Awakening Love Reborn to Be His Duchess (Elowen Hale) novel Chapter 405

Chapter 405 A Dangerous Confidence

Seren looked at her, clearly caught off guard. “Why would you think that?”

Alyssa’s gaze dropped, her fingers tightening slightly at her sides as her voice softened. “You’ve been distant lately. Not just busy, but actually avoiding me. I kept wondering if I crossed a line somewhere or said something I shouldn’t have.”

Seren paused, unsure how to respond.

She wasn’t wrong. I have been avoiding her.

That had been her sister’s advice, and she had followed it without questioning too much.

Alyssa let out a quiet breath, the kind that carried more weight than she probably intended. “I don’t really have anyone I trust in the palace. And here at Duskmoor Manor, it’s even harder to feel like I belong. I know I can be too blunt sometimes. I say things before I think them through, and I’m sure that hasn’t helped. If I made you uncomfortable, then I’m sorry. I mean that.”

She finally looked up, her expression open and unguarded. “But I really do want us to be close. I’m not pretending, Seren. I want you to be well. I want us to be on the same side.”

There was nothing calculated in the way she said it. It felt honest in a way that was hard to dismiss.

Seren felt her resolve loosen.

She gave a small smile. “You’re overthinking it. I’m not upset with you. We’re friends. That hasn’t changed.”

Alyssa’s eyes lit up at once. “You mean that?”

Seren nodded, more certain now. “Of course I do.”

The tension between them melted, and for a moment, it felt like things had returned to how they were before.

Seren exhaled quietly, then leaned a little closer. “Actually… there’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you.”

A flicker passed through Alyssa’s eyes, quick and sharp before it disappeared behind a bright, reassuring expression. She stepped closer without hesitation and lifted a hand lightly over her chest. “You can trust me. Whatever you say stays between us.”

Before sunrise the next morning, Alyssa slipped out through a lesser-used gate at Duskmoor Manor, wrapped in a cloak that blended easily with the early morning gloom.

She lingered just outside Baker Estate, scanning the quiet street before approaching a maid who had stepped out to fetch water. Their exchange was brief and hushed.

Within minutes, a carriage bearing the Baker crest rolled out through the gates and headed straight toward the palace.

Inside the palace, the morning audience had just concluded..One by one, the consorts withdrew, leaving behind a faint trace of perfume and powder that still lingered in the air.

Clarisse entered once the room had cleared. She motioned for the attendants to leave, then delivered Alyssa’s message in full, sparing no detail.

Isla sat with a cup in hand, gently circling the surface with the lid in slow, absent motions.

When Clarisse finished, Isla lifted a brow. “She writes fiction?”

Clarisse inclined her head. “Yes, Your Majesty. The information has been confirmed. This is a rare opening. We should act on it before the moment passes.”

The mention of Geoffrey was not spoken aloud, but it lingered between them.

Her eyes cooled. “I have considered it more than once. That outcome was not coincidence. Elowen had a hand in it.”

Clarisse leaned in slightly. “What would you have me do, Your Majesty?”

“If the manuscript is already complete, then it will surface soon enough,” Isla said. “Whether or not it carries the name Azure is irrelevant.”

She met Clarisse’s gaze directly. “Once you return, have someone watch Duskmoor Manor closely. The moment she makes contact with a bookshop or a café to arrange printing, you will spread word that Azure is releasing a new work.”

A faint smile touched her lips. “Make sure the rumor travels far. We will answer her in her own language. I want her to experience what it means to lose her standing in the public eye.”

Clarisse’s expression shifted, satisfaction flickering through. “And if the pressure becomes too much… if it affects her condition…” She lowered her voice slightly. “That would only work in our favor.”

By the time Clarisse returned to Baker Estate, every instruction had already begun to take shape under her direction.

Elsewhere, inside Duskmoor Manor, Elowen was only just waking.

She remained beneath the covers for a while, staring up at the canopy above her bed, where intricate floral embroidery curled across the fabric like something out of a painted chapel ceiling.

Her mind drifted, slow to gather itself.

After a long moment, she pushed herself upright, still wrapped loosely in the blankets.

She took a quiet breath before calling toward the door, her voice soft but clear. “Mira. Cora.”