Chapter 75
The doors closed behind them.
The sound echoed—final and deliberate.
Dara stepped into the council chamber as if she had not just walked into something very carefully arranged.
Because she had.
And it showed.
The room was too still, too organized, and too ready. Council members sat in formal alignment behind the long central table. Nobles lined the walls with polite expressions stretched too tight, while observers lingered just far enough to claim distance and still hear everything.
Three seats and a narrow table had been arranged before the council table: one seat for Dara, one for her father, and one, apparently, for the Crown Prince.
How thoughtful.
Valerius did not take the seat prepared for him. Instead, he moved to the head of the council table without announcement and stood there for one calm, silent moment.
Of course he did.
The room adjusted around him instinctively.
Only then did Dara take the center seat before the council, with her father settling at her right, steady and watchful. Valerius remained at the head of the table, not beside her, not behind her, but above the proceedings in the only position the room could not easily challenge.
The silence stretched.
Then Lady Arkwright spoke.
“This council has convened to review serious concerns regarding recent administrative conduct.”
Her voice was calm, measured, and precise, like a blade laid carefully on a table before being used.
Dara folded her hands lightly on the narrow table before her. “Concerns?”
“Allegations,” Lady Greenmoor corrected smoothly.
Dara glanced at her. “Ah.”
There it was.
Good.
Lady Arkwright continued. “In the course of your temporary governance, Lady Lynara Voss, a pattern of conduct has emerged that requires formal examination.”
Dara tilted her head slightly. “How thorough.”
Lady Greenmoor opened one of the folders. “Let us begin simply.”
She did not look at Dara when she spoke.
Not at first.
She read. “Coercion of council members through direct and indirect pressure.”
A little dramatic, but fair.
“Manipulation of noble contributions through public exposure.”
That was called transparency, but fine.
“Abuse of temporary authority to bypass standard review procedures.”
Standard review procedures had been napping. Dara had merely woken them.
“Interference with treasury operations to accelerate fund release.”
Dara’s gaze flicked briefly toward Lady Arkwright.
Elegant. Also overdue.
“Use of administrative pressure to force compliance across multiple districts.”
Efficient, honestly.
Cai made a small sound. You are enjoying this too much.
They’re quite organized, Dara replied.
Lady Greenmoor continued. “Misuse of emergency authority to justify non-standard project approvals.”
That one was creative.
A quiet murmur passed through the nobles.
Dara didn’t look at them.
No need.
She knew exactly what they were thinking.
Lady Arkwright lifted another document. “And beyond these actions…”
A pause.
Lady Greenmoor took over. “Additional reports have been submitted.”
Ah.
Here we go.
“Falsification of grain records.”
Dara’s brows lifted slightly. Oh?
“Bribery of magistrates.”
Wait. Why didn’t I think of that?
“Unauthorized rerouting of goods through restricted access points.”
Wow. Apparently she had been busier than she remembered.
“Inciting unrest among common citizens to create pressure on governing bodies.”
Cai turned slowly toward her. That one is bold.
I like it.
“Deployment of unofficial enforcement agents to intimidate resistance.”
Dara’s lips pressed together.
That sounded like Marek. He would be so flattered.
“Possible involvement in unregulated trade movement through southern routes.”
Smuggling?
Dara felt almost offended. Apparently, she still wasn’t evil enough.
The room went very still.
Every eye turned toward Dara.
This was the moment they had prepared for.
Denial.
Defense.
Excuses.
Panic.
Dara rose.
Calmly.
Smoothly.
Without hesitation.
The movement alone sent a ripple through the room. She stepped forward once, then stopped, letting the silence deepen before looking at Lady Arkwright, then Lady Greenmoor, then the gathered nobles.
“Yes,” she said.
The word landed cleanly.
A beat.
Then—
“I did all of it.”
The room broke.
Not loudly. Not chaotically. But unmistakably.
Whispers. Movement. Shock.
Lady Arkwright’s composure shifted—not shattered, but moved, a fraction too still. Lady Greenmoor’s expression sharpened in clear, immediate disbelief.
“That is—” she began, then stopped.
Dara continued.
Because of course she did.
She stepped forward once more and lifted her hands slightly in front of her, open and waiting, as if expecting something to be placed there.
“You may arrest me.”
Silence.
Absolute.
Total.
Even Cai stopped moving.
Even the nobles forgot how to breathe.
Lady Arkwright stared at her. Lady Greenmoor stared at her. Several council members looked as though their thoughts had tripped over themselves and fallen down a staircase.
“That is… not the response we expected,” Lady Greenmoor said carefully.
Dara tilted her head. “No?” There was genuine curiosity in her voice.
Valerius finally spoke. “No.”
Dara turned to him. “…No?”
He met her gaze, calm, unmoved, and certain. “No.”
Dara frowned slightly. “Are you refusing my confession?”
Behind her, someone made a choking noise.
Cai whispered into her mind, This is going badly.
Dara ignored him and looked back at the council, then at her hands.
Still extended.
Still waiting.
Still not being used.
Lady Greenmoor recovered first. “The accused has admitted—”
“Yes,” Dara said, polite and immediate. “I have.”
Lady Greenmoor’s jaw tightened. Lady Arkwright’s eyes narrowed by a degree.
“This is not a matter that can be resolved by a simple declaration,” Lady Arkwright said.
Dara blinked. “It isn’t?”
“No.”
“That seems inefficient.”
A few nobles made very small, very dangerous sounds.
Valerius remained still.
Watching.
Listening.
Waiting.
The room shifted again, less control now and more uncertainty.
Lady Greenmoor pressed forward. “Lady Lynara, these are serious charges. A formal process must be followed—”
“Of course,” Dara said. “Proceed.”
No one moved.
Dara looked between them, then slowly lowered her hands just slightly. Her expression shifted—not panicked, not afraid, just… confused.
She tilted her head. “Did I miss a step?”
Silence answered her.
And for the first time since entering the room, the council did not look prepared.