Sacaler Royal Palace — Guest Chamber
The room was enormous, enclosed by four tall stone walls. A single door stood embedded in one of them, and to the left, a wide window allowed the moonlight to spill into the chamber. The pale glow washed across the polished floor, touching the bed positioned directly opposite the door.
On that bed lay a girl—sleeping, until her body twitched. The moment the universe reached out and healed the world, she felt it. A voice echoed in her mind, vast and overwhelming. Her eyes snapped open instantly.
Ellie stared at the ceiling first, blinking at the glittering chandelier hanging above her. Crystal droplets shimmered softly in the moonlight like frozen raindrops. She turned her head toward the window.
The full moon shone brightly, its white light filling the room with a soft, cold radiance.
"Agh… what did I just hear?" she growled, annoyed and still groggy. She sat up and took in her surroundings, then winced sharply. Her jaw hurt.
"That bastard Brother hit me too hard," Ellie complained, touching the left side of her face—as if she hadn't been the one who attacked him first. With an angry expression and trembling legs, she swung her feet over the side of the bed. The moment her feet touched the cold floor, she shivered, but forced herself up anyway.
As she turned toward the window again, her entire body trembled. Because she had heard something. A voice. A cosmic voice. And within that voice—She heard her brother's name.
Aeren.
Her eyes widened. She doubted it was a coincidence. Something huge had happened. And she had missed it. Ellie reached the window and looked down at the palace grounds. People were walking, working, talking—acting as if nothing had happened.
No panic. No confusion. No reaction to the voice that had shaken the world. But Ellie could feel it. The atmosphere was wrong. Too heavy. Too dense.
Trembling with something she couldn't name—fear? reverence? pressure? She wasn't sure. She had only heard the voice once, but it echoed through her skull as if carved into her bones. And within that cosmic sound, she had heard one name: Aeren.
After that, silence swallowed everything again. Ellie clenched her hand against the window frame. If she stayed here… she would learn nothing. And she would miss whatever was happening outside— something important enough to make her regret it for the rest of her life.
"I have to follow the voice… to reach him," Ellie whispered.
Her tone was strangely detached, her mind drifting somewhere between fear and determination. She healed the ache in her jaw with a small burst of magic, then turned toward the door.
But as she stepped forward—She froze. She caught a scent. Her own scent. "Agh—ugh, I smell horrible," Ellie muttered, sniffing herself in disgust. "Rotten corpses…? Seriously?" All thoughts of Aeren vanished instantly.
Freshness came first. With a huff, she spun toward the washroom. "Aeren can wait. I'm not meeting anyone like this. Yuck." Ellie hurried inside, slamming the washroom door behind her.
And so, the guest chamber fell silent again—its moonlit emptiness holding no presence, no movement, nothing but the fading echo of a girl's disgust and the distant tremble of a world reacting to Aeren.
***
Half an hour later…
Ellie stepped out of the washroom feeling reborn. She had scrubbed every inch of herself until even the memory of that rotten corpse smell vanished. Then she dressed—carefully, deliberately—choosing her best combat attire:
A deep blue dress reinforced with light armor, shining faintly like polished crystal. Black stockings, black gloves. Her long black hair brushed smooth and left to flow freely. Black eyes sharp, bright, and confident.
A princess prepared for war—radiant, fierce, and elegant. She admired herself in the mirror, turning slightly. "Perfect," Ellie whispered with a satisfied smile. "Now I'm ready." With that, she walked to the door and opened it, leaving the silent chamber behind.
The hallway outside was quiet, lined with glowing lanterns. As she stepped out, the maids stationed along the walls immediately lowered their heads in deep bows. Ellie paid them only a passing glance.
"Rina, come out." Her voice echoed faintly through the corridor. A shadow shifted at the corner of the hall. From the darkness, a figure detached itself—slim, masked, clothed completely in black. Her movement was silent as a falling feather.
Rina, Ellie's shadow since childhood. Her most trusted protector. She stepped beside Ellie, matching her pace instantly. "You called for me, Your Highness," Rina said, steadying her voice despite her surprise. She had sensed Ellie nearly die earlier—her consciousness flickering like a candle in a storm—yet now the princess walked as if nothing had happened.
