By sunrise, the eastern gate of the capital had become a river of noble banners.
Luxurious carriages lined the stone road one after another, each displaying the crest of an ancient house upon polished doors. Horses stamped impatiently against the ground while attendants hurried between vehicles carrying travel chests, hunting bows, blankets, and carefully wrapped gifts meant for influential acquaintances they expected to meet before the hunt officially began. The Imperial Hunt lasted only a handful of days, yet every noble prepared as though they were leaving for months.
Because no one traveled there merely to hunt.
Lord Solis's carriage joined the procession shortly after dawn.
Inside, silence settled almost immediately.
Lord Solis and Lady Solis occupied the seats nearest the front, discussing which ministers would likely attend the Emperor's evening banquet. Lyra listened attentively, occasionally asking thoughtful questions about certain noble families or reminding her father of marriages and alliances that had taken place since the previous hunt.
Kira sat opposite them beside the carriage window.
No one included her in the conversation.
She preferred it that way.
The rhythmic sound of the horses' hooves gradually replaced the noise of the city as the capital disappeared behind them. Villages gave way to rolling fields, and before long, the wide Imperial Road became crowded with carriages traveling in the same direction.
Every few minutes, another noble family's banner came into view.
One by one, the most powerful families in the Empire traveled the same road, separated only by a few lengths of horse and wood.
When the procession slowed near a narrow stone bridge, servants climbed down from several carriages to stretch their legs, exchange greetings, or simply satisfy their curiosity about who else had been invited.
Conversations spread naturally through the crowd.
Politics rarely remained inside palace walls.
It traveled wherever nobles gathered.
"...I still believe Prince Julian acted too quickly."
Kira's attention shifted almost instinctively toward the voices drifting through the open carriage window.
Two middle-aged noblewomen stood beside a nearby carriage, speaking quietly while their attendants pretended not to listen.
"The engagement should never have been broken before a proper investigation."
The other woman frowned.
"You think Lady Kira was innocent?"
"I don't know."
Her companion lowered her voice.
"But if someone truly wished to disgrace House Solis, framing the future Crown Princess would've been the perfect way to do it."
"You're giving her too much credit." The second woman shook her head dismissively.
"Whether she was framed or not hardly matters now."
"The engagement ended."
"The Empire moved on." A gentleman standing nearby joined the conversation with a dry chuckle.
"I was more surprised the Emperor allowed the engagement in the first place." Several people glanced toward him.
"The eldest daughter of House Solis becoming the future Crown Princess?" He shrugged.
"Many families weren't pleased." His wife smiled faintly.
"My sister spent months hoping her own daughter would receive that honor."
"And she wasn't the only one." Another noble quietly nodded.
"Half the capital envied House Solis."
"It was only natural."
"The future Crown Princess..." He let the title linger before continuing.
"That's the highest position a noblewoman can dream of." Someone sighed.
"Perhaps this is simply fate."
"If Lady Kira truly lost everything..."
"...then perhaps she was never meant to stand beside the prince." No one defended her.
Not because they hated Kira personally. Most barely knew her. To them, she had always been little more than a distant noblewoman whose extraordinary fortune had vanished overnight. Some pitied her. Others secretly celebrated. Because every opportunity House Solis lost became another opportunity for someone else. Inside the carriage, Kira quietly watched the countryside pass by.
Once...
Hearing strangers discuss her life as though it were entertainment would have broken her heart. Now she found their opinions strangely insignificant. They weren't speaking about her. They were speaking about the version of Kira Solis they believed they knew.
That girl no longer existed.
The carriage lurched forward once more as the procession resumed. Hours passed.
The forests surrounding the royal hunting grounds gradually came into view, their towering pines stretching across the horizon like an endless green sea. The road widened as more noble families arrived, forcing the procession to slow once again.
This time, however...
The atmosphere changed. Kira noticed it before anyone spoke. The conversations became quieter. The laughter faded.
Even the servants seemed to move with greater caution. Ahead, another procession approached from the opposite direction.
Unlike the brightly decorated noble carriages surrounding them, these were almost entirely black.
No elaborate ornaments. No colorful banners. Only a silver wolf engraved upon each carriage door. One by one, the surrounding nobles instinctively stepped aside. Not because anyone ordered them to. Because they wanted to. A young nobleman leaned toward his father, curiosity shining in his eyes.
"Whose procession is that?"
His father answered immediately, though his voice barely rose above a whisper. "The Grand Duke."
The young man instinctively looked around before lowering his own voice.
"You mean..." His father silenced him with a subtle shake of his head.
"Don't." Even several paces away, Kira noticed the exchange. Elsewhere along the road, another lady quietly murmured to her companion.
"The Frozen Duke has already arrived." She never spoke his name. Neither did anyone else. The title alone was enough.
One after another, conversations died as the black procession passed between the waiting nobles. No one attempted to greet it.
No one approached the carriages. Even families whose status rivaled House Solis simply bowed their heads in silent acknowledgment before stepping farther aside. It lasted less than a minute. Then the procession disappeared into the forest without stopping once.
Only after it vanished did the surrounding conversations slowly return.
A relieved laugh escaped one elderly lord. "I thought he was arriving tomorrow."
"So did I."
"I heard he rarely attends."
"Perhaps His Majesty insisted this year." No one spoke any louder than before. It was as though the man's presence lingered even after he had gone.
Inside the Solis carriage, Lyra slowly released her breath. "So that was him..."
she whispered Kira's eyes couldn't help but look at her, Was that a subtle interest she heard in her tone. .
Lord Solis nodded.
"The Grand Duke."
His expression remained unusually solemn. "If you value your future..."
"Never give him a reason to remember your face." Kira's gaze lingered on the disappearing black procession until the last carriage vanished beyond the trees. She hadn't seen Gideon Sterling. The carriage curtains had remained closed the entire time. Yet somehow...
His arrival had changed the mood of hundreds of nobles without him saying a single word. Fear was a remarkable thing. It announced a man's presence long before he ever stepped into the room.
As the royal hunting grounds finally appeared beyond the forest, Kira quietly looked ahead.