Part II
The day Empress Seraphina Aerwyn was buried, the skies over Eldoria wept without pause.
Black banners replaced gold. The palace corridors echoed with silence.
But in the nursery, three children remained.
Two boys who remembered.
One girl who never would.
The Sons of Grief
The twin princes, Prince Lucien Vaelric and Prince Cassian Vaelric, were only five when their mother died.
Yet they remembered everything.
They remembered her pale hands brushing through their silver hair.
They remembered the soft songs she sang when storms frightened them.
They remembered the way she smiled even when she could barely breathe.
And they remembered their father rarely being there in the beginning.
Children notice more than adults believe.
Lucien, the elder by minutes, became quiet and observant.
Cassian grew sharp-tongued and fiercely protective.
When courtiers whispered that the Emperor had once ordered the pregnancy ended, the boys overheard.
Servants talked.
Walls listened.
And children learned.
Their small hearts hardened.
The Little Princess
The youngest child, Princess Elowen Vaelric, had no memory of her mother.
She only knew the portrait that hung in the grand hall — a painting of a woman with gentle eyes and moonlight beauty.
"Elowen," Lucien once said softly, kneeling before her, "Mother loved you more than the stars."
"Did she?" the little girl asked innocently.
"Yes," Cassian answered firmly. "She protected you."
Elowen's world, however, revolved around her father.
Unlike the twins, she saw him differently.
To her, Emperor Caelion was not the man who once rejected their existence.
He was the man who carried her through gardens.
Who read to her at night.
Who held her when she cried.
She would tug at his sleeve and say, "Father, tell me about Mother again."
And he would.
Every time.
With tears hidden behind composure.
A Divided Family
Years passed.
The twins trained in swordsmanship, politics, and war strategy.
They excelled in everything.
But they never smiled at their father.
At council meetings, they addressed him as "Your Majesty."
Never "Father."
Emperor Caelion Vaelric noticed.
He felt it.
The distance.
The coldness.
The reflection of his former self staring back at him through their eyes.
One evening, he attempted to bridge the gap.
"I wish to dine with my sons tonight," he ordered.
The dining hall was quiet.
Lucien spoke only when required.
Cassian's gaze was sharp.
"You train well," Caelion said carefully.
"We must," Lucien replied calmly. "Eldoria deserves strength."
"And a ruler who values family," Cassian added quietly.
The words struck like a blade.
Caelion's fingers tightened around his goblet.
"I loved your mother."
Cassian stood abruptly.
"But not at first."
Silence fell heavy.
Neither boy bowed before leaving.
And for the first time, the emperor felt powerless in his own palace.
The Brothers' Promise
Late at night, in their shared study, the twins spoke in hushed voices.
"He made her cry," Cassian muttered.
"He changed," Lucien said, though without conviction.
"Too late."
Lucien stared at their mother's old diary — the one hidden among her belongings. They had read it secretly for years.
She never once wrote hatred.
Only hope.
Only longing.
Only love.
And that made it worse.
"He does not deserve her forgiveness," Cassian said.
Lucien closed the diary slowly.
"Then we will make sure no woman ever suffers like she did."
A silent vow was born that night.
Not only to protect their sister.
But to judge their father.
The Princess Between Them
Elowen grew into a bright and compassionate young lady.
She often acted as a bridge between her brothers and father.
"Lucien, Cassian," she scolded once gently, "Father waits for you during festivals."
Cassian looked away.
Lucien's expression softened only for her.
"He should not wait," Lucien replied quietly.
Elowen frowned. "He loves you."
Cassian's voice was low. "Love is proven before it is spoken."
But even as they spoke harshly of their father, they never allowed Elowen to hear the darker truths.
They let her keep her innocence.
Because she had never known their mother's warmth.
And they refused to let her lose her father too.
The Emperor's Regret
As the years passed, Caelion ruled wisely.
Trade flourished.
Wars were prevented.
The people respected him.
But inside the palace, he remained a lonely man.
He often visited Seraphina's old chambers.
Her dresses had been preserved.
Her favorite books untouched.
He would sit in the dim light and whisper apologies into empty air.
"I failed you."
Sometimes he imagined he heard her voice.
Gentle.
Forgiving.
But reality was colder.
His sons' resentment was his daily punishment.
The Seeds of Conspiracy
Eldoria's nobles were not blind.
They saw the tension between emperor and heirs.
They saw opportunity.
Whispers began in shadowed halls.
"If the princes resent the emperor…"
"Division weakens a throne."
A faction of ambitious lords approached Cassian first.
"You deserve a stronger rule," they murmured.
Cassian dismissed them.
But seeds once planted do not easily die.
Meanwhile, Lucien discovered old records — letters between Evelyne Morcant and rival houses.
Proof of betrayal.
Proof that their father had once been manipulated.
Yet even knowing this did not erase their anger.
Because manipulation did not excuse cruelty.
And cruelty had cost them their mother.
The Breaking Point
The emperor fell gravely ill during a harsh winter.
For days, he remained confined to bed.
Elowen stayed beside him constantly.
The twins stood at a distance.
One night, as snow fell heavily, Caelion summoned his sons.
They stood before him — tall, powerful, nearly men.
"I was wrong," he said simply.
No royal tone.
No authority.
Just a man.
"I was blinded by pride. Your mother suffered because of me."
Lucien's jaw tightened.
Cassian's eyes burned.
"I would give my life to undo it."
Cassian spoke first.
"You already did."
And those words would echo long after.
The snow outside thickened.
The empire waited.
And destiny prepared to turn its wheel once more and the time will come unexpected and dangerous for others to think about this time will see what's going to happen between the father and the two sons