"Count Crown," said Lord Vasily, falling to his knees and beginning to weep.

  Angelica was stunned by this declaration—it was clearly not what she had prepared for while cooperating with Lord Nikolai. She knew, of course, that her Duke had a plan to overthrow Count Crown, but she didn't know the details. All she had done was send letters about her actions to Viscount Mol, for him to relay to her father. But she hadn't thought that even Lord Vladimir himself would cooperate so closely with the Duke. Truth be told, Angelica had even feared that Viscount Mol might betray them to avenge his wife and daughter—that would have been the most likely course of action on his part. But apparently that Alena had affected him in some very strange way. She looked like an ordinary girl, just with slightly greenish skin, and there were many such people throughout the duchy, although Lord Nikolai called her a "dryad," whatever that meant.

  Meanwhile, the ball had grown noisy. The nobles began a heated discussion, debating whether Viscount Mol could be lying or not. Only the Dukes, including Lord Nikolai, remained silent. The girl looked in his direction and was again surprised by the peculiar sight: Lady Vanessa was holding her Duke by the shoulder, as if encouraging him. Of course, one might assume she was preventing him from fleeing, but despite her height, the elder princess still looked very fragile, even in that peculiar dress. So even with his not particularly athletic build, the Duke of Wood could easily free himself from her restraining hand. Yet he still remained on one knee with his head bowed, showing no emotion. Angelica saw no signs on his face of agitation, anxiety, or even curiosity. He hadn't even raised his head to see what was happening with Viscount Mol, although the girl suspected that, at this moment, everything was going according to her Duke's plan.

  "Silence!" shouted His Majesty Idivig, forcing the chattering nobility to quiet down. Apparently the King planned to continue questioning Lord Vasily. Then the girl shifted her gaze to her father and saw how the old man, for the first time in the long while Angelica had known him, had turned pale. He too had clearly not expected such a statement from his chief assistant, but for now he did not challenge the interrogation. "Lord Vasily, are you saying this because you fear your Duke, or because it is the truth?"

  "I say this because I fear the Duke of Wood, Your Highness. But I fear betraying my loyalty by attempting to participate in a conspiracy against him, Your Majesty," the man replied, his voice already somewhat steadier and calmer, after the tears had stopped flowing from his eyes. But as Angelica could hear, he was still trembling and experiencing terror. She wondered what the Duke of Wood could have done to frighten him so much that he still trembled with fear at his mention. Yes, Angelica knew that maid girl had killed his family, but why was he still afraid of *her*? What had she done? Of course, Lord Nikolai had called her a "dryad," but Angelica still didn't understand what such a seemingly fragile girl could have done to Lord Vasily, or how she could kill anyone at all.

  "Do you fear Count Crown?" the King of Crow asked a new question.

  "No, Your Highness."

  "Did Count Crown threaten you, Lord Vasily?"

  "Yes, Your Highness."

  "And Lord Nikolai?"

  "No, Your Highness."

  "Thank you for your answers, Viscount Mol. You may rise," said His Highness. Angelica noticed that the King, for the first time that evening, looked somewhat concerned. Perhaps he sensed that Viscount Mol had lied about something and was now pondering where that lie lay. "Lady Angelica, I ask that you also answer my questions."

  "Yes, Your Highness," the girl replied, somewhat surprised that the interrogation had shifted to her so quickly. She mentally exhaled, preparing to deliver the speech she and the Duke had prepared together. For some reason, Lord Nikolai had known she would be questioned, although Angelica herself hadn't been sure. After all, she still had an elder sister, Anastasia, whom she hadn't yet seen at this banquet. Although the Duke of Storm, Lord Ryo, was already at the ball, meaning the delegation from his duchy should have arrived as well. But Count Wolf, Lord Isao, was nowhere to be seen. Perhaps he was delayed with his son, and that's why her sister hadn't come either?

  "Then let us proceed to the first of them, with your permission. Did you know that your father murdered Lord Vasily's wife and child?" His Majesty asked his first question.

  "Forgive me, Your Highness, before I answer your question, I must make a small correction, if you don't mind, of course," Angelica said, her voice as even and calm as possible, despite all the nervousness she was feeling. Moreover, the gazes of the entire nobility of the kingdom were now fixed on her, making the girl even more nervous, although she thought she wasn't showing any signs of trembling.

  "As you wish, Lady Angelica," His Majesty permitted.

  "Thank you, Your Highness. My father is Lord Yaroslav, the second son of the late Lord Gregory, former Duke of Wood," Angelica said. At this, Lord Pyotr could no longer contain himself, his face flushing red with anger.

  "What..." the Count began to interrupt his daughter, raising his hand as if to strike her, clearly unable to withstand the torrent of emotions that had befallen him.

