Meanwhile, in the Douglas estate, Sofia arrived in Dreville at the head of eight hundred knights and two hundred mages, escorted by Major General Aleph Douglas.
The thunderous sound of hundreds of armored soldiers shook the streets of the small fief.
The inhabitants left their homes.
No one understood what was happening.
A villager ran toward Baron Aritz's residence.
—My lord...! An army from House Douglas has just surrounded the city!
Aritz's face lost all color.
He instinctively grabbed his children's hands.
—If something happens to me... seek refuge with the royal family.
Iker looked at him in confusion.
—Father...? What is happening?
Aritz closed his eyes for a moment.
—The young heir left the city yesterday...
I did not send an additional escort.
I thought it would not be necessary.
Andrea burst into tears.
—Father...
Margarita tightly held her hand.
No one spoke another word.
Aritz left the residence, feeling as if his legs could barely support him.
When he reached the main square, the Douglas army was already waiting.
The soldiers silently opened a path.
Then she appeared.
Thunder descended heavily before him.
Sitting atop the magical beast, Sofia Douglas had a face completely devoid of emotion.
There was no anger.
No desperation.
Only a coldness far more frightening.
Her eyes locked onto Aritz.
—Where is my son?
The question was spoken calmly.
And precisely because of that, the baron felt a chill run down his spine.
He immediately dropped to his knees.
—Your Grace... the young lord left yesterday for a nearby village...
Sofia did not let him finish.
—Take me there.
Now.
Aritz swallowed.
—Y-yes, Your Grace.
He did not dare ask anything else.
Behind Sofia, the eight hundred knights began moving at the same time.
The ground trembled once more.
Fifteen minutes later, when they reached the main trail, they spotted the Douglas contingent descending from the mountain.
The wounded were being carried on stretchers.
The villagers walked under the protection of the knights.
And behind them, Lusian walked beside Emily.
Albert stepped forward.
—Lady So—
He did not even finish the sentence.
CRACK!
A bolt of lightning descended from Thunder and struck him directly.
Albert shuddered.
He staggered back two steps, his hair completely standing on end.
A thin trail of smoke escaped from between the plates of his armor.
Charles watched the scene without changing his expression.
Leonidas let out a long sigh.
—You deserved that.
Albert cleared his throat while trying to smooth down his singed hair.
—Yes...
He sighed in resignation.
—I deserved that.
As if nothing had happened, Sofia walked past him without giving him even a glance.
She only had eyes for one person.
—Lusian!
The young man raised his head.
For an instant, he felt a chill.
He glanced sideways at Albert, who was still releasing small wisps of smoke.
—Mother...
Emily stepped forward.
—Lady Sofia, it was my fault. I—
Before she could finish, Lusian stepped in front of her.
He slowly shook his head.
—No.
He took a deep breath.
—I was the one who made the decision.
He lowered his gaze.
—If it were not for Albert and the others, we would all have died.
He clenched his teeth.
—The knights fell following an order I gave.
He raised his eyes.
—I will take full responsibility. I will accept whatever...
He could not finish.
Sofia embraced him tightly.
So tightly that Lusian took several seconds to react.
—I'm glad you're safe...
Her voice was barely a whisper.
—You have no idea how worried I was.
Lusian remained frozen.
Then he slowly raised his arms and returned the embrace.
—I'm sorry...
He closed his eyes.
—I only tried to do what I believed was right.
Sofia gently stroked his hair.
Just like when he was a child.
—What matters is that you are not hurt.
For several seconds, neither of them spoke.
They simply remained there, embracing.
Until Sofia slowly pulled away.
She examined him from head to toe, making sure he was truly unharmed.
Lusian smiled uncertainly.
—So...
you're not angry?
Sofia returned a small smile.
—A moment ago...
No.
Her expression changed instantly.
She stared directly at him.
—Now I am.
Very much.
Lusian swallowed.
A few meters away, Albert finally stood up and shook his cape.
Charles glanced at him.
—Much damage?
Albert rolled his shoulders, checking that everything was still in place.
—Not too much.
He gave Sofia a brief glance before cracking his neck.
—You should try it sometime.
He paused.
—It's quite relaxing.
The knights exchanged looks and, after a moment, let out nervous laughter.
After checking the condition of the wounded and organizing the return of the villagers, the convoy slowly made its way back to Dreville.
Lusian collapsed onto his bed the moment he stepped through the door.
His body felt heavy, and his mind was filled with countless thoughts.
A few moments later, Adela entered carrying a blanket in her arms.
—Do you need anything, my lord?
Lusian let out a long sigh.
—Tell me the truth... was my mother really angry?
Adela blinked.
Then she shook her head with a small smile.
—Not particularly.
Lusian raised an eyebrow.
—She wasn't?
—The last time I saw her truly furious was the day you disappeared.
Lusian fell silent.
—What happened that day?
