The bright morning light coming through the large windows of my room wasn’t warm.
It felt cold and sharp, shining down on the open finance books on my desk like a spotlight on a crime scene.
Chancellor Malakai thought he was clever.
He truly believed that if he hid his fake numbers deep inside the old, messy pages of the royal treasury reports, a spoiled young Queen wouldn’t notice.
But back in my old world, I was trained to find stolen money and fix failing companies.
To me, his attempts to hide his spending practically screamed that he was a thief.
For three hours before the sun even came up, I sat alone, tracking exactly where the gold was going.
Millions of coins had been sent to a vague fund called “Border Defense and Soldier Care.” But according to the actual army records I checked earlier, those soldiers hadn’t received new weapons or food in over six months.
Malakai wasn’t just messing with the numbers; he was stealing a massive amount of the kingdom’s tax money and putting it straight into the private bank accounts of his noble friends.
“A basic stealing scheme,” I whispered to myself, dipping my pen into dark purple ink and drawing a harsh line right through a fake row of numbers.
“In my world, this would get a business director taken out of the building in handcuffs by the police.
In this world, I just have to fire him permanently.”
A loud, steady knock sounded at the heavy wooden doors of my bedroom, breaking the silence.
“Come in,” I called out, not looking up from the papers.
The heavy doors swung open, and Kaelen’s tall silhouette stepped into the room.
He wore his full uniform, his leather armor polished clean, and his large sword strapped to his hip.
But the moment he walked into the room, the air became heavy and hard to breathe.
He didn’t say good morning.
He simply closed the doors behind him and stood perfectly still, his hands locked behind his back, his golden eyes staring at the wall just above my head.
He was trying so hard to act like a nameless, emotionless shadow—much harder than he had yesterday.
I set my pen down and leaned back in my soft chair, watching him closely.
My past training taught me to read small body movements like a map, and right now, Kaelen was incredibly tense.
His jaw was clenched so hard his skin looked tight, and his breathing was slow and forced.
More importantly, as he walked closer to stand by my desk, a faint scent cut through the sweet smell of my room’s jasmine oils.
It was the sharp smell of cold night air, mixed with the smell of wet dirt and crushed garden leaves.
“You’re very early this morning, Sir Kaelen,” I said smoothly, resting my chin on my hands, keeping my voice calm.
“Though, you look very tired.
Did you find trouble during your night watch?”
Kaelen’s golden eyes looked down, locking onto mine for a split second before moving back to the wall.
“The palace grounds were very busy last night, Your Majesty.
I walked extra rounds to make sure no enemies sneaked in after your trip to the slums.”
“Is that so?” I leaned forward, my eyes narrowing with amusement.
“Extra rounds in the old, broken gardens down south?
I didn’t realize the dirt there was so dangerous that it would leave its smell all over your clothes.
You must be very dedicated to crawl through the mud for me in the middle of the night.”
A tiny shiver ran through Kaelen’s broad shoulders.
His fingers, locked behind his back, tightened into fists so hard his leather gloves made a loud cracking sound.
He looked deeply stressed by how closely I was paying attention to him, but his control was like a stone wall.
“I will do whatever it takes to keep you safe, Your Majesty,” he replied, his voice dropping into a rough, deep tone that sounded less like a proper guard.
“Good,” I said, standing up and smoothing down my dress.
Today, I chose a dress that looked like a piece of sharp, regal armor.
It was a dark blue velvet gown with sharp, stiff shoulders and a high collar.
It wasn’t made for comfort; it was made to show absolute power.
“Let’s go see how our dear Chancellor handles a Queen who refuses to be fooled.
The council is waiting.”
The grand council room was built to show off noble pride.
A massive, round table made from expensive red wood sat under a high ceiling painted with pictures of past kings winning wars.
When I walked into the room, the quiet, worried whispers of the gathered lords instantly stopped.
The silence was deafening.
Beside him sat Duke Cedric and several other wealthy nobles, all of them staring at me like a pack of wolves waiting for a weak animal to fall.
I walked straight to the head of the table, my shoes clicking sharply against the shiny stone floor.
Kaelen followed right behind me, taking his place directly behind my throne—a giant wall of leather and steel that immediately made the younger lords look nervous.
I didn’t sit down.
I stayed standing, looking down at everyone at the table.
“Your Majesty,” Chancellor Malakai began, standing up and giving a small, fake bow.
“Before we start our regular meetings, the council has a very urgent money problem that needs your signature right away.
Because you ordered us to cut back on luxury spending and lower the grain tax for the poor yesterday, the royal treasury is completely out of money.”
Malakai pointed to an accountant, who quickly slid a thick book of numbers toward my side of the table.
“The numbers show that if we do not immediately raise the taxes on the poor people again,” Malakai continued, his voice sounding fake-sad, “the kingdom will be completely broke before winter ends.
Your charity in the slums was kind, but it has ruined our money.
We cannot pay the palace guards, fix the city, or defend the walls without that tax money.”
Duke Cedric nodded along with an ugly smile.
“The poor people must know their place, Your Majesty.
A kingdom cannot run on nice feelings and free food.
You have created a massive problem.”
I didn’t even look at the book they passed to me.
Instead, I lifted the heavy book I had brought from my room and slammed it down right in the middle of the red wood table with a loud BANG.
