Chapter 219
The evening of the day before, when Mariv’s execution took place.
Dilaina stood at the reception room door, newly adorned in her dress. Her makeup, heavier than usual, and elaborate jewelry seemed to somewhat mask her diminished spirits.
The servants glanced furtively at Dilaina standing before the door. As she listened to the voices of the ministers leaking from inside, Dilaina resolutely kept her gaze fixed on the door. The servants had no way of knowing why she wasn’t entering.
‘Now it truly begins.’
Mariv’s death was not just a single event. It was the intersection point that everyone in the imperial palace, friend and foe alike, had been aiming for. Now that they had passed it, each would have to set off on their own path.
The destination was singular: the imperial throne.
Since victory belonged to whoever arrived first, even the slightest gap or carelessness could prove fatal.
“Mother.”
Arsen, who stood by her side. Noticing his mother’s tension, he quietly comforted her. Dilaina nodded, as if she had quickly composed herself.