Chapter 183: A Pattern Established
Lyria's POV
Jacinta did not look at me again.
She did not need to.
Her attention remained fixed ahead, her posture poised as she spoke, her voice carrying easily.
"The Duke has chosen simplicity as his foundation," she said, her tone smooth, assured. "Not merely in language, but in structure and intent."
She took a slow step forward, her hands lightly clasped before her.
"There is no attempt to obscure meaning beneath elaborate phrasing," she continued. "No effort to impress through complexity. Instead, he presents the concept plainly—almost conversationally—so that it may be understood without difficulty."
"He speaks first of familiarity," she went on. "Of the word itself, home, as something we all use, often without reflection. A term that exists in every life, regardless of station."
Her gaze shifted slightly, passing over the nobles, the suitors, the court.
