Chapter 1127

Amara was sharper than she looked. Even before Hazel could speak, she’d already seen through her thoughts. With a faintly amused, almost mocking curve of her lips, she spoke first: "I'm not close to Frederick—he probably doesn’t even know I exist. But I know him. Actually, everyone in this mansion knows him better than they know themselves." Her voice carried a dry bitterness, the edges of a smile never quite reaching her eyes. "We’re the freeloaders he supports. We eat his rice, sleep in rooms lit by his money, and go about our meaningless routines. But beneath it all, we’ve got one real job: studying him. Preparing for the day he cuts us off—so we can strike back and destroy him first." Hazel’s brows drew together slightly. Her tone turned wary. "Why are you telling me this?" Amara leaned further back into the plush sofa, her posture loose and languid, like someone who had little to lose. "Because I heard what happened yesterday in the ancestral hall. That he offered to return a port