The air inside Siegfried Manor was thick with heat and rage, though outside, winter blanketed the city in silence. Snow fell steadily on Ganglen's soot-stained streets, painting over the blood and ash that still lingered from the execution of Arhenius Sureva. Inside the Duke's war room, however, the fire burned high in the hearth, crackling with fury that matched the man pacing before it.
Duke Liles Siegfried was seething.
He moved with tight, clipped steps, his boots thudding against the polished floor. A map of the Duchy lay sprawled on the central table, small red markers scattered across it—troop movements, rebel hotspots, rumored Sureva sympathizers. His eyes kept flicking toward the eastern ridges. The one place his control was slipping.
The door creaked open.
A gust of cold followed the man who entered—a tall figure clad in the black, gold-trimmed cloak of the Royal Enforcers. His mask covered half his face, and a blade curved along his back like a predator sleeping in silence. This was no mere messenger. This was the King's will incarnate.
Liles turned, jaw tight. "You took your time."
The man didn't flinch. "I don't report to you, Duke Siegfried."
Liles growled low, but held his tongue. He knew better than to cross one of the Crown's shadows. These men were selected not for loyalty, but for their efficiency—and their terrifying skill.
"Well?" Liles asked. "Is it finished?"
The Enforcer nodded once. "Arhenius Sureva is dead."
Liles exhaled through his nose, half a sigh, half a snarl. "Then why are you here? Why not vanish back into whatever sewer the King dragged you from?"
The man stepped forward, removing a rolled scroll from his belt and placing it on the table beside the map.
"Because not all the snakes have been beheaded," he said. "Your execution was public. Mine was not. And even so... two slipped the noose."
Liles's fingers twitched. "Who?"
"Hunter Gardan. The Duke's captain. And the Duchess herself, Rhea Sieaha Sureva."
For a heartbeat, silence.
Then the fury returned.
"What?!"
Liles slammed his hand on the table so hard the inkpot tipped, bleeding across the parchment. "You fought Arhenius yourself. You were inside that Palace! How did they escape? How the hell did Hunter—that dog—vanish under your nose?!"
The Enforcer didn't even blink. "He ran. Smart men do, when they know they can't win."
The Duke looked like he might explode. He gritted his teeth and began pacing again, muttering curses under his breath. "This can't be allowed. No... no, if Hunter survived, if the Duchess is still alive, then they'll rally the remaining troops. They'll vanish into the hills. Build resistance. Plant seeds of rebellion... No. We end it now. Tonight!"
He turned to his captain. "Prepare the black battalion. Tell them we move at dawn. I want the roads soaked in blood—"
"Enough," the Enforcer interrupted, voice calm but deadly. "The King forbids it."
Liles stared. "What?"
"You heard me," the Enforcer replied. "His Majesty's orders were clear. No purges. No massacres. No more bloodbaths that turn into songs."
"You think I care about the King's songs?" Liles snapped. "Do you know what that boy is, what the girl is? The blood of Sureva runs deep. That brat stared down Nag during the execution and didn't flinch. That girl? She's a half-divine. Rhea's blood isn't just noble—it's ancient."
"And that," the Enforcer said evenly, "is exactly why His Majesty does not want another martyr. One dead Duke is enough to write history. Two children hunted down like animals? That writes legends."
Liles turned away, trembling with fury. He clenched his fists until his nails bit into his palms. For a moment, he didn't say anything. The only sound was the soft crackle of the fire.
"You think I'm afraid of a child?" he finally said. "Of a weeping little noble with a mana spark?"
"I think you should be," the Enforcer said. "The King is."
Just then, the door opened again, this time with urgency.
A soldier stepped inside, breathless from the cold. "My lord—message from Nag."
Liles snatched the parchment and unfolded it.
Snow. Two sets of tracks. Mana residue. Young, weak, but present. Northern forest edge, headed toward the abandoned ridge.
He read the final line twice.
"The scent is fresh."
Liles looked up, something cold and eager in his eyes. "Nag's found them."
He turned to the Enforcer. "Do you want to stop that too?"
The masked man shook his head. "Nag does as he pleases. So long as it's quiet."
Liles gave a crooked smile. "It won't be quiet when he brings me their heads."
The Enforcer stepped back into the shadow of the door. "Then let us hope they die quietly."
As he vanished into the corridor, Liles turned to the frost-covered window and stared into the white beyond.
"Run, Luenor," he whispered. "Run with your sister. Cling to your warmth, your little hopes. But in the end, the snow will claim you. Like it always does."
Far to the north, where the trees thickened and snow fell like ash, Nag crouched beside a frozen footprint. His gloved fingers traced the shallow print, mana still humming faintly beneath the surface.
"Found you," he whispered, smiling like a wolf.