Her aura was clean. Her heartbeat steady. Not a scratch, not a bruise remained. Rina's eyes narrowed beneath her mask. Something was wrong in the world tonight. Even the air tasted strange—dense, trembling. Still, she said nothing more and followed Ellie down the hall, past bowing servants and silent walls that seemed to hold their breath.
Ellie walked with steady, silent steps, her expression unreadable as she headed toward the palace's outer gate. The moonlight spilling through the tall windows pooled over her dress, giving her the appearance of a drifting specter.
The air was still wrong. Dense. Heavy. Trembling. As she moved, she could hear distant voices—knights speaking in hushed tones. The main gate was closed, guards stationed thickly around it. Something in the atmosphere made Ellie's skin prick.
She didn't slow her pace. "What is the situation that I'm not aware of?" Ellie asked flatly, her tone emotionless, almost cold. Rina stiffened. The princess rarely spoke like that—devoid of warmth, judgment, or curiosity. It was the voice she used when she expected truth.
All of it. Rina knew that if she lied…If she hid something…Ellie would sense it immediately. And she would lose more than trust. So Rina chose honesty.
"Your Highness," she began, matching Ellie's pace, "the Sacaler and Vorthis rulers have joined hands. They… they made the decision to kill the prince. With the help of Master Samarth."
The words felt heavy even to speak, as if the air resisted them. But Ellie's face didn't flinch. Not even a blink. She simply turned her eyes toward the knights at the distant gate. They were laughing among themselves, oblivious to the chaos pressing against the world.
Her steps didn't slow. Her pulse didn't rise. Her voice remained perfectly calm, perfectly emotionless. Ellie stopped just a few steps away from the palace gate.
"Where are they? Where can I find them?" Her voice held no weight, no fear, no anger—just an emotionless question directed at Rina. But her attention was already drifting toward the knights stationed at the gate.
They hadn't realized she was close. They were too busy running their mouths.
"…Prince Aeren isn't worthy of Lady Olivia—"
"…Sacaler bloodlines are far better—"
"…Vorthis prince acts like a brute—"
"…Imagine pairing that girl with a monster like him—"
Ellie heard every filthy word. Her expression did not change, but irritation twisted deep in her chest. These nobodies… daring to speak about my brother like he's trash? She didn't speak.
Didn't glare. Didn't react. Just listened. The lack of emotion made the air colder.
***
At the same moment, Rina watched Ellie's face—and felt something in her own chest tighten. She didn't understand Ellie anymore. Ellie had asked for the location where Aeren was being hunted.
Not why the kings wanted to kill him. Not how he ended up in danger. Not who betrayed him. Only where. That alone chilled Rina's spine. She had already told Ellie the kings planned to kill Aeren with Samarth's help…And Ellie hadn't even blinked.
No outrage. No fear. No anger. As if she had expected this. As if this was… normal. As if she knew this would happen someday. That thought terrified Rina. It made her wonder—Did Ellie already know something about Prince Aeren?Something no one else knew?Something that made her say for years, "I'll kill you,"?
Rina had always thought it was harmless sibling bickering. But now…Now it felt like Ellie had just been handed the perfect opportunity she'd always spoken of.
And if Aeren was still alive—and if even two kings and Samarth failed to kill him—then Rina decided she had only one choice: Support her master. No matter what. So she gave Ellie the truth.
"Auction hall… a small distance from the shopping district." Rina's voice trembled as she spoke. She didn't know why the kings wanted Aeren dead.
She didn't know the truth behind Aeren's existence. But she knew one thing—They had planned thoroughly. They had planned to end the Vorthis prince. Ellie finally nodded, expressionless. And the silence that followed felt like the calm before a storm.
"Kill all the knights here." Ellie's voice cut through their laughter like a knife. Every whisper died instantly. Rina froze mid-step, eyes going wide. The knights—who only seconds ago were mocking Prince Aeren—fell silent as if their souls had been grabbed by an invisible hand.
Ellie continued, emotionless: "They dared to call my brother unworthy of a useless princess like Olivia." Her gaze slid over the knights—calm, cold, merciless.
"Kill them." Not a single tremor in her voice. Not anger. Not passion. Just command. Silence crashed over the gate like a suffocating wave.