Chapter 137 - 137 The Unexpected Ally

The next morning, the estate was a hive of whispered venom. The air, usually thick with the scent of polish and baking, was now charged with a palpable tension, the kind that precedes a storm. As I walked through the halls on my way to break my fast, the silence that fell in my wake was not one of respect, but of fear and resentment. Servants who would normally greet me with a deferential nod now avoided my gaze, their eyes darting away as if I were a leper. I had become a pariah in my own home.