The palace was alive with music and gold. Banners bearing Alina's crest waved in the wind. Nobles from every corner of the kingdoms gathered, eager to celebrate the princess Raelynn claimed as her own.
Raelynn stood tall on the balcony, draped in red silk, her smile like polished glass—beautiful, cold, and dangerous.
Inside the great hall, guests whispered praises of the princess she had "raised." But Raelynn hadn't seen the real Alina yet.
Because she was about to make her entrance.
The doors opened.
Alina stepped in—wearing a regal gown sewn from her mother's colors: white and emerald green. The crowd gasped. Her posture was royal, her eyes sharp. She didn't look like Raelynn's daughter.
She looked like Lily's heir.
Beside her walked Elric, tall and proud, a silent promise at her side. And with them, hidden in the shadows, the villagers who remembered Lily's reign—and loyalists waiting for the right moment to rise.
Raelynn's eyes flickered. For the first time, she looked uncertain.
"Welcome, my daughter," she said, arms open.
Alina walked straight past her. "Don't call me that."
The crowd silenced. Gasps echoed through the hall.
Raelynn's voice cracked slightly. "Alina, what are you—"
"I am not the child of a liar," Alina said clearly, loud enough for all to hear. "I am Queen Lily's daughter. The one you tried to erase."
Whispers became murmurs. Murmurs turned to shock.
Raelynn's mask cracked.
"You dare—"
"I dare speak the truth," Alina said, pulling out the letter. "This was sent to me. From someone inside your court. It speaks of your betrayal. Of my mother's death. And of your lies."
Elric stepped forward. "And I, King Elric of Velantis, stand with her."
Chaos broke out. Nobles stood. Some shouted. Some demanded answers.
Guards tried to move, but loyalists blocked their path.
It was enough.
The crowd turned.
The celebration was no longer a party—it was a rebellion.
Raelynn, shaking, backed toward her throne. "This… this isn't over."
"No," Alina said, raising her mother's pendant in the air. "But your reign is."
And as the nobles shouted, and the crowd chanted Lily's name, Raelynn knew—
Her empire of lies was beginning to fall.