At the heart of Mongrul Forest, the village remained silent.
The smell of ash still lingered in the air.
Some huts had been reduced to blackened structures, while a thin layer of frost still covered the roofs that remained standing.
The dead had been buried.
But no one spoke of returning to normal.
Not after what had happened.
When Linn returned, she was greeted by exhausted faces and eyes that avoided meeting hers.
Mothers held their children tighter than usual.
Wounded warriors sat beside the fires.
Elders silently stared at the remains of their homes.
Linn stopped for a moment.
She knew the magnitude of their loss.
They were not simply warriors.
They were fathers.
Brothers.
Sons.
Friends.
Entire generations who had shared that forest.
She clenched her teeth.
She could not afford to cry.
Not yet.
—Gather the elders —she ordered—. All of them.
A short while later, the tribe's elders took their places inside the large communal tent.
The central fire crackled weakly.
No one spoke.
Linn stood before them.
A map of Refrvollr territory lay on the table.
Several areas were marked with black stones.
—This is what we know —she began.
She pointed to the place where Galdrok had attacked.
—The dragon appeared without warning. It attacked the village and then fled toward the mountains.
One of the elders frowned.
—It wasn't a normal attack.
—No —Linn replied—. Galdrok was looking for something.
The elders exchanged glances.
Linn continued:
—During my journey to the kingdom, I also heard reports of an abnormal increase in magical activity. Creatures abandoning their territories. Changes in water sources. Plants growing out of season.
An elderly woman tightened her grip on her staff.
—Our hunters have seen it too.
—And it didn't start yesterday —another elder added—. It's been happening for weeks.
Linn nodded.
—That's why we need to decide what to do now.
A heavy silence fell over the tent.
Finally, one of the elders spoke.
—We must leave the valley.
Several heads turned toward him.
—Leave it? —a woman asked.
The elder pointed toward the wounded warriors near the entrance.
—Galdrok has already destroyed part of our village. The beasts are changing. The mana is increasing. What more do we need to understand that this place is no longer safe?
—We need to remember who we are —the woman replied, striking the ground with her staff—. Our ancestors died defending these lands. We cannot abandon them every time a threat appears.
—Every time?
The elder turned toward her.
—This time we nearly lost our children.
The woman fell silent.
No one could contradict him.
Linn looked at both of them.
Part of her wanted to stay.
That forest was her home.
She had been born there.
Her family had lived there for generations.
But then she remembered the bodies.
The destroyed homes.
And the faces of the children she had seen crying among the ruins.
—We're not talking about running away —she finally said.
Everyone looked at her.
Linn placed both hands on the table.
—We're talking about surviving.
The elderly woman slowly shook her head.
—And what do you propose?
Linn took a deep breath.
—We'll prepare a refuge outside the valley.
Some of them began murmuring.
—Our people will remain here as long as we can defend the territory —she continued—. But the families will have a place to go if the situation gets worse.
—That means dividing the tribe.
—It means giving them a chance.
Linn pointed at the map.
—If the mana continues to increase, we don't know what creatures will appear next. Galdrok may have been only the beginning.
The tent fell completely silent.
—And if the time comes when this forest can no longer sustain us —Linn added—, I want our people to have somewhere to go.
The woman with the staff stared at her for several seconds.
—And what if that time never comes?
Linn held her gaze.
—Then we'll have prepared a refuge we'll never need.
She paused.
—But if it does...
Her eyes swept across the faces of those present.
—I don't want to bury our children again.
No one answered.
The fire crackled in the center of the tent.
For the first time since Galdrok's attack, the elders stopped arguing over whether they should abandon the forest.
Now they were arguing about how much time they had left.
And at the back of the tent, one of the oldest shamans slowly raised his head.
He had remained silent throughout the entire meeting.
—Linn...
She turned toward him.
—What is it?
The old man looked toward the entrance of the tent.
—Last night, I saw something in the sky.
The conversations died down.
—What did you see?
The old man took several seconds to answer.
—A light that did not belong to any star.
Linn frowned.
—A storm?
—No.
The old man slowly shook his head.
—It was too large.
He looked at the others.
—And it is getting closer.
While the servants finished preparing the carriages, Lusian accompanied Emily to the mansion's garden.
