I sat on the high table, the carved obsidian seat cool beneath me, the velvet cushion doing little to ease the ache. Before me sat the nobles, a sea of titles and scents: Dukes, Marquises, Counts, Viscounts, Barons, their eyes sharp and predatory.

The air thrummed with Alpha musk, the chamber feeling like a cage of dominant beasts waiting for a weak link.

Documents lay scattered before me—trade reports, border disputes, supply requests—the kind of files my father, Lirien, would have devoured without blinking. Papa knows these things like breathing, I thought. But I have to learn, even though I’m not from this world.

My assassin instincts told me to watch their faces, not just the words.

The flicker of a jaw, a tightened fist, a subtle shift in posture—those were the secrets no scroll could reveal. I leaned forward, the veil hiding my wince, the pain in my legs sharp but bearable.

"Count Jennife," I said, voice low and steady, the air settling like a storm waiting to break. "I’m not sure how I should follow with your request. Your family is the overseer of the Darik trade route, but it’s been two weeks since you’ve kept it closed. "

"Yes, I have."

"The merchants are complaining, the treasury is losing revenue, and the people are restless. You’ve requested imperial soldiers." I tapped the parchment, the ink gleaming faintly in the light. "You have your own soldiers. Why not let them fight the bandits? They’re your responsibility, not the empire’s."

The Count lifted her chin, her eyes cold and dismissive, the Alpha assurance in her gaze cutting like a blade.

"Your Highness," she said, the words dripping with disdain, "I’ve already explained this to your father. The situation is delicate. The terrain is harsh, the bandits are well‑armed, and my men are stretched thin. I need imperial reinforcements, not questions from a child in a veil."

"That’s fine, Count," I said, my voice hardening, the mark on my neck pulsing faintly, the scent of my omega fear suppressed but the memory of it burning. "Papa knows, that’s good. But I need to know too. You’re asking for imperial soldiers, risking lives for your own holdings."

"Your Highness, I have told everything to the emperor."

"You have your own forces. Why should the empire waste its strength on your pride?"

The words tasted like fire, the air thickening with the tension of their alpha stares, the faint hum of their dominance pressing down like a storm waiting to break.

Her eyes narrowed, the coldness sharpening into frost.

"Your Highness," she said, venom lacing each syllable, "this is not your jurisdiction to oversee. The Darik route is a noble concern, governed by our traditions. The emperor herself handles such matters through her the alpha council, not through her—" Her eyes flickered to the veil, the mark hidden beneath it, the air thickening with the weight of her disdain. "Not through an omega princess playing at politics."

The chamber filled with a low murmur, the air crackling with the tension of their alpha pride, the faint rustle of the bedcovers beneath me, the air thick with the weight of their judgment.

I felt the pressure of their stares, the scent of their Alpha dominance pressing down like a storm waiting to break.

"Papa is the emperor," I said, my voice low and sharp, cutting through the murmurs like a blade, the air thickening with the tension of my anger. "But I am the future ruler of this empire. Even though I am not an alpha, I will learn."

"Learn?"

"I’ve decided to rule, not just to sit and watch. "My role is to understand, not just to obey."

The Count laughed, a sharp, cold sound that cut through the air like a blade, the air thick with the tension of their Alpha pride, the faint hum of their dominance pressing down like a storm waiting to break.

"Crown Princess Alexander," she said, her voice low and mocking, "I am not answerable to you. I answer to the emperor, the alpha council, the traditions of our house. You can have me killed if you wish, but I will not take orders from an omega who thinks he’s allowed to make decisions for the empire."

"How dare you—"

"You can speak through your husband, the Duke’s son, Consort Elaine. That’s the way it’s always done."

"Do you want to hear these all things from my husband?" I asked, my voice low and sharp, the air thickening with the tension of my anger. "Consort Elaine speaks to me, not the other way around. She’s my husband, not my voice. I’m the one sitting at this table, the one who will inherit the throne. "

"You will inherit the throne, and there is no doubt about it."

"You forget that after the emperor and the empress, I’m the most powerful person in this room. The alpha council reports to the emperor, and the emperor reports to no one but the gods."

"Your Highness, you are delusional." 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

"But I’m the one who’ll sit on this throne, the one who’ll decide the fate of the empire. You can’t hide behind your traditions when the empire is on the line."

The Count flinched, the coldness in her eyes faltering, the faint tremor of her alpha pride cracking.

"Crown Princess Alexander," she said, the words slow and deliberate, the Alpha pride in her voice faltering, the air thick with the tension of her shame, "I am a traditionalist. I cannot have an Omega, even one of your ranks, giving me orders. You may become the emperor someday, but your role is to bear the next generation, not to lead the empire."

"Bear children?"

"The council, the generals, the merchants—they are the ones who make the decisions. You are the one who will carry the blood, the one who will give birth to the next heirs. That is your duty, not to play at politics."

"Is that what you all think?" I asked, my voice low and sharp, the air thickening with the tension of my anger. "That I’m just a womb, a vessel for the next generation? That my only purpose is to sit in the palace and bear children while you lot decide the fate of the empire?"

"Your Highness, omegas are for giving birth. You can’t escape that."

"I’m the one who’ll sit on the throne, the one who’ll decide the fate of the empire. You can’t hide behind your traditions when the empire is on the line."