In the great hall of Douglas Castle, Sofia held the imperial letter between her fingers.
She was not trembling with fear.
It was restrained fury.
"Me?" Lusian muttered. "I didn't even care about that prince."
Albert answered gravely.
"They aren't looking for justice, my lord. They're looking for an excuse."
He pointed at the parchment.
"The prince's death was the price they were willing to pay. They needed a victim who could become the perfect reason to declare war."
Sofia placed the letter on the table.
"And this isn't the first time they've come after you."
Lusian raised his eyes.
"Years ago, I received a letter from the Emperor himself."
Her expression hardened.
"He wanted to confirm the rumors about your birth. About your maternal heritage."
"What?"
Sofia let out a brief, humorless laugh.
"At the time, rumors about my condition and your birth had only just begun to spread. The Empire wanted to confirm whether a child with an Omega maternal inheritance had truly been born."
Lusian remained silent.
Albert continued.
"They offered titles, land, gold, and imperial protection. They even offered to help us conquer Carpathia."
Lusian frowned.
"In exchange for me?"
"You," Sofia replied.
She looked directly into his eyes.
"They wanted the Douglases to leave the kingdom and hand you over to the Empire."
It took Lusian several seconds to react.
"And what did you say?"
"No."
A single word.
Albert nodded.
"They tried again. This time, with better terms."
"And we rejected them again."
Sofia picked up the imperial letter once more.
"After that, they stopped making offers."
She slowly tore it apart.
"And started waiting."
Lusian stared at the pieces scattered across the table.
"Waiting for what?"
Sofia raised her eyes.
"An opportunity."
Silence filled the room.
Lusian looked at the torn fragments of the letter.
"But even if you had accepted..."
Sofia shook her head.
"I couldn't."
Albert answered this time.
"Because the Douglases do not belong only to themselves."
Lusian looked at him.
"What does that mean?"
Albert remained silent.
Sofia was the one who answered.
"Have you ever wondered why the Four Founding Families exist?"
Lusian frowned.
"I always thought it was tradition."
"Tradition is simply what remained afterward."
Sofia pointed toward the family crest above the fireplace.
"When Carpathia was founded, the four families swore an oath before the God of Truth and Loyalty."
"The Blood Oath..."
Albert nodded.
"Each family was given a responsibility. A duty they were bound to fulfill for as long as their bloodline continued to exist."
Lusian slowly raised his eyes.
"And the Douglas family's duty?"
Sofia answered without taking her eyes off the crest.
"To protect the kingdom."
She paused.
"From any enemy."
Her voice grew heavier.
"Foreign or born within our own borders."
Lusian remained motionless.
Albert continued.
"Everyone knows our lands, our titles, and our armies. Everyone knows our bloodstained hands. They call us murderers because that is what they see. But almost no one remembers why the Douglases were created in the first place."
"We are not simply a noble family," Sofia said. "We are one of the pillars keeping this kingdom standing."
Lusian lowered his gaze toward the torn letter.
"And the oath?"
"It binds us to Carpathia," Albert replied. "As long as our bloodline exists, we cannot abandon the kingdom or deliberately act against its survival."
Lusian frowned.
"And breaking it?"
Albert did not answer immediately.
"It would mean death."
"The blood begins to rot from within," Sofia explained. "The oathbound person becomes ill, and no healer can stop it."
Lusian stood frozen.
Suddenly, all those stories about the Founding Families seemed different.
"Then it doesn't matter how much the Empire offered."
"No," Sofia said.
She looked at the pieces of the letter.
"They could offer us an entire kingdom."
She paused.
"We cannot surrender Carpathia."
Lusian slowly lowered his gaze.
Sofia looked at her son.
"This is nothing more than an excuse."
Her voice was calm.
Far too calm.
"The Empire could invent any reason to start a war. They didn't need to sacrifice a prince to do it."
Lusian frowned.
"Then why me?"
Sofia remained silent for several seconds.
Then she answered.
"Because they want you alive."
Albert's expression hardened.
"What do you mean?"
Sofia placed both hands on the table.
"The Empire knows the rules of magical inheritance."
Albert immediately understood that this conversation was about to take a different turn.
"A child's magical affinity depends on the maternal bloodline," Sofia continued. "The level they can reach is limited by their mother's."
Lusian listened carefully.
"And you were born from an Omega mother."
The hall fell silent.
Sofia held her son's gaze.
"That means you inherited something the Empire practically doesn't possess."
Lusian felt a chill.
"My affinity..."
"Your potential."
Sofia calmly corrected him.
"That is what they want."
Albert frowned.
"Does the Emperor know your level?"
"Of course."
Sofia gave a faint smile, but there was no humor in it.
