Episode 69

After Aiden left the office to oversee the fire suppression, Sione moved to the window. She thought she could faintly smell the scent of something burning carried by the wind.

“I hope the fire doesn’t spread too far…”

Though she was worried, she trusted that Aiden would handle it swiftly. He was said to be the strongest in the empire, so surely he could put out a fire.

There was no real basis for this, but she believed it completely.

And with that naive confidence, she let out a small chuckle at herself.

“No wonder they call me naive and optimistic.”

Closing the window and turning back, Sione sat at her desk once more. She couldn’t deny Lian’s words that had mocked her, but there was no room for such simplicity when it came to the empire’s affairs.

Soon, the pressure began to weigh on her—she would have to manage imperial meetings alone without the crazed but capable chancellor. Her mind was focused as she reviewed the familiar documents, trying to organize what preparations were needed for the coming winter.

“Now that I think about it.”

A voice suddenly spoke from behind her.

Sione dropped the pen she was holding.

It felt like her heart dropped with it, as if the blood in her entire body drained at once.

“I think I may have fallen for that naive and optimistic side of you.”

The voice was sickeningly sweet, but what gleamed beneath it was the cold, blue blade of a dagger.

Lian was right beside her, his face inches from hers, whispering into her ear.

“I thought I was the only liar here.”

Chills ran from her neck down her body.

Sione slowly turned her eyes to confirm Lian’s face, her jaw trembling as she managed to speak.

“Lian.”

“Why did you call the eagle?”

“Lian, put the knife down.”

“Why did you deceive me, Your Majesty? I trusted you,” Lian said, sounding hurt as he stood up straight.

As he moved, the dagger he had pointed at Sione’s neck brushed lightly against her delicate skin before pulling away.

It was intentional.

His slow, deliberate movements were meant to scare her, to maintain control of the situation.

Her fear reached its peak, and her mind suddenly became clearer.

Sione turned her head and glared at Lian, who was standing behind her.

“Because you’re the liar.”

Lian almost stabbed her for real, startled by her sudden movement, but he quickly withdrew the dagger into his hand.

Pretending as if nothing happened, he asked nonchalantly, “Wasn’t that something you knew from the start?”

“Yes. From the beginning to now, you’ve been a liar through and through.”

“So, Your Majesty decided to become a liar too?”

“I decided not to be fooled by your lies anymore.”

Resentment flashed in Sione’s green eyes.

She had tried to resolve everything peacefully.

If this plan succeeded, she could buy enough time until Lothania awakened. Maybe, given time for reflection, Lian could even change. She thought confining him would be better than killing him outright, but now everything had fallen apart.

Just pointing a knife at the Empress was a serious crime, and it didn’t seem like he would stop here.

Sione didn’t know what Lian had planned, but his violet eyes, empty of any emotion, gleamed dangerously like the blade he held.

Staring intently at Sione’s increasingly grim face, Lian clicked his tongue and said, “I thought I’d please Your Majesty by confessing, but perhaps I shouldn’t have said anything. I had thought you were clever enough to figure it out. You must have realized who I used my power on first?”

“You had her kill her own brother. Your taste in cruelty is consistent,” Sione said, her voice shaking with anger.

“What can I say? Bonita Hwangnyeo was the one with the strongest desire to kill the Emperor.”

Lian chuckled, but Sione furrowed her brow and raised her voice.

“Don’t distort the truth. Bonita’s desire was likely for power over the Oath or the throne—not to kill her family.”

“It’s just a matter of the order, isn’t it? She would have had to kill him to take what she wanted eventually.”

“Rubbish. Without your meddling, they would still be close siblings today, and what Bonita truly desired might have been just that.”

Sione’s icy stare was full of defiance, but Lian’s grin only grew wider.

Tapping his cheek with the tip of the dagger, he suppressed a laugh before whispering to Sione, “This is all so entertaining, but let’s continue this somewhere else.”

As soon as the dagger moved away from her, Sione prepared to scream for the guards outside the door.

Even though the office was soundproof, if she screamed loud enough, someone might hear.

But before she could even open her mouth, Lian threw a powder he had been holding in his left hand into her face.

Just as she inhaled to shout, the powder filled her lungs, and she glared at him before collapsing onto the desk.