Adela adjusted the blanket over him as she recalled.
—The Duke insisted on naming young Caleb as heir.
—The argument was already quite heated when I entered to report that you had escaped from the mansion.
She paused briefly.
—I remember Lord Laurence ended up with his head inside Larryet's mouth...
Lusian's eyes widened.
—What?
—And Umber bit off the arm holding his sword.
Lusian remained completely still.
—...
Adela nodded as if she were describing something perfectly ordinary.
—The healers managed to reattach his arm.
—But that day, the mansion was complete chaos.
Lusian swallowed.
So that...
was what had happened when the previous Lusian ran away.
Adela finished arranging the blanket.
—Compared to that day...
today you did not try to kill anyone.
She slightly bowed.
—Rest, my lord.
At dawn, the convoy began its return to the capital.
The columns of knights marched in perfect formation, carrying with them both the glory of victory and the weight of their losses.
When they arrived, Lusian personally accompanied Emily to the Carter residence.
Count Daniel was already waiting in front of the gate.
He did not appear to have slept.
The moment he saw his daughter step down from the carriage, he moved forward.
He grabbed Emily by the shoulders and examined her from head to toe.
—Are you injured?
—No, Father.
Daniel slowly released the breath he had been holding.
Only then did he give Lusian a brief bow.
—Thank you for bringing her back safely, Lord Lusian.
—It was my responsibility.
Lusian said his farewells with impeccable courtesy, and the Douglas convoy continued on its way.
Only after they disappeared down the avenue did Daniel turn back toward his daughter.
—Now tell me everything.
—The entire capital is talking about this. Duchess Sofia mobilized hundreds of knights. Some even say the governor of Dreville was executed.
Emily quickly shook her head.
—No. Those are only rumors. We encountered a group from the Demon Cult.
Emily lowered her head.
—I... was the one who insisted on helping rescue the villagers.
The little color remaining in Daniel's face disappeared.
—What did you do?
Emily felt a knot form in her throat.
—I thought it would be a small mission... but the cult had hundreds of undead. Many of Lusian's knights died.
Silence fell between them.
Daniel closed his eyes for several seconds.
When he opened them again, his voice was much softer.
—Emily... I know you have a kind heart.
She raised her gaze.
—And precisely because of that, there is something you must learn.
He stepped closer.
—You cannot solve every problem in the world. There will be times when, no matter how much you want to, you will not be able to save everyone.
Emily opened her mouth to respond, but he interrupted her.
—If young Lusian had been injured...
He did not finish the sentence.
He did not need to.
Both of them knew the answer.
—The Duchess would have looked for someone to blame.
Emily felt a chill.
Daniel continued.
—And when a house like the Douglas searches for someone to blame, someone disappears.
It was not a threat.
It was a fact.
—Our house would cease to exist.
Emily slowly lowered her gaze.
Daniel sighed.
—I am not saying saving those villagers was wrong.
—I am saying that before you act, you must think about who will pay the price if something goes wrong.
Emily remembered Lusian sitting among the bodies of his fallen knights.
She remembered Sofia's embrace.
And she finally understood something she had never considered before.
Every decision made by a noble carried the lives of many others with it.
—I'm sorry, Father...
Daniel gently embraced her.
—I know.
He stroked her head like he had when she was a child.
—And be grateful that the Douglas heir returned walking.
Because if he had returned today in a coffin...
He did not finish the sentence.
He did not have to.
Emily understood the rest perfectly.
High on the mountain, the survivors of the cult had set up a temporary camp among the rocks.
The smell of blood still lingered in the air.
The wounded remained silent.
No one dared to speak.
Jerges held a small dark crystal between his hands.
For several seconds, he hesitated.
Then he poured mana into it.
The surface of the crystal turned red.
—Speak.
A voice came from the other side.
Jerges lowered his head.
—Your Excellency...
we have failed.
The base was discovered.
We lost Saul, Elio... the Liches...
and almost all of our brothers.
A brief silence followed.
—Who intervened?
—House Douglas.
The voice remained silent for several seconds.
—Confirmed?
—Yes.
The heir appeared near the mountain by coincidence.
They mobilized the duke's forces.
They destroyed the entire operation.
Silence returned.
Finally, the response came.
—That matter is no longer under your authority.
Jerges slightly raised his head.
—I will immediately report to the main headquarters.
They will decide how to proceed.
—Yes, Your Excellency.
—You will gather the survivors.
Disappear.
I do not want a single trace of your presence remaining.
—As you command.
The communication ended.
The crystal slowly lost its glow.
Jerges remained motionless.
He was not worried about losing the base.
Nor about the deaths of Saul, Elio, or the Liches.
What truly concerned him...
was who would receive that report.
He slowly closed his hand around the crystal.
He had only seen that person once.
Only once.
And he could still remember the feeling of standing before them.
He raised his eyes toward the forest.
For the first time since the mission began...
he felt fear.