Rebirth of the Phantom Empress

**Chapter 8 – The First Move**

The night was thick with silence, the weight of unspoken words pressing against the cold stone walls of Lady Mirva's estate. Selene Ravencourt sat by the dim candlelight of her small servant's quarters, fingers tracing the rough grain of the wooden table. Though her body ached from exhaustion, her mind was restless.

The events of the marketplace still lingered in her thoughts. The boy she had saved, the thug she had humiliated, and most importantly—the man whose piercing grey eyes had met hers. She didn't know who he was, but his presence had been impossible to ignore. It had been a reminder that even in the shadows, she was not entirely invisible. And if he had noticed her, others might too.

She clenched her jaw, pushing the thought aside. Now was not the time for distractions. Lady Mirva had sent her to fetch fresh herbs from the apothecary earlier that day, and the last thing Selene wanted was to give the woman an excuse to punish her. But the encounter in the marketplace had ignited something in her—a spark of defiance that refused to be extinguished.

Tonight, under the cover of the night, she would take the first step.

---

**The Kitchen – A Hive of Activity**

The kitchen throbbed with energy, a hive of activity as servants scurried back and forth, their hands busy preparing an extravagant feast for Lady Mirva's midnight gathering. The air was thick with the rich aromas of roast meats, buttery pastries, and fragrant herbs, enticingly mingling with the clatter of pots and the distant laughter of well-fed guests. The noblewoman, ever eager to showcase her opulence, had summoned an array of wealthy merchants and minor lords, her every gesture steeped in calculated grandeur, her laughter ringing like a silvery chime.

In a quiet corner, Selene laboriously scrubbed the scuffed stone floors, typically invisible amidst the swirling chaos of the kitchen. This invisibility, she realized, was both a blessing and a weapon. Hidden behind the facade of a mere scrubber of floors, she keenly absorbed every nuance—the hushed tensions simmering among the staff, the careless whispers of the head maid laced with envy, and the growing shadows of financial strain that Lady Mirva was desperate to conceal.

A flicker of amusement ignited within Selene.

Mirva's wealth was a façade, precariously crumbling beneath the weight of overambitious expenditures and ostentatious banquets. The noblewoman's grandstanding was a mere veil hiding the gnawing reality of her precarious financial state—one slip in her intricate dance of deception could spell disaster.

With each passing day, Selene, sharpened by her suffering, grew more adept at recognizing how to exploit this weakness.

---

**The Study – A World of Secrets**

Later that evening, as the grand feast engulfed the estate in its festive chaos, Selene slipped away into the labyrinthine hallways, her footsteps echoing softly against the cold stone. She had meticulously charted the cycles of guards and maids throughout the manor, cataloguing their routines with the precision of an astute observer. Moving with a predator's grace, she pressed herself against the chill of the stone wall by the heavy wooden door of Lady Mirva's study.

A servant, laden with trays of glistening wine-filled goblets, drifted past, oblivious to her presence as laughter and music swelled from the banquet room.

Selene's heart raced as she inhaled deeply, channelling all her focus. Now was the moment of action.

With a deliberate grace, she slipped into the study, gently closing the door behind her with barely a whisper. The room enveloped her in an intoxicating blend of parchment, ink, and the faint residue of exquisite perfume, creating an atmosphere that felt both inviting and oppressive. Piles of documents and letters sprawled haphazardly across the polished mahogany desk, and without wasting a moment, she dove into them, her fingers dancing over the pages as they pulled her deeper into a world of secrets.

She needed something tangible—evidence of Mirva's treacherous debts, evidence that could shatter the veneer of control. If she could unearth a shred of incriminating information, something capable of tipping the balance in her favour…

Her fingertips grazed the surface of a meticulously kept ledger, its pages well-worn yet pristine in their preservation.

Opening it, her eyes narrowed as they swept through the columns filled with damning figures and ominous names. As she had suspected, Lady Mirva's debts were far more extensive than her carefully cultivated image suggested. Among the names, one stood out starkly—Lord Havard.

Selene's breath caught in her throat.

Havard was infamous—a ruthless businessman known for dismantling those who faltered in their payments, his reputation a chilling spectre among the nobles. Should he discover Mirva's inability to meet her obligations, his merciless pursuit would not stop until he stripped her of everything she held dear, her luxurious estate reduced to mere memories.

A triumphant smile crept across Selene's lips.

This was the leverage she needed, a weapon forged from the very foundations of Lady Mirva's power.

With deliberate care, she tore out a few crucial pages, folding them with precision and tucking them deep into the fabric of her dress like a secret treasure. After securing the incriminating evidence, she meticulously put everything back in place, ensuring that no trace of her discovery remained and slipped out as silently as she had entered.

The first move had been made.

---

**The Servants' Quarters – A New Dawn**

As she retraced her steps to the servants' quarters, the weight of the stolen documents pressed against her skin like a talisman—an embodiment of the power she was beginning to reclaim.

But this was merely the beginning.

Lady Mirva had constructed her reign atop a foundation of fear, her illusion of untouchability her greatest ally. If Selene could pierce that carefully crafted facade, even just a fraction, the entire household would shift. Whispers of doubt would ripple through the servants, merchants would begin to question the stability of their relationships, and the very structure of Mirva's meticulously maintained world would start to crack.

Selene was no longer just a forgotten girl hidden in the shadows.

She had transformed into a formidable threat.

And soon, Lady Mirva would come to understand just how dangerous she had become.

---