After the Princes departed for their respective territories, the crowd lingered for a while longer before slowly beginning to disperse, many moving in the direction of the carriages as if unwilling to let the moment end so soon. Cheers followed the procession, rising and falling like waves, while flower petals were showered from balconies and raised hands alike, drifting through the air in soft bursts of color.

The carriages rolled forward beneath the rain of petals, the sound of wheels against stone gradually fading into the distance.

High above, members of the Council stood along the balconies, watching in silence as the figures below grew smaller. Some wore expressions of contemplation, others of concern, and a few masked their thoughts behind practiced neutrality.

Before any of them could speak, an attendant approached and bowed deeply.

"A message from the Grand Duke of Montaire," he announced. "He extends an invitation to the Council representatives for noon tea at his manor."

A brief pause followed.

Sir Godfrey Ashburn adjusted his gloves, his brows knitting together as though weighing the implications. After a moment’s hesitation, he inclined his head. "Very well."

Elder Mira, on the other hand, smiled warmly, her expression calm and unguarded. "How thoughtful of him. I shall attend."

With that, the matter was settled.

An hour later, the two Council representatives arrived at the Montaire family’s manor within the capital. The estate stood dignified and imposing, its presence neither ostentatious nor modest—much like the family it belonged to.

Godfrey Ashburn stepped down from his carriage and paused, taking in the sight of the grand manor before him. He no longer rode a horse—the injury to his back had long since made that impossible. Turning slightly, he extended his hand toward Elder Mira.

She accepted it gratefully and stepped down beside him.

"Thank you," she said with a gentle smile.

Godfrey inclined his head in response.

"It’s quite a splendid place," Mira remarked, her gaze lingering on the manor’s façade.

Godfrey cleared his throat softly, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

Before either of them could speak further, the manor’s butler approached and bowed respectfully.

"You are most welcome, Sir Ashburn and Madam Mira," he said. "Please, come this way. Their Excellencies have been awaiting your arrival."

They followed him inside, their footsteps muffled by rich carpets, until they were led into a well-appointed parlor. There, Grand Duke Alarice and Grand Duchess Dahlia were already waiting.

Ashburn bowed, and Mira offered a graceful curtsy.

"Please, have a seat," Alarice said warmly, stepping forward and gesturing toward the comfortable armchairs arranged near the tea table.

They did as invited.

"Would you care for some herbal tea, Madam Mira?" Dahlia asked as she leaned forward, lifting the teapot.

Mira chuckled lightly. "Oh my, how could I allow the Grand Duchess to serve me? Please, let me do it instead."

Dahlia laughed as well, waving off the concern. "It’s quite all right. It’s rare for us to have guests with whom we can truly sit back and relax."

Ashburn and Mira exchanged a glance, understanding the meaning behind her words. Some of the tension they carried eased, if only slightly.

Dahlia handed the two their teacups. The gentle aroma wafted from the deep greenish tea.

"Well," Alarice began, folding his hands together, "I invited you both today to speak about the future of Sestia."

"What about it?" Ashburn asked, sipping the tea, "as per what we are witnessing, the future looks bright since Prince Eric’s assets are quite on display."

Mira nodded taking a sip of her tea, "I agree."

But then her eyes grew a little darker as she noticed the minor changes in the expressions of the couple and she added.

"But considering that you have invited us here must mean that something is happening in the shadows which we are unaware of."

Ashburn glanced at Mira before he looked at Alarice.

"Is that true?" He asked.

Alarice looked once at Dahlia who gave him a nod of approval begore he sighed.

"We have got the news that in order to make sure His Highness Carlos wins, Her Majesty has been delving in certain... unorthodox methods."

"What kind of unorthodox methods?" Ashburn asked.

Mira took a small sip as she waited for her answer and Alarice spoke, "It was revealed through a thorough investigation that there are some people who have infiltrated the kingdom and have been practicing occult."

Mira paused as she heard that, it was only a few years ago during the time of the attack of the rogue shifters that she had heard that some nobles were behind it.

But apart from this news only recently, about a few months ago, she had gotten to know that some of the homeless people had seen some suspicious people lingering around the ruins deep into the forest.

"Occult practicioners? But why would those people be here? Our country isn’t religious or have a particular God." Ashburn frowned and Alarice nodded.

