Episode 68

Vitrain sensed something was wrong the moment he arrived at the checkpoint outside Brincia’s outer walls. Without stopping at the Kidmillan ducal estate, he rushed straight to the imperial palace, where he heard the devastating news of Sione’s disappearance.

When he entered the office where Aiden sat alone, he immediately grabbed him by the collar and shouted.

“What were you doing while this happened?”

Aiden, unable to offer any excuse, let Vitrain grip his throat and shake him.

Vitrain threw him roughly against the wall and slammed his fist down on the desk.

“Is this the work of the snake?”

“If not, there’s no reason he would disappear with her,” Aiden replied.

“Why? Wasn’t Her Majesty supposed to marry that scoundrel?”

“He must have realized we were setting a trap.”

“You!”

Vitrain clenched his fists and moved to strike Aiden, who responded calmly. But in the end, he couldn’t bring himself to hit him, dropping his hand instead.

Aiden, who had almost wished Vitrain would beat him senseless, stared at the spot where Sione had once sat, his eyes bloodshot.

I shouldn’t have left her alone.

Aiden replayed that thought in his mind for the thousandth time that day, cutting into his own heart again.

Grinding his teeth in uncontrollable anger, Vitrain clenched his fists so tightly that his nails dug into his palms. After a moment, he regained a degree of composure and asked.

“Explain everything that happened after I left.”

Even Eric, Aiden’s trusted subordinate, had been unaware that Sione and Aiden’s marriage proposal had been a ruse. He had delivered a message from the southern border, where the Empress had urgently requested Vitrain’s return before her marriage to the snake.

For Vitrain, who had expected to return to Sione’s side after the conflict between the Kingdoms of Byerson and Dyron had settled, the news had been a thunderbolt from the blue. He had rushed back without thought, only to find Sione gone and Aiden mumbling about a trap.

He needed to understand what had happened.

Aiden briefly recounted the events that had unfolded since Vitrain’s departure. At the end of the shocking tale, Vitrain asked with a sigh.

“So, the snake was behind the Emperor’s assassination?”

“It was carried out through Marchioness Bonita Senwood’s hand, but yes, it was the snake’s doing.”

“And Bonita’s attempt to send assassins after Her Majesty? That too can be blamed on the snake’s curse?”

Aiden nodded.

With Sione having promised to remove the snake’s mark, Lian no longer had a reason to kill her. Despite his madness, his feelings for her seemed genuine. He had even eliminated Bonita, who had been a threat to Sione, likely out of a desire to protect her.

However, more than that, Lian likely feared that if the Senwoods and Bonita were put on trial, the truth about the snake’s curse would come to light. That was why he had gone to such lengths to eliminate Bonita, inadvertently revealing to Sione that he had been controlling her.

After Vitrain quickly grasped the situation, he rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “So, by agreeing to marry him, Her Majesty bought time to call for me.”

“We couldn’t confront him directly. He could have used the snake’s power on Her Majesty, the Crown Princess, or me.”

“And because of the puppet he planted, you couldn’t move freely.”

“Her Majesty believed your eagle eyes would be able to find it.”

Vitrain clicked his tongue in irritation at Aiden’s explanation. Of course, he could find it. It wouldn’t even take that much effort to identify someone touched by the snake’s poison.

If only I had ridden faster.

If only I had left a day earlier.

It was useless to regret it now. The snake had likely calculated his arrival time down to the minute.

“The snake must have had eyes on the southern border as well. Given how cautious he is, he must have known I was moving and suspected something.”

As Vitrain spoke, Aiden’s blood-red eyes wavered with guilt.

“This is my fault. I should have just killed him, no matter what Her Majesty said.”

Sione had said that whether Lian was punished or forgiven was up to Lothania, the one most affected by the loss of her father and aunt. She had believed that Lothania, as the most wounded party, should be given the chance to decide.

For someone like Aiden, who had lived a life filled with tragedy, those words had been a comfort. He had chosen to follow them. Now, he regretted it bitterly.

Vitrain, watching Aiden’s trembling jaw, sighed deeply.

He could imagine exactly what Sione must have said, even without hearing it.