  "SILENCE!" the King of Crow suddenly roared at the top of his lungs. His mighty voice alone stopped Lord Pyotr, causing his hand to freeze in mid-air, while Angelica merely squeezed her eyes shut, expecting a slap from her father. "Count Crown, one more interruption of my questions, and I will consider you guilty without further trial or investigation. You are in the presence of the King! Therefore, behave as befits a nobleman of our glorious Kingdom of Crow. And yes, lower your hand. I will not allow any fights to occur at our ball! This is not the place to settle family matters!"

  "Yes, Your Highness," Lord Pyotr said through clenched teeth, trying to hide the rage emanating from him.

  "Then I shall continue my questioning," said His Highness, looking at Count Crown with a slight hint of disdain. "Is this correction truthful, Lady Angelica?"

  "Absolutely, Your Highness," the girl answered the King, trying to ignore her father's gaze, which was full of hatred and bewilderment.

  "Can you confirm that you are the daughter of the late Lord Yaroslav, son of Lord Gregory, the former Duke of Wood?" the King asked, looking at the girl intently.

  "Yes," Lord Vasily answered for Angelica. At this, His Majesty Idivig raised an eyebrow in surprise, although the girl had anticipated this. As she saw it, the key figure in this plan was precisely Viscount Mol, who had all the evidence of the crimes committed by the noblewoman's "father."

  "Viscount Mol, I asked this question of Lady Angelica. Since you answered for her, you must have substantial evidence; otherwise, you too will be guilty of giving false testimony," said the King of Crow in a tone that made the atmosphere in the hall tense up again.

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  "Yes, Your Highness, I fully understand," the man said quietly, answering more to himself than to the King, maintaining his pitiful and tear-stained appearance. "I was the one who arranged with His Grace, the late Duke of Wood, Lord Gregory, to hush up that shameful matter—the infidelity of Lady Victoria with Lord Yaroslav. But when it came to light that Lady Victoria was pregnant, the Duke of Wood decided to execute his son, so that Lady Victoria's child would bear the surname Crown and could not lay claim to the ducal title. In truth, Count Crown wanted to use this to ask you, Your Highness, to appoint his daughter as Duchess of Wood, and install him as her regent. To prove my words, I have brought a paper with the signature for the execution of Lord Yaroslav, as well as letters containing the correspondence between the late Duke of Wood and Count Crown."

  The Viscount pulled several letters from his waistcoat pocket and held them out. Angelica watched as the King approached, then took them from Lord Vasily's hands, beginning to familiarize himself with their contents.

  "I see," His Majesty said quietly after reading them. Then he spoke louder so that as many people as possible could hear him, although, as the girl thought, everyone was already focused on listening to their King. "Then let us return to my first question, to Lady Angelica, which she still has not deigned to answer."

  "To which question, Your Majesty?" the girl said, slightly stunned, beginning to get a little nervous. She felt the pressure exerted by all the nobles gazing at her small figure.

  "Don't be so nervous, Lady Angelica. No one is judging you now," His Majesty smiled softly, clearly trying to win over the flustered noblewoman. "The question was: did you know that your stepfather, since he acknowledged you as his daughter, and for clarification of your further status, you are no longer a bastard, murdered Lord Vasily's wife and child?"

  "I did not know," Angelica answered honestly, recalling her Duke's words that she should not lie during this interrogation.

  "And did you know that the Duke of Wood was in any way involved in the death of Viscount Mol's wife and daughter?" the King of Crow asked his next question. Angelica again felt pressure, but this time not from His Majesty, but from the Duke, who was kneeling with his head bowed, awaiting his fate. He cast only one glance at the girl when she looked at him, and then the noblewoman understood what she needed to say without any further hints from Lord Nikolai.

  "I did not know," the girl lied for the first time during the interrogation, trying to answer exactly as she had before.

  "Thank you, Lady Angelica," said His Majesty Idivig, apparently leaving the girl alone, shifting his gaze to her stepfather. "Now, Count Crown, please answer a couple of my questions."

  "As you wish, Your Majesty," the portly man said in his old, creaky voice, but he did so quite quietly, apparently displeased that many of his plans were beginning to crumble.

  "Then let me start with a simple one: were you involved in the death of Viscount Mol's wife and daughter?" the King of Crow again asked a repeated question.

  "What nonsense..." Count Crown began to exclaim.

  "Answer me, do not engage in a squabble with me, Count Crown," His Majesty Idivig interrupted Lord Pyotr.

  "Of course not!" the old man exclaimed at the top of his voice, trying to attract as much attention as possible. "These are false accusations!"

  "Thank you, Count Crown. I have no further questions for you," His Majesty suddenly ended his interrogation. Angelica hadn't even expected the King to ask her stepfather only one question. But now she saw his gaze shift towards Lord Nikolai, and he slowly walked towards the seated young man.

