The scene continued. Violet descended to the earth, a gust of wind rushing past as she landed. Anastasia's eyes widened, locking onto her. "Lady Violet... what are you doing here?" she asked, utterly dumbfounded to see Violet appear out of nowhere.
How did she even know where we were? Anastasia's thoughts raced.
"Miss Anastasia..." Violet's voice trembled, breathless and heavy with concern. "W-where's Xavier?"
"H-he's right here with me," Anastasia answered, shifting slightly so Violet could see.
The moment Violet's gaze fell upon Xavier's unconscious form—his head resting gently against Anastasia's thighs—she rushed forward without hesitation. Panic seized her features.
"XAVIER!" she cried, gripping his hand tightly. "Are you okay? Please, wake up!"
But the boy remained motionless, his stillness cutting deeper than any wound. Violet's desperation only swelled.
"Why won't you respond?! Wake up, Xavier... please!" Her voice cracked, raw and breaking.
Seeking to calm her, Anastasia laid a hand on Violet's shoulder, her tone low and heavy with sorrow. "My Lady... please. Xavier cannot hear our pleas. Don't burden yourself too much."
Violet's breath steadied, if only slightly. She turned to Anastasia, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. "What happened to him? Why is he like this?"
"I... I'm not sure," Anastasia admitted, still lost in confusion herself. "When Teslaine and I arrived, we found a monstrous beast impaled by a sword through its chest."
Her voice dropped. "I immediately knew it was the Young Master... his ethereal energy led us here. And that dragon-like creature radiated his presence."
"Dragon-like beast?" Violet echoed, bewildered.
Anastasia froze. She remembered that Violet, and the rest of the Ivanovich family, knew nothing about Xavier's Contractor—or that it was a dragon of all things. The truth bore down on her shoulders like an unbearable weight.
Explaining RealmHeart, or that Xavier's sudden transformation was the result of being the vessel of Dragon King Alcmena, was impossible. There was only one response she could give.
"My deepest apologies, Lady Violet," Anastasia said, bowing her head. "But this is not my secret to reveal. As his maid, I cannot betray my Master's trust. Not even to you, nor to Lord Graviil."
The words were heavy, drenched in sincerity.
Violet looked down, disheartened, but she understood—even now. "...Alright. I won't press you further. I don't want to hurt Xavier... not anymore." Her voice softened as her hand brushed against Xavier's cheek. "Just seeing him again... that's all the comfort I need."
A tear slid down her face, landing on his skin like the first drop of rain before a storm.
Her eyes drifted, catching sight of the sword at his side—Excalibur. She had seen it many times before, but never like this. Up close, she could feel the divine aura radiating from it. This was no ordinary weapon. Not even a high-grade blade. It was something far beyond mortal craft.
But her focus quickly returned to Xavier's body. Her heart clenched at the sight of his wounds. Some had already begun healing, remnants from his dragon form. Yet others remained open, bleeding stubbornly.
Violet closed her eyes, summoning a golden light that enveloped her hands. The divine power of her Divine LionHeart and her Contractor, Queen Tessia Valandor, flowed through her palms. She pressed her hands over Xavier's wounds, and slowly, they began to close.
Anastasia sat in silence, the crushing weight of guilt pressing down on her. The still air around them felt suffocating, deafening in its heaviness. She could not escape it. She could not forgive herself.
On the other side, Teslaine's gaze lingered on Violet as she tended to Xavier's wounds. Her hands glowed with divine light, her expression full of love and sorrow. The sight struck Teslaine deeply. How... beautiful.
Who is she?
Before she could dwell further, Violet seemed to sense her stare. Slowly, Violet turned her eyes toward her. Teslaine's breath caught, and she looked away at once, embarrassed by her own lingering gaze.
Violet's voice broke the silence, soft but steady. "May I ask... who might you be?"
Teslaine straightened, nervous. "M-my name... is Teslaine Nikola. I'm a friend of Xavier's."
Violet's lips curved into a warm smile, her tone easing the tension. "Well then, I am Violet Ivanovich. Xavier's older sister. It's a pleasure to meet a friend of my brother's."
Teslaine's eyes widened. His sister? Violet Ivanovich? That means... she's royalty. The name rang in her mind, stirring faint memories. I've heard that name before... somewhere important. But where?
"My pleasure as well," Teslaine finally managed, still entranced by Violet's beauty. Her long silver hair shimmered faintly, and her blue eyes—similar to Xavier's, though softer, more angelic than celestial—seemed to radiate light.
The tension in the air eased. Seizing the moment, Anastasia finally voiced the question that had weighed on her heart since Violet's arrival.
"Lady Violet."
"Yes?" Violet replied, her attention shifting.
"I must ask—how did you know we had gone to London, without telling anyone? How did you find us here?"
