Countless eyes fixed upon the Princess. Subtle suspicion and barely veiled doubt mingled in every glance directed her way.
The Princess maintained an expression of wounded sorrow, concealing the vertigo threatening to overwhelm her senses.
What should she say?
Her mind had gone utterly blank—devoid of a single coherent thought.
If she claimed knowledge of Maria Ethel's actions, she would be admitting to having sanctioned that absurd engagement ceremony. If she professed ignorance, she would be confessing to a catastrophic loss of control over her own summer banquet.
Whichever path she chose would tarnish her otherwise immaculate reputation.
Maria Ethel. She ought to have located that fool and confined her somewhere the moment she had learned of her intentions.
The Princess's teeth ground together with barely suppressed fury. Bitter regret consumed her—yet she could not permit even a trace of it to show before the assembled nobility.
She must choose the lesser evil.
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