Only a single moment passed between the king raising his hand… and the fate of an entire kingdom shifting forever.
The king's arm shot upward, and his voice sliced through the hall like the edge of a blade:
"Royal Guards…arrest everyone.Prince Darius…and all nobles present!"
The silence that followed was shorter than a breath—yet long enough to give birth to terror.
Then the hall erupted.
Screams, confusion, footsteps pounding against the stone floor, and nobles choking on a fear they had never tasted before.
"We're not involved!""Please— we're innocent!""This is a conspiracy, Your Majesty!"
But the king shouted again, his voice dripping with venomous rage:
"Every family will be investigated… one by one!"
There was no turning back for anyone.
The guards surged like a flood, binding arms, throwing nobles—who were used to standing in palaces—down onto the floor.
And within that chaos… the first collapse happened.
Elaine spun left and right, unable to comprehend the chaos, until she saw the guards locking shackles around her father's wrists.
She froze.
Then screamed his name—
"Father!"
She ran to him, shoved one of the guards with a trembling hand, and clung to his arm with everything she had left.
"Please! My father isn't involved! Leave him! Father… Father!"
Her father tried to lift his hand, just to touch her shoulder, just to reassure her…
But the guards pulled him harshly.
"Elaine… calm down… everything will be clear… I… I—"
His voice broke before he could finish.And her eyes broke with it.
The duke was dragged away, while Elaine remained on the floor, crying without a sound… tears falling as if they were the last pieces of her life.
Amid the chaos, several nobles tried to flee toward the back doors, but the guards blocked every exit.
Duke Havenar—one of the major conspirators—lost his mind.
He screamed wildly as he sprinted toward the tall window:
"I won't fall alone! I won't fall!!!"
He jumped before anyone reached him—
But Ken raised a finger toward Gray, a silent signal.
Gray didn't hesitate.He shot forward with incredible speed, leapt after Havenar, collided with him midair, and both crashed hard onto the floor.
Havenar screamed in pain:
"Get off me! I'm not the one who started—"
Gray forced his face into the ground, his voice low and razor-sharp:
"Shut up… before I help you finish the jump."
The guards arrived, shackled the duke, and dragged him away as he screamed like a trapped beast.
As the last of the nobles fell, the hall gradually quieted, as though the storm had exhausted itself.
Ken walked toward the King of Safina and his delegation.
He spoke with calm, cold clarity:
"You may leave now…There will be no ceremony today."
The delegation moved, but the Safinan king paused at the door.
He looked at Ken for a long moment… filled with pressure, anger… and silent promises.
Ken returned the look with steady, calm eyes—carrying an unspoken threat.
The Safinan king tightened his fist… then left.
That single glance was the declaration of a new conflict yet to come.
Nobles sat on the floor, bound, surrounded by the solid rows of royal guards.
They formed a human circle of fear.
The king stood before them.
Something weighed heavily on his shoulders… and there was a shadow in his eyes that didn't resemble a king who once ruled with confidence.
He spoke quietly, but his words reached every heart:
"I am disappointed in all of you.Disappointed by what you did before guests of another kingdom.And even more disappointed… when I learned that the one behind all of this…is my third son."
The sentence fell over the hall like a blow nobody could endure.
Then he gestured to the guards:
"Take them… to the royal prison."
The dragging and pulling began—screams, begging, and desperate voices.But the king didn't look back.
No one heard.No one pitied.
After the hall was cleared, the king remained standing before the table.
He no longer looked like a ruler… but like a man drained by age and betrayal in a single night.
He ran a hand across his face and spoke in a voice barely audible:
"What kind of heart… was that boy hiding?How did I let him go so far?How… did I not see?"
He lifted his gaze to the direction Ken had exited:
"Ken…I pray you haven't made a mistake."
Then he turned slowly, leaving the hall with exhausted steps.
An hour after the chaos, Ken reached his chambers.
Marvin sat near the balcony.Gray stood silently inside the room, watching the courtyard below.
Marvin gave a faint smile:
"The collapse has begun."
Gray chuckled lightly:
"I haven't chased a foolish duke in years. He was incredibly slow."
Ken sat at the balcony, tossing the files onto the small table before him.
"We survived tonight… but the war isn't over."
Marvin approached:
"Tomorrow we start sorting the files. We'll need full evidence on the sixteen nobles… and the other three hundred."
Gray:
"And I'll begin extracting confessions."
They left the room.
And Ken remained alone.
He stood at the balcony, staring at the moon hanging over Orvallis…his eyes steady—carrying no thrill of victory, but something closer to a vow.
He whispered something no one would ever hear:
"Tomorrow… will be the beginning of your end, Darius."
Then he closed the curtain and moved toward his bed…
to begin the night that would separate his brother's fall… from his own rise...
End of Chapter.