Lian quickly threw a prepared robe over Sione and lifted her into his arms.

He moved to the massive landscape painting that hung beside the office window and tapped a specific part of it.

Following the shadow depicted in the painting, the canvas split in half.

A hidden passage.

Carrying Sione in his arms, Lian disappeared inside, and the painting seamlessly closed behind them, leaving no trace.

* * *

After what felt like an eternity of staring intently at one spot, Vitrain finally began to move. He stepped toward the large painting behind the Emperor’s desk, running his fingers along it as though searching for something.

When his hand pressed a small duck within the landscape, the massive frame split open like magic.

Though they had checked behind the frame earlier, concerned about damaging the precious artwork, all they had found was a solid wall. Now, however, a staircase leading downward appeared where there had been none.

Vitrain descended the stairs, following the traces of Sione and Lian, while Aiden, grinding his teeth in self-reproach, followed closely behind.

They wandered through the dark, narrow corridors, climbing up and down stairs. The passage seemed endless, almost like a maze. Yet Vitrain navigated the secret tunnels with ease, as though holding a map in his mind.

He was chasing the echo of Lian’s movements, following his every step through the passageways that only the snake knew by heart.

At last, they emerged into the open air through a door, finding themselves at an abandoned building some distance from the palace. The structure appeared to have once been a mill but had long since fallen into disuse.

Aiden glanced around, assessing their location, while Vitrain spoke urgently.

“They took a carriage from here.”

The remnants of Sione and Lian’s escape were visible only to Vitrain’s eagle eyes, leaving Aiden in the dark. But without hesitation, Aiden pulled out a small whistle from his pocket and blew it.

The high-pitched sound pierced the night air, and the members of the White Shadow, who had been scouring Brincia, heard the signal.

Eric and a few others from the White Shadow soon arrived on horseback, rushing to meet Aiden and Vitrain. Together, they all galloped toward Brincia’s east gate, pursuing the faint image of the carriage carrying Sione.

For hours, they chased after the spectral trail of the carriage. By the time five hours had passed, the red sun had begun to rise in the distance.

Suddenly, Vitrain halted his horse.

“They’re changing carriages.”

After running for so long, it made sense they would switch horses. Lian’s subordinates had likely prepared in advance, waiting at the designated spot with fresh horses and a new carriage.

Without having prepared spare horses themselves, Aiden and Vitrain had no choice but to continue with their now exhausted mounts.

As Aiden soothed his tired horse, he turned to look at Vitrain and was startled by what he saw.

Blood was flowing from Vitrain’s eyes as he stared fixedly at the fleeing carriage.

“Duke Kidmillan, your eyes…”

“Don’t worry about it,” Vitrain replied, not even turning to meet Aiden’s concerned gaze.

Vitrain was well aware that something was wrong with his vision.

The snake could control people’s minds, the dog was an invincible warrior, and the eagle could see through time and space itself.

But with such immense powers came heavy costs.

The snake lost its lifespan, the dog its sanity, and the eagle its senses.

The first to go was always sight.

Vitrain had already passed the point of no return. If they lost Sione now, her whereabouts would be lost forever. There was no way the meticulous and obsessive snake would have taken her without thorough preparation.

So, Vitrain and Aiden gritted their teeth and continued to ride through the breaking dawn.

They rode without rest until the sun had risen fully overhead.

Finally, when Aiden felt that neither the horses nor the riders could continue any longer, Vitrain stopped his horse once again.

His face and shirt were both soaked in blood, an utter mess.

Aiden pulled his horse to a stop and thought that neither man nor beast could endure much longer at this pace.

In that moment, Vitrain collapsed from his horse.

“Duke Kidmillan!”

Aiden leaped from his horse and rushed to Vitrain’s side.

Vitrain, his face covered in blood, couldn’t even open his eyes as he whispered, “They’re switching carriages again…”

“There’s only one road from here. I’ll find Her Majesty. You need to rest.”

Hearing Aiden’s words, the tremor in Vitrain’s lashes finally stilled.

Once he was sure Vitrain had lost consciousness, Aiden stood and let out a long sigh toward the eastern sky.

The road before them stretched on, winding through five territories and leading straight to the border.