Chapter 38 --38
Elara bowed and walked out, Marcus falling into step behind her until the corridor branched. Then he stopped, saluted, and returned to the Emperor’s service.
She continued alone to her quarters, mind already shifting back to merchant contracts and spell refinement.
The previous princess would have been traumatized. Elara felt nothing—not guilt, not satisfaction, not even mild discomfort. It had been a transaction. Necessary for survival. Efficiently executed.
Sex was sex. Knights were knights. The empire was the empire.
She’d passed the test.
Now she could get back to building something that might actually survive her sisters’ schemes.
Elara walked out of the chamber and the door closed behind her with a soft click.
The fox knight stood exactly where she’d left him, posture rigid, eyes carefully averted. Two other guards flanked the corridor entrance, both beast-clan, both maintaining professional distance.
Elara stopped in front of the fox knight and raised her hand slightly.
He understood immediately, reaching into his uniform pocket and producing a clean white handkerchief. She took it without comment and wiped her mouth, then her hands—methodical, thorough strokes that removed any trace of what had just occurred. When she finished, she dropped the handkerchief on the stone floor without looking at it.
The fox knight’s ears flicked once in surprise. The two guards down the corridor both shifted almost imperceptibly, masks slipping for just a fraction of a second to reveal something in their eyes—shock, confusion, maybe recognition of an emotion they weren’t supposed to have.
It wasn’t unusual for royals to use beast knights and discard them afterward. That was normal. Expected.