Broomflower Royal Capital, Plai, deep within the imperial palace.
The exquisite stained-glass windows filtered the afternoon sunlight into patches of dazzling color, casting them across the mirror-bright marble floor. Yet the atmosphere in this magnificent side hall was like the deep sea before a storm—so oppressive it was hard to breathe.
Crash—!!!
A shrill, piercing sound of shattering porcelain exploded through the air, breaking the deathly silence! A costly thin-bodied, colored-glaze teacup was hurled viciously against the hard stone floor, instantly smashed to pieces. Shards and warm tea splashed everywhere, soaking the expensive carpet and spattering the hems of the guards' uniforms as they knelt trembling on the ground.
"Trash! A pack of useless trash!" Empress Dowager Katerina's roar was like that of a wounded lioness, filled with incredulous fury and savage rage, booming through the empty hall.
Her well-maintained, still-charming face was twisted by extreme fury. Her carefully painted willow-leaf brows stood on end, and blazing fire burned in her eyes, as though she wished to burn everything before her to ashes.
"What do you mean Henry has disappeared?! Dozens of men guarded him day and night, defenses upon defenses, and right under your noses, a living person—the heir of Earl Rochefort—just vanished?! Are you blind, or were you all asleep?!"
Her chest heaved violently, her elaborate and luxurious court gown rising and falling with each breath, while the jeweled hairpin atop her head trembled faintly.
The news had struck beside her ears like a thunderbolt. It not only meant the loss of an important hostage, but was also a naked provocation and slap in the face to her authority!
Keeping Henry de Rochefort under guard had been an important bargaining chip for restraining Earl Rochefort and influencing the situation in the Northern Territory. Yet now, he had vanished