“My fault?!”
Selena turned sharply, eyes burning with anger.
The entire hall followed her gaze—landing on Ella, who stood calmly, a faint smile still lingering on her face.
“Are you sure you’re not the one disrupting this ritual?” Selena snapped.
“We’ve held this ceremony for years and everything was fine. But ever since you entered this kingdom, nothing but problems have followed!”
Ella’s expression hardened.
“And how is that my fault? Do you think I wanted to be here in the first place? I was brought here against my will!”
Selena let out a cold laugh.
“And that’s because you were rejected by your own people. Why else would your father send you so far away?”
A wave of laughter spread through the noble ladies.
“So the king picked up a crying stray from the forest and brought her home.”
“Poor little thing.”
“And she thinks the king actually married her?”
“No wonder she looks like this. The king would never waste gold on her.”
The mocking voices stacked over one another, sharper and louder.
Nora stepped forward quickly, gently holding Ella’s arm, putting on a sympathetic expression.
“You shouldn’t speak to someone the king brought back like that,” she said softly.
“What if His Majesty hears? We should still respect that she was brought here by the king.”
“Brought, you say?” one lady scoffed.
The others burst into laughter again.
“Are you sure she doesn’t have some hidden powers and is just pretending to cause trouble during the ritual?”
“Has she even seen a ritual before?”
“I doubt this is even her first day in a noble setting.”
More laughter followed, colder this time.
Ella stood alone in the middle of it all.
No one defended her.
No one questioned the accusations.
Even Nora’s “support” felt hollow now—carefully placed, like a mask meant for appearance only.
This wasn’t just blame.
It was a trap.
“Is it true you are the one disrupting the ritual?” one of the noble daughters asked sharply.
Ella opened her mouth to respond—
But Selena cut in first.
“She may not have powers,” Selena said smoothly, “but she carries a bad spirit. Everywhere she goes, trouble follows.”
Gasps and murmurs spread through the hall.
“We will not punish you here,” the daughter-in-law said sharply, her voice rising as she stepped forward.
“But this matter will be taken before His Majesty for judgment. If you’ve harmed my daughter in any way… you will be the first to pay.”
At her signal, guards stepped forward.
Before Ella could react, they seized her arms.
She froze.
“This was planned…” she thought, shock settling in.
It felt too prepared, too clean.
As if they had already decided her fate long before this moment.
Selena.
This was definitely Selena’s doing.
Or maybe even more than her.
Ella was dragged through the palace corridors, her heart pounding harder with every step.
When they reached the throne room, everything became clear.
Elders stood arranged on both sides.
Nobles filled the hall.
The king sat on his throne—silent, watching.
As if waiting.
They expected me.
That realization made her stomach tighten.
Something had already happened… something she wasn’t present for.
And now she was the chosen blame.
She was forced down to her knees before the throne.
A maid stepped forward holding a broken golden artifact on a tray.
Ella frowned.
“I don’t even know what that is…” she thought.
The maid knelt immediately, trembling.
“Your Highness… this is the evidence,” Collins, the guard who escorted her, said, stepping back.
The king’s gaze remained cold.
“Evidence of what?”
The maid swallowed hard.
“I… I was present when Lady Ella entered the library. She saw the Queen’s Arch… she touched it, and it slipped from her hands and broke.”
Ella’s breath caught.
Queen’s Arch?
The late Queen’s Arch?
The King’s mother?
Her chest tightened instantly.
This is bad.
Really bad.
“I didn’t touch it,” Ella said quickly in her mind, panic rising.
“I only saw it from a distance… I never went near it.”
But no one was interested in her truth.
Another maid stepped forward.
“Your Highness,” she said, bowing low.
“She also disrupted the spring ritual and caused injury to a noble lady.”
Ella let out a sharp breath, disbelief turning into frustration.
“And how is that my fault?” she snapped.
“You fail your own ritual and blame it on a powerless girl? That’s absurd!”
“You may be powerless,” another voice said coldly, “but you carry misfortune wherever you go.”
She turned to the king.
“My Lord, she should be eliminated before this bad omen spreads further.”
“Enough.”
The king’s voice exploded through the hall.
Silence fell instantly.
His aura shifted—heavy, suffocating.
His eyes darkened with restrained rage as they locked onto Ella.
No one dared speak again.
The knight moved.
In a blink, he was in front of her.
Ella’s breath hitched.
So fast…
Before she could react, his hand wrapped around her neck.
Air vanished instantly.
Her hands grabbed his wrist instinctively, panic flooding her system as her vision blurred.
I can’t breathe—
Just as suddenly, he released her.
She collapsed forward, coughing violently, gasping for air like she had been pulled back from death itself.
The king turned away.
“Lock her up,” he ordered coldly.
No hesitation.
No further judgment.
Just disposal.
Guards dragged her away.
Behind her, she caught a glimpse of Selena’s smile—quiet, satisfied.
Like everything had gone exactly as planned.