"What...?" Leo gasped. "Huff... what the hell was that voice in my head?"
It felt strangely familiar.
It's the same as the dream I had on my first day.
Before he could think any further, an unfamiliar pain descended on him. Splitting through his skull.
"Fuck... again? Damn it! I'm fucking done with this!"
The pain was overwhelming. Leo clenched his teeth. Gripped the sheets. Tried to keep himself from screaming.
What's happening to me?
With heavy breaths, he tried to hold himself together. Unlike before, he didn't lose consciousness.
Instead, he felt an immense pressure bearing down on him. Like something unseen was pressing against his entire body.
As the seconds passed, the pain slowly began to subside.
Leo opened his eyes. Like he'd just endured an eternity of torture.
His trembling hand gripped the sheets. Slowly, he tried to pull himself upright.
His arm slipped slightly. But he managed to lift his upper body. He stared at his hand. Still trembling from what he'd just gone through.
Drops of sweat ran down from his temples. He grabbed the blanket beside him. Wiped the beads from his forehead.
He stayed there for several minutes. Maybe longer. He was exhausted to his very core. Barely certain he could squeeze another bit of strength from his body.
He tried to clear his mind. But the voice he'd heard earlier kept buzzing around in his head. Like an annoying bee. For some reason, he could remember every line. Every word.
But he couldn't understand what any of it meant.
But there was one thing, though.
Something that kept appearing throughout the recital. Something that had been nagging at the back of Leo's mind the entire time.
Sin.
That word kept coming back. Over and over.
His previous dream had mentioned something about the first verse. He still had no idea what that meant. But the words had clearly spoken of him bearing the sins beneath Heaven and beneath Hell.
He understood what beneath Heaven could mean. In the traditional sense, it probably referred to the mortal world.
But what was beneath Hell?
Was there another realm below Hell?
Leo wasn't particularly religious. Even in his previous life. So he had no idea whether any of this made sense. For all he knew, the words could have an entirely different meaning in this world.
Unfortunately, he didn't have the mental strength to untangle the mystery right now.
And then there was the other part.
"Harbinger of the Devil."
Was that supposed to mean he was some kind of servant of the Devil?
Leo's expression tightened.
No. No way. Right?
Shit....
Did that old Leonal make some kind of pact with a Devil or something?
"God, why is this happening to me alone...?"
Leo rubbed his temples. Tried to force his thoughts into some kind of order.
After a moment, he gave up.
His eyes were already clouding up from exhaustion. He was sure he couldn't stay like this for another second.
Forget it. Let's rest for now.
He slowly lay back down.
I'll go to the library tomorrow. Maybe I'll find something there that can make sense of all this.
For now, that was the best he could do.
( Valora. The capital of Valerium.)
Most people just called it the Imperial City. Or the City of Dreams, if they were feeling poetic.
There was an old saying about it. Supposedly from some soul who'd lived a few centuries back:
"He who enters the city with Hope shall leave with gold beyond what he ever dreamed."
Maybe true. Maybe not. But Valora had saved plenty of people either way.
Some came chasing fortune. Some came chasing dreams. And some just wanted to leave their old lives behind by Settle into this bustling city with tea on a veranda and a book to pass the time.
Thud..thud..
The horse carriage rattled along the cobbled road. Wheels rolling beneath the warm glow of old-fashioned lanterns. They flickered like fireflies in the evening air.
Children walked alongside their parents. Eyes wandering toward the lights of the distant city. For a moment, whatever worries their families carried seemed to disappear beneath the dreamlike glow of Valora.
A man passed by on the right. Crisp white shirt under a finely tailored black waistcoat. The black buttons ran neatly down its front, ending just above his waist. A long, well-fitted coat draped over his shoulders, swaying gently with each step.
The streets were packed with shops and towering buildings. On the eastern side of Valora stood the Booth of Riches, a district where wealth gathered under every roof.
The buildings here were luxurious. Floors stacked one above another like shelves in a grand library. Each level overflowed with merchants, boutiques, and establishments catering to the wealthy.
