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Gideon softened his expression. "The royal sermon takes place tomorrow morning. It is a vital event for your people, and it is far too late to cancel or postpone the gathering. However, if you use your authority as the Matriarch to command me, I will leave this palace right now and ride straight for the Ruined Azure Kingdom to find His Majesty."

Lihua froze, the tears spilling over her cheeks. She looked at the seasoned paladin, realizing the terrible weight of his offer.

"You are asking me to choose," Lihua whispered, her voice breaking. "You want me to decide whether to save my daughter and my kingdom from the Crimson Bone Sect, or to save my husband."

"I am merely offering you the choice," Gideon replied gently. "But I know His Majesty well. He is a formidable warrior and a wise ruler. He will not be harmed easily. Furthermore, the Holy Empire relies on politics just as much as faith. They would never do something so foolish as to harm a reigning king whose realm falls under the direct protection of the Lumiere Dynasty. It would spark a continental war."

Gideon placed a reassuring hand over his heart. "Let us secure your home first. Once the royal sermon concludes tomorrow and we have purged the remaining traitors from your walls, I will personally lead a vanguard to the ruined kingdom to bring your husband home."

Lihua wiped her eyes and offered a profound bow of gratitude. "Thank you, Sir Gideon. I just... I do not want him to miss Syra’s wedding. He promised he would be here for our only daughter."

Jian placed a comforting hand on his sister’s shoulder, gently guiding her out of the war room to escort her back to her private quarters.

As the doors clicked shut behind them, Gideon turned his attention back to the map table. The hour grew late, but the paladin and his knights resumed their planning, determined to ensure the upcoming dawn brought safety to the Azure Moon Kingdom.

Meanwhile, in a different sector of the sprawling palace, Commander Feng conducted his routine patrol. He marched down the dimly lit corridors, his metal boots clicking loudly against the polished marble.

He hated the current arrangement. The Lumiere vanguard had effectively taken over the palace security, relegating his own men to secondary duties and perimeter watches.

While he paced down a quiet colonnade, he noticed a dark silhouette slip past the adjacent intersection out of the corner of his eye.

Feng immediately drew his sword and hurried over to check the crossway. The corridor stood completely empty.

A moment later, a distinct rustling echoed from the hallway directly behind him. He spun around, his weapon raised, but the passage remained entirely vacant. The flickering torchlight cast long, eerie shadows across the marble floors.

A chill ran down his spine. The recent cultist attacks and the paranoia infecting the royal court finally broke his nerve. Feng sheathed his sword, turned on his heel, and practically ran toward the safety of the military barracks.

A dark figure stepped out from the deep shadow cast by a marble statue of an ancient king. It was Corvus.

The operative watched the terrified commander flee down the hall. "I have been tracking him for days," Corvus muttered to himself, adjusting the sleeves of his gray uniform. "I was highly suspicious of him based on his loud mouth and his constant need to assert authority. He fits the profile of a corrupted noble perfectly, but he is completely clean. He is not a traitor. He is just an idiot with an ugly face."

Corvus noticed the soft padding of footsteps approaching from the northern wing. He instantly dissolved back into the darkness.

Princess Lune walked past the intersection, her golden hair catching the moonlight filtering through the high windows. She headed straight toward the guest quarters where the academy students resided.

Once the princess disappeared around the corner, Corvus materialized from the shadows once again.

Before he could take a single step, the cold, sharp edge of a blade pressed directly against his throat.

"State your name, your origin, and your exact objective," a feminine voice whispered from the darkness behind him. "Depending entirely on your answers, your death will play out very differently tonight."

It was Vera.

Corvus did not waste a fraction of a second. He instantly collapsed his physical form into pure shadow, dropping to the floorboards and darting rapidly across the marble tiles.

Vera sprinted after him. Her spatial detection talent allowed her to track his exact movements, anticipating his trajectory even as he navigated through the pitch-black corners of the palace.

She leaped over a decorative planter and threw three throwing knives at the shifting darkness.

Corvus deflected the projectiles by solidifying a portion of his shadow. He wove through the columns, desperately trying to shake the relentless pursuit. He rounded a sharp corner and dove into a sprawling tapestry.

Vera chased him into the adjacent hall, but she lost his visual signature among the overlapping fabrics.

Suddenly, a cold blade pressed against the back of Vera’s neck.

"I could ask you the exact same questions," Corvus whispered, stepping out from the shadow of the portrait.

Vera spun around, parrying his dagger with her own blade. They engaged in a high-speed, silent skirmish across the corridor. They exchanged a rapid flurry of strikes and deflections, their movements a blur of dark fabric and clashing steel.

The brief fight ended in a stalemate. They hopped backward simultaneously, standing face to face in the dim moonlight.

"I am Corvus," the operative introduced himself, lowering his dagger slightly. "I am the designated bodyguard for Princess Elizabeth, studying in the same academy."

Vera kept her weapon raised. "Why should I believe a single word you say? You could easily be lying to save your own skin."

Corvus shrugged his shoulders. "Solomon and Elizabeth both know who I am. They do not know I am currently hiding here in this palace, but you can easily go ask them and confirm my identity."

Vera narrowed her eyes behind her dark mask. "If you are an enrolled academy student, where is your broadcasting owl?"

"My talent is incredibly handy for covert operations," Corvus explained casually. "I trapped the drone inside a localized shadow domain. It cannot see or hear anything I do right now."

"Are there more operatives from your kingdom hiding on these grounds?" Vera pressed, probing for additional threats.

"You will find out if and when you need to know," Corvus replied cryptically.

Vera lowered her blade, deciding he posed no immediate threat to Princess Lune. "I will be paying very close attention to your movements."

She turned to leave the corridor.

"Wait," Corvus called out, taking a step forward. "Who exactly are you?"

"You do not need to know," Vera responded. She dissolved into the shadows, vanishing entirely from the hallway.

Meanwhile, Solomon lay flat on his back in his assigned guest chamber. He stared blankly at the wooden ceiling. He knew perfectly well he would not be able to sleep. He had woken up from a long nap just a few hours ago and had engaged in absolutely zero exhausting activities since dismantling the cultist base.

His stamina tank remained completely full.

"I am telling you guys. Stop asking me the same questions again and again."

[LazyCat: How about replying in exchange for a gift?]

"Not happening."

A soft knock echoed from his wooden door.

He swung his legs over the side of the mattress and walked over to pull the heavy oak open.

Lune stood in the hallway, wearing a simple, elegant dress rather than her dark combat tunic. She offered a warm, slightly nervous smile.

"Were you sleeping?" Lune asked softly.

"No," Solomon responded, leaning against the doorframe.

"Would you like to join me for a nightly jog?" Lune invited, her emerald eyes bright with anticipation.

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