One team stood waiting. Five knights, motionless, eyes forward. Elara studied them for a moment, then said, "Water?"
Every head snapped up. Confusion rippled through the group like wind through grass.
Elara pointed to the crystal jug on the side table. "There. Drink if you're thirsty." She looked at one knight near the end. "You. Kitchen. Bring back snacks, something crispy, and juice. Enough for your team."
He hesitated a fraction of a second, then bowed and left. He returned in eighteen minutes carrying a tray loaded with fried pastries, sliced fruit, and three pitchers. He set it down where Elara pointed and stepped back into formation.
"Eat," Elara said.
None of them moved.
"That's not a suggestion," she added. "You're going to be here for hours. I don't need you collapsing from dehydration."
Slowly, one knight reached for the water. Then another. They ate standing, still watching her like she might take it back.
Elara turned back to the trembling servants. "These five knights stay here with me. Their job is simple: every time one of you lies during questioning, they hit you. Understood?"
The servants went paler. The knights looked at each other, still visibly confused. They were slaves in practice if not name—no one offered them water, no one cared if they were tired. The concept of being treated like people with needs didn't fit.
Elara didn't explain further. "You'll understand soon enough," she said. "This palace has been rotting from the inside for years. We have four days to clean it out before anyone can stop us. You're going to help me do that."
She sat down at the desk, pulled the first stack of records toward her, and opened to the first page.
"Now," she said, looking at the steward with his ruined mouth and the servants with their pale, guilty faces. "Let's start with who authorized the first theft. Names. Dates. Amounts. And if anyone wastes my time with a lie..."
She didn't finish the sentence. She didn't need to. Behind her, five beast knights stood ready, hands flexing, finally given permission to act.
.
.
.
Elara sat at the desk, flipping through ledgers without visible emotion. The servants stood against the wall, trembling. The five knights she'd kept behind stood motionless, watching. She wasn't waiting for anything except the other teams to return—because she didn't waste effort on incomplete information.
The door opened. Liam entered and dropped to one knee. "Your Highness."
Behind him, his team carried thick canvas bags. They set them down one by one, contents clinking and rattling. The servants who saw what spilled out—jewelry, silverware, embroidered silk—went rigid.
Elara looked at the pile, then at Liam. "Report."
"We searched all servant quarters, Your Highness. This is everything we found." He pulled out a thick stack of papers. "Full inventory. What was taken, by whom, and where it was hidden."
The document was dense—twenty pages at least.
Elara took it, scanned the first page, and nodded once. "Good work." She pointed to the refreshment table. "Eat something. Drink water."
Liam's ears flattened in confusion. He glanced at the other knights, who were mid-bite and equally confused. One of them nodded slightly. Liam stood, took a handful of pastries and a glass of water, and ate standing near the wall, eyes still on Elara.
The door opened again. The second team entered. "Your Highness."
Elara looked up. "You're back fast. It's only been an hour."
Lilian bowed. "We compiled all background information on every servant in this wing, Your Highness." She handed over another thick folder.
Elara opened it. Names, family trees, employment records, debts, connections—all organized in neat columns. But what caught her attention were the symbols marked next to certain names: red X's, blue boxes, green hearts.
"Explain the markings," Elara said.
One of Lilian's team stepped forward. "Your Highness, I added those for clarity. Red X means fully corrupt and the information provided is false. Blue box means the person is corrupt but the background information is accurate. Green heart means both the person and their records are clean."
Elara studied the page again. "Efficient." She looked at him directly. "Impressive work."
The knight froze. Behind Elara, the servants stared. No one had ever praised a beast knight in front of them.
Elara pointed to the table. "Go eat."
Lilian hesitated. "We're fine, Your Highness."
Elara's hand lifted slightly, cutting her off. "That's an order."
"Yes, Your Highness." The team moved to the refreshments, still watching her like she might change her mind.
Elara didn't explain her reasoning, but it was simple: she needed functional subordinates, not exhausted ones. These knights had been running missions for over an hour. Dehydration and hunger made people slow. She couldn't afford slow.
The third wave arrived—just the team leader this time. He bowed deeply. "Your Highness."
"Report," Elara said.
He glanced at the servants with open contempt before speaking. "There are significant discrepancies in the treasury records you provided, Your Highness." He handed her another thick file. "Most of the missing items were sold. We traced the buyers and the money trail. It all leads back to the same people."
He flipped through the pages as he spoke, pointing out names that appeared again and again.
Elara took the file and scanned it. "Good. Go to the kitchen. Bring back more refreshments—enough for everyone."
He nodded and left. When he returned, he was pushing a wheeled cart loaded with trays of food, pitchers of juice, and stacked plates.
"Eat," Elara said.
He stood frozen, clearly not understanding.
"With the others," Elara clarified, pointing to where the other knights were clustered. "And why are all of you standing? Sit down. There are sofas."
Every knight in the room went rigid, then slowly, mechanically, lowered themselves onto the furniture like they'd forgotten how chairs worked. They ate in complete silence, eyes darting between each other and Elara, who had climbed onto the desk itself—not the chair, the surface—and was reading with her legs crossed.
The fourth team leader arrived next. "Your Highness, the palace gates are secured. No one has attempted to leave. All posts are manned."
"Good," Elara said. "Go to the kitchen. Bring food for your team." She glanced at Lisa, who'd been standing silently behind her the entire time. "Lisa. Help him. Make sure there's enough for everyone on guard duty."
The fox-eared knight dropped to his knees. "Your Highness, that's not necessary—"
"I don't repeat myself," Elara said.
He nodded and left with Lisa.
Elara looked back at the files, cross-referencing stolen goods with sale records and servant backgrounds. The corruption wasn't just deep—it was systematic. The head maid, the steward, even some of the lower kitchen staff. They'd been skimming for years, confident no one would check because the Fourth Princess was "too weak" to care.
She flipped another page and made a note in the margin with a pen someone had left on the desk.
Behind her, twenty knights sat on furniture they weren't supposed to touch, eating food they weren't supposed to receive, waiting for orders from a princess who treated them like soldiers instead of livestock.
And in front of her, a row of servants stood pale and sweating, watching their entire operation unravel one file at a time.