Chapter 346 --346
As she ascended the stone stairs back toward the palace proper, the musty scent of the dungeon gave way to the smell of expensive incense and fresh lilies. The transition was jarring. She stepped into the main hallway just as a young man in an eye-wateringly bright blue doublet stepped out from behind a statue.
He was holding a single, dew-covered rose. He began to sink into a deep, dramatic bow, his eyes fixed on her with a "mysterious and brooding" intensity.
"Your Majesty, I have waited since the first light of dawn to tell you—"
Elara didn’t even slow down. She plucked the rose from his hand as she walked past, snapped the stem, and handed the flower head back to him.
"It’s crooked," she said flatly. "And blue isn’t your color. Get out of my light; I have an empire to run."
The young noble stood frozen, his mouth hanging open, as the Empress swept down the hall, her robes billowing behind her like a storm cloud. She was tired, she was sore, and she was dangerously short on patience—but for the first time in fifteen days, Elara felt like she was exactly where she was supposed to be.
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.
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Two days later