123.

Hailot, who had departed for the imperial capital, returned to Baghdad with a retinue five times larger than before. He looked utterly exhausted. Behind him were Crown Prince Billinent, the protagonist of the coming-of-age ceremony, and his mother, Empress Adrienne.

The coming-of-age ceremony of the imperial family, particularly for the crown prince, was a special event. The journey from the imperial palace with the High Priest marked the beginning of this long and intricate ceremony.

The crown prince was set to purify his body and mind over two weeks in Baghdad before the official rituals began. Following this, a week-long festival would celebrate him, merging seamlessly into the Foundation Day festivities. It was shaping up to be the longest celebration in recent years.

The arrival of such distinguished figures had everyone in Baghdad—priests and guards alike—standing in tense rows. None among them were unaware of Billinent’s notorious temper or his mother Adrienne’s multifaceted nature. Everyone held their breath, bowing deeply to avoid attracting their ire.

Contrary to expectations, the two were calm. Their apparent composure stemmed from exhaustion after the long journey. The people of Baghdad quickly breathed a collective sigh of relief.

Chloe, who had also bowed deeply, cautiously lifted her gaze to observe their expressions. They appeared as if they were gripped by fear.

Chloe recalled the words Hailot had muttered before leaving for the imperial palace.

“It’s hard to take this step, knowing I’ll have to deal with Rodensi.”

Although Hailot had been visibly reluctant about the crown prince’s coming-of-age ceremony, he seemed amused at the thought of the haughty Rodensi cowering because of Nyx’s existence.

Whatever Hailot had said to frighten the two on the way back, it had worked—especially on the empress. Despite not being a stranger to Baghdad’s temple, Adrienne appeared uncharacteristically unsettled, glancing nervously around the sacred grounds.

Chloe’s eyes briefly shifted to the knights and attendants trailing behind the pair. At a glance, there were twice as many as initially planned. With such a large entourage, it seemed unlikely the crown prince could cause any trouble.

‘The head of House McFoy’s plans will proceed without a hitch.’

Finally relaxing, Chloe lowered her gaze and closed her eyes.

What followed were monotonously peaceful days, almost boring in their uneventfulness. Chloe resumed her routine of sealing Nyx with the High Priest, working in groups of three at scheduled intervals. Everything unfolded according to plan. Not a single detail slipped out of control.

That was, until one noon, three days before the crown prince’s coming-of-age ceremony.

Every time the sun rose and set, divine power was poured into Nyx, forcing ‘it’ into a death-like slumber until the next ritual. Occasionally, it would glare chillingly with wide-open eyes, but it remained immobile. At times, it attempted to speak into the minds of the weak-willed, but otherwise, it behaved.

“Ophelia―!”

Yet, on that fateful day, a scream that seemed to split the earth erupted from deep within the cavern, shattering the silence.

Chloe, standing guard for her shift, stumbled back in shock. It wasn’t just an animalistic howl; it was an agonized human voice, screaming as though it was its final act of desperation.

Somehow, Nyx began to crack the seal. Chloe, despite her exceptional divine power, was paralyzed by an indescribable terror and collapsed on the spot.

“Thief! Give her back! Return my Ophelia! She’s mine, her power is mine…!”

The piercing wails were filled with a murderous rage and obsessive fury.

‘Oh, Mehra… This is a disaster.’

Chloe, frozen in fear, stared into the darkness where the screams echoed. It felt as though the air itself had been siphoned from her lungs.

She didn’t last long. Sweat drenched her body, and her mind blurred. Just as she was on the brink of collapse, a white figure darted past her, and clarity returned to her senses.

“Ahh…!”

Collapsed on the stone floor, Chloe gasped for air, tears streaming uncontrollably. Even so, she couldn’t tear her gaze from the source of the screams within the cavern.

A radiant light suddenly filled her blurry vision. It was Hailot, channeling his divine power.

The harrowing screams quickly subsided, allowing Chloe to regain her composure. Gritting her teeth, she crawled into the cavern and, forcing her trembling body to rise, assisted Hailot by pouring all her remaining divine power into the seal.

After what felt like an eternity, Nyx finally ceased its convulsions, its cracked lips moving faintly.

“Kill McFoy.”

The whispered words, laden with venom, made Chloe flinch.

“My… Ophelia… her power… stolen…”

The fragmented phrases were incoherent, but the mention of McFoy sent a new wave of dread through Chloe.

“Kill McFoy.”

The final, clear sentence oozed hatred, jealousy, and malice so intense it felt suffocating.

