The moment those words left Anthony''s mouth, Gabriel lifted his gaze and gave Matthew a long, cold look.


    Matthew blinked, confused. "Wh-what is it. Father?


    That look sent a chill down his spine-he didn''t understand what he''d said wrong. But Gabriel did. His son had just watched him get publicly reprimanded, yet instead of showing any concern, he''d immediately asked whether it would affert Sophie


    Gabriel had been in a foul mood to begin with. Now, seeing Matthew so indifferent toward his own father, his temper ignited


    You th


    think me getting punished will affect her? She was never going to stay in the pce as a concubine in the first ce, he snapped. "At best, she''ll be thrown out under some excuse. We won''t even have to bother finding a way to rescue her."


    And wasn''t that the bitter trutht


    If it weren''t for the mess Sophie had stirred up, he wouldn''t have ended up being humiliated like this.


    Now that the King had turned his back-and with Nn guarding his nk-there was no chance of the court siding with him. It was clear those two were working together to strip him of power piece by piece.


    But he wouldn''t make it again.


    To fight back, he first had to clean up the chaos in his own household-starting with Eliza. And Sophie she needed to be dragged back under his control before she did something even more reckless.


    With that thought, Gabriel stood from his chair.


    "Clean this ce up, he ordered curtly. "I''m going to Saint Grace Nunnery


    Matthew and Anthony both shot up. "Then we''ll-


    "You''re noting" Gabriel cut them off without hesitation


    This time, he had to try a different approach. Bringing those two hotheads along would only make things worse.


    But Anthony wasn''t done. "Father, I know why you''re going. That''s exactly why you should take me


    He stepped forward, speaking quickly. "Dn is definitely with Eliza right now. And after the stunt we pulled. Eliza''s bound to have figured out we drugged him.


    If she still cares about Dn at all, she might ask for the antidote. That''s leverage. We can use it."


    Gabriel paused. He didn''t like being told what to do but Anthony made sense. After a moment, he nodded. "Fine. You


    Come


    Matthew''s face turned red with frustration. "What about me? You''re seriously not taking me?!"


    But the two were already walking out, neither sparing him a nce,


    The streets were filled with gossip and whispers, and it wasn''t long before Gabriel and Anthony-despite being dressed modestly-had rotten vegetables and eggs hurled at their carriage.


    And the worst part? Their guards couldn''t even catch the culprits. Every throw was followed by a quick escape into the


    crowd.


    Gabriel sat inside the carriage, stone-faced and seething. He didn''t even bother to return home to change, simply barked for fresh clothes to be brought out before ordering the carriage to head for Mount Westin.


    10-49 321, 19 Apr


    "Eliza, wait-so you were the one who arranged those people to throw rotten vegetables and eggs


    96%#


    Eliza nearly choked withughter as she listened to Nn rt the chaos unfolding across Hasen City. She wasughing so hard her sides hurt, and even the sting on her cheek from that earlier p didn''t seem to bother her anymore "I thought it was just some hot-bloodedmoners having a moment, she said between giggles "Didn''t think they''d really have the guts to actually throw things." She''d been worried someone might get hurt, that the Stonor family''s retaliation woulde down hard on those brave enough to act.


    But Nn merely smiled, clearly having anticipated her concern. "Rx. I''ve stationed my people near their estate. No one will touch those townsfolk.


    Eliza gave him a long look, eyes warm. "You really do think of everything"


    But Nn''s smile faded. He looked at her cheek-still bruised, still slightly swollen-and his face darkened.


    "Not everything," he said quietly. "If I''d truly thought it all through, I would''ve never let that pnd in the first ce."


    He still remembered the moment he heard about it-how the fury had nearly driven him to unsheath his sword and storm the Stonor estate himself.


    It was only Eliza who stopped him. She''d urged him to wait to strike back where it


    would hurt most: in the courtroom, in public opinion, in reputation.


    And Nn? He would absolutely honor her wishes.


    ?