Captain of the Guard (in a broken voice):
"My Lord King... the situation is worse than we imagined. The 'Bloody Companions' squad did not go to deter the rebels... they are harvesting the heads of civilians in the Explorers' District. Prince Peonil... he is the one who gave the order, and he is watching right now from his balcony."
King Ragos's body trembled, and the goblet fell from his hand, shattering on the marble floor—just as his image of his son had shattered.
King Ragos (in a thundering voice filled with rage and pain):
"Treason! This is treason against the Crown and against humanity! Go at once... take the First Battalion and arrest Peonil. Strip him of his weapons and place him in his royal wing under heavy guard. Any soldier who refuses orders shall be executed on the spot!"
After an hour of intense tension, Peonil sat in his room, surrounded by his father's soldiers whose eyes reflected a mix of loyalty to the King and contempt for the Prince. Ragos entered the room, looking ten years older, his bloodshot eyes burning with a fire Peonil had never seen before.
Peonil (with provocative coldness, sitting on his plush bed):
"Father? What is all this noise? Your soldiers ruined a wonderful moment. I was about to begin analyzing a new sample of the bird's feathers alongside the results of the 'cleansing' down below."
King Ragos (screaming as he approached him):
"What cleansing, you psychopath?! You are sick! You sent your soldiers to torture and kill innocents who don't even have the price of a loaf of bread! What you did isn't politics, and it isn't war... it is a sickening crime that has nothing to do with being human!"
Peonil (laughing with his usual inane chuckle):
"Innocents? Father, you are always so emotional. These aren't humans like us. The Vuanck bloodline is superior; we are the masters of gravity. The rest are merely 'specimens'... tools placed in this world for us to understand the limits of pain and power through them. I didn't kill them; I 'analyzed' them!"
King Ragos (slamming his fist on the table):
"You are not superior to anyone! You are just a criminal hiding behind your father's crown! Your assault on citizens without permission, for no reason other than your madness, makes you a burden to this city. This night will not pass in peace, Peonil... you will face a public trial before the people, and I will be the first to testify against you."
Peonil (his smile vanishing, replaced by a stone-cold face):
"A trial? For a future king? You are delusional, old man. The 'Black Heart' chooses the strong, and I am the strongest because I do not feel the pity that binds you."
The door burst open violently, and Queen Laura entered, her silk gown trailing behind her. Her eyes gleamed with blatant defiance toward her husband.
Queen Laura: "Ragos! Stop this madness immediately! How dare you arrest your crown prince in front of the soldiers? Do you want to destroy the family's prestige for the sake of scum in the lower districts?"
King Ragos: "Laura, your son—this monster we raised—ordered the slaughter of entire families tonight. A trial is the least he deserves."
Queen Laura (sharply): "There will be no trial! I command you to cancel this nonsense and release Peonil. He did what you should have done long ago... cleaning the city of the germs that threaten our throne."
King Ragos (stepping toward his wife until their gazes locked):
"The germs are what dwell in this palace, Laura. Listen to me well, as the sole King of Aetheria: if you interfere in the work of justice again, or attempt to smuggle this criminal out, I will put you in the cell right next to him. The Vuanck dynasty will not survive if it is built on the corpses of children."
Queen Laura (in shock): "Are you threatening me? I am your wife... your partner on this throne!"
King Ragos: "You are my partner on this throne, not my partner in bloodshed. Get out of here... now! Peonil will remain here until morning, and he will be judged with a justice he never granted his victims."
Laura exited, her eyes promising vengeance, while Peonil remained staring at his father with a strange smile, as if he were planning a new "discovery" within the walls of his room.