Chapter 95: The Emperor's Ledger
The departure of Hester's silent inquiry left a different kind of quiet in the cove. It was the quiet after a thoughtful conversation, not a retreat from a threat. The pressed-leaf journals were a tangible link to a mind that valued understanding over acquisition, and Elara found herself writing in them with a new sense of purpose. She was no longer just recording events for her family; she was composing a counter-archive, a testament to a life lived deliberately against the grain of empires and fear.
