His voice sounded tired.
"Twenty-two years ago, you and Everson Drake were the ones who taught me that hatred destroys everything."
"Hatred is like poison hidden inside sweet wine. At first, it warms the heart. But eventually, it burns the person drinking it from within."
He closed his eyes slowly.
"Those consumed by hatred destroy not only others… but themselves too. And when that happens… even family abandons them. You said those words, Wester, which I still remember even after two decades..."
A long silence followed.
"How did you forget that, Wester…?"
That night, Emperor Alexander fell asleep with an empty stomach.
Meanwhile, deep beneath the palace grounds, inside the underground detention cells, Wester Silver sat alone against the cold stone wall.
The prison was only temporary.
Criminals stayed there before transfer to the Black Citadel.
Yet even this place already felt suffocating.
The air smelled damp.
Cold moisture clung to the walls.
