The tribunal had passed, but the storm left behind had just started picking up speed.
Three days later, word spread through the palace like fire in dry grass. There were no speeches, no declarations, but the message was clear.
Seraphina had filed for divorce.
The paperwork moved through the proper channels. Quiet. Professional. It bore the seal of the Empress and the approval of Crown Prince Thalion. It followed every legal step, but no one in the court believed it was a routine separation. Whispers multiplied in every hall. Servants repeated them. Noblewomen leaned in a little closer when Seraphina entered a room. Every eye turned, every voice dropped.
Seraphina felt their stares, but she didn't let them weigh her down. Her decision had been forged in fire. Every step forward was a refusal to ever walk backward again.
Alaric Vessant didn't hear about it through a private letter or a court informant.
He was summoned by the Crown.
He walked into the palace expecting a discussion, maybe a tense conversation about the tribunal fallout or a political compromise. Instead, he was handed a signed document. Seraphina had already filed the divorce request, and the court had accepted it. Final approval from the Empress herself.
It was already done.
He had no idea she had left the Vessant estate days earlier. No one had told him. No one had told Evelyne either.
No argument. No warning. She had just left.
That realization simmered in Alaric's mind. Then it started to burn.
When he heard that Seraphina was now staying at the palace under official Crown protection, the simmer became something sharper. His pride, once so secure, now felt like it had been torn out by the roots.
He didn't ask permission. He walked the palace grounds looking for her until he spotted her in one of the south courtyards, near the citrus trees.
She stood alone, reading from a folded parchment. There was calm in her stillness, the kind that didn't come from detachment but from clarity.
She didn't look nervous or hurried.
She looked free.
"Seraphina."
She looked up.
Her expression stayed steady. Controlled. The same way it used to be when she faced down council meetings or pretended not to hear rumors. She didn't greet him. She didn't smile.
"I got the papers," he said. "You filed for divorce without speaking to me. No discussion. Nothing. After everything we've been through?"
"I did," she said. "Because trying to talk to you hasn't meant anything in a long time. You stopped listening. That's when the conversations stopped mattering."
"You left the estate," he said. "You didn't even say anything to Evelyne."
"That was intentional," she replied. Her voice sharpened. "I don't owe either of you any more polite lies. No more fake dinners. No more quiet nods while you pretend everything's fine."
His jaw tensed. "Why? Just before you left, we..."
"Yes," she interrupted. "We had sex. And I regret it."
He stared at her, stunned.
He stepped in closer, lowering his voice. "That night... maybe all you need is a reminder. You didn't pull away then."
He reached for her. Fast. Desperate.
She didn't hesitate.
She shoved him hard with both hands, pushing him off balance.
But he was stronger.
His hand grabbed her arm, his mouth brushing hers before she could push him again.
Then another hand pulled him back by the collar and threw him off.
Thalion.
He stepped between them, planting himself in front of Seraphina.
"Step back," Thalion said. His tone was low, but sharp.
Alaric stumbled once, catching his footing.
Seraphina wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. Her voice came fast and tight.
"You think that night meant something? You think one mistake makes up for everything else? For the years you dismissed me? For every time I begged for honesty, and you offered half-truths? That wasn't love, Alaric. That was weakness. Mine, not yours. And you used it."
He opened his mouth.
She cut him off again.
"I know about Evelyne. I know about the townhouse in the East Quarter. I know how often she stayed overnight. How many times she walked through my wing like she belonged there."
"I'll send her away," he said, scrambling now. "She means nothing."
"She meant enough that you brought her into our home. Into our shared life. While I was still living down the hall."
She took a breath, trying to keep her hands steady.
"Do you have any idea how humiliating that was?"
Alaric didn't answer right away.
Then his voice changed. It turned cold. "Then this is about someone else."
She frowned. "Caelan?"
"No," he said. "Thalion."
She didn't flinch.
"You're under Crown protection," he said. "You live in the palace now. You have the Empress's attention. You have his attention. You never stood up to me like this before. Now suddenly, you've found your voice. Found your pride. It's him, isn't it?"
He didn't lower his voice this time.
Two court ladies paused near the steps. A scribe turned to glance their way. One of the guards shifted position.
Alaric raised his voice.
"So it's convenient," he said, loud and sharp. "The moment you move into the palace, Prince Thalion starts circling."
Thalion remained still. Calm. He didn't step back, didn't rise to the bait. But behind his steady exterior, his thoughts churned.
He had stayed quiet because this was her fight to finish. But watching her relive humiliation in front of the court made his jaw clench. He wanted to do more. Say more. But this wasn't his moment. It was hers.
Alaric's voice climbed again. "That's what this is. He's been waiting. Since the day I left. Since the day you walked into the tribunal."
"Don't embarrass yourself," Thalion said.
"You're using her," Alaric snapped.
Seraphina stepped forward.
"No one's using me," she said. "I walked away from you because I was tired of holding everything together while you lived two separate lives. I kept forgiving. I kept explaining. I kept asking for the bare minimum. And you kept failing."
Her voice didn't shake now.
"You had every chance to fix this. I asked for truth. You gave me lies. I asked for loyalty. You gave me excuses."
She took a single step closer.
"So yes, I left. Not for Caelan. Not for Thalion. For me. Because I remembered I deserve better."
Alaric didn't speak.
His eyes scanned her face, looking for something.
She didn't back down.
He saw it in her now. She wasn't making a scene. She wasn't bluffing.
She was finished.
She turned around.
And walked away.
Thalion remained a few moments longer.
He looked at Alaric, his expression unchanged.
His voice was quiet, but clear.
"You had her. And you didn't cherish her. Now you'll watch someone else do what you never could."
He turned and followed Seraphina.
They walked in silence for a time, away from the watching eyes, deeper into the palace gardens.
Finally, Thalion spoke.
"You didn't have to face him alone."
"I did," she said. "Because it wasn't about him anymore. It was about me."
He didn't reply right away. Instead, he watched her as the wind tugged loose strands of her hair.
"You were brilliant," he said softly.
Her shoulders eased slightly.
Behind them, the courtyard stayed quiet.
But only for a moment.
Then the whispers started.
There was no hiding it now. No denying it.
It was public.
And it was permanent.
No one in court would forget what they saw that day. Not for a long time.