Orvalis that night was like a chest holding its breath before a scream.The streets were quiet, yet guards filled every corner—new units wearing insignias no one had ever seen.No one dared ask questions… and no one dared sleep.
Tomorrow would be the final signing of the alliance with Safina.Tomorrow would also mark Princess Eliana's engagement.
Beneath all those polished celebrations, the scent of danger drifted through the air like smoke.
Deep within the palace, the fourth prince's chambers were lit by a single candle.Behind the desk sat Ken, staring at the stack of papers before him:Seven crises… seven threads… all of them leading to one name: Darius.
Marvin stood explaining, while Gray shut the curtains and watched the hallway.
Marvin spoke in a low tone:
"Tomorrow… everyone will be distracted by the ceremony. It's our only chance.We'll leak the documents to nobles and newspapers—at the exact same moment."
Ken reached toward the files and shut them firmly.
"We'll expose him before the entire kingdom. Not from the shadows."
Gray added with a practical tone:
"The servants are in position. Every document will reach its target within minutes of the signing."
Ken didn't look up, but his voice came out dry and sharp:
"He won't sign. Not with the truth sitting in this hall."
It was the first spark in a night that would be remembered in palace history.
Princess Eliana slipped through the back corridors.Her soft shoes made no sound, and her sky-blue dress trailed behind her like a shadow.
She stopped before Darius's office door.Knocked lightly.
"Enter."
His voice was calm—too calm.
She walked in, smiling with gentle heaviness.
"I only wanted… to wish you good fortune tomorrow."
Darius was sorting papers, but he lifted his eyes to her with a carefully measured smile.
"I appreciate that, little sister."
She stepped closer, and for a brief moment his eyes dipped away…One moment—more than enough.
She reached out and slipped the golden seal from his desk as delicately as plucking a feather, while he was turned toward the bookshelf behind him.
She hid it within the folds of her gown.
Then she said softly:
"It will be an important day… for everyone."
She left, leaving behind a man who didn't suspect—even for a heartbeat—that his documents had just been stabbed in their heart.
The palace lights were dim when Elaine stepped into her father's office.She found him hunched over his papers, each line in the parchment stealing years from his face.
She spoke with quiet firmness:
"Father… why did you return from Prince Darius looking like this?"
He lifted his head slowly.His eyes… the eyes of a man who didn't want to be asked, and couldn't bring himself to answer.
"N-nothing, my dear. Just… business."
She stepped closer.She noticed the tremor in his hand as he tried to arrange the papers with no real order.
"Father… you can barely look at me."
He cleared his throat twice, then forced a soft, fragile smile:
"I said… everything is fine."
But his voice sounded like a whisper from someone drowning.
She placed her hand on the table.
"Father… did Darius threaten you?!"
He froze.
Even the air froze with him.
"Elaine… don't mention his—"
She cut him off:
"His name? Like this?"
The word sounded strange even to her own ears.She leaned closer, refusing to avert her gaze.
"Father… are we—"
She hesitated… then spoke the truth:
"Are we under him?"
As if she had ignited gunpowder.
The duke slammed his hand on the table.
"Do not interfere! Do… not… interfere!"
But his voice wasn't the voice of a father angry at his daughter.It was the voice of a terrified man.
Elaine took a step back, shaken.She didn't know everything… but she understood something crucial:
Darius didn't buy her father.Darius tightened his grip around him.
She left the office, her heart burning with suspicion.
Prince Ken… knew something.He was the only one facing that man… alone.
The grand hall filled with banners of the dragon and the phoenix.Music swelled, nobles whispered, and everything looked magnificent from the outside…And terrified from the inside.
The king stood beside the Safina delegation.And with them… Darius, in his dark suit, wearing the look of a man who believed the night belonged to him.
Then the servants—Marvin's men—began their covert movement.
Sealed envelopes made their way into noble hands.One noble opened a page… another… then a third…
Whispers spread.Frowns, shock, confusion.
Darius noticed.But didn't move.
He stepped onto the platform, opened the golden contract, and prepared to sign.
Then—
Ken stepped forward.
His footsteps were heavy, yet steady like a drawn blade.He stood before the signing platform.He didn't look at the king.He didn't look at the nobles.He looked directly at Darius.
And said, in a voice heard by every person who pretended not to see him:
"The savior who emptied the coffers… does not sign in the name of the kingdom."
Silence fell.Silence swallowed everything.
Darius was not surprised.He smiled… slowly… as if he had been waiting for this moment.
And then—When he descended from the platform and approached Ken…Both of them placed their hands on their sword hilts.
The chapter ends.