Chloe was deeply shaken. For a being on the brink of breaking free, its sole focus was on killing the head of House McFoy.

Worse yet, Chloe wasn’t the only one who heard it. She instinctively glanced at Hailot, who had been silently channeling divine power beside her.

In that instant, Chloe saw something chilling—a brief, serpent-like narrowing of Hailot’s eyes.

‘What… is he thinking?’

Distracted by Hailot’s peculiar reaction, Chloe struggled to focus on the seal.

The instability of Nyx’s seal so close to the crown prince’s ceremony was alarming enough. More troubling was that Hailot, notorious for his aversion to unplanned disruptions, now wore a faint, knowing smile.

“…Ah.”

That quiet exclamation, paired with the faint upward curl of his lips, sent Chloe’s heart racing with unease. She didn’t know why Nyx called the head of House McFoy its enemy or how McFoy had survived ten years ago.

‘I have a bad feeling. I must send a letter to the head immediately.’

Though Chloe couldn’t grasp the meaning behind Nyx’s outburst or Hailot’s sudden smirk, her instincts screamed that something was terribly wrong.

* * *

In Baghdad, Crown Prince Billinent was permitted access to only four spaces: his private quarters, a prayer room, a communal dining hall, and the baths. Already, his patience—thin as it was—had worn down to nothing, and the true test of restraint had just begun.

Baghdad was a sacred domain still imbued with the power of the goddess Mehra. Upon setting foot on this ground, one was bound by her laws, chief among them being the prohibition of greed in all its forms—whether material, carnal, or indulgent.

The Crown Prince had been thoroughly educated on these principles. However, knowing something in theory and putting it into practice were entirely different matters. For someone unaccustomed to any form of self-control, adapting to life in Baghdad proved nearly impossible.

At first, even Billinent’s unruly nature was subdued by the solemn atmosphere. He had also been repeatedly warned about the existence of Nyx, which instilled in him a vague but persistent sense of mortal danger.

But such restraint didn’t last long. The monotonous routine and the invisible threat wore down his tension. Gradually, dissatisfaction with Baghdad’s way of life grew within him.

“Argh!”

It didn’t take a week for the peace to shatter. Screams began echoing once again from Billinent’s quarters. His frustration and boredom found an outlet in tormenting his subordinates. The stricter the rules, the more his tantrums escalated into full-blown fits of rage.

When Billinent started targeting one person a day, Adrienne, who had been silently cleaning up her son’s messes, finally reached her limit. She had intended to let him have his way until the coming-of-age ceremony, but now she was forced to intervene.

“As I’ve told you repeatedly, Crown Prince, you must show mercy and grace to your subordinates, especially as the ceremony approaches.”

Adrienne’s signature soft voice drifted across the dining table where she and Billinent sat face-to-face. She spoke with a gentle demeanor, her expression carefully molded into one of maternal kindness.

Billinent had never defied his mother before, a fact Adrienne took great pride in. Without fail, her son always heeded her words, and she was certain he would do so again, at least for today.

Crash—

But contrary to her expectations, the sound of breaking dishes rang out. The table was overturned, and simple plates of food tumbled onto the old marble floor alongside shattered glassware. The scene unfolded before her eyes, yet she could hardly believe it.

A wave of shock rippled through Adrienne’s emerald-green eyes.

“Even you, Mother, think I’m a fool. That’s why it’s come to this, isn’t it?”

Billinent, having upended the most modest meal of his life, sneered at his mother in a voice tinged with malice.

Adrienne’s ears refused to believe what they had just heard. Her son’s trembling voice carried a venomous hostility. For the first time, he was directing his blame at her.

“I am the Crown Prince of this empire, on the verge of my coming-of-age ceremony.”

“Crown Prince—”

Adrienne managed to call out to him, but Billinent cut her off without hesitation.

“Yes, Your Majesty. You once asked me why I involved myself with that McFoy wench without consulting you.”

Adrienne froze at the sudden mention of McFoy. She recalled the day Billinent and the Emperor had clashed in a shouting match. Exhausted, she had asked her son in a near-whisper why he had acted without her knowledge. At the time, he had remained stubbornly silent, his face clouded with frustration.

“Do you think I don’t know that you and the House of Morlogoth are scheming to manipulate me, the future Emperor, like a puppet?”

“What are you saying…?!”

“That you and your family have always intended to control me, to wrap me in your skirts and bend me to your will.”

Billinent’s lips twisted into a warped smile as he spat out his accusations, resembling a rebellious child consumed by misplaced defiance.