Julian stared at her, clearly unconvinced by her simplified reassurances. However, he understood the parameters of their current environment. He gave a reluctant nod, a small, tight smile touching his lips.
"Alright," Julian murmured. "I will wait for you."
Elara did not look back at him as she walked out of the chambers. She could not afford to. The moment she crossed the threshold into the corridor, the localized warmth in her chest had to be ruthlessly suppressed, locked away behind walls of logic and calculation. She was no longer the girl who drank smuggled tea and allowed a prince to tuck hair behind her ear.
She was the Empress Regent. And His Majesty was waiting.
It took exactly ten minutes and forty-five seconds for Elara to traverse the winding corridors of the inner palace and reach the eastern pavilion of the imperial gardens.
