Awakening Love: Reborn to Be His Duchess Chapter 527: Lines Drawn

The council chamber held a quiet tension, the kind that settled in when no one dared speak first.

Alaric let the silence stretch for a beat, his gaze moving slowly across the gathered officials.

"Even if we look at it from another angle," he said at last, voice measured, "when the delegation met with Nordia, Dominic stepped forward and took the injury meant for Cassian. Had Cassian been present at court, he would have acknowledged that loyalty and seen Dominic properly advanced."

The Minister of Rites shifted where he stood, brows drawn tight, clearly unwilling to concede. His lips parted, ready to object.

Alaric did not give him the chance.

He lowered his eyes, picked up the quill, and added Dominic's name to the roster with a clean, deliberate stroke.

Then he spoke again, calm, but carrying weight.

"His Majesty placed the trials under my authority this year. That means the decisions fall to me. If you find that unacceptable, Minister, you may present your concerns directly and request someone else take my place."

No one in the room missed the meaning behind that.

It was not a suggestion.

The minister's shoulders stiffened. Whatever argument he had prepared dissolved on his tongue. After a brief hesitation, he bowed his head.

"I would not presume, Your Highness. I will abide by your judgment."

A faint curve touched Alaric's lips. "Good. Then we're done here."

The court qualification trials began soon after.

By long-standing custom in Avenlor, the examinations ran in three sessions, each lasting three full days, candidates remaining within the grounds for the duration.

On the morning the first session opened, Elowen granted Nikki leave so she could accompany her brother Josh to the Imperial Examination Hall.

By the time Nikki returned in the afternoon, the light had softened across the courtyard.

Inside Stillwater Court, Elowen sat by the tall window, a regional chronicle open in her hands. She had been reading for some time, absorbed enough that the world beyond the page had faded into the background.

The door opened quietly.

Mira stepped in, carrying a tray, setting it down without a sound. A moment later, Nikki followed, holding a small cloth-wrapped bundle.

She approached carefully, lowering it onto the table.

"Your Grace," Nikki said softly, "my mother asked me to thank you. You've taken care of our family in ways we can't repay. You gave me a place here, and today, when my brother entered the exam, you even prepared such a generous gift for luck. We... we don't have much, but my mother stayed up through the night making this. She asked me to bring it to you."

Elowen murmured a quiet acknowledgment, eyes still on the page.

It wasn't until Scarlet spoke that the mood shifted.

"Nikki, what's wrong?" Scarlet asked gently.

Elowen's fingers stilled.

She looked up.

Nikki's face was flushed from the wind outside, but her eyes were red, her expression tight, like she was holding something back and failing.

"Those people..." Nikki's voice trembled. "They were awful."

Scarlet immediately reached for a cloth, dabbing at her cheeks. "Easy, don't cry, you'll disturb Her Grace..."

Elowen closed the book.

"Nikki," she said, voice steady, "did someone trouble you?"

Nikki looked at her, eyes glistening, then shook her head.

She remembered her mother's warning. "Don't bring trouble back. Don't burden Her Grace."

So she stayed silent.

But the truth was written all over her face.

Elowen exhaled softly, her tone gentler now.

"You work under my roof," she said. "That makes you one of mine. If something happened, you can tell me. Or do you not think of me that way?"

Nikki shook her head quickly. "No, that's not it!"

The restraint broke. She wiped her face in a rush and blurted it out.

"It was those noble boys at the examination gates. They looked down on us."

Elowen's gaze sharpened. "What did they say?"

Nikki's voice shook, but the words came faster now.

"We got there early, my mother and I, to walk my brother in. We finally made it close to the front. He was wearing the new coat my mother made for him, and we... we dressed as well as we could. But next to us were a few young lords, dressed in fine tailored coats, with attendants behind them. They kept looking at us, whispering."

Tears slipped down her cheeks again.

"One of them said the cloth we wore wouldn't even pass for servant wear in his household. Another said we smelled like livestock, like we had come straight from the pens. Then they laughed like it was the funniest thing they'd ever heard."

Elowen's expression cooled.

Scarlet's brows drew tight. "That's disgraceful. Clothes and circumstance don't measure a man's learning. For scholars to speak like that... it's beneath them."

Nikki's voice rose, anger cutting through her tears.

"I couldn't stand it. I went right up to them and told them, does a fine coat make you more learned? This is the Imperial Examination Hall, not a merchant's showroom for silks. And I told them, so what if we raise livestock? My mother works honestly to support us and send my brother here. What's shameful about that? If families like ours disappeared, where would they get their food? Would they suddenly know how to fend for themselves?"