“Before you talk about teaching other people a lesson, you should be berated for skipping moral lessons when teaching your son, Your Highness,” Asher finally spoke, his voice tinged with sarcasm and irritation.Finally, Morgana was feeling her chest again as it soared with pride.The Crown Consort was done barking. It was time for the king of the jungle to tame the loud fool.The ruler’s lips pressed together. He was just going to watch and let Asher teach his unruly wife a lesson.“Wow,” the Crown Consort scoffed incredulously. “Look at that—the king's lapdog talking back to a royal consort. I wouldn’t believe a day like this would come.”“Lapdog?” Morgana couldn’t hold back, even though she didn’t have Asher’s permission to speak.The Crown Consort’s eyes narrowed at Morgana, who dared to speak to her.The ministers watched as the two women exchanged words. It was obvious that neither was ready to give in to the other.“People like you can only wish to be in the general’s position a

Now, at this point, the Ruler couldn’t just keep mute while watching everything going on. So, when the Crown Consort gave that command, his next move was to stop this strange battalion. He had no prior notice about the battalion that the Crown Consort dared to bring into the palace, and now it was time to act. He had been frozen in shock all this while. But the Crown Consort had gone overboard.Just when he was about to say something—perhaps to stop them—the head of the battalion and two other men already made swift movements. But the shocking part was, they didn’t do what he was expecting. He expected them to attack Asher as the crown consort had commanded.But instead, what they did was this: the head of the battalion and two other soldiers rushed forward and climbed the steps, straight toward where the Crown Consort was standing with Crown Prince Rian. They pointed their spears at the Crown Consort and the Crown Prince.The Crown Consort’s eyes widened in disbelief. Even Ryan—despi

The courtyard had fallen into silence, chaotic moments fading into a charged stillness. Vaela had just finished speaking, his voice swallowed by the tension in the air. Vaela’s words still lingered like smoke, and then, from her quiet vantage point, Queen Ladin suddenly turned to look at Alexia as if a thought just struck her. A smuggish grin played across her lips. “Alexia,” she called, drawing out her name with a teasing lilt. “Can I ask you a question?” she added with a squishy, almost mischievous expression.Alexia recognized that look instantly. The Queen wasn’t being serious—something amusing had clearly come to her mind. She just wanted to tease. Alexia straightened and responded dutifully, “Yes, my lady.”Queen Ladin’s eyes gleamed with curiosity. “Let’s say, for instance… Since you said all military personnel would obey Asher no matter their rank or identity—as long as they are tied to the military, they must listen to him, correct?” She paused, then tilted her head and smil

Asher realized what it was just a second too late. An arrow had flown past the side of his eye, grazing the side of his left ear before slamming into the far wall with a sharp thud. Morgana’s voice rang out at the same moment, urgent and raw. “General, look out!” Before the echo of her voice could fade, she was already rushing to his side. His expression was unreadable, but there was a single beat of his heart hammering against his chest that told her all she needed to know. The look on his face was grim, his brows furrowed as he raised his hand to the side of his face, his fingers brushing against the warm trickle of blood trailing from the graze. He turned to the window with narrowed eyes, scanning the expanse of sky and land that stretched out beyond the Blackmoor Estate. Sparse fumes of smoke lingered in the distance — a vague haze, but no figure, no shadow, no archer. Whoever had loosed the arrow had vanished without a trace. Morgana’s voice was sharp, slicing through the silence

“Joker!” Morgana’s voice sparked out in raw anger the moment the physician said they wouldn’t be selling the herb. She stepped forward, her voice rising again. “They are all a bunch of jokers! Jokers! They’re not going to sell the herb to the General?” She laughed, but there was no humour in it. “I’ll burn the whole Drakemont if they refuse to!” she shouted. “I’ll kill them all! I don’t care!” The heat in the room shifted instantly. The physician stood still, lips parting slightly in alarm. The elderly woman beside him slowly lowered the towel still clenched in her hand. But Morgana wasn’t even looking at them. Her eyes blazed with something wilder. Angrier. The air around her seemed to hum with heat. But to Asher, this wasn’t anything new. He sat silently on the bed, eyes steady despite the burning sensation crawling through his skin from the wound. He knew Morgana. He knew that she didn’t joke—not when it concerned him. And now, this did more than just concern him. It threatened his