Chapter 2) The Fall of a Kingdom

 

Astina couldn't fall asleep.

The lingering warmth of the evening banquet still seemed to fill her room.

Absentmindedly, she brushed her fingertips over the back of her hand, remembering Theodore's kiss beneath the moonlit sky.

It was far too soon to call it love.

But she knew one thing for certain.

He was kind.

Perhaps, if they met a few more times...

She really might come to love him.

The thought left a gentle warmth blooming in her chest, making sleep impossible.

 

Then—

BOOOOOOM!!

The palace lurched violently, as though a massive wave had slammed into its foundations.

Screams erupted throughout the halls.

Outside her window, towering flames licked at the night sky like the tongues of dragons.

"We're under attack!"

"Princess, you have to evacuate immediately!"

"...!"

At the maid's frantic cry, Astina froze in disbelief.

 

An attack...?

Who would attack us?

"Astina! Come here, now!"

Bellona burst into the room, her face drained of color, a robe hastily thrown over her nightclothes.

Grabbing Astina's wrist, she pulled her toward the door.

"Sister, what's happening?!" Astina cried. "Who would attack the palace?!"

"That monster is here!"

"Monster...?!"

"The Emperor's hound has come to kill us!"

 

The moment Astina saw the thick black smoke swallowing the night sky and the crimson flames raging below, the world seemed to tilt beneath her feet.

Only moments ago, everything had been beautiful.

Now, it was all collapsing before her eyes.

"Astina! Hurry!"

Diana, who had been waiting in the corridor, seized her wrist and pulled her forward.

The four sisters clung tightly to one another, refusing to let go as they ran through the crumbling halls.

 

"This way, Your Highnesses!"

Sir Edwin, the captain of the royal knights, stood at the entrance to the corridor with a squad of elite guards.

"Edwin... what about Father?"

At Diana's desperate question, Edwin could only lower his eyes.

He didn't need to answer.

The look on his face told them everything.

The kingdom had fallen.

The sisters collapsed into one another's arms, unable to hold back their tears any longer.

 

Edwin gently took Diana's hand.

"There isn't time to grieve."

"You must escape through the secret passage."

He swallowed the sorrow threatening to overwhelm him before continuing in a steady voice.

"Until his very last breath... His Majesty wished only to keep his daughters safe."

The words were enough.

Fighting back their tears, the princesses forced themselves onward, following the soldiers.

 

Screams echoed without end.

Explosions shook the palace.

The magnificent royal residence they had called home was being devoured by flames, collapsing piece by piece.

As Astina ran through the burning corridors, every familiar sight twisted into something unrecognizable.

Her mind struggled to believe any of it was real.

Then—

She glanced out the window.

And her breath caught.

Beyond the sea of crimson fire...

A lone man stood clad in black armor.

He looked less like a human being than a demon that had walked out of hell itself.

His crimson eyes glowed through the flames.

 

Astina couldn't breathe.

An instinctive terror seized her heart before she could even understand why.

Somehow...

She knew.

That man was the monster who had destroyed Escariel.

And if those crimson eyes were ever to fall upon her...

Only death awaited.

 

 

**************************

Escariel had fallen.

The man with crimson eyes flicked the blood from his sword before slowly surveying the ruined palace.

Footsteps approached from behind.

A man with a cross-shaped scar across one eye stopped beside him and bowed his head.

"My lord, we've found the King of Escariel."

"He was in the royal audience chamber."

He hesitated.

"However... he had already taken his own life."

 

The crimson-eyed man let out a quiet chuckle.

"Casian..."

"There are times I simply don't understand nobles."

He glanced toward the burning palace.

"Why insist on resisting until the very end?"

"Is their pride really worth more than their lives?"

Casian answered with a helpless smile.

"That's just the sort they are."

He looked around at the battlefield.

"Still... this was almost disappointing."

"It may have been a small kingdom, but I'd expected more from a royal palace. Their defenses were laughably weak."

 

The man's name was Kallis Das Valerion.

Across the continent, he was known by another name—

the Emperor's Hound.

His overwhelming swordsmanship and merciless efficiency had made him a nightmare to every neighboring kingdom.

The mere mention of his name was enough to inspire fear.

 

Kallis slowly swept his gaze across the palace.

An entire kingdom...

Reduced to rubble by barely thirty soldiers under his command.

His eyes lingered on the charred remains of the banquet hall before he spoke with cold indifference.

