Chapter 101 The Humiliation of the Mercer family
Gisella didn't wait a second time. She bowed her head slightly, then turned. She walked without glancing back. She passed her parents without a word. She walked straight toward the grand doors of the hall.
I watched her from afar. Her back looked small, but her steps were steady. As the hall doors opened and sunlight poured in, I saw the shadow of someone standing there, waiting. Someone who shouldn't have been there so early in the morning.
Claus.
He stood there, looking at Gisella, who had just exited the hall, then his gaze shifted to me in the corner of the room. He hadn't entered the hall yet.
A few moments later, the main hall doors slammed open. The sound of thick wooden doors hitting the floor echoed. The Empress entered, her face as cold as ice. Claus walked upright, his eyes scanning the room carefully, as if counting how many heads would roll if something went wrong today.
The King, who had been lounging lazily, immediately straightened up. The room, once heated by debate, suddenly turned icy.
Didier didn't care who had arrived. His ego had consumed his sanity. He stood up, pointing at Gisella's father, his finger trembling with rage.
"Father, listen to me!" Didier shouted, his voice echoing under the hall's dome.
"I will not call off this marriage, but I will not give up Lysandra. Gisella can remain Empress on paper. She gets the title, the privileges, and the position. But at my side, there will be Lysandra. This is the most logical solution. No one is harmed. Why does no one understand?!"
Did he really just say that? In front of the Empress? In front of Claus?
Gisella's father stepped forward two paces. His face was flushed red. Didier's words had deeply insulted him. It was a blow to his dignity as a man. He looked like someone ready to devour anyone who insulted his daughter and, by extension, himself alive.
"What do you think my daughter is? Do you think the Mercer family can be used as a decoration to cover up your filthy affair?"
"Shut your mouth!" Didier snapped back, his voice rising an octave. "Your family is just lucky to have access to the palace through this marriage. Don't act like you have any dignity in front of me!"
The argument devolved into chaos. All traces of noble decorum vanished. Gisella's father shouted; Didier answered with harsh words. Gisella's mother wept, pleading with the Empress, but the Empress looked only at Didier, with a mix of disbelief and disappointment.
In the corner of the room, behind the dark-side podium, I saw a slight movement. Lysandra entered through a small door. She didn't run or panic; she just walked casually, watching the chaos in the hall as if it were a boring performance.
She stood behind a pillar, waiting. With her hands folded in front of her chest, she watched the argument with a calm expression, as if she were enjoying the show. She knew something. She always knew something.