"Exactly because she''s already be a num." Authony said, "the King would never choose her. That''s why he turned to Sophie"


    Matthew paused for a few seconds, then caught on quickly and joined in, full of righteous indignation. "If it weren''t for her, Sophie wouldn''t have been chosen for the pce in the first ce! So she has to take responsibility-get Sophie out of the pce and make the King revoke his decree


    Dn, however, was conflicted. At first, he didn''t buy their story. But the more he thought about it, the more he realized- something about Sophie suddenly being chosen as a royal consort was strange.


    Even though he''d left the Stonor family. Dn still knew how wary the King was of their father, and how deeply the crown distrusted the Stonor name. So why would he invite Sophie into the pce, let alone make her a consort?


    And then there was Caroline she had cared for the young King in his childhood. Eliza-beautiful beyondpare-was known as the most stunning woman in Hasen City


    So perhaps the King had initially favored Eliza, but once he discovered she had taken vows, he had no choice but to settle for Sophie.


    That line of logic was usible. Too usible. And that only made Dn even more uneasy,


    He thought. Eliza may be safe for now, but there are far too many powerful men watching her. Nn, for one-he was constantly circling her like a hawk. Always with that excuse of "royal protection." But since when had he ever shown such interest in any other woman?


    Dn gritted his teeth. That guy definitely has an agenda."


    Though he''d misunderstood the King''s intentions, he had, quite unintentionally, hit the nail on the head when it came to


    Nn.


    Trying to stay calm. Dn cut in, face expressionless. "Enough. I''ve heard enough. I''m not going to believe a word without proof. All you have is spection, and if any of this nonsense gets out, do you have any idea what kind of damage it could do to Eliza:


    "She got what she deserved. Dn said coldly, his voice rising. "Don''t think I don''t know what she did to our mother. What about Sophie?" Matthew snapped. "You really don''t care at all, do you? You say this is all spection-but what if it''s not? What if Sophie really was chosen just to rece Eliza? That''s humiliating!"


    Matthew and Anthony froze, caught off guard.


    They''d assumed Dn, holed up here in the mountains, wouldn''t have found out about that.


    Trying to recover, Matthew stammered, "That was Eliza ndering Sophie. Sophie exined everything to us-she said it was all a misunderstanding! She treated our mother like her own. She would never do something so cruel!" "Enough" Dn shut his eyes for a moment, then opened them and said tly, "You you want. But 1 believe Eliza. Always have?


    can believe whatever


    He didn''t need to exin further. After all, he had seen it with his own eyes.


    Matthew looked exasperated. After everything they''d said, Dn still stood Tirm- like a rock, immovable and impossible to


    reason with


    Anthony finally put a hand on his shoulder. "Leave it, Matthew. It''s pointless"


    Before leaving. Anthony turned back and gave Dn one final look. "Think about what we sai


    we said WGTI


    86%


    Dn''s face darkened. Once they were gone, he worked through the rest of his day in a haze of frustration.


    The very next morning, he rose before dawn, took the silver he''d earned, and went straight into Hasen City to buy a small box of pastries. They weren''t from Dinsiea House, but they were fresh, warm, and made by an old hand.


    He tucked the box carefully into his oat and hurried back toward Mount Westin


    By the time he reached Saint Grace Nunnery, the gates were already open to wee pilgrims. Still, Dn didn''t go in. He stood outside the entrance and knocked politely.


    But with guestsing and going, the nuns inside were too busy to notice.


    So Dn waited. And waited. Hours passed. It wasn''t until nightfall that Sarah finally came out and spotted him.


    "Eliza told you not toe again," she said as she walked up, arms crossed. "What a


    are you


    you doing here?"


    Sarah, out of all the nuns, remembered Dn vividly. He was, after all, the first person toy hands on Eliza at the nunnery. Even though he''d changed a lot since then, the impression stuck-and none of the sisters liked him much.


    Dn scratched his head sheepishly. "I earned a bit of silver working down at the vige... figured Eliza might miss her favorite pastries, so I bought her some. They''re not from Dinsica House, but they''re decent. Could you... could you give them to her?"


    He hesitated, then added quickly. "If she doesn''t like them, I''ll save up and buy better ones next time.


    Sarah sighed. “Fine. Let me finish up in the great hall first, then I''ll pass them along."


    Dn wanted to say. "Couldn''t you just go now?" The pastries had been sitting in his coat for hours-what if the vor was already gone? But looking around at the chaos inside, he held his tongue.


    "They came because of what happened in Plutonville," Sarah replied. "News about Eliza spread. Some even came all the way from Plutonville, hoping to catch a glimpse of her"


    Many of them didn''t even dare disturb her. They came every day just to maybe bump into her in passing. If they saw her. they''d simply bow from a distance, then leave content.


    Startled, she''d fled


    Later, when she asked around, the staff exined what was going on.


    Most people listened. But a few stubborn types would nod along, then sneak off


    and bow to her anyway-especially those from Plutonville.


    When Sarah finished telling the story, Dnughed aloud.


    He couldn''t help it.


    That proud, fiery girl, being revered like some sacred icon-of course she would hate that.


    But


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