Chapter 199: A Candidate in Name
Lyria's POV
The hall emptied not long after the results were announced.
It happened gradually at first.
Nobles rose from their seats, their conversations quiet and measured beneath the glow of chandeliers and enchanted sconces. Silk brushed against polished floors. Gloves were adjusted. Courtesies exchanged.
Then, little by little, the hall began to hollow.
The candidates departed alongside their attendants, the sound of their footsteps fading into the vast corridors beyond the chamber doors.
I watched them leave.
Or rather, I watched one of them leave.
Duke Valenridge.
I had attempted to approach him after the proceedings concluded, though "attempted" was perhaps too generous a word for something I had never truly been given the opportunity to do.
The moment the formalities ended, movement overtook the hall entirely.
