Kira met his furious gaze without flinching.
"I do."
Several nobles exchanged knowing looks.
Here it comes.
The desperate explanation.
"But before I answer..." Kira said quietly, her voice carrying far more clearly than anyone expected, "...may I ask one question?"
A ripple of confusion spread through the room.
Even Lord Solis frowned. "You think questions will save you?"
"No."
Her answer came without hesitation.
"I simply wish to understand what happened."
The old duke standing near the doorway leaned slightly toward his wife.
"What is she doing?"
"I've no idea."
Lord Solis let out a cold laugh.
"You may ask one question. It changes nothing."
Kira inclined her head politely.
"Thank you, Father."
She turned away from him.
To everyone's surprise, she didn't look at Julian.
She didn't look at Lyra.
She didn't even acknowledge the dozens of nobles whispering behind them.
Instead, her eyes settled on the bound mercenary standing quietly near the center of the room.
He looked just as confused as everyone else.
His wrists still bore deep red marks where the ropes had been tied, and although Kira had cut his bindings only moments earlier, he hadn't attempted to flee or defend himself. He simply stood there surrounded by guards and nobles who had already decided his guilt.
Kira looked at him for several long moments before speaking.
"What is your name?"
The room fell completely silent.
The mercenary blinked.
"What?"
"Your name."
He stared at her as though she'd spoken another language.
For the first time since entering the room, uncertainty replaced the guarded expression on his face.
No one had asked who he was. Not the guards who dragged him here. Not the nobles staring at him with disgust.
Not Lord Solis. Not even the Crown Prince.
To everyone else...
He was merely a convenient criminal.
A nameless mercenary.
A piece of evidence.
Kira waited patiently.
"You have one, don't you?"
He swallowed.
"...Rowan."
His voice was rough, almost hesitant.
"Rowan Ashford."
The name echoed quietly through the room.
Several nobles looked mildly surprised.
Perhaps they hadn't expected him to have one.
Perhaps they simply hadn't cared enough to wonder.
Kira nodded once.
"Thank you." Something shifted in Rowan's expression.
Only slightly.
The suspicion remained. The confusion remained. But there was something else now.
Recognition. Not of who she was. Of what she had done.
She had reminded everyone in the room that he was a person before he was an accusation.
Kira continued as though nothing unusual had happened.
"Rowan... where were you hired?"
He opened his mouth. "I was escorting—"
"That is enough."
Julian's voice cut cleanly through the room.
The Crown Prince stepped forward, his expression still calm, though the warmth had disappeared from his features.
"I understand Lady Kira wishes to defend herself," he said, addressing the gathered nobles rather than Kira herself, "but surely we aren't expected to rely upon the testimony of a common mercenary caught in these circumstances."
Several noblemen nodded immediately.
"His Highness is correct."
"A criminal would naturally lie."
"What value could his words possibly have?"
Julian offered the crowd a restrained smile before looking back toward Kira.
"This man was discovered alone with you inside a locked room. Whatever explanation he gives now will only be an attempt to escape punishment."
The room settled almost instantly. It was such a reasonable statement.
So logical.
So difficult to argue against.
Every eye shifted toward Kira, waiting for her to object.
Waiting for her to insist Rowan should be allowed to speak.
Instead... She simply lowered her head.
"You're right, Your Highness."
Julian blinked.
The unexpected agreement caught him completely off guard.
"I wouldn't expect anyone to trust the words of a stranger," Kira continued calmly. "Especially under circumstances like these."
A faint murmur spread through the crowd. Several nobles exchanged puzzled glances.
Why had she surrendered so easily? Wasn't she trying to prove her innocence? Even Rowan looked at her in disbelief.
She had asked his name.
Asked where he came from.
Then abandoned the question before hearing the answer.
None of it made sense. Only Kira understood.
She had never expected Rowan's explanation to change anyone's mind.
That wasn't why she'd asked.
While the room remained focused on Julian, Kira's gaze quietly drifted toward the back of the gathering.
Near one of the marble pillars stood an elderly palace official dressed in dark blue ceremonial robes. Unlike the nobles surrounding him, the old man hadn't spoken once since entering the room.
He simply observed.
A leather ledger rested open in one hand while a fine brush moved steadily across the parchment.
Kira watched as he paused. Dipped the brush into fresh ink.
Then carefully wrote another line.
His eyes briefly lifted toward Julian before returning to the page.
Interesting.
He wasn't recording Rowan's interrupted testimony.
He was recording who had interrupted it.
The corner of Kira's lips almost lifted.
Only almost. There were still people in this Empire who paid attention before reaching a conclusion. That was all she needed.
One careful observer was worth more than a hundred loud supporters.
Lord Solis mistook her silence for surrender.
His disappointment deepened.
"So," he said coldly, "you have no defense after all."
Kira slowly turned back toward her father.
"I haven't begun my defense yet."
Those simple words settled over the room like the calm before a storm.
For the first time that evening... Several people stopped assuming the scandal was already over.