Page 86 of Throne Off Course

It was personal. It was human. It was an echo of everything Alexander had been struggling with his entire life. And it left just enough room for people to draw their own conclusions.

“A King’s Burden: The Weight of Duty in His Final Days.”

“Not Just a Ruler—New Letters Reveal King James Philip’s Private Struggles with Duty and Legacy.”

“A New Royal Era: What This Honest Exhibition Means for the Future of Caledonia.”

Alexander stood at the edge of the exhibit, hands in his pockets, watching the reactions unfold. Shock. Fascination. Curiosity.

But most of all—respect.

For once, the monarchy was being honest. And instead of rejecting it, the people were leaning in.

Beside him, Emilia crossed her arms, a small, satisfied smile on her lips.

“Well?” she asked, tilting her head toward him. “Do you think we’ll be exiled for this?”

Alexander let out a quiet laugh, shaking his head. “Not if I have anything to say about it.”

The moment settled between them, standing at the culmination of what they had built together. The crowd moved around them, voices rising and falling, but they remained in their small bubble of shared accomplishment.

“I’ll be clearing out my office tomorrow,” Emilia said after a moment, her voice carefully neutral. “The exhibition is launched. My job here is done.”

Something in his chest tightened. Even though he’d known this was coming—even after their conversation at the gala—the finality of it struck him harder than he’d expected.

“Already?” The word came out softer than he’d intended.

She nodded, her eyes still on the exhibition rather than him. “You have what you need now. The foundation is set.” She gestured toward the crowd. “They’re embracing it. The truth.”

He looked at her profile, memorizing the curve of her jaw, the slight furrow between her brows that appeared when she was holding back emotion.

“This wouldn’t exist without you,” he said quietly.

She turned to him then, a small smile touching her lips. “Good. Then I’ve done my job.”

Around them, museum-goers continued to move through the exhibit, oblivious to the weight of the moment passing between them. A photographer captured the tableau of letters. A docent led a group toward the next display. Life continuing,moving forward.

“Emilia—” he began, though he wasn’t sure what he wanted to say. What he could say, here, now.

“I know,” she interrupted gently. She hesitated, then reached out—just for a moment—and let her fingers brush his. A silent touch. A lingering goodbye.

Then, she stepped away.

“Goodbye, Alexander.”

And just like that, she was gone, moving through the crowd with purpose, leaving him standing alone amid the echoes of history they had uncovered together.

41

When Your Whole Life Is a Scandal

It started last week with a book Alexander hadn’t meant to take. The night he had wrecked his father’s office in a storm of anger and grief, he had grabbed something—anything—just to have something in his hands. It wasn’t even significant. A history text, leather-bound, with pages still stiff from disuse.

He had tucked it under his arm, not thinking, not caring and then he had forgotten about it. Alexander had tossed the book carelessly onto his desk earlier in the week, meaning to put it away, but never bothering.

Now, as he reached for something else, his hand knocked against it—

And suddenly, a flurry of pages spilled out. Not pages from the book. Letters.