Dry leaves moved along the paths with every gust of wind.
It was the last afternoon before they both returned to their respective territories.
—Did you speak with your father about the invasion? —Lusian asked.
Emily lowered her gaze.
—Yes.
Her answer was accompanied by a sigh.
—But I don't think he'll do much.
Lusian remained silent.
—Ever since my brother died... —she continued—, my father hasn't been the same. He used to take care of everything. Now he barely leaves his study.
—I'm sorry.
Emily gave him a faint smile.
—Me too.
Lusian looked toward the path leading to the carriages.
—Even so, you need to insist. If the reports we've received are correct, the attack could be much worse than we imagine.
—I know.
Emily clenched her hands.
—Even the king has sent warnings. But some nobles believe we're exaggerating.
—Then do what you can.
Lusian looked directly at her.
—And when the time comes, we'll go.
Emily raised her head.
—Really?
—Yes.
There was no hesitation in his voice.
—The army may take time to arrive, but I'll do everything I can to be there.
Emily watched him for several seconds.
—Thank you.
Lusian smiled.
—You don't have to thank me. We're friends, aren't we?
Emily let out a small laugh.
—Yes. I suppose we are.
They continued talking for a few more minutes, until a servant appeared to inform them that her carriage was ready.
Emily said goodbye and began walking toward the exit.
Then a second servant approached discreetly.
—Miss Emily.
He handed her a letter.
—This was left for you.
Emily frowned.
—For me?
The man nodded and withdrew.
There was no sender.
Emily immediately recognized the handwriting.
She thought it was from Lusian.
She opened the envelope.
There was only one line.
I'll be waiting for you in the garden, by the pond.
Emily looked back.
Lusian was no longer there.
Perhaps he wanted to say goodbye to her in private.
She put the letter away and followed the instructions.
The garden was almost empty.
The sun was beginning to disappear behind the trees, and the pond reflected the last golden hues of the day.
Emily walked along the path.
Then she heard a voice.
—Lusian...
She stopped.
It wasn't him.
It was Elizabeth.
Emily instinctively hid behind a hedge.
On the other side of the garden, the princess stood in front of Lusian.
They were too close.
Much closer than two friends should be.
Emily felt her heart stop.
Elizabeth raised a hand and touched Lusian's face.
He smiled.
Then they kissed.
Emily remained motionless.
She couldn't look away.
Not because she wanted to keep watching them.
But because her body simply stopped responding.
For several seconds, all she could hear was the wind.
So it was true...
She felt a pressure in her chest.
She didn't know exactly what she had expected to find when she followed that letter.
But it wasn't this.
Elizabeth pulled away first.
That was when she saw Emily.
Their eyes met.
The princess didn't seem surprised.
—Emily.
Lusian turned around.
The color drained from his face.
—How are you here?
Emily slowly lowered the letter.
Now she understood.
It hadn't been Lusian.
Elizabeth had wanted her to be there.
—I was given a letter —she replied.
Her voice sounded calmer than she felt.
Elizabeth smiled faintly.
—Then I suppose there's no need to explain anything anymore.
Lusian took a step toward Emily.
—Wait.
Emily raised a hand.
—No.
He stopped.
Emily took a deep breath.
—I don't want to hear excuses.
—I wasn't going to—
—Lusian.
She looked at him.
Her eyes were moist, but she wasn't crying.
—I just need to understand something.
Lusian remained silent.
—Do you love her?
The question hit him harder than any accusation could have.
He didn't answer immediately.
But he couldn't lie either.
—Yes.
Emily closed her eyes.
A tear rolled down her cheek.
She wiped it away before it could fall.
—I understand.
Elizabeth watched in silence.
Then she spoke.
—Then everything can be resolved.
Emily turned toward her.
—What do you mean?
—Your engagement.
Elizabeth took a step toward her.
—You can end it.
Emily frowned.
—And what would happen afterward?
—The royal family would protect you.
The princess spoke with absolute certainty.
—Your family wouldn't have to face the Douglases alone. We would handle the consequences.
Emily remained silent.
Then she understood.
This wasn't simply an offer.
Elizabeth wanted her to break off the engagement.
She wanted Lusian.
And she was willing to use Emily to get him.
—So that's why you sent the letter.
