Bound by the Mark of Lies (BL) Chapter 341 - 335: Sharp-Eyed Lady in Waiting

"Soone from inside was complicit!" Leslie spat, his voice raw and hoarse, too loud for the hall but too honest to be silenced. "And I will kill every one of them with my own hands."

"Leslie," Alexander said, his tone unchanged, steady as stone, "calm down before I knock you out."

He spoke slowly and precisely as he removed his gloves, not for effect, but because he ant every word and had no intention of repeating himself. The exposed skin beneath revealed the familiar lattice of ether scars, fine lines burned in too deep to ever fade, the sa patterns that marked Damian’s hands when he pushed too far. Lines that no ordinary soldier could carry and live.

"You are annoying ," Alexander added, quieter now, as if that mattered more than the accusation, more than the rage, more than the fact that soone had reached the Emperor’s cup.

Gregoris didn’t speak.

Edward didn’t blink.

Max raised an eyebrow but didn’t interfere, because he knew exactly how many people in the palace Alexander would bother threatening out loud, and the list was short enough to morize.

Leslie froze, not because he was afraid, not even close, but because the weight in Alexander’s voice wasn’t a threat. It was a fact. Unemotional, untouched by the sa grief and guilt that had Leslie unraveling in real ti.

For a mont, the hall fell into silence again, thick with everything they all knew but hadn’t voiced. That whoever did this was precise, prepared, and had walked through their defenses like they belonged.

Leslie clenched his jaw, nostrils flaring as he forced himself back under control, the kind of control that ca not from peace but from discipline carved into the bones of n who had learned to survive war by not reacting too soon.

Alexander, unbothered by the silence, continued as though he hadn’t just threatened to knock out the Captain of the Guard, his voice even, his words weighted not for effect but for clarity.

"The Emperor will be fine," he said, not as comfort, but as confirmation. "Angry that soone made Gabriel mad, but with the antidote, he’ll be himself in less than a day. The poison didn’t win."

He paused, just long enough for the weight of the next thought to settle between them like a blade pressed flat against the throat.

"But the plan almost did."

He looked to Edward now, his tone tightening just slightly.

"We need to know when the infiltration began—not just how. Whoever did this didn’t just know the wing’s rotation; they knew the Shadow routes, they knew Edward’s checks, and they waited for Gregoris and Decker to be away. That wasn’t luck."

"It was internal," Edward said quietly.

Alexander’s gaze returned to Leslie.

"For the mont," he said, the words slower now, sharper, "we’re operating under the assumption that it was soone inside. And if it’s a Shadow..."

He didn’t finish.

Because before he could, there was a knock, too light to match the tension of the hallway, almost too quiet to matter, and then the door opened just wide enough to allow a slim figure through.

Irina stepped inside with poised caution, knowing she didn’t belong in this space but choosing to enter regardless. Her skirt swayed softly as she crossed the room with unhurried steps, the only sound the faint shuffle of paper against leather as she held out an agenda in both hands.

"I’m sorry for my intrusion," she said, her voice clear but respectful. "I heard what happened, and I thought this might help."

She extended the agenda toward Alexander, her hands steady, though her eyes stopped briefly, unintentionally, on the scarred skin of his fingers, where the ether had once burned too deep to ever fade.

She didn’t ask.

She didn’t flinch.

"I have notes," she said quietly, her voice even but not rehearsed. "From the past three weeks. Things I found strange. Schedules that didn’t match, deliveries that were rerouted, and people I didn’t recognize on familiar shifts. So of it might be nothing. But I wrote everything down."

She paused then, the smallest flicker of self-consciousness making her talk again.

"I did it because of the new staff—after the Engagent Ceremony preparations started. There were changes almost every day, and..." Her gaze dropped for a fraction of a second before she t Alexander’s eyes again. "And because now His Grace has a proper office staff, I didn’t have too much to do as a lady-in-waiting."

The honesty in that sentence landed softer than expected; it was a fact, and she didn’t want to appear ungrateful, so she enjoyed her free ti after the Civil Examination.

For a mont, no one said anything.

Edward was still scanning the agenda, his expression unreadable but focused, fingers moving faster now as flagged nas began populating on the secure feed.

Alexander tilted his head, studying her—not with suspicion, but with that quiet, unsettling intensity that ant he was recalibrating the entire board around a new variable. Irina didn’t waver.

"You saw what others ignored," he said finally.

"I was idle," she replied, her tone almost apologetic, like the guilt weighed more than the praise. "I just did the obvious. Honestly... I should have said sothing earlier."

The silence that followed wasn’t harsh. It wasn’t damning.

It was consideration.

Alexander studied her for a mont longer, unreadable in a way that often unsettled even the generals under his command. But Irina didn’t look away. She didn’t shrink from it. She stood there—young, out of place, and entirely honest.

Gregoris exhaled through his nose, slow and asured. "You said sothing now. That’s what matters."

"It might be the difference," Edward added, his voice still focused on the display but gentler now, his fingers pausing just long enough to glance up at her. "The override code was used on a non-standard channel. No one would’ve caught it unless they were checking for irregular maintenance logs. Which no one was, until now."

Irina blinked, then tilted her head. "It rerouted through a guest kitchen. But there were no guests this week."

"Exactly," Edward murmured.

Gregoris stepped away from the wall, rolling his shoulders like he was trying to shake off the mory of what had almost happened. "Get that kitchen sealed and the entire wing stripped for trace ether. No one opens a cabinet without soone watching."

Alexander nodded once, still watching Irina with that quiet weight behind his gaze. "Next ti," he said simply, "speak up sooner."

"I will," she replied.

She ant it.