"Hey bitch... how do you want to die? "

  The maid on the floor, terrified, didn't know what to say. Her lips quivered as tears streamed down her cheeks.

  Seeing this, Arvid, in a swift motion, drew his sword, the blade gleaming under the light of the chandeliers. The tip moved and stopped a few centimeters from the maid's throat, frozen in terror.

  The entire room froze, yet not a single noble moved. Their eyes remained totally indifferent. It was as if they were waiting for a gesture or the word of a particular person before acting.

  Arvid looked down at the maid, and seeing her tremble, he stared at her more severely.

  "Hey, I asked you a question, and you still can't answer me."

  "It looks like you don't even know how you want to die," he said in a mocking and arrogant tone.

  "You know, the crime you've just committed is punishable by death. So curse your cruel fate," he said in an icy tone, while raising his sword.

  As Arvid's sword was about to strike the servant, Lucas appeared out of nowhere and stood in front of the servant, using his own body as a shield.

  "Please forgive my maid's clumsiness," he said politely, tilting his head slightly.

  "What?!" Arvid replied, fixing Lucas with an icy stare.

  "This girl committed an unforgivable crime. Only her head can atone for her sins."

  Following Arvid's words, Lucas slowly straightened his head. His usually gentle gaze hardened, turning icy.

  He drew a slow breath, then released each sharp word like a blade:

  "His Imperial Highness may be right... but this could only be valid if we were in Naxthor. Here, in the kingdom of Ingrissia, drawing his sword in the presence of the king without his permission, is not just a simple offense... this is considered an act of rebellion. And the only possible sentence… is death itself. And that, no matter the rank. "

  A cold breath ran through the room.

  The nobles, who were hitherto indifferent, all had a smile on their lips. It was as if the words Lucas had just uttered were the ones they were waiting for.

  Arvid looked at Lucas, but he suddenly felt a huge pressure on his shoulders. So he looked up to look around, and for the first time tonight, his confidence faltered.

  As he swept the room with his eyes, he saw nobles glaring at him with murderous intent they didn't bother to conceal, and magical circles glowing on the palms of court magicians. In the distance, the knights and royal guards held the handle of their swords ready to draw, and at the far end… the icy gazes of the king and queen cut through the air.

  A cold sweat flowed down Arvid's neck, and at that precise moment... he understood that he was in opposing territory, a place where he could not impose his laws.

  Seeing Arvid's bewildered face, Lucas let a thin, cruel smile curl his lips.

  "So Your Highness... what will be your decision? "

  "Then please, show a child like me the wisest decision to make in your situation," he said calmly, with a touch of irony.

  Hearing the irony in Lucas's voice, Arvid's gaze darkened.

  Staring at Lucas, he thought:

  "This damn kid… if I could rip his tongue out, I wouldn't hesitate"

  But before Arvid could say a word, or even make a gesture, a soft and calm voice broke the heavy silence of the room.

  "Please, Prince Lucas. "

  élyna appeared, and calmly advanced close to them. She bowed respectfully to Lucas.

  "Please forgive my brother, Your Highness. He lost his temper and was not aware of his actions."

  "If relations between Naxthor and Ingrissia eventually deteriorate because of such an incident, I dare not imagine the reactions of our emperor. Therefore, I beg you to forget this affront, and to forgive my brother," she said calmly and serenely.

  Lucas stared at her for a moment, and immediately understood why she was considered the jewel of the empire.

  Lucas sighed, put his hand behind his back and tilted his head slightly, as if to close the file.

  "I understand you perfectly, Your Highness. I do not wish for our relations with Naxthor to deteriorate... then I would be delighted to forget this unfortunate incident."

  Arvid, his eyes burning with rage, clenched his teeth tightly, and reluctantly, he sheathed his sword. Without any emotion showing on his face, and without a word, he turned on his heel and left the room.

  élyna, watching him leave, bowed once more to Lucas before calmly following her brother.

  After Naxthor's delegation had left the banquet hall, Lucas let out a quiet breath. Dayvon approached, placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

  "You were perfect Lucas... Dad and Mom surely think the same thing," he said with a smile on his lips.

  Arden approached with a sneer, his eyes glinting with amusement.

  "Honestly, you know how to entertain me... cousin," he said, patting Lucas on the back.

  Lucas, still under the emotion, watched for a moment as the maid got up with the help of her colleagues. Her eyes were red, but her posture regained some steadiness.

  The orchestra slowly resumed, and little by little, the banquet regained its splendor—once again with Lucas at the center of attention.

  A few hours later - Lucas' apartment:

  After hours of reception, Lucas finally found the quiet of his room. The maids had already turned off the lights, leaving only the dim glow of a lamp near his bed.