Elizabeth didn't answer.
Emily smiled sadly.
—You wanted me to see.
—I wanted to give you a choice.
—No.
Emily slowly shook her head.
—You wanted me to make a decision that would benefit the royal family.
For the first time, Elizabeth's expression changed.
—You don't understand.
—Maybe I don't.
Emily held her gaze.
—But I do understand one thing. You love Lusian.
Elizabeth fell silent.
—And I also understand that you don't trust me to end the engagement on my own.
—Because you're afraid.
Elizabeth's voice grew colder.
—You're afraid of your family. Of the Douglases. Of the consequences.
Emily lowered her gaze.
—No.
When she raised it again, her expression had changed.
—I have responsibilities.
Elizabeth frowned.
—The engagement wasn't your choice.
—I know.
—Then why do you keep accepting it?
Emily looked at Lusian.
—Because he didn't choose it either.
Lusian remained motionless.
Emily continued:
—I'm not going to use his misfortune to escape from my own.
Elizabeth watched her for several seconds.
—You could be with someone you love.
—I don't know if I love anyone.
Emily smiled faintly.
—But I do know that Lusian is important to me.
Elizabeth pressed her lips together.
—Even after this?
Emily looked at Lusian.
There was pain in her eyes.
But no hatred.
—Precisely because of this.
Lusian lowered his gaze.
He hadn't expected that answer.
Emily turned back to Elizabeth.
—I won't break the engagement to help you get what you want.
The princess remained silent.
—But I'm not going to stand between the two of you either —Emily added—. If one day I can leave this engagement without destroying my family or harming Lusian, I will.
Elizabeth narrowed her eyes.
—And until then?
—I will fulfill my duty.
The answer was simple.
Firm.
Without drama.
Elizabeth understood that she wasn't going to convince her.
—You may leave.
Emily bowed.
—Thank you, Princess.
She turned around.
—Emily.
She stopped.
Elizabeth spoke without looking at her.
—You don't know what you're choosing.
Emily remained silent for several seconds.
—Probably not.
Then she continued walking.
Lusian caught up with her a few meters later.
—Emily.
She didn't stop.
—Wait.
—Why?
—I need to talk to you.
Emily finally turned around.
—Then talk.
Lusian took a deep breath.
He had imagined many times how that moment might happen.
He had never imagined it would be this difficult.
—I didn't want to hurt you.
Emily gave him a small smile.
—I know that.
—Then...
—That doesn't mean it doesn't hurt.
Lusian fell silent.
Emily looked away.
—But I don't hate you.
Those words surprised him.
—Why?
Emily took several seconds to answer.
—Because from the beginning, you told me you didn't want this engagement.
Lusian lowered his gaze.
—And yet...
—And yet I stayed.
Emily took a deep breath.
—That was my decision too.
They walked a few steps in silence.
Then Lusian stopped.
—There's something I need to tell you.
Emily looked at him.
—What?
—But you have to promise me you won't tell anyone.
She nodded.
—I promise.
Lusian looked around before continuing.
—The hostility between the Douglases and the royal family isn't exactly what it seems.
Emily frowned.
—What do you mean?
—The founding families of the kingdom have roles that are rarely mentioned outside certain circles.
Lusian paused.
—Ours is to maintain order.
—How?
—By whatever means are necessary.
Emily felt a chill.
—Including executions?
Lusian didn't answer.
That was enough.
Emily understood.
—Then the stories...
—Some of them are true.
—And the others?
—They were created so no one would ask too many questions.
Emily remained silent.
—Does the royal family know all of this?
—Yes.
—Then...
She looked toward the garden.
—All that hostility?
—It's necessary.
Emily felt as though the world had suddenly become more complicated.
She had grown up believing that the Douglases were a dangerous family.
A family that had shed blood for generations.
Now she was discovering that perhaps that hatred was part of something much larger.
—And you?
Lusian looked at her.
—What?
—Will you have to do it too?
He took several seconds to answer.
—If the time comes.
Emily felt a knot form in her throat.
For the first time, she understood that Lusian wasn't simply a noble trapped in an engagement.
He was also trapped within his own family.
—I'm sorry.
Lusian gave her a faint smile.
—You don't have to be.
Emily shook her head.
