The hall of the Solar Palace overflowed with people cheerfully laughing and smiling.

Kiole la Diarca stood there like an object mistakenly placed in the wrong room, staring blankly as he thought:

‘Why on earth... am I even here...?’

He had never once imagined that a day would come where he’d enter a place like this on his own. It was only natural—everyone present today belonged to the Emperor’s faction.

Ever since Emperor Keillusa overcame his illness and returned, the Emperor's loyalists had been grinning with lively expressions as if life had become worth living again.

And in the middle of it all—Kiole.

It was all so bizarre and surreal that he couldn’t feel grounded in reality. What the hell... was this?

“His Majesty the Emperor and Her Majesty the Empress enter. Show respect!”

“Ooh!”

“They’re finally here.”

Before he could even find a chance to escape from this strange place, the Emperor and Empress appeared, majestic as ever, and ascended to the dais. Seated upon the throne, the Emperor slightly narrowed his crimson eyes behind his glasses and raised a hand toward Kiole.

“Sir Diarca. Did you rest well at the palace yesterday? I wanted to personally recognize your service, so I arranged today’s celebration. Please, enjoy it freely.”

“Ah...”

Before Kiole could even stammer out a reply, the Emperor’s loyalists were already smiling and applauding. The Empress joined in too.

Kiole quickly bowed his head to hide the trembling in his eyes, which felt like an earthquake had shaken through them. As he stared at the ground, the recent series of events that had led him here flashed through his mind in a blur.

‘Why is something like this happening to me...!’

A few days earlier—

Kiole had expected to be severely scolded by his father for secretly visiting the Imperial Guard Commander and sending support to the South, but shockingly, there was no punishment. He had finally been released from his confinement.

‘Haha. So, Father did come to understand my sincerity in the end.’

The atmosphere at the Diarca main house was heavier and darker than it had been before Kiole’s confinement. Back in his room changing clothes, Kiole listened as his attendant updated him on recent events.

“You’ve heard that His Majesty has fully recovered and declared his return to rule, haven’t you? Phew... Now that he’s back, the country’s peaceful days are already stirring with unrest. Just yesterday, he ordered major revisions to policies that had been functioning smoothly, and the government is in chaos again.”

“Hm.”

Truth be told, Kiole had no idea when exactly Emperor Keillusa had officially resumed his duties or what he’d been doing since. After barely surviving his efforts to clean up the Crown Prince’s mess in the South, he had returned to the capital only to be immediately confined. Affairs of the high-ranking nobles didn’t concern him.

Even if that hadn’t been the case, Kiole wasn’t the type to care about the political tug-of-war between his father and the Emperor. But the next topic caught his attention.

“And during all that, the Cavalry was granted collective vacation and an overly lavish reward, they say. Other knights and officials who heard that Duke Pelleta is now indulging in a wild and carefree holiday were apparently deeply discouraged. What will become of this country... Duke Pelleta himself must be terribly concerned too.”

“Wait. The Cavalry got awards and vacation?! When?”

Startled, Kiole lifted his head so suddenly that the attendant nearly dropped what he was holding, scrambling to regain composure.

“It’s already been several days, young master. Duke Pelleta was given the title of ‘Master of Light,’ and his Southern servant-turned-knight was officially recognized as a Master by His Majesty. Because of that, there’s a rumor that the atmosphere in the Imperial Guard is now like a funeral...”

“I don’t care about rumors! That aide to the commander... that Yuder Aile—what award did he get?”

“Oh. That man received the same medal as the others, but also had his baronial title upgraded to an inheritable rank. I heard he was granted a family crest as well, though many say that’s just for formality. Most agree that His Majesty seemed to take care not to go overboard in his favor, perhaps finally deciding to draw a line with the Duke’s fraternizing with commoners...”

“Shut it. Keep your mouth shut.”

Startled by Kiole’s sharp tone, the attendant immediately went silent. He was very used to his young master snapping for no apparent reason and had long since stopped questioning the cause. Kiole remained quiet for a long time as he was dressed, then furrowed his brow and asked, just as the attendant was about to leave:

“...Do you know how His Highness the Crown Prince is doing?”

“Ah... His Highness...”

It was the first time the talkative attendant showed hesitation. He lowered his voice and answered carefully.

“Actually, while you were still confined, he came here unannounced, and it caused quite a stir.”

“What? His Highness came here? For what reason?”

“No one knows. His Grace the Duke silenced the matter thoroughly. I did hear, though, that since then he’s given several secret orders to investigate something, though whether it’s related or not, I couldn’t say.”

“What did he order them to look into?”

“That I don’t know. Also, about two days ago, there was a declaration from the Solar Palace that they would finally pursue legal action against the Crown Prince. It’s said the Duke has been deep in thought ever since.”

“Legal action? So... they’re going to formally address his past misdeeds in court?”

“That seems to be the implication. In any case, the atmosphere at Radiance Palace remains unpleasant as always. That much hasn’t changed.”

“Any mention of a new healer or physician being sent to the Crown Prince?”

“None that I’ve heard of...”

A crease formed between Kiole’s brows. After the attendant left, he rubbed his temple with a groan.

‘So Father... really has no intention of treating the Crown Prince as he did before. Well, it’s understandable—he’d be worried that frauds like that self-proclaimed Sage might show up again. And even if a real doctor came...’

He remembered the way Kachian looked at him—wide-eyed, unhinged—and how he had defended the Sage to the bitter end, even kicking Kiole in a fit of madness. Even now, the memory sent chills through his body, as if a block of ice had dropped into his stomach.

What happened to the intelligent, patient Crown Prince who had once seemed to care for House Diarca? Who could possibly heal a boy whose eyes sparkled with mania as he crushed others beneath him? Could that even be healed?

Even someone as oblivious as Kiole could tell that Kachian’s condition—his temperament—was far from normal.

Putting all the pieces together, it was clear what his father had been doing: pouring all his energy into the political battle with the Emperor, while not sending a single word of comfort to the disaster-struck South. Whether or not he’d truly understood the meaning behind what Kiole had said remained unknown.

‘Sigh... Who knows! Anyway, my confinement’s over, so I’ll catch some sleep and head out for training later.’

But the world had no intention of letting him rest.

“Kiole.”

“Big Brother...? What’s going on?”

Just as he was about to sleep, Kiole was startled out of bed by a surprise visitor. It was none other than Kiorne la Diarca—the eldest son of House Diarca.

He was nearly twenty years older than Kiole, and his first child was not much younger than Kiole himself.

Always solemn and carrying the implicit authority of Diarca’s heir, Kiorne had always been someone Kiole found hard to approach. They had barely ever shared personal words, let alone like this—visiting Kiole’s room to speak one-on-one was a first.

“I heard you were released from confinement, so I thought I’d check on you. I also heard you went through a lot down South. I’m glad to see you looking ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ well.”

“Ah, yes. Thank you for your concern...”

“But Kiole.”

As they exchanged only a few pleasantries, Kiorne suddenly tilted his head and spoke in a low voice.

“You haven’t taken on any new duties since stepping down from the Crown Prince’s guard, have you?”