***
{Outside The Projection}
The moment she appeared—
BOOM!
It was like someone dumped a bucket of freezing water on the entire hall.
They all stiffened, their jaws dropped, and their eyes snapped to one person.
Roya.
Last time, when Noor made her appearance, not everyone had figured it out, at least not immediatly, but now, they all knew exactly who it was.
And the subtle frown on her face?
Oh yeah. That gave it away real fast.
It was her.
Her.
The girl in the projection.
The one with the too-normal hair, the too-average face, the carefully perfected smile that was designed to be just... forgettable.
She looked exactly the same.
The very exact same.
And that was when it hit everyone.
Of course she looked like that forever.
It was a choice, a very deliberate one.
She'd been masking herself, even back then.
Creating a look so polished, so average, that no one would question it.
Pretty, yeah—but safe. Background noble. Nothing too eye-catching.
But it was a lie.
