She stopped.

The name belonged to someone who had been sitting inside this very palace.

Someone who had been close enough to the King to know his movements.

Someone who had been close enough to know that Eliora had been brought into the palace.

And before she could say the name aloud, footsteps sounded outside the office.

They stopped directly behind the door.

The room fell silent.

Then came three slow knocks.

Eliora looked at Charles.

Charles looked at the King.

The King stared at the door.

A voice came from the other side.

"Your Majesty, I need to speak with you."

Eliora recognised the voice immediately.

It belonged to the man whose name was written beside the secret meeting.

And somehow, he had arrived three days before the meeting was supposed to happen.