Valine stood in the spacious, warmly lit kitchen. She absentmindedly turned to where Martin used to learn while watching his staff work. Her heart aches for the man. He was buried two days ago and no one knew aside from a few people how he was a traitor. Servants and others still attended his funeral, and so did she and Dimitri.

She shakes her head and focuses on what she is doing. The scent of freshly baked chocolate cake filled the air and the events that would later weigh on her heart. No kitchen staff visited today. She is curious but she realized that maybe they were preparing their things...