  He lay down, his eyes raised to the ceiling. The silence contrasted with the din and the lights of the banquet.

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  "What a banquet..." he breathed, a thin tired smile on his lips.

  He closed his eyes, letting the images of the evening scroll: the laughter, the music, the faces of the nobles, élyna, but especially the confrontation with Arvid.

  "Despite everything… it was worth it. And finally… I'll be able to go out. Leave this palace… and discover the world."

  His eyelids gradually closed. The weight of excitement and fatigue gently took him to sleep.

  Meanwhile - at the Sylvaris Palace (East secondary palace of the royal domain of Ingrissia):

  A sacred silence reigned in the corridors of the Sylvaris Palace.

  In his apartments, Arvid stood with his arms crossed, his gaze fixed on the night sky through the window.

  Behind him, a knight with one knee on the ground awaited his words.

  "Where is the Silent Sword ?" Arvid asked in an icy voice.

  The knight answered calmly:

  "No one knows precisely where he is, Your Highness. It's been months since he disappeared with this mysterious woman, and since then he hasn't given any sign of life."

  "But it seems that only your brother, the first prince, would know his current position. "

  Arvid remained silent for a moment, his dark gaze shining with a contained anger.

  "Tsh this bastard. Father brought him back from nowhere as a child, but he has never deigned to say a single word since. He certainly looks down on us because of his talent," he thought.

  After a moment of silence, Ardvid's icy voice echoed in the air.

  "Send a letter to my brother. Tell him that I need him to give me the location of the silent sword. "

  The knight straightened up and answered calmly:

  "At your command your Highness. "

  After that, the knight bowed again and left the room.

  Arvid stayed a few moments in front of the window, his dark look becoming a cruel look.

  "Wait dirty kid... in a short time I will take care of you," he said in an icy tone.

  At the same time - near the border between Ingrissia and Balkar:

  Near the border between the kingdom of Ingrissia and the kingdom of Balkar, under a night sky heavy with clouds, torches flickered in a savage camp.

  In a tent at the bottom of the camp, the flame of a candle flickered on a wooden table. The light illuminated only half of the face of a sitting woman, plunging the other into the shadows.

  Her long white hair fell past her shoulders, and her blue eyes glimmered in the dark.

  In front of her, a muscular man dressed in leather armor, with silver hair and a body marked by battles, stared at her with a manipulative smile.

  And around them, several armed men, with hard faces, watched them carefully.

  "So? " said the woman in an icy voice.

  "Did you find these children? "

  "Don't worry about those children," the man said in a deep voice.

  "They are really rare, and it's hard to find the children with the eyes you're talking about. But don't worry, my men have a track and they take care of everything," he added serenely.

  Hearing this, the woman sighed and stood up slowly. Her cape slid, revealing the metallic shine of a weapon she was hiding.

  "Perfect... this time you won't have room for error," she said in an imposing voice.

  Her blue eyes fixed on the man with an implacable calm.

  At the moment she took a step toward the exit, the rough arms of five men barricaded the passage. In that moment, the woman fixed her gaze on the five men blocking her way.

  The leader of the bandits, who was still sitting on his chair, stared at the woman like a predator.

  "By the way, I forgot to tell you that the price has slightly increased."

  "You didn't inform us that these children are constantly on the move, and because of that, my men are struggling to locate them at all times," he said calmly with a mischievous smile.

  Then the leader rose and walked toward the woman, a perverse smile twisting his lips. Standing before her, he made an indelicate gesture: running his hand through her hair as it fell across her chest, his eyes dropping to linger greedily on the curves outlined beneath her outfit.

  "You know... if you pay me in kind, that will do just fine," he said calmly, a perverse smile on his lips.

  A chilling silence filled the tent, and in the shadows, the woman's blue eyes stared at the man in front of her with a murderous look.

  Black circles slowly swirled in her pupils, and the air around them grew heavy and stifling.

  Suddenly, the bandit leader felt a powerful discomfort, and could no longer feel his head. And in the next instant, he saw his own severed head rolling across the ground.

  "Hey, even if HE still needs you..." if you cross the line one more time, I won't hesitate to kill you with my own hands," she said in an icy voice.

  At her words, the bandit leader snapped back to reality, realizing what he had just seen was nothing more than a vision.

  He swallowed, and his entire body was covered in sweat. Terrified, he raised his hands and said in a slightly calm voice:

  "Everything is fine... all of this was just a provocation. No need to go tell him all that."

  The woman's eyes gradually lost their murderous glow. She turned her head away and simply turned her heels.

  She silently left the tent without saying a word more, and the tent fell into silence.

  Outside, under the night sky, the woman slipped into the camp's shadows, her silhouette melting into the darkness.