Viana felt the eyes of people watching her every step in the long palace corridors. This happened each time she came to the Elysian royal palace to meet her parents. Sometimes, those looks turned into an awkward silence, or people would give forced coughs.
But Viana knew she had to face this head-on with actions. Violence would not work.
Inside her office in the Imperial Palace, Viana and Arden worked intensely, almost every day. They buried themselves in stacks of parchment scrolls and maps.
The smell of fresh ink mixed with paper filled the air. This showed how hard they were working to solve Elysia's financial problems before they got worse.
"Let them be, Arden," Viana said softly one day. Arden had just returned with important parchments from the palace's financial department. He was complaining a bit about people speaking ill of Viana.
