A foggy morning descended upon the Empire. The sky was overcast with gray clouds, and the rumble of thunder echoed throughout the land. People gathered in the execution square, whispering with malice and resentment about the "criminal" who had betrayed the Empire. A week had passed since she had been arrested.
And finally… the day of the verdict had arrived.
~~~
Earlier…
"Father! Do you believe that nonsense?!" Diana cried out, her voice filled with sorrow and desperation.
"I am not the culprit! You know perfectly well that I am innocent! You assigned guards to watch me, don't you remember?!"
The Emperor glanced at her from the corner of his eye and replied with deadly coldness, "I know that."
Her voice trembled as she cried out in desperate confusion, "Then why?! Why did you decide to execute me?!"
The Emperor spoke in a tone as sharp as a sword. "I know, but the Empire does not, Diana. You should have been more careful about such matters."
She looked at him in shock and bitterness.
"So… if you had to choose, you would choose the Empire over your own children."
He replied with cold composure, "Besides being an emperor, I am a planet. My duty is to protect Aetheris and its people."
Then he turned toward her and continued in a resolute tone, "To me, you are nothing but pieces on a chessboard. I use them when I can benefit from them, and I abandon them to save the more important pieces. The Empire has suffered tremendous losses… The people have endured great suffering because of the massive fire. To save them from another fire, the cause must be eliminated before the culprit is identified."
Diana raised her gaze to him, her expression blank, then whispered with profound bitterness, "Getting rid of a pawn that could become a queen… is certainly a mistake."
The Emperor smiled faintly, his expression unsettling. "Perhaps, but sacrificing the queen to save the game… is also a good move."
~~~
Back to the present…
Two knights approached the execution platform, holding Diana as she walked calmly, her composure suffocating to behold.
"Isn't she even regretful?" one of the onlookers whispered contemptuously. They began throwing stones at her, but she never bowed her head. Despite her kindness and beauty, she was a princess filled with pride. Admitting to a crime she had not committed was simply not in her nature.
She was tied to a wooden post, and the herald's voice rang out across the square.
"The sentence shall now be carried out. First: All her royal titles shall be revoked. Second: The corresponding death sentence shall be executed—she shall be burned alive!"
Cheers erupted, and harsh applause rose from the crowd.
Diana let out a long, quiet laugh, like a suppressed scream directed at the world. Everyone had abandoned her, even before the flames had touched her. Her father had never truly been a father; he was an emperor who saw nothing but the throne and his reputation. How foolish she had been to believe that he still possessed even a trace of humanity.
She should have known the truth from the moment he decided to kill her infant brother… But was it too late?
"Kill her! Burn her!"
The voices in the square surged like a flood of hatred.
Diana raised her head toward the sky and spoke with strange calmness. "The clouds are gathering… Will you put out the fire for me? Thank you for believing in my innocence. But it's all right… I only hope my brother will be safe when I die."
Tears streamed silently down her face as she whispered to herself, "When I disappear from this world… will there be anyone left to love you? Adrian…"
A soldier stepped forward and passed a torch to the firewood beneath her feet. The flames ignited slowly, then began to spread, devouring the wood… and then her body.
Even so, she did not scream. Instead, she smiled amid the flames and spoke in a broken voice between the tongues of fire:
"Goodbye… my brother."
~~~
Elsewhere, Adrian was running between the trees as part of his morning training. Suddenly, he stopped. A sharp pang struck his heart—the sound of Diana's voice entered his soul like a distant whisper.
"Adrian…"
The voice was a mixture of tenderness and sorrow, an inexplicable feeling that made his conscience tremble. Tears streamed from his eyes for no apparent reason. He wiped them away with a trembling hand and muttered to himself, "Is it because I was running? Maybe the weather is cold…"
Rain began to fall, accompanied by mournful thunder echoing throughout the Empire.
Adrian returned to the camp, where Albert stopped him and said seriously, "Adrian, I've been looking for you."
Adrian turned toward him and asked coldly, "What is it?"
Albert answered with a sorrowful tone, "Actually… I just heard that the Crown Princess has been executed."
Adrian let out a stiff, sarcastic laugh. "What Crown Princess? Were you dreaming? There is no girl with such a title."
But Albert's expression did not change.
"The Crown Princess is Princess Diana."
Adrian froze in place.