As elegant in spirit as she was in appearance, Sione often spoke of fairness, compassion, and truth—qualities rarely honored in the world of beasts.

It was likely those qualities that had captured the hearts of the three beasts who had lost their master.

Being near her made one feel human, as if it were possible to live as a person.

But there was no way he could let that snake, who had failed to become human, take her away.

Vitrain patted Aiden’s shoulder and said.

“Gather everyone in the palace at the main courtyard of the royal palace, Duke Tilender. We’ll start by finding out if anyone is a puppet or the snake himself.”

Aiden, swallowing his burning anger, nodded.

The palace staff, including all external workers and even those who hadn’t reported for duty that day, were summoned to the palace.

Under the torchlit sky, hundreds of people gathered in the central garden of Harriet Palace.

Standing atop the platform, Vitrain’s eyes shone brightly in the darkness.

As his blue eyes grew larger and larger, until the whites of his eyes were no longer visible, Vitrain scanned the crowd with his fully awakened eagle vision.

After a long moment, he frowned and shook his head.

“It seems the snake was bluffing.”

Aiden clenched his fists in frustration. Once again, they had been deceived by Lian.

But now wasn’t the time for self-recrimination.

Aiden hurried to Vitrain as he stepped down from the platform. “We’ve been interrogating the Zernia household servants and the butler. Do you think you could confirm whether they’re hiding anything about the snake’s whereabouts?”

The White Shadows had already subjected them to intense questioning, but the servants of the snake’s household were tight-lipped, denying any knowledge of Lian’s whereabouts or Sione’s abduction. Even the experienced members of the White Shadow were at a loss.

Vitrain and Aiden headed straight to the Royal Guard office where the Zernia servants were being held.

Once there, Vitrain summoned the butler and activated his eagle powers.

When asked where the snake had gone, the butler stared directly into Vitrain’s piercing gaze and claimed he didn’t know.

Once again, Vitrain shook his head.

Aiden let out a groan, unable to hide his disappointment.

Though they were tracking Lian’s former subordinates, it was becoming clear that this would turn into a long-term pursuit.

If worse came to worst, they might have to scour the entire country with Sione’s portrait in hand.

As despair once again threatened to overwhelm him, Vitrain, who was rubbing his eyes, gestured for Aiden to follow him.

“Come, Duke Tilender. We need to retrace our steps from the beginning.”

“Retrace our steps? What do you mean?”

“I’ll show you why the eagle’s eyes are called the eyes that see through everything.”

Vitrain’s lips curved into a self-assured smile, though Aiden couldn’t help but think it looked a bit bitter.

Nevertheless, he followed Vitrain.

With no other leads, the eagle’s eyes were their only hope.

They returned to the office once again—the last place Sione had been seen. As Vitrain stared intently at the desk where she had been sitting, he said.

“I’ve heard there’s a secret passage that leads out of the palace from the Emperor’s office.”

“We searched everywhere, but there was no sign of any hidden passage.”

“No, it exists. The eagle, mostly stationed at the borders, may not know its exact location, but the dog that guards the emperor closely knows it well. You probably didn’t hear about it because of what happened to your predecessor,” Vitrain said.

Aiden’s father, who had cursed all dogs, including himself, never wanted his son to awaken as one. Consumed by despair, he failed to teach Aiden anything he needed—not just as a dog, but as a duke and as a man.

The memory of Lian’s mocking face surfaced, reminding him of how he’d sneered at Aiden for never receiving the proper training as the dog’s heir.

“The snake must have known,” Aiden murmured grimly.

The snake must have hidden in the secret passage, waiting for Aiden to leave. And Aiden, oblivious to its existence, had let that happen.

It felt like the entire world was burning to ashes.

Vitrain lightly tapped his fingers on the desk, listening to the clear sound of the wood beneath his fingers. He closed his eyes and, when he opened them again, his eyes were once again filled with deep blue, like before.

“Let me see where he’s gone.”

He said, now appearing more determined, a faint smile of resolve crossing his face.

The eagle’s eyes could see through anything.

He could see whatever he desired, even if it was a scene that no longer existed.

In Vitrain’s vision, the image of Sione sitting alone at the desk that morning, holding documents, began to appear.