By late evening, the palace had stopped pretending the day had been normal.
House Vale was under public investigation. Andrea was alive, which Dean considered generous enough to no longer be his moral concern. Lord and Lady Vale had been removed from the capital under restriction, their accounts frozen, their access revoked, and their name already rotting across every official and unofficial channel connected to Alamina's court.
Inside the Crown Prince's private residence, the wedding had somehow survived its first siege.
Lucas, Mia, and Minerva had left nearly an hour ago, after turning the receiving lounge into a controlled disaster zone of fabric samples, floral options, seating notes, draft palettes, and enough commentary to make three professional planners request written summaries before taking over.
The professionals would handle it from there.
That was what Minerva had said.
