Chapter 23
Helen led us down to the grand hall where Damon waited with Ronan and several guards. The other candidates were gathered
loosely around.
Damon’s imposing figure stood at the center of them all, arms crossed over his chest, his expression carved from stone. His eyes
flickered toward me as I entered.
Beside me, Vanessa stood with tears streaking down her face.
“Your Highness,” she whimpered, casting me a pitiful glance. “Elena’s been bullying me again, I don’t know why she’s targeting
- me. I’ve done nothing to her.”
I nearly choked on my own laughter. The audacity.
Damon said nothing at first. His silence stretched, heavy and suffocating until finally, he spoke.
“I will find out exactly who has been causing trouble in my palace,” he said coldly. “And no one who is guilty will be spared.”
A A shiver ran down my spine. His declaration carried the weight of a promise. The girls loyal to Vanessa exchanged nervous glances.
Damon’s piercing gaze swept over them. “Who stole Elena’s clothes?”
Silence stretched and the tension thickened. I watched the way the girls fidgeted, some gripping their skirts, others avoiding eye contact. But no one spoke
1 exhaled sharply. “Not just that. I also want to know who swapped my lot… Your Highness.” I added as an after thought.
Hesitantly, a timid woman stepped forward. Her hands trembled slightly as she avoided Vanessa’s burning glare.
“L… I saw them,” she admitted, her voice barely above a whisper. “Vanessa and the others… they took the clothes.”
Vanessa scoffed “That’s ridiculous. Where’s your proof?”
Damon moved before anyone could respond. He reached into a small cloth bundle and threw my clothes onto the floor. And the room collectively held its breath
Damon’s eyes narrowed. “These still carry the scent of the she–wolf who stole them. How dare you lie to me?”
Vanessa’s face paled, but she lifted her chin defiantly. “Anyone could have placed them there.”
Before she could spew more excuses, Ronan stepped forward, his golden eyes glinting. “We found the thief.”
A candidate from Vanessa’s group, one of the women laughing at training, was dragged forward. She squirmed under the weight of everyone’s stares, panic filling her eyes.
“Your Highness, please,” she pleaded “I was only following orders!”
+15 Bonus
“Then you can follow this one,” Damon said smoothly. “You’re expelled. Get out.”
Her cries were drowned out as the guards dragged her away. Vanessa, despite everything, still tried to play innocent. “I had nothing to do with this!”
Damon’s gaze hardened. “Who swapped Elena’s lot?”
Another from Vanessa’s group stepped forward, trembling. She was the least favored among them, the one always used as a
scapegoat.
Vanessa crossed her arms. “Do you have proof?”
The girl flinched but held firm. “I did it,” she admitted, voice shaking. “It was me.”
Such a Liar. I knew Vanessa had forced her into taking the blame. But before I could call her out, Ronan took the insignia lot,
sniffing it carefully
“This lot carries the scent of its original owner,” he announced. His eyes flicked to Vanessa. “It’s yours.”
The room erupted into hushed whispers.
Vanessa’s mask cracked. “That… that’s not possible!” She turned to Damon in desperation. “I was framed! Elena must have
planned all of this to get me expelled!”
Damon regarded her coolly. “Your father is one of my most trusted men. If not for that, I would expel you.”
Vanessa’s relief was short–lived as Damon continued, “But you will be punished.”
Her shoulders stiffened. “Punished how?”
Damon’s lips curled slightly. “You’ll be cleaning the palace toilets for the next week.”
A strangled noise escaped her throat. “I–I have never never touched a cleaning cloth!”
I couldn’t help it–relief and satisfaction swept through me.
Finally, someone who deserved it was being punished.