"Empires survive by accumulating information. They know our bloodlines, our marriages, and our affinities. They have probably spent decades studying families with Omega blood."
Lusian lowered his gaze.
He was beginning to understand.
"Then they don't want to conquer me."
Sofia slowly shook her head.
"They want to control you."
The word hung in the air.
"Your blood could become a tool for producing offspring with exceptional affinities. And if they manage to combine it with another powerful bloodline..."
She did not finish the sentence.
She didn't need to.
Albert clenched his fists.
"They want to use our heir as breeding material."
Sofia looked at him.
"That is exactly what they want."
Lusian remained motionless.
For the first time, he understood that the imperial ultimatum had nothing to do with the man who had died.
Leopold had been the excuse.
He was the target.
Sofia picked up the parchment again.
She carefully folded it.
"I will not allow anyone to lay a hand on my son."
Albert bowed his head.
"Then there will be war."
Sofia looked directly at him.
"There already is."
Hours later, the bells of war began ringing throughout the duchy.
The deep sound of bronze bells echoed through villages, fortresses, and roads.
It was not music.
It was a call to duty.
Inside the great war room of Douglas Castle, the air smelled of wax, iron, and parchment.
At the center of the chamber stood an enormous stone table covered in maps.
Wooden and iron markers represented fortresses, cities, roads, and armies.
The men gathered around the table were not courtiers.
They were warlords.
Counts, viscounts, and barons who had spent much of their lives fighting for the Douglases.
Every one of them wore the family's emblem over their chest.
Duke Laurence Douglas stood before the main map.
"The king's summons cannot be ignored."
His voice echoed throughout the room.
"The Empire threatens the entire kingdom. This is not merely the Crown's problem. It is a threat to our lands, our families, and our people."
No one argued.
Laurence placed a marker on the southern border.
"We will divide our forces."
He moved another marker toward the north.
"Half will march with me to the southern front."
Then he pointed toward Douglas territory.
"The other half will remain in the duchy."
Lord Darven, a gray-bearded count, stepped forward.
"My lord, if we send so many troops south, the northern territories will be exposed."
"I know."
Laurence pointed toward the swamps and mountains.
"That is why you will remain here."
Darven nodded.
"You will protect the valley, the mines, and the northern villages."
Laurence raised his eyes.
"As long as one Douglas remains standing, no imperial banner will fly over these lands."
Darven struck his fist against his chest.
"So it shall be."
Laurence continued issuing orders.
"Rhed, Sovann, and Marlowe will march with me. Each will bring their finest warriors and mages."
He moved several more markers.
"The viscounts will provide light troops, supplies, and scouts. The barons will protect the interior routes and mountain passes."
The strategy began taking shape across the map.
But then Sofia spoke.
"There is a problem."
Everyone fell silent.
The duchess pointed toward the eastern routes.
"The supply lines to Varden and the eastern villages are too vulnerable."
Laurence looked at her.
"What do you propose?"
"Keep an arcane squadron in Mondring."
Sofia placed a marker over the fortress.
"Under my direct command."
No one questioned the decision.
Everyone knew what it meant.
As long as Sofia remained in Mondring, the heart of the duchy would be protected.
Laurence looked at the map again.
For several seconds, he remained thoughtful.
Then he spoke.
"Perhaps Lusian could accompany me."
The room fell silent.
"Not on the main front, of course. He could remain in the rear and—"
Sofia slowly raised her eyes.
Laurence stopped.
There was no anger in her eyes.
That was precisely what made Laurence shiver.
For an instant, he remembered Caleb.
He remembered the day he had announced that his first son would be the heir.
He also remembered Larriet.
Sofia's lion had been mere inches away from tearing his head off that time.
Laurence coughed.
"...but perhaps it would be better for him to remain in the duchy."
Sofia said nothing.
Laurence pretended to examine one of the documents.
"The heir must remain protected."
Albert hid a smile.
Lusian, meanwhile, remained silent.
He didn't need anyone to explain what had just happened.
His mother had made it perfectly clear that she would not allow him to become a piece on the board of another war.
Not even within her own army.
The meeting continued late into the night.
The orders were sealed.
Messengers departed into the rain.
The troops began mobilizing.
And when the final order had been recorded, Laurence stood.
He looked at the men gathered around the table.
"For the duchy."
Everyone raised their heads.
"For our house."
Fists struck chests.
"And for the kingdom."
The response thundered through the walls.
"Victory or death!"
The oath spread throughout the castle.
The soldiers repeated it in the courtyards.
The knights on the walls.
The nobles in the hall.
Until the cry spread throughout the entire duchy.
That night, the Douglases did not march yet.
But the war had already begun.
And the Empire had just made a mistake it did not yet understand.
It had chosen the son of Sofia Douglas as its target.