Chapter 162 - The Cleansing, A Kingdom's Hope

The morning after our rescue at The Gilded Muse dawned with an eerie silence across Lockwood. I stood by the window in our chambers at the palace, where King Theron had insisted we stay until things settled. My bruised body ached, but it was nothing compared to the weight of what we now knew.

"You should be resting," Alaric said, coming up behind me and placing his hands gently on my shoulders.

I leaned back against his chest. "How can I? Every time I close my eyes, I see Vale's ledger... all those names..."

The night before, after our wounds had been tended to, King Theron had gathered us in his private study. Queen Seraphina had placed the leather-bound book on the table, and we'd spent hours going through its meticulous records. Each page revealed another layer of corruption—nobles who had purchased young women, officials who had taken bribes to look the other way, merchants who had transported victims across borders.