Chapter 176: The King’s Ultimatum

Late in the evening, the grand doors to the King’s private chamber swung open with a low creak, and Kerrigan and Conor stepped inside, their every movement weighed down by the tension that had been building for weeks.

The room was dimly lit, a far cry from the usual splendor of the palace, as if even the light itself had recoiled from the gravity of what was about to unfold. The King sat at the head of a long, polished table, his face shadowed, his posture rigid with barely concealed frustration.

He looked every bit the ruler who had been backed into a corner, and Kerrigan could see the cracks in his carefully maintained composure.

To the world, the King was still a figure of unassailable authority, but here, in this private confrontation, he was a man fighting desperately to maintain control over a kingdom that was slipping through his fingers.

“Come in,” the King said curtly, gesturing to the seats across from him. “We have matters to discuss that cannot wait.”

Kerrigan and Conor ex