In the capital city of Edrath, the atmosphere was vastly different from the crude, direct nature of the Eastern Continent. In the Steppes, people fought with naked blades and spoke their anger openly under the endless sky. But in Edrath, weapons were hidden beneath smooth silk and soft velvet, and battles were fought with sweet smiles and poisoned tongues.
The imperial palace was already buzzing with vicious, low whispers.
"Did you hear?"
a noblewoman murmured behind her gilded fan, leaning toward her companion during afternoon tea.
"Prince Adrian has returned from the Eastern Continent..."
"I heard the barbarian prince discarded him,"
another whispered, her lips curling into a cruel smile.
"A failed marriage? Just after two days of getting married?"
a young lord sneered softly into his crystal goblet.
"How utterly embarrassing for the royal house..."
"To be cast aside after failing to hold a husband's favor..."
a countess added with a cold sigh.
"What a shame. What a pathetic disgrace."
"What are you even talking about?"
a senior marquis interrupted in a hushed, harsh tone.
"That husband has become the very slave of the Emperor! You should be far more concerned about the fact that our prince is wedded to a condemned slave and carries his child. It's even more worse than carrying a child of the commoner."
In the high society of Edrath, where absolute perfection and social standing were everything, a failed marriage was treated like a contagious stain. The nobles offered polite bows and fake sympathies whenever they stood before the Emperor's face, but behind gilded doors and over hot tea cups, they tore Adrian's dignity to shreds.
*****
Deep within the inner palace, inside Prince Adrian's private chambers, not a single ray of sunlight penetrated the room. Heavy velvet curtains had been drawn tightly across every arched window, blocking out the bright afternoon light. The candles remained unlit. The room was completely drowning in a suffocating, pitch-black darkness.
Adrian sat curled up in the far corner of his vast bed, his knees pulled tightly against his chest as he wrapped his pale arms around himself.
The external bruises on his face had mostly faded under the continuous care of the imperial healers, but the internal agony remained as raw as the night it had happened. Every time he closed his eyes, he heard the sharp crack of Thoris's hand across his face. He felt the cold stone floor beneath his body. He felt the warm blood pooling terrifyingly beneath his thighs.
*Knock. Knock.*
"Adrian?"
Cassian's voice came soft and gentle from the other side of the heavy oak door.
"Adrian... I brought some warm broth. Won't you let me in?"
Adrian didn't move. Instead he buried his face deeper into his knees, his shoulders shaking in complete silence.
"I know what they are saying about me outside."
"Our Imperial Father is already punishing the lords who are spreading those rumors. You have nothing to be ashamed of. So please... don't hide in the dark. You also need to eat for the sake of that child."
Cassian's voice continued through the heavy wood, laced with a quiet, fierce pain.
"Go away, Cassian..."
Adrian's voice rasped out, dry, broken, and barely audible through the thick timber.
"Please... just leave me alone..."
On the other side of the door, Cassian stood holding a silver tray, his eyes filled with his own deep heartbreak. Inside the dark room, Adrian pressed his palms tightly over his ears to drown out the silence.
In the Steppes, he had been a victim of physical violence. Here, in his own home, he was a victim of relentless shame. Locked away in the dark, surrounded by soft silks and cold memories, the quiet prince felt even more utterly alone than he ever had in his entire life.
"Very well then,"
Cassian whispered softly against the wood.
"I will leave you alone for now. But I will be back."
With a heavy sigh, Cassian turned on his heel and carried the untouched tray down the wide marble corridor toward his private study.
As he stepped into the room, he noticed a sealed letter already waiting on top of his mahogany desk, bearing the secret emblem of the Feral Guild. Cassian immediately dropped the tray onto a side table and hurried over to pick up the parchment. He had sent out an urgent inquiry months ago, and they had only replied now.
He broke the black wax seal and quickly scanned the letter.
"It seems like the artifacts have been found..."
Cassian whispered to himself, a soft sigh of relief escaping his lips.
"...both of them. To think I thought they were locked away in the Holy Church's private treasury."
Cassian smiled faint to himself, but then a sudden, heavy thought struck him right in the chest.
"Then... does that mean I'm leaving two months earlier than expected?"
He shook his head slowly, walking over to the tall arched window to look out across the capital city.
"No... let's just wait for a little while,"
he murmured, his chest aching.
"I have to make amends with Lucien first. And then I will decide when to leave."
With that, Cassian resolved himself to go find Lucien and talk to him properly—especially now that their heated emotions from the ship had cooled down. For the sake of all the happy days they had shared together, he couldn't leave things be.
Cassian eventually stepped out of his study and called for his chief attendant.
"Elias."
"Yes, Your Highness?"
Elias answered, stepping out from the side hall with a deep bow.
"Where is Sir Arden?"
Cassian asked.
"Tell him I wish to speak with him in my quarters."
Elias hesitated, looking down nervously.
"Sir Arden has already gone back to his Dukedom in the West, Your Highness."
"What?!"
Cassian froze, his voice rising in shock.
"And I wasn't told?!"
"He said there was no need to disturb you, Your Highness,"
Elias explained quickly.
"He mentioned that as long as the Emperor knew of his departure, then that was enough."
Cassian let out a sharp sigh, suddenly feeling a gut-wrenching ache deep in his stomach. But he swallowed the bitter feeling down, telling himself it was probably better to give Lucien some time alone. Perhaps they would be able to talk calmly after a few days had passed.
