Chapter 01 ： He Made Our Son Call Her Mom
The night my husband placed my crown on his mistress's head, our six-year-old son called her Mom.
“Say it again.”
Lysette crouched in front of Milo, her silver-white skirts spread wide enough to block his path to me. She straightened his collar with the tenderness of a woman who had raised him for six years.
Milo did not look at her.
He stared at me, his fingers locked around the little wooden wolf on his knees.
The coronation bell rang for the seventh time. Cassian's Alpha Command rolled through the hall with the sound, forcing Milo's shoulders down.
“Mom.”
This time, all of Ironcrest heard him.
I stood below the moon-silver steps and did not run to him.
If I crossed those three steps, Cassian would force me to the floor with Command. Milo would remember his mother lunging for him and his father crushing her in front of the Court.
So I met my son's eyes and nodded once.
“I heard you.”
His eyes filled with red.
Lysette finally smiled. She rose and walked to the place that had belonged to me, holding out her wrist for the Temple Recorder to drip her blood into the Blood-Mirror.
Cassian stood behind her as if our five-year marriage had never existed.
“Under the Court's provisional review,” his voice entered every mind through the public Mind Link, “an irregularity has been found in Elara Veyne's royal bloodline records. She is no longer qualified to serve as Luna.”
I looked at him.
“When was this review conducted?”
“Three days ago.”
“Three days ago, I was still approving winter herbs for your army.”
Cassian's expression did not change. “That does not affect the result.”
“Why wasn't I notified?”
His gaze settled on me, calm as a door closing.
“Because you were no longer someone who needed to be told in advance.”
Someone among the elders lowered his head.
For five years, I had settled their disputes, repaired broken supply lines, and mixed medicine for their children during the worst outbreak. Now none of them would look at me.
The Recorder lifted the Moon-Silver Crown.
Lysette stepped into the center of the Blood-Mirror. Its surface reflected her pale face—and Cassian's hand resting at her waist.
Before the crown came down, a servant tore the old silver circlet from my hair. Metal scraped my fingers. Cold drove into my bones.
Moon Echo woke on its own.
The hall split apart before my eyes.
I saw a gray-gloved hand. Before the ceremony, it placed a drop of darker blood into the Blood-Mirror. The moon mark beneath the glass lit for half a heartbeat, then vanished beneath white light.
That blood was not Lysette's.
The vision shattered.
Milo's first snowfall disappeared from my memory. I knew I had held him beside a window. I remembered his blue socks. But I could no longer remember the sound of his laugh when snow touched his hand.
Something inside my chest had been cut away.
Before I could steady myself, the Recorder announced, “The Crown recognizes Lysette Arquin.”
The nobles bowed.
The silver crown lit on Lysette's head, then went dark.
Only for a heartbeat. Long enough for everyone to see. Too brief for anyone to admit it.
A c***k had appeared along the Blood-Mirror. Dark blood clung inside it.
“Take her Luna ring,” Cassian said.
A servant reached for me.
I removed the ring first and pressed it against the verification stone.
Silver light spread from the seal, locking over the c***k.
The Recorder's face changed. “You have no authority to seal royal evidence.”
“The ring is still in my hand. Under Luna medical law, abnormal blood and damage during a bloodline rite require temporary preservation.”
“Your title has been revoked.”
“The revocation takes effect when you recover the ring.”
I pressed harder. Under the silver light, the blood inside the c***k showed a different shade from Lysette's.
“It could be old blood,” Lysette said.
Her voice remained steady. Her eyes never touched the c***k.
“Then test her again in front of everyone,” I said. “No new crown. No cleared hall. Let her cut her wrist and place a second drop inside. If the color and reaction match, I will withdraw the seal myself.”
The Temple Recorder's mouth moved.
He did not agree.
Neither did Cassian.
At last, people began to raise their heads.
“You may strip my title and place the crown on her,” I told Cassian. “But if you destroy this stone now, every witness here will know you were afraid to leave a record.”
His jaw tightened—the first c***k in his control all night.
“Seal the verification stone,” he ordered. “Record everyone who handled it.”
The crown made a faint sound on Lysette's head. Her smile remained, but her hand clenched around her skirt.
I released the stone and placed my Luna ring in the servant's palm.
My medical authority, public voice, and home left with it. But the evidence case had already closed around the unknown blood.
They had not sent me down those steps empty-handed.
Lysette faced the hall.
“Since the former Luna no longer serves the Court, her property should be inventoried tonight. Royal relics must not be removed without permission.”
Cassian did not stop her.
Four servants were already heading for my former rooms.
My mother's Moon-Silver Seal was hidden there—inside the false bottom of Milo's crayon box, beneath the blue moon he had drawn.
Even if I ran, it would take ten minutes to reach it.