—Yes, I do.
She looked directly at him.
—Because now I understand that you're not as free as I thought.
Lusian didn't answer.
Emily said goodbye.
—Take care during the journey.
—You too.
She walked toward the exit.
Later, Emily returned to the pond alone.
The sky had lost its last colors, and the first shadows of night began to cover the garden.
She sat beside the water and stared at her reflection.
For several minutes, she did nothing.
She simply thought.
She had discovered that her fiancé loved another woman.
She had rejected an offer from the royal family.
And now she knew that the Douglas family was hiding secrets far deeper than she had ever imagined.
But that was no longer what troubled her most.
It was Lusian's explanation.
The Douglases weren't simply a cruel family.
They didn't execute people on a whim.
They weren't acting solely out of ambition.
According to Lusian, they served a purpose.
A purpose that even the king knew about.
Emily frowned.
—Then... did the king know?
The question escaped her lips before she realized it.
She remembered Lusian's words.
The hostility between the Douglases and the royal family is a façade.
If that was true, then all those deaths...
Emily closed her eyes.
Her mind began going through memories she had accepted without questioning until now.
Families disappearing.
Nobles executed.
Territories confiscated.
The Douglases appearing again and again at the center of those tragedies.
And then a face came to mind.
Alejandro.
Emily opened her eyes.
His family was also killed by the Douglases.
She remembered how many times she had heard his resentment.
How many times he had spoken about the hatred he felt toward that family.
To Alejandro, the Douglases were responsible for destroying his life.
But if Lusian was telling the truth...
Had the king allowed it?
Had he even ordered it?
Emily felt a chill.
—No...
She didn't want to accept that conclusion.
Because it meant that the world she knew was a much greater lie than she had ever imagined.
If the Douglases truly acted with the Crown's approval...
Then who was guilty?
The Douglases?
The king?
The families that had been executed?
Or all of them?
Emily lowered her gaze toward the water.
The moon's reflection trembled across the surface.
And then another question appeared.
A much more personal one.
How much of what Lusian told me is true?
She couldn't know.
Lusian could have been telling her the truth.
He could also have been protecting his family.
And the worst part was that Emily no longer knew what to think.
Until that day, she had believed she understood how her kingdom worked.
There were nobles.
There were laws.
There were powerful families.
There were enemies.
There were good people and bad people.
It was simple.
But now everything seemed far more complicated.
If the Douglases were truly the kingdom's executioners...
Why did they need everyone to hate them?
Why did the king allow them to be seen as enemies?
Why did an entire family have to bear that hatred?
Emily clenched her hands around her dress.
And then she thought of Lusian.
The young man she had met at the academy.
The man who acted like an arrogant noble, but who had also risked his life to protect others.
The young man who had warned her about the monster invasion.
The fiancé who had never wanted to marry her.
And the man who had just confessed that he loved another woman.
Who are you really, Lusian?
But that question was no longer enough.
Emily slowly raised her eyes toward the dark sky.
For the first time, she understood that perhaps the real mystery wasn't Lusian.
It was the entire kingdom.
What kind of kingdom needs secrets like these to survive?
She thought of Alejandro.
She thought of his family.
She thought of all the people who had died at the hands of the Douglases.
And then she thought of the king.
If Lusian was telling the truth, then the man everyone considered the protector of the kingdom had allowed those deaths.
If Lusian was lying...
Then why?
Emily had no answers.
Only questions.
Far too many.
She leaned down and touched the surface of the pond with her fingertips.
Her reflection broke into small ripples.
For the first time, Emily understood that she couldn't judge Lusian.
But neither could she blindly believe him.
She needed to know the truth.
Not because of her engagement.
Not because of Elizabeth.
Not even because of the Douglases.
For Alejandro.
For the families who had died.
And for herself.
Emily slowly withdrew her hand from the water.
She had spent her entire life believing she knew the world she belonged to.
Now she wasn't sure of anything.
And that uncertainty was far more frightening than discovering that her fiancé loved another woman.
A tear rolled down her cheek.
This time, she didn't try to stop it.
Because, for the first time, Emily understood something she had never considered:
perhaps the people she thought she knew were not who they appeared to be.
And perhaps the kingdom she had called home all her life wasn't either.