"They should've spent all that money building an army instead."

 

Just then, Wilhelm approached from across the courtyard, dragging a terrified nobleman behind him.

"My lord."

"This man is Escariel's prime minister."

"We caught him trying to flee."

Wilhelm shoved the old noble forward.

The prime minister stumbled and crashed onto the stone floor.

Humiliation burned hotter than fear across his face.

 

"Where are the princesses?"

At Kallis's low voice, the prime minister finally realized who stood before him.

The Emperor's Hound.

The man whose name alone had become legend.

The moment their eyes met—

The old man's body began to tremble uncontrollably.

"I-I don't know..."

 

Without another word, Kallis crouched before him and gripped his shoulder.

Crack.

A sickening sound echoed through the courtyard.

The prime minister's face drained of every trace of color.

"Aaaagh!"

His scream tore through the night as agony shot through his body.

Casian watched with an amused smile.

"My, my."

"You're quite dramatic."

"Pretending it hurts isn't going to earn you a gentler death."

 

A dangerous gleam flashed across Kallis's crimson eyes as his grip tightened.

"Don't make me ask twice."

"Where are the princesses?"

"Agh...!"

The prime minister sobbed through the pain.

"I-I believe... they've escaped through the secret passage..."

"Where is it?"

The old man's entire body trembled.

"I-I truly don't know!" he cried. "Only members of the royal family know where it is!"

"Please... spare me!"

"I'll tell you where the royal treasury is instead! It holds generations of Escariel's priceless—"

Before he could finish—

Kallis hurled him to the ground.

The old man crashed onto the stone floor with a cry of pain.

 

Kallis turned away without another glance.

"Deal with him."

Casian stepped closer as Kallis frowned.

"I think he was telling the truth."

"So... how are we supposed to find this secret passage now?"

Kallis fell silent for a moment.

Then he spoke.

"We'll start with the princesses' chambers."

"If there's a clue, that's where we'll find it."

Without another word, the two men led their soldiers toward the western wing of the palace, where the royal princesses' rooms were located.

 

 

**************************

The princesses' chambers still bore all the signs of a hasty escape.

Kallis searched each room with meticulous care, beginning with Diana's.

Nothing.

Not a single clue.

With every empty room, impatience slowly crept into his expression.

"My lord, there's nothing here that resembles a secret passage."

Casian scratched the back of his head, clearly growing tired of the search.

"Honestly, why is His Majesty making this so complicated?" he muttered. "He could've just demanded a princess. They would've handed one over without all this trouble."

A faint smile tugged at the corner of Kallis's lips.

"The prophecy only says that one of Escariel's noble daughters will grant him eternal life."

"It doesn't say which one."

"That's why he's sending me to do his work for him."

Casian let out an exasperated groan.

"My lord, please just find your heart already."

"How much longer do we have to keep cleaning up after the Emperor?"

"Every time he can't get his way, he threatens you with it..."

Kallis ruffled Casian's hair without warning.

Casian shot him an annoyed glare.

Kallis ignored it completely.

"If anyone has the right to complain, it's me."

"Stop whining and keep looking."

Grumbling under his breath, Casian left the room.

 

Kallis stepped into the final chamber.

Astina's.

The moment he crossed the threshold, he stopped.

A faint radiance lingered throughout the room.

It was barely visible—

Yet impossible to ignore.

The longer he gazed at it, the stronger an inexplicable longing stirred deep within him.

For a long moment...

He simply stood there.

Unable to move.

"My lord."

Casian called from the doorway.

"We should move on."

No response.

"My lord?"

 

"...Ah."

Kallis finally blinked, as though waking from a dream.

He turned toward Casian.

"Do you see anything?"

Casian slowly looked around the room.

"See what?"

"It's just a princess's bedroom."

Kallis fell silent again.

"I see..."

"So you can't see it."

 

Ignoring Casian's puzzled stare, Kallis noticed something else.

A faint trail of light stretched beyond the doorway and into the corridor.

Without a word, he followed it.

The pale glow flickered in and out of existence, almost as if it were beckoning him forward.

Like a guide...

Leading him somewhere only he was meant to find.

"My lord! Where are you going?"

 

"Follow me."

Kallis quickened his pace.

An unfamiliar urgency gripped him.

He had no idea what awaited him at the end of that glowing trail.

But instinct whispered the answer before reason ever could.

What he had been searching for...

was waiting there.

 

-The End-