Chapter 191: The Sound of Home
Lyria's POV
The competition did not pause.
It did not slow, nor did it shift in any visible manner after what had just occurred.
If anything, it continued with a deliberate steadiness, as though the court itself had decided that nothing of note had taken place, and that whatever small disruption had been introduced would not be permitted to linger.
Names were called.
Candidates stepped forward.
Parchments were exchanged.
And just as before—before Earl Hawthorne—none of them came to me.
Each suitor, when summoned, turned without hesitation toward Jacinta. Each parchment found its way into her hands, and each time she accepted it with that same composed assurance, that same quiet confidence that had not once faltered since the beginning of the proceedings.
