Elara read the note carefully. So Sera had used a different na before becoming Third Princess. "Sera" was probably her birth na, before she’d been brought to the palace and given the imperial na Sera.
Interesting personal detail, but strategically irrelevant.
What mattered was Eleana’s eting request.
Duke Romian was imdiately opposed. "Don’t go. It’s a trap. She’s cornered and desperate. She’ll try to kill you or kidnap you or sothing equally stupid."
"Probably. But I need to understand what she’s planning. Cornered enemies are unpredictable. Better to confront her in controlled circumstances than let her spiral into uncontrolled desperation."
"What controlled circumstances? She could have assassins, poison, magic—"
"Which is why I’ll bring overwhelming security and insist on neutral location." Elara started writing her response. "Imperial gardens, east pavilion. Public enough that overt violence is impossible. Private enough for genuine conversation."
She sent her reply:
First Sister,
I’ll et with you. Imperial gardens, east pavilion. Tomorrow at noon. You may bring two attendants. I’ll bring the sa. No weapons, no magic beyond personal defensive charms.
—Fourth Sister Elara
The response ca within an hour:
Agreed. Tomorrow, noon, east pavilion. Co alone or don’t co at all.
—Eleana
"She’s still demanding you co alone," Duke Romian observed.
"She’s posturing. I’ll bring guards anyway. If she objects, she can leave." Elara continued planning. "But I suspect she won’t. She needs this eting. She’s out of options and I’m her last chance at negotiating so kind of escape."
.
.
The next day, Elara arrived at the east pavilion exactly at noon.
She brought the fox knight and one other beast knight guard, both in light armor, positioned ten paces back.
Duke Romian’s forces surrounded the gardens—hidden but ready.
Sera’s agents watched from concealed positions.
Eleana arrived five minutes late, wearing a simple blue gown without her usual elaborate styling. She looked exhausted. Broken. The perfect princess facade had completely shattered.
She ca alone.
They sat across from each other at a stone table in the pavilion. Around them, the gardens were beautiful—a peaceful setting for what would be a hostile conversation.
"Fourth Sister," Eleana said. Her voice was hollow. "Thank you for coming."
"You said you had information about threats to my life."
"I do. But first..." Eleana’s hands shook slightly. "Did you know? About Lera? That she’s been dead all this ti?"
"Sera revealed it three days ago. I had no prior knowledge."
"So you’ve been destroying for sothing you didn’t even know I’d done."
"I’ve been defending myself against soone who tried to kill multiple tis. Lera’s murder is just additional evidence of what you’re capable of." Elara’s voice was calm, clinical. "Why did you kill her?"
"She was going to ruin everything. She had evidence against Mother—real evidence of corruption, bribery, illegal appointnts. If she’d presented it to Father, Mother would have been disgraced, I would have lost my position, our entire faction would have collapsed." Eleana’s voice cracked. "I didn’t want to kill her. She was my sister. But she wouldn’t listen to reason. She was so convinced she was doing the right thing..."
"So you poisoned her and fabricated an entire exile to cover it up."
"Yes." Eleana looked up, eyes red. "And now it’s all falling apart anyway. Mother’s arrested for murdering Father’s lover. I’m being investigated for murdering my own sister. Everything I killed Lera to protect is gone. She died for nothing."
"She died because you chose power over family."
"Like you’re any different!" Eleana’s voice rose. "You allied with Sera—the woman who tried to kill you! You’re using Lera’s death politically even though you never t her! You don’t care about justice or family any more than I do. You’re just better at hiding it!"
"I’m not hiding anything. I openly acknowledge my motivations are practical rather than emotional. You pretended to care about family while murdering them. That’s the difference."
Eleana laughed—bitter, broken. "You’re right. You’re honest about being a monster. I pretended to be sothing better." She pulled out a small envelope. "Here. The information I promised. Duke Harland, Second Consort’s brother. He’s coordinating assassination funding from multiple noble families. Fifty thousand gold. Multiple teams. Targeting you, Sera, Duke Romian, Helena. Everyone in your support structure."
She slid the envelope across the table.
"Verification details are in there. Ledger locations, coded entries, tiline estimates. Everything you need to stop the plot."
Elara took the envelope. "Why give this?"
"Because I’m dead anyway. The investigation will convict . I’ll be executed or exiled. My life is over." Eleana’s voice was eerily calm now. "But maybe I can do one decent thing before the end. Lera wanted to stop corruption. Wanted to help people. I killed her to protect corrupt systems. Now I’m giving you information to destroy those sa systems. Maybe that counts as sothing."
"You want redemption."
"I want to not be completely worthless." Eleana stood. "The assassination plot is real. Duke Harland is coordinating. You have maybe two weeks before they strike. Use that information or don’t. I don’t care anymore."
She started to walk away, then paused.
"Fourth Sister? When they execute ... will you rember that I tried to help at the end? Or will I just be the monster who killed Lera?"
Elara considered. "I’ll rember you provided valuable intelligence that saved lives. Whether that redeems you for murder is not for to judge."
"That’s more than I deserve." Eleana walked away slowly, her guards falling into step around her.
Elara watched her go, then opened the envelope.
Inside were detailed notes about Duke Harland, the noble families involved, the assassination tiline, and exact locations of financial records.
Eleana had been telling the truth.
"Your Highness," the fox knight said quietly. "She looked broken."
"She is broken. She murdered her sister, got caught, and her entire world is collapsing. That’s what happens when you build power on lies and murder." Elara stood. "But she gave us useful intelligence anyway. That counts for sothing, even if it doesn’t excuse what she did."
They returned to Duke Romian’s estate where Sera was waiting.
"How did it go?"
"Eleana provided intelligence about coordinated assassination plot from noble families. Duke Harland coordinating. Fifty thousand gold funding. Multiple teams targeting all of us." Elara handed over the envelope. "She’s given up. Completely broken. Just wanted to do sothing useful before she’s executed."
Sera read through the docunts. "This is detailed. Specific. She really did just hand us everything."
"She has nothing left to lose. And possibly so residual guilt about Lera." Elara sat down. "More importantly, this confirms what you suspected—the noble families are organizing against us. We need to strike first."
"Agreed. I’ll send agents to Duke Harland’s estate tonight. If the evidence is where Eleana says it is, we’ll have it by morning."
"And then?"
"Then we expose the entire conspiracy. Arrest everyone involved. Purge the noble families who thought they could kill us." Sera’s eyes glead. "We turn their assassination plot into our opportunity to eliminate our remaining enemies in one sweep."
Duke Romian spoke up. "You’re talking about purging dozens of noble families. That’s not investigation—that’s political massacre."
"They were planning to massacre us first," Elara said calmly. "This is just preemptive self-defense. We identify the conspirators, prove their guilt through the evidence Eleana provided, and remove them through legal channels."
"Legal channels that you control."
User Comments
0 comments from readers