𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐈𝐒 𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐀 𝐒𝐔𝐂𝐂𝐄𝐒𝐒 𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘. 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐈𝐒 𝐀 𝐑𝐔𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍.
It's the beginning of a new age when Jaylah Imperatrix seemingly returns from the dead to reclaim her throne. And in perfect timing.
In her absence, evil has be...
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Act 3 Chapter 108 JAYLAH
The combined weights of her courtiers' mocking eyes made Jaylah want to scream. You should have your eyes averted and knees to the floor, she would shriek. Why do you not respect me?
She knew why they did not respect her—because she had rolled over and shown her belly like a downed dog one too many times. Because at least when she was a terror, they knew she had some sense of control over her dominion. Now she was nothing but a maid in her own home.
Despite everything her mother taught her, they still called her an adulterer. They believed it with no evidence. It was a sign she could no longer follow in her mother's footsteps. She now saw herself through their eyes. Her mother had been saintly. Jaylah was a whore. She whored out her crown to a foreign king, her body to a man she did not want to marry, her will to a woman that never truly loved her.
That stopped now. She was sick of burning herself down to benefit others. She was her own, and only her own. If they still called her whore, then perhaps that was just what she would be.
Jaylah steeled herself as she walked toward the largest group of chattering courtiers, shoulders thrown back. She willed her gaze to be dead and all-consuming. Once they saw her, their mouths closed. They stepped from her way. It was something, but it was not enough. Begrudging obedience would not cut it. She wanted veneration.
A few moments later, Antinoch joined her. "The rumors have spread. Now they are mentioning names," she said, her face characteristically grave.
Cold seeped into Jaylah's homes. "Whose name."
"There have been a few. But primarily...Khan's, Your Majesty."
Oh, Ermalai had gone beyond simply humiliating her. He now sought to distance her from corrupting his spy. Which meant he was threatened by her.
"I see." As they walked on, Antinoch's silence grew meaningful. "Ask your question, Antinoch."
"I mean no offense, but...are the rumors true, Your Majesty?" She waved her hands. "Not to insinuate you were adulterous. I only meant you seem to have had a prior connection from before you and the Czarevich—"
Jaylah could not help but huff a chuckle. "You are correct. But the rumor is not true."
"Ah. Many of the lower servants would be glad to hear that. Some of them have taken a fancy to him."
Jaylah turned. "Really? Are they delusional?"
She shrugged. "Perhaps, for I heard one just this morning claim he seems 'enticingly dangerous'. What does that even mean?"
Oh, if Alexander caught wind of that, his ego would double in size. "I believe it means they have terrible taste in men." At that, it was Antinoch's turn to snort.
