Chapter 60 EVIDENCE

Chapter 60 EVIDENCE
Ace

Selene’s expression hardened slightly.
“I’m aware of that.”
John Thomas inclined his head slightly toward her.
“Yes.”
He looked back at me.
“And some of them are planning to challenge it formally.”
Silence filled the room.
Emma blinked.
“Challenge it?”
“Yes.”
Selene frowned.
“What does that mean exactly?”
“It means they intend to question whether the Duchess is suitable for her position.”
Emma scoffed.
“That’s ridiculous.”
John Thomas shrugged lightly.
“Politics rarely concerns itself with fairness.”
Selene stepped forward slightly.
“And what happens if they succeed?”
“They would attempt to remove you from the estate.”
My eyes narrowed slightly.
So the message from the courier had not been exaggerated.
The council really was preparing something.
Selene spoke again.
“Who is leading this challenge?”
John Thomas hesitated for a moment.
“Several nobles.”
“That’s not an answer.”
His gaze shifted slightly.
“Lord Harwick among them.”
Emma’s jaw dropped.
“Harwick? He spent half the evening praising Selene yesterday!”
John Thomas gave a faint smile.
“Public compliments often hide private intentions.”
Selene exhaled slowly.
“So the council meeting is going to turn into a trial.”
“In a sense.”
Emma folded her arms.
“And you came here to warn us.”
John Thomas met my gaze.
“Yes.”
I studied him carefully.
“And why would you do that?”
The room fell quiet.
For a moment his calm expression didn’t change.
Then he said quietly,
“Because I believe the Duchess deserves the chance to defend herself.”
Selene watched him closely.
“And you support me.”
“I support fairness.”
Emma leaned toward Selene again.
“I still don’t trust him.”
Selene whispered back,
“Neither do I.”
John Thomas continued speaking.
“If the Duchess attends the council gathering, she will be questioned directly.”
Selene lifted her chin slightly.
“Then I’ll answer their questions.”
Emma smiled slowly.
“Oh, this is going to be good.”
I looked at John Thomas again.
“Is that everything?”
“Not quite.”
His expression grew slightly more serious.
“There’s one more thing you should know.”
The room grew still.
“What?” I asked.
John Thomas looked directly at Selene.
“The nobles challenging you believe they already have evidence.”
Selene’s eyes narrowed.
“Evidence of what?”
John Thomas answered quietly.
“Evidence that you don’t belong here.”

Selene

For a few seconds after John Thomas spoke, no one said anything.
The room felt strangely smaller.
Emma broke the silence first.
“Evidence?” she repeated. “Of what exactly?”
John Thomas remained calm.
“That is something they intend to present during the council gathering.”
Emma scoffed.
“So they’re planning a dramatic reveal.”
“Yes.”
I crossed my arms.
“And you have no idea what this evidence might be?”
“I have suspicions,” he replied.
“That’s not very reassuring.”
John Thomas studied my expression carefully.
“They will likely question your background.”
“My background?”
“Yes.”
Emma leaned forward in her chair.
“Meaning what?”
John Thomas spoke plainly.
“You were not born into nobility.”
“That’s hardly a secret,” Emma said.
“No,” he agreed. “But some members of the council believe it disqualifies the Duchess from her position.”
I frowned slightly.
“That argument already failed when the council approved our marriage.”
“Correct.”
“Then why try again?”
John Thomas clasped his hands behind his back.
“Because this time they believe they can prove something more damaging.”
The tension in the room thickened.
Emma glanced at me.
“I’m starting to hate the word ‘evidence.’”
“So am I,” I admitted.
Ace finally spoke again.
“What exactly are they claiming?”
John Thomas hesitated for a moment.
Then he said quietly,
“They believe the Duchess concealed important details about her past.”
My eyebrows lifted.
“Concealed?”
“Yes.”
Emma looked confused.
“What details?”
“That,” John Thomas replied, “is what they intend to reveal.”
I studied his face carefully.
“You’re telling us all of this, yet you won’t say exactly what they have.”
“Because I’m not entirely certain.”
Emma groaned softly.
“That’s very helpful.”
John Thomas ignored her sarcasm.
“However,” he continued, “I believe they will try to portray the Duchess as someone unfit to represent the estate.”
I tilted my head slightly.
“And you don’t believe that.”
“No.”
Emma looked at him suspiciously.
“You’re surprisingly supportive.”
“I’m practical,” he replied.
“How so?”
“If the Duchess is removed, the political balance within the Duchy will shift dramatically.”
Ace nodded slightly.
“That’s true.”
Emma frowned.
“So this is still about politics.”
John Thomas met her gaze calmly.
“Everything involving the council is about politics.”
I walked slowly toward the window.
The gardens outside looked peaceful as ever.
It was strange knowing that a group of powerful nobles somewhere in the capital was currently planning to destroy my reputation.
Emma spoke again behind me.
“So what do we do?”
Ace answered before I could.
“We prepare.”
“For what?”
“For their accusations.”
Emma looked at me.
“You’re the one they’re targeting.”
I turned back toward the room.
“Well,” I said calmly, “that’s unfortunate for them.”
Emma raised an eyebrow.
“You sound confident.”
“I am.”
John Thomas studied me with quiet interest.
“You intend to fight the accusations.”
“Of course.”
“You could simply refuse to attend the council gathering.”
I shook my head.
“That would look like guilt.”
“Yes,” he agreed.
Emma stood up and paced slowly across the room.
“So let me understand this correctly,” she said.
“A group of nobles is planning to publicly question Selene’s right to be Duchess.”
“Yes,” John Thomas confirmed.
“And they think they have some secret information about her past.”
“Yes.”
“And they’re planning to reveal it in front of the entire council.”
“Correct.”
Emma stopped pacing.
“Well.”
She looked at me.
“This is officially a challenge.”
Ace crossed his arms.
“It’s more than a challenge.”
“It’s an attempt to weaken the Duchy.”
John Thomas nodded slightly.
“That’s likely their intention.”
I folded my arms thoughtfully.
“Then we won’t give them the satisfaction.”
Emma smiled slowly.
“I like that answer.”
John Thomas watched us carefully.
“You seem remarkably calm for someone about to face a political attack.”
I met his gaze.
“Because I know something they don’t.”
“Oh?”
“Yes.”
“And what is that?”
I smiled slightly.
“That they’re underestimating me.”
Emma laughed.
“Oh, they definitely are.”
Ace’s expression softened slightly as he looked at me.
“I believe that too.”
John Thomas remained silent for a moment.
Then he said quietly,
“In that case…”
He paused.
“I look forward to seeing how you handle the council.”
Emma pointed at him.
“Still suspicious.”
He gave a faint smile.
“Fair enough.”
I turned toward Ace.
“We have three days.”
“Yes.”
“That’s enough time.”
“For what?”
“To prepare for whatever they think they know about me.”
Emma leaned closer.
“You’re planning something.”
“Of course I am.”
John Thomas watched the exchange with interest.
“May I ask what your strategy will be?”
I looked at him calmly.
“You’ll see it at the council gathering.”
Emma grinned widely.
“Oh this is going to be entertaining.”
Ace chuckled softly.
But even as the room filled with quiet determination…
One troubling thought lingered in the back of my mind.
If the council truly believed they had evidence strong enough to remove me as Duchess…
Then someone, somewhere…
Had been digging into my past.
And whatever they found…
They believed it could destroy me.