"Perhaps I should catch up on my duties instead of lounging around,"
Cassian murmured to himself, trying to pull his thoughts together. He turned back to his attendant.
"Elias, create a schedule for me and Sora to meet so I can check up on his condition. Then after that, make sure to prepare for our journey back to the Academy. At least my students will be able to keep me busy for the time being and help me forget for a little while."
He looked back out at the gray sky, his jaw setting firmly.
"Wallowing over some failed love isn't something I can afford right now. We should move forward, and everything else will work itself out."
With that he sighed heavily before reaching out for the broth he had prepared for Adrian. And he gulped it down in one go.
*****
Meanwhile, far to the west, inside the grand, cold gates of the Arden Dukedom...
The heavy iron gates creaked open as Lucien rode his stallion through the courtyard. The servants scrambled to line up, bowing deeply as their master dismounted.
"Master, you are back!"
the head butler greeted, taking the horse's reins.
Lucien tossed his travel bags aside into a servant's hands, stepping into the massive, echoing foyer. Then he looked around the silent stone castle, a long, tired sigh escaping his lips.
"I'm home..."
"Oh, Lucien... welcome back!"
A soft, elegant voice echoed from the top of the marble staircase. A beautiful woman in a flowing dark gown hurried down the stairs with a joyful expression.
"Oh, my goodness, my poor child, just how long has it been?! You have changed so much!"
Lucien glared down at the woman across him, but the moment he stepped forward, her form dissolved into thin air before his hands could even touch her fabric, vanishing like smoke in the wind.
"Tsk!"
Lucien cursed under his breath, dropping his arms.
"Still playing these kinds of illusion tricks with me... This is the exact reason why I hardly ever come back here!"
Lucien kicked off his heavy riding boots, leaving them near the entrance before proceeding down the long, silent hallway. The castle was cold and empty, just as it always was. But at this point, even he was feeling completely hollow inside.
'A castle without family...'
he thought bitterly, stepping across the cold flagstones.
'..only filled with my servants and the dark mana seeping from the basement.'
Lucien slowly walked down the twisting stone staircase leading beneath the castle, approaching the deepest level of the basement. This was the dark place where he carefully hid his secrets, his sins, and his inner demons.
The moment he stepped into the subterranean chamber, the wriggling, horrendous shadows trapped within the cage screeched violently at the very sight of him. Lucien offered a cold, dangerous smile, walking even closer to the iron bars. He let himself stand within inches of the squirming darkness, completely unbothered by its terrifying presence.
"Are you really that happy to see me, hm?"
He carefully leaned his arm against the heavy cage bars—bars that were heavily coated with glowing Holy mana—and he looked directly at the distorted, demonic figure bound across from him.
"I have killed every possible vessel for you, shadow,"
Lucien said coldly.
"So now... what will you do?"
"Don't be mistaken, Lucien..."
an evil, raspy voice erupted from the darkness, echoing with horrifying laughter.
"...you didn't kill all of them. One still remains!"
"Oh, you mean Cassian Valemont?"
"The Crown Prince will no longer awaken you, shadow so forget about him,"
Lucien declared, his eyes flashing with absolute conviction.
"I have seen it for myself—he has completely reformed. No matter who you try to possess, anywhere or anytime, I will definitely execute them on the spot until I finally manage to burn you to ashes."
"A meager Holy power such as yours can never do anything to a powerful demonic being like myself!...after all isn't that why I am still alive?"
The demon mocked, its dark form writhing against the light.
"It is only a matter of time, demon,"
Lucien replied quietly.
"Just mark my words."
The demonic voice chuckled darkly, sounding as though it found Lucien's entire existence absurd.
"Keep fooling yourself like that, fake Holy Knight! It will only make devouring you all the more worth it! After all, I can tell that the power I left inside of you since you were young is starting to finally take root inside your soul..."
The shadow leaned closer to the bars, its glowing red eyes narrowing.
"I can feel the time is drawing near when I can devour you whole and take over your body... just like back then. That time."
Lucien suddenly gritted his teeth, his knuckles turning white as he glared through the iron bars. The shadow merely chuckled, tilting its hideous head.
"Did I hit a nerve?"
The evil voice purred.
"You do know that a secret can't stay a secret forever, right? All in due time, everyone will know just who you truly are! You just need to succumb to your inner demons and... voila! You're completely mine to control!"
Lucien watched it laugh at him in the gloomy light. He took a deep, steadying breath, slowly forcing himself to calm down.
'Come to think of it...'
Lucien thought, his eyes darkening.
'...Thoris hinted that he knew about my past. And it seems like Reinhardt had told him, since they were working together to bring down Cassian. It's time to keep my promise and squash those rats flat before they can even tell anyone else.'
"You are craving for blood, aren't you?"
the demon whispered, its voice turning insidiously sweet.
"No, I'm not!"
Lucien defended sharply.
"Just embrace it!"
the demon roared with laughter, the shadows surging forward against the holy bars.
"Just like how you caused a bloodbath in the past and massacred everyone! Old people and children—even your own family indifferently! Why don't you do it again?! Why don't you try again so that I can help you this time as well?!"
A heavy, suffocating silence hovered between them in the dark chamber.
Lucien slowly closed his eyes, shielding his heart from the dark memories trying to claw their way out.
"The day that I finally get rid of you..."
Lucien whispered, his voice dropping into a cold, absolute vow.
"...is the day that I'll finally admit I can die in peace."
*****