Then he burst into a mad laugh, his eyes gleaming beneath the lightning-filled sky. "Ha… hahaha… Diana?! You must be mistaken."
Albert grabbed him by the shoulders and shouted, "Adrian!! I told you that your sister has been executed! Understand?! Are you going to ignore this?!"
Adrian shoved him away and ran between the trees, furious and shattered.
Albert shouted after him, "Wait! Don't go out in this weather!"
Adrian kept running until he disappeared into the shadows, repeating to himself as though the echoes within him were breaking apart, "This is impossible… It can't be her… If she really became Crown Princess, then why was she executed? Damn it… Why didn't I find out before it happened?!"
He stole a horse from a neighboring camp and headed toward the palace, where it had all begun.
Night fell, and thunder roared fiercely as the rain continued to pour without stopping. Adrian struggled to make his way through the forest toward the main gate of the Aetheris Empire. Mud stained his clothes and hindered the horse's movements, yet he did not stop. He pressed onward.
He gasped for breath and wept as memories of Diana flooded his mind.
"It can't be… Diana can't leave me. Would Father really have killed her…? Diana… You said you would always protect me… Why do you want to leave me alone now? If you disappear from my life… then why should I keep living? If I had known I would never see you again… I would never have tried so hard to stay alive."
Adrian continued to think to himself in sorrow and pain as he struggled to reach the palace. But after endless tears and anguish, he made one decision.
"I'll kill him. I'll kill him! I'll kill him! I'll kill him!... I promise you that, Sister."
~~~
After an entire day of travel, he finally reached the palace. The guards did not allow him to enter immediately, as they failed to recognize him.
Adrian looked at them coldly and said in an icy voice, "Have you forgotten? There is no other human with red eyes besides me."
They quickly realized their mistake, apologized, and allowed him to enter the palace.
He headed straight for the main hall and opened the doors without asking permission. He entered and walked until he stood in the middle of the hall. He offered no greeting and spoke directly.
"Where is she… Diana?"
The Emperor dismissed everyone from the hall, leaving himself and Adrian face-to-face.
The Emperor regarded him coldly and said, "It seems you have grown… but you have become rude."
Adrian shouted sharply once more, "Where is she… my sister Diana?"
The Emperor smiled with insulting contempt. "In hell."
Adrian's eyes widened with fury. He drew two daggers, one in each hand, and lunged at the Emperor. The Emperor caught his hands and shoved him forcefully, sending him crashing to the floor.
"You are still weak. How annoying."
Adrian stubbornly rose and attacked again, but the Emperor used his magic to subdue him, inflicting several injuries.
Adrian did not stop screaming. "Why?! You executed her… Isn't she your daughter? She's innocent!"
The Emperor replied with dark coldness, "You are annoying despite your weakness. Will you not stop this nonsense?"
Adrian laughed frantically, his eyes filled with unshed tears. "Ha… hahaha… Yes, nonsense, but I have to kill you!"
The Emperor advanced in a flash of lightning and unleashed even stronger magic, rendering Adrian unconscious. He collapsed to the floor. The Emperor then walked to the hall doors and opened them coldly.
"Take care of the bastard lying there, clean this place immediately, and make sure he remains in his room."
The guards bowed, then carried Adrian away to his room.
~~~
"What are you saying?! Adrian has actually returned?!" the Empress exclaimed, her voice brimming with resentment.
Her personal assistant answered in a cautious whisper, "Yes, Your Majesty. And apparently… he attacked the Emperor himself."
The Empress's eyes widened in astonishment.
"He attacked the Emperor?! Where does he get such audacity when he barely has the strength of a child?!"
Then she suddenly burst into laughter, her joy strangely unsettling.
"Hahaha! Well? Did the Emperor finally kill him?"
The assistant lowered her head and replied, "Actually… he did not. He merely rendered him unconscious and ordered that he be taken to his room."
The Empress's expression froze for a moment before she shouted with suppressed fury, "He dared to attack the Emperor and wasn't killed?! That means my son is still in second place… Damn it!"
She began pacing rapidly back and forth, nervously biting her thumbnail. Then she suddenly stopped, a dark smile spreading across her lips.
"It seems I shall have to wear black once again…"
~~~
Amid the darkness of the night and the coldness of the palace, mysterious shadows slipped into Adrian's room while he remained unconscious. One of them approached with quiet steps, hoisted him over their shoulder, and disappeared into the depths of the darkness without leaving a trace.