It had been more than half a year since the day that Noctellis came back to the empire with the news of the demon king's castle crumbling.
There was no movement from the demon forces, with their leader still missing.
The war was not truly over.
But after years of bloodshed, fear, and devastation,
people celebrated anyway.
Every tavern sang songs about the Hero of the Empire.
Every noble family boasted about contributing to the war effort.
Every drunken citizen shouted Noctellis Ellengarde's name like a prayer.
Banquets, lavish events.
The duke himself attended none of it willingly.
Noctellis stood alone atop one of the imperial palace balconies while golden fireworks exploded across the night sky behind him.
The capital stretched endlessly below.
Alive.
Victorious.
Safe.
Everything had returned to order.
Then why did it still feel incomplete?
A servant approached cautiously from behind.
"Your Grace."
Noctellis did not look away from the city.
"What is it?"
"There is… an individual requesting a private audience."
"I declined all meetings tonight."
"Yes, Your Grace, but…" The servant hesitated nervously. "He claims the matter concerns the duchess."
Silence.
Then slowly,
Noctellis turned.
The servant immediately lowered his head further beneath that gaze.
"Where?"
"The eastern courtyard."
Several minutes later,
the duke entered the isolated courtyard alone.
The distant celebrations sounded muted from here.
Moonlight reflected softly against marble pathways and quiet fountains untouched by the noise of the capital.
And there,
leaning lazily against a stone pillar,
stood a man dressed entirely in black.
Young.
Tall.
Handsome enough to feel dangerous.
Black hair slicked neatly backward.
Dark eyes carrying the lazy confidence of someone deeply accustomed to violence.
Silver rings gleamed across tattooed fingers while several faint scars disappeared beneath the collar of his sleek coat.
Two bodyguards waited outside the courtyard entrance.
Neither dared step closer.
Interesting.
The stranger casually lit a cigarette.
"You actually came."
Noctellis studied him silently.
"You requested this meeting."
Smoke curled slowly into the cold night air.
The younger man smiled faintly.
"That's true."
Silence lingered briefly.
Then finally,
"Ysilvern Hyde."
The duke recognized the name immediately.
Officially,
the empire possessed no records connecting that name to anything meaningful.
Unofficially,
the underworld whispered it constantly.
The heir to one of the largest criminal organizations operating across multiple kingdoms.
Smuggling.
Trafficking.
Political blackmail.
Illegal trade routes.
Assassinations.
The kind of man civilized society pretended did not exist while secretly relying upon his networks constantly.
Noctellis had expected someone older.
Ysilvern laughed softly as though reading his thoughts.
"You look disappointed."
"You're younger than expected."
"And you look exactly as miserable as the rumors describe."
Noctellis remained expressionless.
Ysilvern smirked slightly.
Interesting.
Most men folded immediately beneath the duke's presence.
This one looked entertained instead.
"I dislike wasting time," Noctellis said coldly.
Ysilvern exhaled smoke lazily.
"I heard your wife disappeared."
The atmosphere inside the courtyard sharpened instantly.
Noctellis said nothing.
Ysilvern continued calmly.
"My wife disappeared too."
That caught the duke's attention.
Slightly.
The younger man flicked ash onto the marble.
"She vanished several months ago," he continued. "Honestly, I almost respected the effort."
"How is this related to my wife?"
"I was told your wife built a village."
Ysilvern smiled faintly.
"And my wife decided to join her."
Noctellis's gaze darkened slightly.
"Where?"
"In the Null Forest."
Ysilvern observed him carefully.
No visible reaction.
But silence itself was revealing.
"You don't fully believe me yet," he mused. "Fair enough. I wouldn't trust me either."
"Who is protecting them?"
That question genuinely surprised Ysilvern.
Then slowly,
he smiled.
The Hero of the Empire had likely searched everywhere else already.
Every kingdom.
Every trade route.
Every noble estate.
Every hidden territory outside imperial control.
Everything except the Null Forest.
And now, at the edge of desperation,
he was finally willing to entertain something absurd.
Ysilvern himself had not believed it initially either.
But the source was too reliable to ignore.
"Monsters," he answered calmly. "And a Primarch."
The mood changed instantly.
Cold pressure flooded the courtyard.
Even the fountains seemed quieter beneath it.
Noctellis was no longer merely displeased.
He was dangerous.
Ysilvern remained outwardly relaxed, but internally, every instinct sharpened.
Facing ordinary nobles and facing Noctellis Ellengarde were entirely different things.
The duke understood immediately.
Ysilvern was not foolish enough to approach the Null Forest alone.
Not if monsters truly guarded the settlement.
Not if a Primarch resided there.
Which meant,
he wanted something.
Someone capable of surviving that forest.
A rabid beast brutal enough to carve a path through monsters if necessary.
Noctellis finally spoke.
"I do not cooperate with criminals."
"You want your wife back," Ysilvern replied calmly.
"No."
That answer surprised him slightly.
Noctellis's expression remained perfectly composed.
"She abandoned her duties as duchess. There is no place for her in my castle."
Ysilvern stared at him for several seconds.
Then burst into laughter.
Actual laughter.
"You are unbelievable."
Noctellis looked deeply unimpressed.
Ysilvern rubbed his forehead while still grinning.
"So you're just going to leave her there?"
"No."
The duke's voice turned colder.
"If what you say is true,if someone inside the Null Forest is capable of controlling monsters,then that settlement is a potential threat to the empire."
Ah.
There it was.
Duty.
Responsibility.
Excuses carefully wrapped around obsession.
Ysilvern almost admired it.
"I will carry out the punishment for someone who abandoned their duty." Noctellis continued. "And the empire eliminates a possible threat."
"A temporary alliance. Nothing more."
Ysilvern extended his hand lazily.
"Do we have an agreement?"
Noctellis stared at the offered hand briefly.
Then finally,
he took it.
Their handshake felt less like an alliance,
and more like two disasters agreeing to walk in the same direction.
Far away,
deep within the Null Forest,
Milena quietly unpacked her small suitcase inside one of the rooms of the main house in the newly built village.
The room was simple.
Warm.
Peaceful.
No screaming.
No gunfire.
No fear.
She touched the blankets carefully, almost as though afraid they might disappear if handled too roughly.
Outside,
she could hear laughter.
Jemina again.
Always loud.
Always alive.
Milena slowly sat on the edge of the bed.
Then finally,
she allowed herself to breathe and relax.
Once she allowed herself to relax, all the accumulated fatigue slowly unraveled through her body.
Milena fell into a dreamless sleep.
Meanwhile,
deep within another kingdom entirely,
a beautiful man with black horns lounged lazily atop a ruined throne while swirling wine inside a crystal glass.
Isaac smiled faintly to himself.
Then quietly murmured,
"Now then."
His crimson eyes glimmered with amusement.
"Let us see whose love is uglier."