Morning sunlight slowly spread across the realm.
Although the explosions had stopped...
The scars remained.
Broken homes.
Collapsed streets.
Families searching through rubble.
Workers repaired damaged buildings from sunrise, while healers treated the wounded without rest.
The realm was alive...
But it was far from peaceful.
---
Grace stood on the balcony outside her office.
From there, she could see almost the entire eastern district.
Carpenters rebuilt houses.
Soldiers carried supplies.
Children helped clear small stones from the roads.
She quietly watched the scene.
A servant approached from behind.
"My Lady."
"The reconstruction of the southern district has begun."
Grace nodded.
"And the injured?"
"They've all been transferred to temporary shelters."
Grace let out a small breath.
"Good."
The servant hesitated.
"My Lady..."
"The citizens are talking."
Grace slowly turned.
"...About what?"
The servant lowered his head.
"Some believe you saved the realm."
"...Others believe you stole Kael from Larissa."
Grace remained expressionless.
"I see."
"You may leave."
"Yes, My Lady."
The servant bowed before disappearing down the hallway.
Grace remained standing alone.
Even after saving thousands of lives...
People still looked at her with doubt.
She quietly clenched the railing.
"I'll make them acknowledge me."
"One day..."
"They'll understand."
---
Elsewhere...
Kael had returned to training.
Not because he wanted to become stronger.
Because it was the only thing that kept his mind occupied.
His sword repeatedly cut through the air.
Again.
Again.
Again.
Sweat rolled down his face.
His palms had already begun bleeding from gripping the sword too tightly.
He didn't stop.
CLANG!
His sword struck the wooden training post with enough force to split it apart.
Nearby soldiers watched silently.
One whispered,
"He's been training since sunrise."
Another nodded.
"He hasn't eaten either."
Emily slowly approached the field.
"Kael."
He didn't even look at her.
Instead...
He raised his sword again.
Emily sighed.
"You can't punish yourself forever.
Still no answer.
She walked closer.
"You won't bring Larissa back by destroying yourself."
Kael finally stopped.
He lowered the sword.
Without looking at Emily, he quietly asked,
"...Did she hate me?"
Emily froze.
After a long silence...
She answered honestly.
"No.
"She was hurt."
"There's a difference."
Kael slowly closed his eyes.
"I wish she had shouted at me."
"I wish she had hit me."
"But she..."
"...just walked away."
Emily placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.
"Sometimes..."
"The quietest goodbye hurts the most."
--
Far away..
Inside the western hideout...
Larissa had finally recovered enough to walk without assistance.
The doctor finished replacing her bandages.
"You should avoid heavy movement for another week."
Larissa smiled politely.
"I'll try."
The doctor laughed.
"I don't believe you."
After he left, James entered the room carrying two cups of tea.
"I remembered your favorite."
Larissa accepted one.
"Thank you."
The two quietly sat outside the hideout.
The forest stretched endlessly before them.
Birds flew peacefully through the sky.
For the first time in days...
Larissa felt a little calmer.
James looked toward her.
"What will you do now?"
Larissa stared into her cup.
"I don't know."
"I can't go back."
"And I don't belong here."
James shook his head.
"You always have a place beside me."
Larissa smiled faintly.
"I know."
A soldier suddenly hurried toward them.
"Brother James!"
James stood immediately.
"What happened?"
"The citizens have begun blaming you for the attack."
"They believe you worked with Robert."
James sighed.
"I expected this."
The soldier continued,
"There's another rumor."
"What rumor?"
"They say..."
"...Lady Grace ordered the ritual because she wanted Kael."
Larissa's hand froze around the teacup.
James looked toward the soldier.
"Who started that rumor?"
"No one knows."
"It's spreading through every district."
James dismissed the soldier.
After he left...
Silence returned.
Larissa quietly whispered,
"...People really believe that?"
James looked toward the distant mountains.
"People always search for someone to blame."
Larissa lowered her eyes.
"If she really did..."
"...then I don't think I'll ever forgive her."
---
That evening...
Grace walked alone through the rebuilt marketplace.
The streets were slowly filling with life again.
Shopkeepers reopened their stalls.
Children laughed as they chased one another.
For a brief moment...
Everything almost looked normal.
Until she heard a quiet whisper.
"That's her..."
"The new leader."
Another voice answered,
"She saved us..."
A third voice followed.
"...But at what cost?"
Grace kept walking.
