I rose and bowed to the Emperor, my voice perfectly level."As His Majesty commands."The task he set was simple. One formal poem on an autumn night, written before the sandglass ran out.I went to the low table, took up the pen, and wrote it straight through without stopping once.Marianne hadn't moved. The pen shook in her hand. Ink ran off the nib and bled into a stain on the paper."You..."She looked up at me, her voice ruined."You've finished already?"I didn't answer.An attendant carried both pages up. Hers was still blank.The Emperor read mine. His brows lifted a fraction. Then he looked at the empty sheet, and his expression changed."Take this woman away. She has falsely claimed to be the Crown Princess. Hand her over for trial."Marianne was dragged out of the hall, and the noise of the banquet closed over the gap where she'd been.Adrian lifted his cup to his lips and said, so quietly that only I could hear it:"That was good work."I raised my own cup and
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