The great hall fell silent. The cheerful chatter from moments ago had been snuffed out like a candle in a storm. Every noble, every lady, every guard felt it—the crushing weight of an unseen mountain pressing down on their shoulders.
Warriors reached for their weapons, nobles stepped back, and others stood frozen, trembling.
Pride stood in the center of it all, her eyes no longer warm and amused, but sharp and deep, like twin abysses.
'So… you thought you could touch what is mine?' she thought, her gaze sweeping slowly across the room.
Her eyes were wide, observing every movement. The shadow beside her shifted, merging seamlessly into her own form.
Everyone watched in silence as Darkness—now Pride—turned her gaze toward the prince, who stood there taking heavy breaths.
She raised her power, her voice cutting through the tension.
"How dare you attack my shadow when it is protecting an innocent one?"
The pressure grew heavier with every breath. Some nobles dropped their wine goblets, the sharp sound of shattering glass echoing unnaturally loud in the stillness. One young noble's legs gave way, and he collapsed to his knees without realizing it.
"Lady Rubina…" Lord Zeldard whispered. He wanted to stop Darkness, but he knew she was in the right.
'If I try to stop her now, things will grow unstable and others will interfere… what have you done?' he thought. He understood her power and her nature.
Selphira Zeldard's emotions were tangled—a mix of fear and unexpected peace. Her heart pounded.
'She is protecting me,' she thought. Everyone knew that when Darkness took you under her wing, no one could harm you.
"What a coincidence," the First Prince murmured. He knew of Darkness and believed the same as many others.
'If someone doesn't control her, either blood will be spilled… or the prince will have to kneel before her,' he thought—not that he disliked the latter.
"Darkness, come here," Rubina said, her composure beginning to crack. The illusion she had maintained was breaking, but she tried to hold it together, even as past words echoed in her mind:
'He is a fool.'
'You are a naive girl.'
'He is not a good person.'
'He doesn't love you.'
They were Darkness's words from before—cutting, cruel, and all too true. Still, Rubina fought to steady herself.
Darkness turned toward her with an expression Rubina couldn't read, a strange sensation stirring in her heart. Her lips curved into the faintest smile, though it carried no kindness.
"Is there someone here who wishes to challenge me?"
Her voice was not raised, yet it reached every ear as though whispered right beside them.
No one answered.
'Cowards,' she thought. 'So eager to talk when safe, yet silent when it matters.'
"Darkness, I—your master—call you here," Rubina said, trembling.
Her words were enough to ease the suffocating atmosphere. The burning light in Darkness's eyes faded, and everyone watched as she returned to her composed self.
"I am letting this go because nothing much happened," she said, walking toward Selphira and the young maid. "My shadow is righteous and follows my laws. Protecting the innocent is one of a warrior's laws, so it moved on its own instead of keeping watch on Lady Rubina."
Her explanation was for everyone's ears—an effort to prevent the matter from escalating.
"Lady Darkness, please forgive my young brother for his mistake," the First Prince said.
"Your little brother should say this to the ones he tried to hurt," Darkness replied, extending a hand to Selphira and the maid.
No one spoke. The silence was heavy, for they all knew Darkness's nature and the weight of the situation. Her influence was great, but her resolve was greater.
Lord Zeldard stepped forward and bowed. "Thank you for protecting my child," he said, taking Selphira, who hesitated as if wanting to hold Darkness's hand for just a moment longer.
Prince Ametrine stood shaking, teeth clenched. Outwardly, he looked calm, but inside he burned with rage.
Archduke Renzugus Serphalus approached the Second Prince and whispered, "Prince, you should ask for forgiveness if you don't want this to escalate."
The Second Prince scanned the room. Everyone was against him. No one spoke up for the maid or the butler—but their stares toward him held expectation.
'Damn it. Why isn't even the Archduke standing for me?' he thought. Normally, the Archduke would take his side, but today… he didn't.
Frustrated, he snapped, "You should apologize for the commotion you created, commoner."
Archduke and others stared at him in shock.
'Is he serious?' they thought. Now they understood the depth of his foolishness.
Darkness, appearing calm, flinched ever so slightly—unnoticed by most—before cooling her temper.
"Please forgive me for my rudeness, Prince Ametrine," she said with a bow. Everyone knew she bowed out of duty, not out of respect for his authority.
But the prince didn't understand the danger of his own arrogance.
"Huh, you commoners have no manners, so I forgive you this once," he said, his tone dripping with condescension.
His arrogance was as clear as the daylight, and Darkness's restrained reaction to Rubina's command only deepened the unspoken tension.
Lord Lorian Carnelle stepped in, speaking quietly as he led the prince away. "Prince, you should remain silent, because in the whole kingdom, no one can stand against her if she truly becomes angry."
The prince scoffed. "Haa, she doesn't look that strong."
"No," Carnelle said, "she could, at best, go toe-to-toe with Lord Zeldard—but she would be defeated eventually. That is, unless you go against her path."
"Her path?" the prince asked.
"Yes. A path of the warrior. A protector. Hurting the innocent around her forces her into a rage, and then she calls upon her path's law—a binding that also grants her power, making her nearly unbeatable."
"Huh, so she stopped because of her path as a servant?" he asked, thinking aloud.
"Do not think or do anything foolish, or the whole kingdom could face the consequences," Carnelle warned.
The prince considered this, thinking beyond the obvious limits—perhaps even scheming.
'So… she is a servant who must obey her master, and a warrior bound to protect the innocent,' he thought.
A dangerous light danced in his eyes.
"Yes, Darkness… I hope you enjoy your new master," he said with a grin, like a boy who had just found a new toy.