She didn't react.
But every word settled heavily in her heart.
By the time she returned to the castle...
She finally understood something.
Saving a realm...
Was far easier...
Than healing the hearts of the people living inside it.
The golden rays of the setting sun painted the castle garden in warm colors.
Flowers gently swayed beneath the evening breeze.
A stone pathway stretched between rows of blooming roses, leading toward a quiet gazebo where Robert sat calmly with a cup of tea resting on the table before him.
His crimson eyes stared at the distant horizon.
As if he had already seen the future unfolding.
Soft footsteps echoed through the garden.
Hazel approached slowly before stopping in front of him.
"You wanted to see me?"
Robert looked up.
A faint smile crossed his face.
"Sit."
Hazel pulled out the chair opposite him and quietly sat down.
For several moments...
Neither of them spoke.
Only the sound of birds returning to their nests filled the silence.
Finally...
Robert broke it.
"Do you remember the girl you once asked me to spare?"
Hazel immediately knew who he meant.
"Grace."
Robert nodded.
"You believed she could become different."
"You asked me not to interfere with her life."
Hazel looked at him.
"What happened?"
Robert leaned back in his chair.
"The attack on her realm..."
"...was never ordered by me."
Hazel frowned.
"What?"
"My name was used."
"So was James'."
Hazel's expression slowly changed.
"What are you saying?"
Robert calmly continued.
"Grace knew the protection barrier was weakening."
"She also knew the ritual required someone whose power matched hers."
"There were only two candidates."
"Jackson..."
"...and Kael."
He paused briefly.
"She wanted Kael."
Hazel remained completely still.
Robert's voice stayed as calm as ever.
"She planned everything."
"The attack."
"The confusion."
"The rumors."
"She ensured every path led to the ritual."
Hazel's breathing became heavier.
"No..."
"That can't be true."
Robert looked directly into her eyes.
"Ask yourself."
"Who benefited the most from the attack?"
"The realm gained its barrier."
"Grace became the leader."
"And she married the man she desired."
Hazel slowly lowered her head.
Fragments of everything she had heard over the past months began connecting together.
Grace's strange behavior.
Her obsession with Kael.
The timing of every event.
Her fists slowly tightened.
"But..."
"...Larissa..."
Robert quietly answered.
"She became the greatest victim."
Silence filled the garden.
After a long moment...
Hazel whispered,
"She died because of Grace..."
Robert nodded once.
"And James lost the only family he had left."
Hazel closed her eyes.
The weight of those words settled heavily upon her heart.
When she finally opened them again...
Her expression had completely changed.
"What will happen..."
"...if Eyrx learns the truth?"
Robert gave a faint smile.
"That depends."
"On whether revenge reaches him before forgiveness does."
Hazel looked toward the crimson sky.
"I know my brother."
"When he truly gives his heart to someone..."
"...he protects them with everything he has."
She slowly stood.
"If he discovers Grace destroyed so many lives for her own desire..."
"...I don't know what he'll become."
Robert calmly picked up his teacup.
"I do."
Hazel looked back at him.
"He'll become exactly what Grace fears most."
"The person who will never forgive her."
A cold breeze passed through the garden.
Neither of them spoke again.
The setting sun slowly disappeared behind the mountains.
The peaceful evening carried the silence of a storm that had yet to arrive.
---
From that day onward...
The world continued moving forward.
The wounds of the past slowly became scars.
But no one allowed themselves to become weak again.
Grace buried herself in politics, administration, and leadership, determined to earn the trust she had failed to gain.
Kael trained from dawn until long after sunset, pouring every ounce of guilt into the swing of his sword.
Emily continued her endless experiments, creating medicines, tools, and inventions that strengthened the realm.
James rebuilt his western territory while secretly gathering information about Robert's movements.
Hazel devoted herself to mastering both her swordsmanship and her power, preparing for the day fate would force her to choose a side.
Robert quietly watched every realm from the shadows, patiently waiting for the pieces on the board to move into place.
Across the realms...
Warriors sharpened their blades.
Leaders strengthened their people.
New talents awakened.
old rivalries deepened.
Time refused to stop for anyone.
Seasons changed.
Leaves fell and bloomed again.
Snow covered the mountains before melting into spring.
Months quietly became years.
And for the next...
Two and a half years...
Everyone trained.
Everyone fought.
Everyone prepared.
Without realizing it...
They were all walking toward the same inevitable destiny.