"Because dead families do not command press cycles."
The room did not breathe.
Lady Vale stared at him, and for one short, naked second, all the polish vanished. Not because she thought Arion would have her dragged out and executed in some primitive display of royal temper. Alamina was modern. Its palaces had glass walls, biometric locks, encrypted archives, financial oversight, legal committees, human rights councils, and enough international cameras pointed at the royal family to make old-fashioned bloodshed inconvenient.
No.
She understood exactly what Arion meant.
A dead family did not need bodies in graves.
A noble house could die on paper.
Access revoked. Accounts frozen. Trust networks severed.
Titles reviewed. Boards abandoned.
Invitations retracted before ink dried.
