Gate of Memoirs/A Solution

The first signs of a family slowly splintering apart.
Portrait 	Dialogue
Music: "Devil's Heart"	Music: "Devil's Heart"
 	
*"No one spoke of that incident. In polite conversation, at least."
*"I couldn't bear going to court for a while. Couldn't bear the whispers, the stares."
*"Everywhere I looked, I saw shifting shadows and daggers."
*"It didn't help that the bodyguard Mother assigned to me was so...stealthy at times."
*Vera: My lady.
*Vera: My lady, are you all right?
 	
*Evie: Umm... Yes.
*Evie: I'm just a little... Lost in thought.
*Evie: Thank you, Vera.
 	
*The tall, stoic woman kneels and bows deeply before her charge.
*Vera: I am here to serve and protect you, my lady.
*Vera: If there is anything I can do at all to assuage your fears...
*Vera: Please, let me know.
 	
*Evie: ... ...
*Evie: What...happened to the assailant?
*Evie: The man who broke into Father's study?
 	
*Vera: Perhaps some things are best left unknown, my lady.
*Vera: Rest assured he was tried and punished for his crimes.
 	
*Evie: But... What became of him? Is he in the gaols?
*Evie: Mother won't tell me a thing and Father forbade me to speak of it.
 	
*Evie: Please, Vera. 
*Evie: Tell me. So I can finally sleep in peace.
 	
*Vera: ... ...
*Vera leans in, her voice dropping to a bare whisper.
Portrait	Dialogue
 	
*Vera: "The Queen personally executed him."
Portrait 	Dialogue
Music: "Snowy Winds"	Music: "Snowy Winds"
 	
*Gortius: You—What?!
 	
*Gortius: Why did you take matters into your own hands?
*Gortius: What good will his death do?!
 	
*Miriam: A deterrent message, and a powerful one at that.
*Miriam: Breaking and entering the royal chambers is punishable by death.
*Miriam: I merely hastened it along.
 	
*Gortius: Be that as it may, we don't have to slaughter anyone who crosses us!
 	
*Miriam: ...Is that what you think I am, Gortius?
*Miriam: A murderer? A BUTCHER?
 	
*Miriam: He almost KILLED Evie!
*Miriam: Had you not been there, Evie would have...!
*Miriam: Gods know what they would have DONE to her!
 	
*Miriam's fists were curled tightly, and her shoulders trembled in defiant anger.
 	
*Gortius hated seeing her like this.
*As if the kind, valiant woman before him was slowly being consumed by vengeance and anguish—
*and in the years to come, would surely be twisted beyond recognition.
 	
*Gortius draws his wife into a tight embrace, running a soothing hand through her hair.
 	
*Gortius: I would do anything—ANYTHING—to keep you and Evie safe, my love.
*Gortius: Never doubt that.
*Gortius: And if it costs me my life, then so be it...
 	
*Gortius: Do not ask me to choose between my family and my kingdom.
*Gortius: You know very well what my answer is.
Portrait	Dialogue
 	
*Had I known what my parents thought...
*Would I have understood back then?