  "You may rise, Duke of Wood," the man said. Lord Nikolai stood, raising his gaze and looking His Majesty directly in the eyes. Lady Vanessa's hand did not leave the Duke's shoulder, as if she were still guarding him. "Were you involved in the murder of Viscount Mol's wife and daughter?"

  "No," the Duke answered almost instantly. The girl saw how his gaze, looking the King straight in the eyes, did not waver; how not a single intonation in his voice trembled. It was a steely "no," completely confident in itself, although the girl knew it was a lie. She was amazed at how confidently her Duke had stated it.

  "Thank you for your answer, Lord Nikolai," the King of Crow said somewhat wearily, as if after this brief exchange of glances he was more tired than from all the questions he had asked. Then he let his gaze sweep over all the others he had questioned, as if drawing some conclusions. "Overall, it is becoming clear to me what is happening here. One of the Counts decided he could reach for the ducal title, weaving his dirty intrigues against him. I suppose I should punish those who have become arrogant and forgotten for whom and what they serve, as a lesson to others. Lord Pyotr, I strip you of the title of Count Crown. I also strip you of all noble privileges, and for your treason, you shall serve in the Duchy of Storm for ten years. Furthermore, I grant Lady Angelica the title of Countess Crown, thereby recognizing the former Lord Pyotr as Lady Angelica's stepfather, a lawful bastard of the Crown family, not the Wood family, thus preventing Lady Angelica from laying claim to the ducal title, unless the Duke of Wood himself wishes to appoint Lady Angelica as his successor."

  "Your Highness!" cried a young man in a red tailcoat, with hair as red as blood, stepping forward slightly. The newly made Countess grimaced slightly, recognizing Lord Arkell, the second son of Lord Ackerly, Count Hart. "What about the decisions made by the former Count Crown, including the betrothals?"

  "Let Countess Crown deal with that, young Lord Arkell," the King of Crow smiled softly for the first time in this long turmoil. Apparently, the young man wanted to say something else, but a hand placed on his shoulder stopped him from further questioning.

  In this elderly man who had gently stopped the young man, Angelica recognized Count Hart, who also had bright red hair, just like his son, but with streaks of gray already showing. Unlike his child, he was dressed in an ordinary, classic black tailcoat. He merely nodded to the girl when she looked in his direction and whispered something in his son's ear. The young man paled slightly but decided to disappear into the crowd with his father.

  "You betrayed me, Vasily!" the former Count Crown shouted at that moment, as the guards began to approach him, directing his words at the Viscount.

  "No, Lord Pyotr, it was you who betrayed our Duke, succumbing to your fleeting desires, for which your subjects will now have to pay," Lord Vasily replied in a calm but weak voice, without any emotion. It was evident that this ball had exhausted the man too much, in addition to the hardships awaiting him at home, which he had already endured.

  "This is all you! You put my Viscount up to betraying me!" Pyotr shouted again and lunged towards the Duke of Wood, who was standing near Princess Vanessa, who seemed to be acting as the Duke's overseer.

  But the portly man hadn't even covered half the distance when a tall, curly-haired, black-haired man stepped out to meet him, blocking the path of the former Count like a wall.

  "Out of my way!" merely cried the one she had once called father. But now Angelica felt no emotion towards this man, not even a sense of relief, as she watched the fat man slowly move towards the man standing still.

  Angelica recognized the person Pyotr was approaching—it was Lord Gabriel, Count Hollow, the protector of Lady Vanessa, Princess of Crow. The girl didn't know what her stepfather was trying to achieve, but as soon as he got close enough to Count Hollow, the latter, with one swift motion, beheaded the portly old man's body. This caused even Angelica herself to let out a cry of horror at the sight of the former Count Crown's body taking a few steps without its head before falling to the banquet hall floor. Naturally, she wasn't the only one to emit such an indecent cry; other noble ladies in the hall did as well. To her surprise, she noticed that one tall girl in a man's tailcoat, with white hair tied in a neat ponytail, didn't make a sound. On the contrary, she watched the scene with a bored expression. Glancing around quickly, Angelica realized that none of the Dukes showed any reaction to this death either. Only the Barons and their relatives looked somewhat disconcerted. Both princesses were also slightly shocked. The girl noticed how Lady Carolina covered her mouth with her hands to keep from screaming, while Lady Vanessa no longer held the Duke of Wood by the shoulder but leaned on him herself.

  "Thank you, Count Hollow. Your sword is as sharp as ever," said His Majesty Idivig. Lord Gabriel merely bowed in response, not uttering a single sound, and then withdrew, trying to melt into the crowd. However, he didn't succeed, as most of the nobles were shying away from the cold-blooded killer, perhaps thinking they might be next.

  Angelica, watching all this, noticed the grand doors of the banquet hall open, and a dark-skinned man stepped forward, dressed in some white cloths that enveloped his entire body.

  "Professor Munib from the Free City of Starhorod!" the herald announced the name of the man who had entered the hall.