All Chapters of REVENGE AFTER REBIRTH-THE LORD'S FORSAKEN BRIBE: Chapter 111 - Chapter 120

Servants whispered only when doors were closed, and every step in the halls carried the weight of watching eyes.Cassian walked beside me, his boots echoing against the stone floor. “They’re talking,” he said finally. “Not just the council. The kitchens, the guards, even the market. They all think the fire was you.”I didn’t slow my stride. “Let them think. Aria’s lies spread fastest when chased. If we run after every rumor, she wins.”“But you can’t ignore them forever,” he said.“I won’t.” I looked toward the high windows, where sunlight fell through the dust. “I’ll answer them with proof.”We stopped at the record room. The scent of damp parchment still clung to the walls, what little remained after the fire. Cassian handed me a small pouch.“Recovered from the northern post,” he said. “Letters that never reached the treasury. One bears Alaric’s seal.”I untied the cord. Inside were fragments of paper, half-burned, but enough to see the handwriting. Aria’s work was n

The palace breathed uneasily after Alaric’s fall.The council’s murmurs had quieted, but only because everyone was listening harder.I spent the morning walking the corridors alone, counting the faces that looked away too quickly. Each glance was a question. Each silence, an answer.Cassian joined me near the east wing. “Half the servants swear loyalty,” he said. “The other half swear louder.”“Then start with the ones who talk the most,” I replied.He understood. The hunt wasn’t for traitors screaming rebellion, it was for those whispering too carefully.By noon, the first names reached my desk: scribes who handled treasury records, guards who had worked the vault door, clerks who’d delivered council letters. All would be questioned, quietly, without spectacle.I sealed the list in wax and gave it to Cassian. “No torture, no threats,” I said. “Just eyes and truth.”He nodded. “And you?”“I’ll speak to the nobles myself. They trust a smile more than a sword.”Across the city

The echo of metal boots reached the hall before the words did.Every noble stopped talking as the palace guards marched in, red banners brushing the marble.At their head stood the captain of the royal watch, a scroll in his gloved hand.“By order of His Majesty,” he announced, voice ringing through the chamber, “Serina Valcrest is hereby suspended from all council duties pending investigation for treasonous conduct.”Gasps rippled through the crowd. Quills stilled, chairs creaked. Even the torches seemed to shrink from the sound.I rose slowly. “Show me the seal.”He hesitated, but duty won. He unfurled the parchment; the golden crest gleamed; flawless, impossible.“The King never signed this,” I said. “You’ll escort me to him at once.”“The order forbids…”Cassian’s hand dropped to his sword. “Then break the order.”The captain’s jaw worked, then he bowed stiffly. “At your own risk, my lady.”We moved through the servant passages, away from the eyes of the council. The air g

A drumbeat sounded beyond the walls; three slow strikes. From the streets, more riders appeared, hundreds now, their torches forming a line of fire that circled the palace gate.The air thickened. Somewhere, a child cried. A soldier’s armor clinked. Nothing moved but the smoke.Cassian whispered, “She’s testing you. If you order an attack, she’ll call it tyranny.”“I know,” I said.I looked at Aria; the calm, the poise, the faint tremor in her hands that only I could see. She was dangerous because she still believed she could win.“Take your army home,” I said. “Before I forget you were once my sister.”Her smile vanished. “And if I don’t?”“Then I’ll remind you what rebirth looks like when it burns.” For a heartbeat, no one breathed. Then a gust of wind tore through the courtyard, snapping the banners. The serpent sigil cracked against the stone like a whip.Aria’s eyes flashed. “So be it.”She raised her hand. The riders shifted, torches rising. The first arrow is no

The city woke under a thin veil of smoke. The fires had been put out, but the air still carried the scent of charred wood and rain. In the courtyard where battle had raged, only blackened stones remained. The serpent banners were gone; in their place hung the crest of the crown, soot-stained but standing.I walked through the wreckage with Cassian at my side. The people watched us from doorways, tired eyes hollow from nights without sleep. There were no cheers, no applause, only silence and the slow rebuilding of what they had almost lost.“They’ll come around,” Cassian said quietly. “They always do once bread and peace return.”“Peace will take longer than bread,” I replied.He didn’t argue. The cobblestones were slick beneath our boots, washed clean of blood but not of memory.Inside the palace, the council had convened early. The hall still smelled faintly of ash, and cracks marred the marble where the fire had touched the walls. The King sat in his chair again, frail but pre