Awakening Love: Reborn to Be His Duchess Chapter 556: Setting the Board

Elowen recognized the crest immediately.

A servant hurried to set the step in place, and Kaelan stepped down, his expression tight.

She had expected him to come, just not this fast.

"Your Grace."

He walked straight up and stopped a few steps away. "Is Josh back? Is he safe?"

Elowen nodded calmly. "He's fine. You didn't need to worry."

Marissa tensed instantly. "Why are you asking about my son like that? Did something happen?"

Kaelan turned to her at once, offering a respectful bow. "You must be his mother. Earlier today, the Crown Prince hosted a banquet at the Crown Prince's Wing for the newly admitted scholars. Your son was summoned as well."

Marissa frowned, confused. "But he didn't pass. Why would they call him?"

Kaelan hesitated. He couldn't say the truth.

That Josh had been used as leverage. That would only make things worse.

Elowen stepped in smoothly. "There's nothing to worry about. Josh and Nikki are both here. You can relax. For now, your family should stay here with us."

Marissa's eyes reddened. "We already owe you so much... He didn't pass. He let you down, and his father..."

Elowen shook her head gently. "Let me ask you something. Do you think his writing is actually poor?"

Marissa sighed. "I wouldn't know. I've never understood that kind of thing. I just know he studies constantly. But if he failed... then it must not have been good enough."

"No," Kaelan cut in, unable to hold back. "That's not true. He's better than I am."

Elowen added, "This is Kaelan, Lady Aveline's son. He studied under Edmund as well, same as Josh, and he took the court qualification trials this year."

Marissa quickly inclined her head in greeting.

Kaelan thought for a moment, then turned back to Elowen. "I passed by the Imperial Examination Hall on my way here. There are still people gathered outside. A lot of them. The ones who didn't make it aren't leaving, and they're talking."

He paused.

"They're saying the results don't add up. Especially the Baker family. Those two made the top ranks somehow. People aren't buying it."

He glanced at her, hesitant. "As for you..."

Elowen smiled faintly. "I'll handle it. You should head back."

Kaelan understood. He bowed and returned to his carriage.

Once he left and Marissa's family had been settled, Elowen called Anson over.

"Go find Finn," she said. "Bookshops are where news spreads fastest. Scholars, travelers, people from everywhere. Have him start something."

Her tone sharpened.

"Nothing obvious. Just enough to make people question things. Say the results look off this year. Talented men didn't make it, while noble sons rose to the top. Suggest there might be something behind it."

She met his eyes. "Make sure it spreads. The right people need to hear it."

Anson nodded immediately. "Understood."

In her previous life, she had overheard members of the Baker family speaking with Alaric.

They had wanted help.

Their sons were taking the exams, but their writing wasn't strong. They had hoped he could "do something."

Even back then, Elowen had found it absurd.

You don't fix weak writing overnight. And you definitely don't fix it two days before an exam.

At the end of the day, there was only one real explanation. Someone had pulled strings, leveraging authority to tamper with the royal examinations.

And it wasn't as if Elowen was guessing blindly. She knew the Baker sons. She had seen them herself. None of them had any real discipline for study, and whatever they did write barely held together. Most of their days were wasted in idle развлечments, drinking, chasing pleasure, and treating life like a game they had already won.

Yet somehow, when the results were posted, every one of them had passed.

In her previous life, Elowen had been too consumed by her own struggles to look into it further, let alone challenge it.

But things were different now.

She was the Lady of the First Rank, the Duchess of Duskmoor. She had both the standing and the obligation to step in.

And more than that, she intended to use this.

What had happened at the Crown Prince's Wing, the way Alaric had overstepped his place, the pressure he had forced onto his own aunt by marriage, the irregularities in the examinations, and whatever else lay beneath the surface, none of it existed in isolation.

They're all connected. Whether he realizes it or not.

Each piece on its own might be dismissed.

But together, they formed something far more dangerous.

What started as scattered threads was already pulling together, closing in without leaving him any real room to maneuver.

There wouldn't be a clever excuse this time, no easy way to sidestep the consequences.

Sooner or later, every path would lead him straight into it.

...

The following morning, before first light, the great hall of state stood filled wall to wall with assembled officials, their voices low and expectant as the court prepared to begin.

Piers stepped forward, ceremonial tablet in hand, his posture straight and his voice carrying cleanly through the chamber as he formally brought his accusations against Alaric.

He laid everything out in full.

The Crown Prince's overreach in summoning newly admitted scholars without sanction. The undue pressure placed upon the Duchess of Duskmoor, a Lady of the First Rank, to the point of endangering her condition.

By the time he finished, the hall had erupted into a wave of hushed but unmistakable uproar.

At the head of the chamber, Theodric remained still, his expression set, offering no immediate response as his gaze drifted downward and briefly settled on Alaric.

For a fleeting moment, Alaric froze.

Then he steadied himself.

This was not unexpected.

He had already prepared for this outcome.

I didn't come back just to lose again.