Rain lashed the stone spires of Westminster Palace as dawn broke — a bleak, gray morning for judgment.
Inside the grand hall, nobles whispered behind gloved hands. Soldiers lined the walls. And at the center, bound but unbowed, stood Prince Edward of Kent, accused of treason against his own crown.
The Duke's voice carried cold authority.
"Edward James of Kent — you stand accused of high treason, conspiracy with foreign enemies, and desertion of royal command. What say you in your defense?"
Edward lifted his head, his voice low but steady.
"I say I served the people, not your pride."
A ripple of gasps filled the chamber. The Duke's jaw tightened.
"Then you admit to defying your king?"
"I admit," Edward said, "that a king who fears truth is no ruler at all."
The gavel struck hard.
"Enough!"
Outside the court, hidden among the servants, Evelyn adjusted the brim of her bonnet. Her disguise — a plain maid's uniform — concealed the fire in her eyes. Every word of the trial reached her through the cracks in the doors.
She had infiltrated the palace under a false name: Elara Voss, laundry maid to the royal attendants.
Her heart pounded with every echo of Edward's voice.
Tobias' warning echoed in her mind — "If they find you here, it's over."
But she couldn't leave. Not when the man she loved was about to be condemned by the very empire he swore to protect.
Suddenly, the heavy doors creaked open. A royal guard brushed past, muttering orders. Evelyn seized the moment — slipping inside a shadowed corridor that led closer to the trial chamber.
From behind the curtains, she saw it all:
Edward, standing tall under the Duke's glare.
The nobles, watching like vultures.
And on the Duke's desk — the Crimson Seal of Judgment, the same sigil that once represented justice, now twisted into a symbol of control.
Her fists clenched.
"If truth cannot save him," she whispered, "then I will."
At that moment, Edward's voice rose once more — calm, defiant, heartbreakingly human.
"You can take my crown. You can take my name. But you will never take the part of me that loved her."
Gasps swept through the chamber again. The Duke slammed his fist on the table.
"Enough of this madness! Guards—"
But before he could finish, a sudden boom shook the hall — the echo of an explosion from the western wing. Smoke curled through the stained glass, and chaos erupted.
Evelyn froze. That wasn't part of her plan.
From the smoke, a familiar voice cut through the air — cold and sharp.
"The Duke's lies end today."
Tobias.