"How passionately you defend her, Duke of Ravenmoor," the king said, his voice dripping with mockery. "One might almost believe you have confused pity with love. Tell me, are you truly willing to risk your kingdom’s reputation for a woman who was sold into your bed?"

Chuckles rippled through some nobles while others shifted uncomfortably in their seats, looking uneasy at the escalating tension.

Austin looked into the king’s eyes without flinching.

"You are insulting her because you fear what acknowledging her truly means," Austin replied calmly.

Whispers erupted the room. This time, a few nobles nodded in agreement while others frowned angrily. The king’s smiled didn’t waver but his eyes had grown even more colder now.

Instead of answering to Austin, King Lucien turned his gaze back to Alina.

"Very well," he said. "You have come a very long way, girl. Speak then. Let the court of Arcasedia hear what you believe you are owed."

Alina felt as though the ground had disappeared under her feet. Her heart pounded so loudly that she could hear nothing else. Most of the nobles seemed to be waiting for her to break and to prove she did not belong here.

She closed her eyes for a brief second and thought of the Ravenmoor. She thought about the about the warm laughter of the sewing circle, Cecily’s hopeful face watching from her window, Austin’s voice that morning telling her she only needed to tell the truth, and Laura’s gentle reminder that courage meant walking forward while terrified.

She exhaled slowly, lifted her chin, straightened her shoulders, and finally took another step forward.

"My name is Alina Ashworth," she began softly but her voice became stronger with every word. "Princess Isadora Ashrael was my mother. I am not here to claim power or revenge. I am here because my mother’s name and her very existence were erased from your history as if she never existed. As if her choices, her love were something shameful that needed to be buried and forgotten."

She paused for a moment, fighting back the tears that brimmed in her eyes.

"Yes, I was sold by my father into a contract I never chose. And I did what I had to do to survive. Because survival is not shameful. Today I’m standing in front of you as a daughter who just wants the truth acknowledged. I want you acknowledge that my mother existed and I carry her blood in my veins."

The entire room fell silent instantly. Then slowly the vicious attack began.

"Why now?" a noblewoman called out sharply from the upper gallery. "After decades of silence, why do you appear suddenly with foreign allies? It’s difficult to believe that it’s just about your marriage. There must be some other reason."

"How convenient that you came with Astoria’s support and a Ravenmoor duke’s protection! Are we supposed to believe this is not a calculated political move?" Another one shouted.

From the shadows of the gallery, someone laughed cruelly.

"Tell us honestly girl...how many beds did you warm before deciding you belonged in a royal court?"

"How convenient that you discovered royal blood after becoming a duke’s mistress," someone else says mockingly.

Each insult cut her like a knife. Gasps and murmurs spread like wildfire through the room. Austin clenched his fists as fury flashed across his face. He took a step forward but Alina quickly put her hand on his arm, stopping him. She looked into his eyes, silently telling him ’I can do this’.

Then she turned back to the court, her voice steady now despite the tears glistening in her eyes. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

"You may insult me if it helps you sleep better at night," she said. "Call me whatever names that makes you feel better about yourself. It will neither change who my mother was nor erase what this court did to her."

Most of the nobles looked away, uncomfortable. But a few others looked like they were actually thinking about something. For the first time since entering the room, Alina sounded like the daughter of Isadora Ashrael.

The court was now visibly divided. Laura looked around the divided hall and took a step forward with quite determination.

"I am Laura Vale," she announced. "I served as Princess Isadora Ashrael’s personal lady-in-waiting for twelve years. I was with her the night she fled this palace and witnessed her formal disownment. I held her hand as she wept and walked away from everything she had ever had."

Shocked gasps and loud whispers rippled through the galleries. Many older nobles recognized her immediately. Laura had vanished twenty years ago and most of them had assumed she was dead.

"Lady Isadora did not abandon this kingdom out of selfishness or greed. She left because this court tried to force her into a loveless political marriage," she continued. "The court erased her name as if she had never been born. But she lived and gave birth to a brave daughter who now stands before you."

With trembling fingers, Laura reached into a hidden pocket of her gown with her trembling fingers and took out a small bundle wrapped in silk. She unfolded it carefully and held the contents high for everyone to see. It was Isadora’s royal signet ring, shining with the Ashrael crest.

"Lady Isadora gave this ring to me the night she fled. She wanted me to give it to her child when the time was right," she said.

She turned to Alina and put the ring on her finger. It fitted her perfectly as though made for her.

Chaos erupted immediately. Nobles rose from their seats, arguing loudly. Whispered suddenly turned into shouts.

Lord Valdren, leads of the opposite Valdren faction, slowly rose from his seat and looked at Alina with his ice-cold eyes.

"Emotional speeches and old trinkets do not equal recognition," he declared politely. "Isadora forfeited every right when she abandoned this kingdom. The girl was raised far beyond our borders, shaped by foreign customs and influences. Acknowledging her would only invite chaos, foreign interference, and instability into the line of succession. We must not allow any kind of sentiment to weaken our kingdom."

Alina stared at Lord Valdren and felt a chill run down her spine. The king’s cruelty had been loud and humiliating, but this man spoke politely while trying to erase her existence, just like they had erased her mother’s. And he was doing it while looking completely calm, which terrified her even more.