I. Stillness
"We have finally found the perfect kingdom."
A kingdom where no official was questioned.
Where no corrupt soul was judged.
Where no guilty blood was ever spilled.
A kingdom where the law slept...
And greed ruled awake.
Corruption spread through the realm like decay consuming the flesh of a dying giant—silent, patient... inevitable.
"...Why does His Majesty do nothing?"The question came from a fifteen-year-old boy.The sole heir of the Royal Chancellor's bloodline—a family whose duty to the Crown stretched back centuries.
His pitch-black hair devoured every trace of light, while his golden irises carried faint crimson rings hidden deep within them.
Round spectacles framed a face too young for the thoughts buried behind it.
He looked toward his father, who continued sorting documents without lifting his gaze.
Then came the question.
Quiet.
Measured.
Disturbingly calm.
"Have you entered the King's mind?"
The boy leaned back slightly.
"...No."
Another page turned.
"Then..."
A brief pause.
"Do you know what his next move will be?"
Silence.
"...No."
Only then did the man raise his eyes.
A single glance was enough to silence a thousand questions.
"That..."
"...is the answer you seek.""No one sees what lies inside another man's heart."
"The deadliest strategist is not the one who moves the pieces..."
"But the one who convinces everyone there is no player at all."
"Never calculate intentions."
"They are where kingdoms perish."
Those words haunted Cassian long after the conversation ended.
From that day forward... Three years passed.
Three peaceful...
Silent...
Deceptive years.
Then, without warning...
Everything changed.
The King's first decree stripped every noble and minister of their royal stipends.
The kingdom fell silent.
Days later...
Black carriages began roaming the capital after sunset.
Each dawn another noble disappeared.
Each morning another execution stained the cobblestones.
No trials.
No mercy.
No explanations.
Only severed heads displayed above the city gates beneath a single inscription.
"Treason demands blood."
Fear spread faster than rumor.
Even the ravens learned the road to the palace.
Inside the Cathedral Hall, panic consumed the aristocracy.
"Lord Alenius!"
"You must stop your brother!"
"He took my son!"
"My nephew vanished!"
"Every night another heir disappears!"
"He executes them without accusation!"
"This is madness!"
The chamber echoed with desperate voices.
Yet Alenius—the High Pontiff—remained perfectly still.
His black eyes betrayed nothing.
He neither defended Robert...
Nor denied the accusations.
Because he knew.
Or perhaps...
He feared knowing too much.
Night descended.
The chamber doors burst open.
Ivan slammed both hands onto the table.
"That damned bastard!"
"He has ruined every investment I built!"
A bitter laugh escaped him.
"What an extraordinary actor..."
"He wore kindness like a saint..."
"...until every snake crawled willingly into his hands."
His eyes locked onto Alenius.
"You knew, didn't you?"
Silence.
Long...
Oppressive silence.
Then Alenius spoke.
His voice was scarcely louder than a whisper.
Yet every candle in the room seemed to tremble.
"No."
"But I knew one thing."
"The true wolf..."
"...never bares its fangs..."
"...until every sheep has entered the pen."
Far beneath the palace...
Beyond the forgotten chamber known only as The Annex...
Something screamed.
Not loudly.
Not for long.
But long enough...
For whatever remained human...
