This Time, She Chose the Serpent King

Elara knows Adrian's secret. The matriarch demanded he marry a noble woman to inherit the clan, but he already has a low-born mistress and a son. Elara doesn't wait. She sends one of her people to plant a few words, and by the time the wedding carriage rolls out, the mistress and boy appear at the roadside. The boy breaks free, shouting "Father." Adrian snaps, but Elara intervenes. "Husband, don't be so hard on them. Today is a happy occasion. Why not do a good deed? I actually need another servant woman." She offers the woman a position. The mistress, obsessed with becoming Mrs. Ashford, accepts. The crowd praises the new bride's kindness.

That night, Adrian moves the woman and boy into a side courtyard. Elara's maid urges her to expose him, but Elara refuses. "I didn't come here to lose to a kept woman." She has no family to fall back on. Her target is the Ashford estate, and she needs Adrian only for an heir. When he staggers in drunk, she lets the wedding night happen on her terms. By morning, the matriarch hands her the household keys and a necklace, cementing her authority.

Victoria's situation is already unraveling. Her serpent drags her into alleyway meetings that half the town has witnessed. She threatens Elara to keep quiet, but her face has lost its softness. The two sisters have set their houses on a collision course, and the deadly game is only beginning.