"You see, Cecilia is here, so I’ll go visit her for a while," Ciel said once they entered the royal castle.
Behind them, two guards stood quietly with lowered gazes, their armor gleaming faintly beneath the light pouring in through the tall palace windows.
Crypian smiled lightly. "Of course, you can go. But make sure not to make wait once my eting is done, alright?"
"Mn." Ciel flashed him a small smile before waving her hand lazily and turning away.
The soft sound of her footsteps echoed against the floor as she walked toward the inner corridors leading to Cecilia’s chambers.
The two guards behind them imdiately straightened before following after her at a respectful distance.
For a few monts, Crypian simply stood there silently.
He watched Ciel’s figure grow smaller and smaller beneath the long stretch of the palace hallway until she finally disappeared beyond a distant corner.
Only then did he let out a quiet breath. "Haaa..."
The atmosphere inside the royal palace remained as calm as ever.
’Now that Ciel has gone to et Cecilia, I should get going as well,’ Crypian thought as he slowly began walking toward the corridor leading to the First Prince’s chambers.
His footsteps echoed softly through the palace halls. This eting was important.
No...important was an understatent.
The future of the Thorne family in the holy empire depended on today’s negotiations.
His father had already made their objectives perfectly clear before sending him here.
No matter what happened, they had to secure Sebastian’s agreent and allow TCL to enter the Holy Empire regardless of the taxes imposed upon it.
That alone would beco the foundation of everything, trade routes, influence and political leverage.
And most importantly...a way to slowly weaken the Church’s control over the Empire itself. Exactly what the First Prince wanted.
Crypian’s expression slowly sharpened as those thoughts crossed his mind.
As long as he secured this agreent today, his standing within the family would rise even further. The elders would no longer be able to ignore his achievents.
And once that happened...his hand unconsciously tightened slightly at his side.
His older brother’s face suddenly surfaced within his mind.
That cold expression, the hateful gaze, the mory of blood. The feeling of a blade piercing through his body.
A hostile emotion slowly twisted within Crypian’s chest.
When he returned after dying by his brother’s hands, he had already sworn it to himself countless tis.
"This ti...things would be different. Once I beco the next patriarch..." His eyes darkened faintly. "...I’ll kill him first."
The thought passed silently through his mind like poison sinking deeper and deeper into water. Yet even then, the palace around him remained peaceful.
"Young Master Crypian." A servant standing near the wall lowered her head respectfully as he passed.
Crypian gave a small nod without stopping.
On both sides of the corridor, royal guards stood motionlessly in armor. Their expressions remained stiff and disciplined, almost statue-like.
The distant sound of footsteps echoed calmly throughout the halls. Crypian continued walking quietly through the corridor before finally turning around a corner.
The enormous doors leading to the First Prince’s chambers slowly entered his view.
"Haaah..."
Another breath escaped him. His thoughts wandered aimlessly again as he walked forward at an unhurried pace.
"It seems I....." The thought never finished.
Crypian’s footsteps slowed slightly.
For a brief mont, his mind went completely blank as sothing violently forced itself into his consciousness.
A strange sense of contradiction suddenly spread through his chest.
"What... what’s happening?!" A violent pain suddenly exploded inside Crypian’s head, his steps faltered instantly.
The world around him spun as an unbearable pressure spread through his skull, and before he could even steady himself, his knees slamd heavily against the floor.
"Young Master Crypian?!" The nearby servants imdiately rushed toward him in alarm.
Even the royal guards standing motionlessly near the walls broke formation at once and hurried over with stiff expressions.
"Young Master Crypian...."
"Are you alright?!"
Their voices echoed around him one after another, yet the words barely reached his mind at all.
Crypian clutched his head tightly. His vision had already blurred beyond recognition.
The palace corridor twisted strangely before his eyes while sharp pain pulsed through every part of his mind like countless needles tearing through his skull.
Cold sweat slowly slid down his back. More gathered across his forehead before dripping onto the floor beneath him.
The pain was unbearable, so unbearable that he could no longer even organize his thoughts properly.
"Young... master..."
"Please respond...."
The servants’ panicked voices gradually beca distant and muffled. Crypian could vaguely feel hands trying to support him, but even that sensation seed strangely unreal now.
Then from the direction of the First Prince’s chambers, the doors suddenly opened.
"What is happening here?" a calm voice asked sharply.
The prince’s butler stepped out first, but the mont he noticed the scene before him, his expression imdiately changed.
Right behind him, Sebastian also walked out. The First Prince’s eyes widened slightly the instant he saw Crypian collapsed on the floor.
"Lord Crypian?" Behind Sebastian, Duke Rayne and several nobles erged as well before quickly approaching the commotion.
"Lady Risana," Sebastian called imdiately.
A woman appearing to be in her mid-thirties stepped forward at once.
Her expression remained calm and serious as she knelt beside Crypian and began inspecting his condition carefully.
Yet Crypian himself barely registered any of it. His thoughts had already descended completely into chaos.
And then...the mories ca crashing down. His body stiffened violently. Fragnts of scenes suddenly forced themselves into his mind one after another with terrifying speed.
The prince’s chamber, the Saint, Commander Cassian, voices filled with anger. The First Prince losing his succession rights. Accusations of heresy.
And then a recording, a recording of him saying the words he had never said before.
And then....Execution.
Crypian’s breathing beca ragged instantly.
The mories did not feel distant, they were real, he could see everything clearly.
Commander Cassian’s sword flashing through the air.
The coldness spreading across his neck.
The horrifying sensation of his head separating from his body.
The floor approaching rapidly, blood polling around his lifeless body and then darkness. His own head rolling across the chamber floor....
"Huff...! Huff...! Huff...!"
Crypian suddenly sucked in a sharp breath as his entire body trembled violently. Sweat dripped continuously from his face while his chest rose and fell uncontrollably.
Slowly, he forced his blurry vision open again. And the mont he did....A glowing blue screen appeared directly before his eyes.
At the sa ti, a cold robotic voice echoed inside his ears.
[Regression has been completed.]
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