Few days passed swiftly, like sand slipping through an hourglass, and soon it was two days until the royal wedding. The empire buzzed with anticipation, but beneath the surface of celebration, quieter resolutions had been made.
Lady Viviana's sentencing came and went with little fanfare. For the sake of the Whittemore family and the reputation of Orion, her son, the royals delivered its judgment silently. Life imprisonment.
There would be no public spectacle, no announcement to shame the name that Orion now carried. It was a decision made with care, punishment meted out, but not at the expense of Orion's dignity or the Montclair legacy.
In contrast, Lord Cavin and his accomplices faced a far harsher fate. Their crimes had shaken the stability of the empire, and their punishment served as a warning to all. Publicly stripped of their titles, their noble lineage erased, Lord Cavin and his supporters were paraded before the people in the city square.
