Chapter 758: Appearently locking oneself in the room is not good
The breath of the hall shifted—again. This time, not just with idle curiosity or rank-induced reflex. This was sharper. Focused. As if the air itself straightened in anticipation.
Aurelian’s voice dropped. "And there it is."
They turned—just as the main archway parted like the frame of a painting being filled.
A woman....
She didn’t enter. She arrived.
Her gown was deep emerald, its texture moving like liquid starlight. Silver runes—old ones, elegantly subtle—threaded through the silk in cascading spirals, catching just enough of the ambient mana to hum faintly with intent. Her gloves, pearl-sheen and exact in their fit, rested easily at her sides as she moved. Not too slow, not too fast. Each step a declaration of presence.
Her hair—pale rose, too vivid to be called pink—was pinned in a complex half-fall, the kind favored by the inner-circle nobility of the capital. Refined. Unyielding. Her violet eyes swept once across the hall, and without seeming to focus, measured everything.
The nobles turned like reeds to wind.
A half-dozen conversations faltered mid-breath. Those from minor houses froze, those from greater ones straightened. A handful tried smiles. Some didn’t bother.
Selphine narrowed her gaze. "She’s early."
Aurelian folded his arms. "And the hall just named her its centerpiece."