The applause had faded.
The nobles had returned to their estates.
The banners celebrating the conclusion of the First Trial still fluttered above Ravenswatch, but beneath the grandeur of the capital, something invisible had begun to shift.
Opinions.
Alliances.
Suspicions.
Victories on the battlefield were easy to measure.
Victories in the hearts of people…
Were far more dangerous.
⸻
Morning sunlight streamed through the stained-glass windows of Ravenswatch’s eastern wing.
Servants hurried through the corridors carrying sealed reports from every province.
Copies of the Council’s official verdict were already being delivered across Mournvale.
Every governor.
Every noble house.
Every military commander.
Soon, the entire kingdom would know the outcome of the First Trial.
Insid