"We don’t know why they are here, but considering that they are getting involved in this is a concerning matter." Dahlia said.

"Is there any proof that Her Majesty is involved with these occult people?" Mira asked placing her cup down on the table.

Alarice and Dahlia looked at each other before they nodded.

"A very reliable person had found this out and he has been doing all he could to keep this matter under control so as to not create any unnecessary chaos among the people." Alarice said.

"May we know who this reliable person is?" Ashburn asked, "And how is he planning to deal with this? We don’t know anything about these occult practicioners or what they are capable of? They could be just some fraudsters who are spreading rumors."

Alarice sighed, before he leaned ahead and started explaining.

"Like I said, the matter about this occult practicioners has been kept a secret and only was being handled by an individual that’s why none of the people know about it. But now that Her Majesty is starting to delve into it, it’s likely to blow out of hands and that’s why we are spreading awareness among those who could be of help during the time of crisis."

"What kind of crisis?" Mira asked.

"The kind that might destroy Sestia for good." Dahlia answered in a grim tone.

Back in the Ryujin mansion, Ocean removed his coat before glancing back at Lyall who was in his room with him.

"Lyall," Ocean started, "make sure to tidy up our special cell in the dungeon."

Lyall didn’t ask why as he bowed, "Yes, Master."

Ocean smiled as he removed the jeweled cuffs from his sleeves as he added, "We have to serve a Queen there."

Lyall glanced at Ocean and shuddered as he saw the glint in his Master’s eyes. He almost felt pity for the Golden Serpent in that moment but considering the deeds throughout her life, he wasn’t surprised that she had it coming.

"You have time till midnight." Ocean spoke and Lyall nodded.

"I understand, Master. I shall make all the preparations."

Ocean hummed before he changed out of his clothes and wore a thick black shirt and black trousers along with a black vest which had some silver accessories.

The dusk fell quite quickly and even without the moon to light up the night, the stars were enough. It was quite a lovely night for everyone, most of the people had gone to their beds in anticipation, hoping for the ten days to end soon.

Even Katherine had gone to bed early that evening, hoping that these ten days would go completely uneventfully had she known what was in store for her.

She was sleeping peacefully when she was suddenly aroused by the gust of wind. She stirred awake feeling the strange sense of terror take up her body. She shuddered as she felt the cold sweat coating her skin, she looked around for a moment but there was no one around. She then reached out and poured herself some water from the bedside jug into the glass.

She had only taken one sip when she noticed a movement near the window. The curtain blew in the night breeze and the sense of deja vu washed over her. She felt her heart hammering in her chest and she shook her head.

"No, no, he can’t be here. He can’t just stroll in here like the last times. This time I am protected, if he does-"

She tried to assure herself but her assurances crumbled the moment a smooth voice drifted from the darkness.

"Since when have you started talking to yourself Katherine?"

Katherine gulped, her eyes darting around before she saw a movement from the corner of her eye and she saw a face of a man with one missing eye and half of his head bashed in staring right in her face.

Katherine almost screamed, the glass of water slipping from her hand but she didn’t hear it fall as she turned in her bed to get away.

However, she felt something else on the bed and she brought her hand up which seemed to be stained by something sticky and warm. In the faint light she saw blood and it was from the dead body of a man who lay mangled in her bed with his lifeless, hollow eyes staring up at her.

Katherine screamed and jumped out of her bed, dashing straight for the doors but before she could she felt a strong arm clamp down on the back of her neck and in a swift movement her face was smashed right into the ground.

The thick scent of metal clogged her nostrils and she felt her blood gathering into her mouth and the blinding pain over her face as she realised the impact had broken her nose and probably a few of her front teeth.

"Yo-You won’t get away with this, you won’t- I have people to guard me." She spoke through her bleeding mouth.

But what she heard in response was a low, chilling chuckle, "Those were fortunate enough that I ended their lives swiftly, Katherine. You, on the other hand, will have to be with me for the whole night long."

Katherine’s blood ran cold and she craned her head back to look at a man above her and the sight made her bones rattle. There was no mask over his face this time, no burn marks, no scars but an angelic looking face which looked terrifying with a smile and the gleaming blue eyes.

"Let’s go now, shall we?"