CHAPTER 1 — THE ROYAL EMBLEM

No one laughed anymore.

The ballroom had become so silent that the only sound was Professor Harrington's shaky breathing.

He held the silk packet with both hands as if it might crumble into dust.

"This crest..." he whispered. "It belongs to House Ashbourne."

The principal frowned.

"I'm sorry... House what?"

Professor Harrington slowly stood.

"The Ashbourne Dynasty disappeared nearly two hundred years ago. Historians believed every royal artifact was destroyed during the revolution."

His eyes never left me.

"But this embroidery..."

He swallowed.

"...is authentic."

Gasps spread through the room.

The girl who had ripped my dress—Vanessa—forced a laugh.

"Seriously? It's just old fabric."

The professor turned toward her.

"No."

His voice became firm.

"It is worth more than this entire school."

The scissors slipped from Vanessa's hand.

They clattered against the marble floor.

Everyone stared.

Not at me.

At the torn dress.

Professor Harrington carefully examined the ripped lining.

Then his expression changed.

"Oh, my God..."

"There are more."

He reached inside the torn seams.

One after another...

small silk packets emerged from hidden compartments stitched throughout the dress.

Five.

Then eight.

Then twelve.

Every single one carried the same royal crest.

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The dress wasn't simply repaired.

It had been hiding something.