Chapter 120

Chapter 120
Raven’s Pov;

The council chambers had been empty for over an hour, yet the corridors didn’t feel empty. I could almost swear that I still heard debatings and the  faint tang of ink and sealing wax, the metallic echo of boots against marble, and the oppressive weight of their stares.

I had lingered with the pretense of retrieving a forgotten scroll. In truth, I wanted to breathe in the aftermath of their ridiculous deliberations that morning. The meeting had ended abruptly, with neither Liam nor Ellie showing up.

I was still lost in thoughts when I heard it, the hushed scrape of shoes and the even softer cadence of whispered words.

I slowed down, pressing myself into the space between two towering marble pillars.

“…names are final,” one male voice murmured, deep but tinged with unease. “Lord Kellen’s seal was added this morning.”

“Are we sure it’s wise?” the second voice was sharper, and feminine . “Half the council will be furious when they find out who’s on it.”

“They won’t find out,” the man said, his voice lower now. “The list isn’t for them. It’s for… her.”

Her. My skin prickled.

The woman’s reply was almost lost to the creak of leather folders in their arms. “…removal begins after the Harvest Festival. First wave. No delays this time.”

Removal. The word lodged in my chest like a shard of ice. Not dismissal. Not exile. Removal. The harvest festival was only two full moons away.

I edged closer to the pillar’s curve until I could see them, they were aides in the  council and they were heading toward the east wing. Their steps were measured, careful, and the scroll one of them carried bore the distinctive triple-cord binding reserved for confidential decrees.

The list.

I stayed rooted until their voices were swallowed by distance.

It might have been nothing. It might have been everything.

I told myself to leave it alone. I told myself I already had enough enemies without poking my head into shadowed corridors where it didn’t belong. And yet, my feet carried me in the opposite direction of my chamber, my mind clawing at the edges of their words.

A list. A removal. Her.

I was certain that I knew who ‘her’ could mean. Annalise or lady Joanna. Possibly both. The thought that either woman had the authority to mark names for “removal” sent a slow, cold churn through my gut.

When I reached the sunlit end of the corridor, the sudden brightness felt jarring, too honest for the thoughts in my head. I turned sharply towards the west staircase, deciding that there was one person who might know something, or at least help me piece the truth together without alerting the wrong ears.

Lucy.

She had told me that she wasn’t technically in good terms with the other servants, especially the council aides, but her time in the royal nursery had given her access to gossip no scribe or aide could overhear without risking their necks. And more importantly, she had been close to the maids in lady Joanna’s household.

I found Lucy in the lower courtyard, sorting through a basket of apples delivered from the southern orchards. Her sleeves were rolled to the elbow, her hair pinned back in the hasty way she wore it when she had too many tasks and not enough time.

“Busy?” I asked, my tone light enough to mask the tension buzzing under my skin.

She looked up with a smile that faltered at the edges. “Your highness. What’s happened? You look…”

“Stressed,” I completed for her.

Damn her quick eyes for noticing things. I stepped closer, lowering my voice. “I overheard something in the council corridor. Two aides. They mentioned some list, people marked for removal.”

Her brows furrowed together. “Removal?”

I nodded once. “They didn’t give names. But it sounded… final. Political opponents, maybe. Or something else.”

Lucy set the apple in her hand back into the basket, her movements suddenly too precise. “What….”

“They said that  the list was ‘for her.’ No names, no titles. I can guess who they meant. But I need to be sure…” I hesitated, the question tasting heavier than I’d expected. “Are you still in contact with the maids from lady Joanna’s household?”

For a heartbeat, Lucy didn’t move. Her stillness alone told me I’d hit a nerve.

“Look, I know you said you don’t want to revisit your days there, or the people you stated with, but right now, I need to know what this list is about and this is the only way I can think of.”

She grabbed my hands and smiled at me. “It’s fine, your highness. This is nothing compared to your life and the future of this kingdom. I’ll find out everything I can, your highness.”

I nodded. “Thank you, Lucy. Thank you.”

She smiled. “Want some apple?” 

I shrugged as she handed one to me without waiting for my reply. “They’re fresh off the farm.”

“Ellie did not come to the council meeting this morning. You know why?”

She scrunched her face. “That’s weird.”

“Why?” 

“The maids assigned to her said that she left very early. They didn’t know when, but they prepared a bath for her, but couldn’t find her. I assumed that she went to the council meeting early,” she said and I inhaled deeply.

“Let me check, I don’t feel good about any of this,” I said, walking towards the main hall.

“I’m coming with you,” I heard Lucy’s voice from behind me.

I was walking, but with the pace I walked, it looked like I was almost running until I got to the room allocated to her.

“Where is the princess?” I barked at the maids and they all looked everywhere else but my face.

“Where the hell is the princess?” I repeated.

“Your highness,” one of the maids shuffled forward. “We can’t find her or her people. Both the maids and the guards.”

I scoffed. “You mean to tell me that she just vanished into thin air? How did she leave her room without any of you noticing?” I turned to the guards. “Nobody has seen her?”

“Y..your highness. We don’t know how she left, she….”

I turned to Lucy. “Inform the king that the Belgravian princess has gone missing. Discreetly,” I turned to the rest of the maids. “The rest of you, come with me.”