Violet paused, her expression thoughtful, before she answered. "To begin with... I knew you and Xavier had fled to London because of my dearest friend, Jasmine. She told me that some of Xavier's closest friends suspected where he might have gone, and that they were planning to find him. She knew how broken I was after Xavier ran away... and so, she gave me a necklace. She wore its twin."
Her hand briefly touched the chain around her neck. "The necklace links our ethereal energies. When Jasmine finally found Xavier, she poured her energy into it, sending me a signal of confirmation. From there, we departed at once, determined to reach you both as soon as possible."
Teslaine's heart skipped. Xavier... ran away from home? She recalled the whispers in the papers. The youngest prince of the Ivanovich family had gone missing... it was everywhere. And yet, when I met him in London, when he told me his last name... I never once connected the pieces. Why?
Her chest tightened. He must have had a reason. He wouldn't make such a choice lightly.
Meanwhile, Violet continued. "When we reached Britain, I felt his ethereal energy... just as you did. At first it seemed strange—chaotic, malicious, almost unrecognizable. But there was no mistaking it. It was Xavier's. I could feel it in my heart. I've known his energy longer, and deeper, than anyone else in his life."
Anastasia lowered her gaze, sorrow darkening her face as she looked down at Xavier's still body. Her voice was quiet, heavy. "I think it is best we return home, Young Master. You've endured too much... and I can't bear to see you suffer more."
Her hands trembled as she pressed them against her lap. "I am ready to accept the full punishment for your actions. Your consequences are my consequences... even if the punishment is harsh. That is the duty of a maid to her Master."
The air fell deathly silent—then shattered.
A sudden burst of power—dread, despair, suffocating fear—crushed down upon them all at once. It was as if the life had been ripped from their lungs, leaving only emptiness in its wake. The atmosphere twisted, blackened, and warped beneath an omnipotent, malevolent force that seemed beyond mortal comprehension.
"W-what's going on...?" Teslaine gasped, her body trembling, unable to move a single muscle.
Violet and Anastasia were no less stricken. Violet's lips quivered as she whispered, "Such... malice... Such evil. Nothing should exist that can emit this kind of terror."
Their bodies collapsed under the weight of it, pressed flat by a presence that felt older than time, colder than death.
And then—he appeared.
From the horizon, a figure emerged. Each step echoed like thunder across the heavens, resonating in their very souls. Reality itself seemed to bend with his approach.
It was Emperor Julius.
He walked casually, hands tucked behind his back, his expression unnervingly calm and cold. His eyes scanned the scene with a predator's detachment.
"So," Julius murmured, as though conversing with himself. "Has Excalibur finally stopped torturing its master? No... there was another presence. Something divine... one that does not belong to Excalibur. Hm. An elf's perhaps? I sensed the essence of life and nature within it."
He shrugged dismissively. "It matters not."
Finally, his gaze fell upon the new figures gathered around Xavier's unconscious body. His lips curved faintly, cruelly. "Hmph. So, the ants gather. Where did you pests crawl from? Stay out of my way—or be crushed beneath it."
Violet's eyes flared, glowing with defiance. She forced her trembling body upright, planting herself between Julius and Xavier. Her voice, usually warm and full of love, rang sharp and threatening. "As if I would let you lay a single hand on my little brother!"
Julius did not even blink. His hand lifted lazily, one finger extended—prepared to erase them all in a single instant. Violet tightened her grip on Xavier, steeling herself to shield him with her own body. Anastasia mirrored her, moving protectively over Teslaine.
But then—Julius froze.
Something... wrong. Something else.
In the blink of an eye, before thought itself could register—
A flash. A blinding light.
An incomprehensible force struck Julius squarely, hurling him across the land. The world shook as his body skidded miles away, smashing through the earth itself. Blood exploded from his abdomen, a gaping hole torn clean through his flesh. He fell to one knee, coughing violently, crimson dripping from his mouth and nose.
His mind reeled. What... what just hit me? He could not sense it. Could not predict it. It bypassed his defenses as though they were nothing.
Then, a voice.
Cold. Arrogant. Proud. Divine.
It rolled across the sky like judgment itself, a sound that cracked the gates of heaven and the depths of the underworld alike.
"Did you find the penny you were looking for... down there?"
Julius's eyes widened. He turned, slowly, to face the one who dared.
A figure stood tall, bathed in the newborn light of dawn. Long silver hair danced in the breeze, illuminated like strands of starlight. Crimson eyes glowed like aged wine, dangerous and mesmerizing, as though the world itself owed them a debt. His frame was broad, towering, built with divine strength—mirroring Julius in stature, yet radiating something wholly beyond him.
This was no mere man.
This was one who bore himself as the Strongest. One chosen by God, beloved by the very Heavens.
The Chosen Emperor.
Aleksander Ivanovich.