The force made the ink bottles shake and caused Malakai to jump in his seat.
“A massive problem, Duke Cedric?” I asked, a cold smile on my face as I finally sat down, leaning back into the throne like a boss about to fire an entire team.
“I find it interesting that the council cares so much about a sudden money problem, but you are completely blind to the massive amount of stealing happening right in front of you.”
I reached out and flipped the book open to the pages I had marked with purple ink.
“Yesterday, I didn’t just cut the luxury spending.
I did a complete check on the mid-year money reports,” I stated, my voice sounding loud and clear.
“And what I found is a huge crime.
It is treason.”
Malakai’s face instantly turned pale, his confidence vanishing like a blown-out candle.
“Chancellor Malakai,” I said, staring directly at his sweating forehead.
“According to these official books, three million gold coins were sent to the eastern border soldiers over the last six months.
Yet, the shipping records show that not a single box of iron, wood, or food has actually left the capital houses.
Can you tell me where that gold is right now?”
“Your Majesty!” Malakai stuttered, his voice cracking as he tried to find an excuse.
“Those are…
secret army moves!
The gold is being kept in secret places so it remains safe—”
“That money is sitting in the private bank accounts of the northern lords,” I interrupted him, my voice cutting through his lies.
“Specifically, accounts owned by your cousins, your brother-in-law, and yourself.
You aren’t out of money because I lowered the taxes for the poor, Malakai.
You are out of money because I stopped you from stealing.”
The room went wild with gasps and terrified whispers.
Duke Cedric stood up so fast his chair screeched against the floor.
“This is crazy!
You cannot accuse the head of the council of stealing based on random guesses!
We are the leaders of this court!”
“You are a bunch of thieves,” I snapped, slamming my hand on the table.
My voice was so loud it instantly silenced the room.
Starting right now, that fake army fund is gone.
All the stolen money is being frozen and moved directly to fix the city and pay for the free food kitchens permanently.”
I looked at Malakai, whose hands were visibly shaking.
“Also, the royal pay for every single lord at this table is being cut by seventy percent to pay back what you stole.
If any of you have a problem with this, you are welcome to leave your seats, give up your lands, and go to jail for treason.
This meeting is over.”
Malakai sank back into his chair, breathing hard, his face completely white.
The rest of the nobles sat frozen, completely defeated by a level of smart, ruthless logic they had never seen before.
They expected a weak, emotional girl; instead, they had trapped themselves with a monster.
I turned and walked out of the council room, my heart beating fast with the amazing rush of total victory.
Kaelen followed me silently, his heavy footsteps echoing behind me as we walked down the quiet hallways toward a balcony that looked over the inner courtyard.
The moment we reached the empty hallway, away from the eyes of servants and nobles, the excitement from the meeting faded, leaving a dangerous, electric tension in the air.
I stopped suddenly, turning around to face him.
“Well?” I asked, tilting my head up to look into his dark eyes.
“You were very quiet during my little fight out there, Sir Kaelen.
Did you enjoy the show, or were you too busy worrying if my actions would make the lords desperate?”
Kaelen didn’t answer right away.
He took a single, slow step forward, closing the distance between us until his massive body completely blocked out the morning light from the windows.
His guard mask was completely gone now, replaced by a deep, protective intensity.
His golden eyes looked wild, dark, and filled with a scary mix of worry and deep obsession.
“You are playing a very dangerous game, Evangeline,” he growled, his deep voice dropping into a low whisper.
For the first time, he didn’t call me Queen.
“You think you can just check the books, rewrite the rules, and force everyone to play by your numbers?
You just trapped a dangerous animal today.
Malakai won’t just accept this.
He will try to kill you.”
“Let him try,” I replied, my breath catching slightly as I forced myself to stand perfectly still, refusing to back away even though his chest was almost touching mine.
“That is why I have you, isn’t it?
To stop the blades in the dark?”
Kaelen let out a low, rough sound that was half a laugh and half a growl.
He stepped even closer, pinning me against the cold stone wall of the hallway.
The smell of rain and wet dirt came off him in waves.
He looked terrified for my safety, his hands trembling slightly as if he wanted to reach out and pull me away from the entire court.
“I will protect you with my life, Evangeline,” he whispered, his face only inches from mine, his golden eyes flashing with raw emotion.
“But you must be careful.
The people closest to you are the ones who worry the most about how reckless you are being.”
The air between us felt hot, like a bomb about to go off.
I could see how deeply my dangerous choices were affecting him.
He was entirely focused on keeping me alive in a palace full of killers, and it was driving him crazy with worry.
“Then I suggest you stay close, Kaelen,” I whispered back, looking right into his golden eyes without any fear.
“Because I don’t plan on stopping.”
For a long, painful moment, neither of us moved.
Kaelen’s eyes looked down at my lips, his chest moving up and down as he fought to control his racing heart.
Then, with a sharp breath, he suddenly stepped back, acting like a cold, emotionless guard again as if nothing had happened.
“The afternoon watch is getting ready, Your Majesty,” he said, his voice completely flat again.
“I will be waiting outside your doors.”
He turned around and marched down the hallway, leaving me standing alone in the quiet corridor, my skin tingling and my heart racing.
Kaelen was completely devoted to protecting me, but the danger around us was growing and I was ready to face it.