Among them stood the Moonlight Pavilion. One of the most luxurious franchises in all of Valerium. Its branches could be found across all seven kingdoms of the Darwin Continent. But the Valora branch was considered the finest.
On the seventh floor, a round table was occupied by six individuals.
Among them was Duke Cassian Graythorn. And the head of the Hawthorne Family.
Cassian sat calmly. Posture relaxed. With an unhurried gesture, he lifted his cup of wine and took a slow sip. His eyes closed for a moment. Like there wasn't a care in the world.
Across from him sat Alaric Hawthorne. Head of the Hawthorne Family.
Beside him sat three of the Imperial Advisors. And Averius D'Averne. The Second Prince of the D'Averne Imperial Family. One of the heirs to the throne of Valerium.
The room fell silent for a moment.
Then Alaric finally spoke.
"What is your final answer, Cassian? Will you hand over Leo? Or are you going to agree to the arrangement we discussed?"
His voice was calm. But the pressure behind his words was unmistakable.
Cassian placed his cup back on the table.
His fingers rested gently against the polished surface. He leaned back in his chair.
Then his eyes shifted toward Alaric.
"It seems you left your brain at your estate, Alaric."
"Impudent! How dare you speak like that in front of the Prince?" one of the Imperial Advisors snapped.
Cassian glanced toward the Prince.
"I think the Prince already knows whom I meant. And I don't think he has any issues with it."
"You..."
Before the advisor could continue, Alaric interrupted.
"Cassian. Don't change the topic. What your son did is a capital crime. He killed my daughter. And you, as the Duke of Graythorn, have failed to provide an explanation."
Cassian stared at him for a moment.
"It seems you really did leave your brain at home."
Alaric's expression darkened.
"Cassian. Do you think I'm joking? Does any of this look funny to you?"
As Alaric spoke, the temperature in the room seemed to drop.
Cassian's expression didn't change.
"Then do you think I'm the one causing this mess, Alaric?"
His gaze sharpened.
"Do you really think a kid with a weak body and barely any strength could have killed your daughter?"
He paused.
"Especially when it's evident that he suffered massive injuries himself."
Cassian's gaze remained fixed on Alaric.
"If Leo really killed your daughter, then answer me this. Why was she found without a single injury?"
His fingers tapped lightly against the table.
"That alone makes it obvious that something else happened there."
His eyes narrowed.
"And there's another question that bothers me."
"Why was she at that boutique that day?"
The room fell silent. Alaric's expression shifted slightly.
"She was the one who begged me to take her there in the first place."
He leaned back slightly.
"Not only that. I was planning to have her meet Alex from one of our branch families. I intended to arrange their engagement."
Cassian remained silent. His fingers tapped lightly against the table.
A faint chuckle escaped him.
"I don't care about your family drama."
His eyes settled on Alaric.
"But I'm pretty sure of one thing. Don't drag Leo into it."
Cassian paused before continuing.
"And as for that arrangement you were talking about..."
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"Don't even think about it." Alaric's expression hardened.
Cassian leaned back in his chair.
"After all, you're using your dead daughter as an excuse to get the Spirit Mine."
A brief silence followed.
"Now I'm genuinely interested in finding out who actually killed that poor girl."
Alaric's expression twisted with rage.
"Who do you think you are?"
His voice rose.
"You're making baseless accusations against me. Do you think I, as a father, would kill my own daughter?"
Cassian simply looked at him with a haughty smile.
"I don't remember saying you did it."
The insult landed as Alaric's jaw tightened.
Before he could fire back, a voice cut through the room from the far end of the table.
"It seems you gentlemen have had your little quarrel. Now, let's get back to what we intended to discuss."
But Alaric wasn't finished.
He opened his mouth to speak..
"Enough."
The word came from Averius D'Averne. The Second Prince's glare fixed on Alaric.
"It seems the Duke of Hawthorne has forgotten himself."
His gaze didn't waver.
"Are you really going to defy an Imperial decree?"