The messenger arrived before night fully settled.
He bore no royal colors—only the discreet insignia of the Tiger Clan, stitched into the inside of his sleeve. Raymond dismissed his guards at once. Some messages were never meant to be witnessed.
His son remained.
Raymond did not send him away.
That alone said everything.
The parchment was sealed with bronze wax, the mark of Jinhai pressed deep and deliberate. The moment Raymond broke it open, his breath hitched.
He read.
Once.
Twice.
By the third line, his fingers began to shake.
"No…" he muttered.
His son straightened instantly.
Raymond's face had gone pale—ashen in a way his son had never seen before.
"The Ross girl," Raymond said hoarsely. "She lives."
The words fell heavy into the room.
For a heartbeat, the son forgot how to breathe.
Alive.
Vanella was alive.
Something fierce and uncontrollable surged through his chest—relief so sharp it almost hurt. His knees felt weak, but he did not move. He did not speak.
Raymond continued reading, voice growing tighter with every line.
"She has been revealed in Acosta. Declared the last royalty of Ross. And—"
His voice cracked.
"—betrothed to Raven of the Dragon Line."
The relief in the son's heart shattered.
Betrothed.
His vision dimmed for a split second, the firelight blurring as a dull ache spread through his chest. He clenched his jaw hard enough to hurt.
Alive… but already claimed.
Raymond staggered back into his chair, panic bleeding through his fury. "This changes everything," he said sharply. "Jinhai writes as if this were an inconvenience—do you understand what this means?"
His son bowed his head. "It means Ross has become a weapon."
"And a liability," Raymond snapped. "If Acosta legitimizes her claim, my rule will never be secure. The Tiger Clan will expect results."
The son remained silent.
Inside, memories rose unbidden.
Vanella's hand slipping from his grasp.
Her being dragged away while he stood frozen—caught between saving her and preserving his position.
Telling himself later, soon, when things are safer.
And losing her because of it.
He had loved her then.
He loved her still.
Too deeply. Too dangerously.
"She should have died," Raymond said bitterly. "All of this would have ended cleanly."
The son's fingers curled slowly into his palm.
But his voice was steady. "What does the Tiger Clan demand?"
Raymond exhaled shakily. "They want me to remain calm. To support their next move. Jinhai says he will 'handle Acosta'—but I know that man. He never moves without securing every angle."
Including Ross.
Including Vanella.
"I will go to Acosta," the son said suddenly.
Raymond looked up sharply. "For what purpose?"
"To observe," he replied carefully. "To assess the situation. If the Dragon King truly intends to marry her, we need leverage—or persuasion."
Raymond studied him. "You believe she can be persuaded?"
The son lowered his gaze, masking the storm in his eyes.
"She once trusted me," he said quietly.
Raymond nodded slowly. "Take Laura with you. Her presence may soften the girl."
"Yes, Father."
He bowed deeply—every inch the obedient son.
But as Raymond turned away, consumed by dread and calculations, his son remained still, his thoughts a dangerous tangle of regret, longing, and resolve.
You are alive, he thought.
And I lost you once by choosing silence.
Never again.
If love could not free her, then strategy would.
If obedience had cost him everything, then deception would give it back.
Even if he had to smile beside the men who destroyed her kingdom.
Even if he had to stand against the Dragon King himself.