Chapter 33: Court Games - Part 12 - Seeds of Loyalty

Grandaenor felt the weight of Karina's gaze, as if each word and gesture of hers revealed hidden layers of her speech. He felt as if each word spoken by the queen was directed at him with precision.

— She is not only infiltrating the affairs of the Black Eagle, — thought Grandaenor. — I am also her target...

Grandaenor felt a cold knot in his stomach, it was fear. In all his forty years, few had managed to instill such a feeling in him. It was as if he were a rat cornered by a cat that seemed to be toying with him.

The man who had lived his entire life under the banner of honor now felt dirtier than a beggar. With a stain on his back that made him very aware of the things he had done under his lord's orders, and the queen seemed to be able to see that stain.