The Empress's chamber was still dim, the scent of smoke and steel still lingering from the night before. The Empress sat quietly on a cushioned bench, her hands resting protectively over her stomach. Beside her sat Maria, her expression was tight and concerned.
The double doors to the chamber opened with urgency.
The Emperor entered.
He looked shaken—but not from fear. From rage. His eyes immediately went to his wife, then to Maria.
"Tell me what happened," he demanded, his voice cold but barely holding back fury.
Maria stood up and bowed lightly before explaining everything—how she'd seen a shadow, how she had rushed to raise the alarm, how the intruder had left behind the poisoned cup.
The Emperor listened in silence, clenching his fists at his side.
"This was no petty assassination attempt," he finally said. "This was meant to erase the future of the Empire."
He turned sharply and barked an order to the captain outside the door.
"Summon Duke Alex Luxembourg. A royal decree. I want him in this palace now."
The Northern Duke arrived at the palace that evening.
As he stepped into the Empress's palace, he found the Emperor standing tall, flanked by royal guards. Maria stood nearby, her eyes filled with something between worry and relief.
"Your Majesty," Alex bowed.
The Emperor wasted no time. He told him everything—the breach, the poison, the attempted murder of the Empress and their unborn heir.
Alex's face darkened with every word.
"Forgive me, Your Majesty," he said solemnly, bowing again. "This lapse in protection... it won't happen again. I will find who did this and make sure they are brought to justice."
The Emperor placed a hand on Alex's shoulder.
"You're not going back to the North, not now. From this moment on, you are stationed here. And bring Lady Elisha. I want someone I trust at my wife's side."
By the following day, Elisha had arrived.
She immediately took command of the Empress's security alongside Countess Wilmore, the Empress's trusted lady-in-waiting.
"We check every corridor, every entrance, and every servant's hand. No tray, no cup, no linen leaves this chamber unchecked," Elisha commanded.
The Empress, though fragile from the scare, nodded with quiet strength.
Maria joined her and Elisha, silently moving through the palace, making notes of shifts in behavior, cross-checking new staff, and visiting the kitchens, storerooms, and passages.
"If there's a mole," Elisha whispered to Maria, "they're still here. And they're watching us."
That night, Maria wandered to one of the balconies and looked down at the capital. Lanterns flickered in the distance, and the hum of the city's joy from the foundation festival still lingered faintly in the air.
She thought of her time in the North—the quiet snow, the greenhouse she built with her own hands, the child she lost, and the love she thought she'd never find again.
Alex stepped beside her, silent.
They didn't speak.
He simply reached for her hand, and she let him hold it.
"We've come so far," Maria whispered. "And yet it feels like we're walking a cliff's edge."
Alex's grip tightened.
"We won't fall," he said. "Not this time."
The Search Begins
Elisha and Maria began reviewing servant records, recent hires, and any activity around the Empress's wing. They called private interviews, they re-ran background checks.
"We're being watched," Elisha muttered. "The moment we move too fast… they'll hide deeper."
Maria opened a ledger and paused.
"This name," she pointed out. "She was assigned to clean the Empress's chamber yesterday—but it says she left for home two days ago?"
Elisha's eyes narrowed.
"Then who was wearing her uniform?"
The chase had begun.
A mole was hiding in the palace. The attempt had failed—but the next one might not.
And now… it was Maria and Elisha's mission to catch them before it was too late.
Inside the Palace – The Hunt Intensifies
Elisha moved like a phantom through the palace corridors—sharp-eyed, silent, and commanding.
Maria followed beside her, calm but observant. After years of pain, loss, and transformation, she had become more than a Duchess—she was a woman forged by fire.
Their eyes scanned every corner, every face.
Elisha spoke to Maria in hushed tones, "They're hiding among us. That failed attempt wasn't a warning—it was a mistake. And mistakes leave traces."
Maria held up a small glass shard she had picked up near the corner of the Empress's tea table earlier that day. "This wasn't part of the palace set. This came from outside."
They were getting closer.
They questioned servants with kindness but precision. They studied patrol schedules, cross-checked food deliveries, and spoke to merchants. Some guards whispered theories; some nobles kept silent, clearly uncomfortable.
The deeper they dug, the more one truth became clear—this wasn't just an attempt to harm the Empress.
"It's about power," Maria said one night, her voice steady. "Someone out there is terrified the Empire is finding strength again. They want to shatter its future."
Elisha looked over her shoulder. "Then let's make them afraid of us."
In the Shadows – The Puppeteer Moves
Far from the palace, in a dimly lit chamber beneath an unmarked estate on the western edge of the capital, a cloaked figure sat at a carved desk.
Candles flickered.
A messenger knelt before him.
"My lord," the messenger spoke, trembling, "we failed. The poison didn't work… the Duchess noticed something and intervened."
Silence.
The figure leaned forward, casting half his face into view. The emblem stitched into his sleeve bore the mark of an ancient noble house—one that had once stood nearly as tall as the crown but had been slowly overshadowed by the rise of the Empress… and the Northern Duke.
"They were always too clever," the man said bitterly. "The Empress and her little pawns... Maria… Elisha... all thorns in my side."
He stood, walking toward a map of the capital, red markers pinned across the palace grounds.
"It's time we stop toying with them."
He pointed at a marker.
"I want chaos in the East Wing. Fire. Smoke. Confusion. While they burn, we'll strike the heart."
A voice from the shadows asked, "And what about the child she carries?"
The figure turned slowly.
"If the heir is born, everything we've worked for collapses. That child cannot be allowed to live."
A Trail Emerges
Elisha and Maria re-entered the servant archives. A name was missing from one of the rosters—the same one tied to the false uniform discovered earlier.
"She's not on record for a single shift after yesterday," Maria whispered.
Elisha slammed the ledger shut. "Then we're close. Too close. We need to find her before she vanishes completely."
They split up, and Maria followed a narrow corridor that led to the palace greenhouse. There, she found a maid attempting to burn a bundle of cloth near a storage hearth.
"Stop!" Maria's voice rang sharp.
The maid dropped everything and ran. Maria chased.
Through the gardens. Past the columns.
Just before the maid reached the side gate—she stopped.
Because standing there, sword drawn and eyes blazing… was Duke Alex Luxembourg.
"Going somewhere?" he asked coldly.
The maid was thrown to her knees in the underground chamber beneath the palace—cold, silent, far from prying eyes.
Maria stood just outside the iron door, her heart pounding. Alex, Elisha, and the Emperor stood inside, eyes locked on the woman who had nearly succeeded in harming the Empress and had dared to enter the palace under a false name.
The flickering torchlight revealed her face—calm, too calm. There was no fear, no regret.
Just hatred.
Elisha stepped forward first.
"Who sent you?" she asked, her voice sharp and unwavering.
The maid smiled. It wasn't a smile of surrender, but of mockery.
"You think this little game ends with me?"
Alex's jaw clenched. "Who's behind you?"
The maid looked directly at him. Her voice dropped into something venomous.
"Why? So you can protect your perfect little kingdom? Your Empress? Your wife?"
Maria flinched outside the door.
The maid continued, her voice rising, fueled by the burning hatred she had hidden behind servant clothes.
"Your palace is a rotting corpse draped in silk. The nobles drink and dance while the poor die in the gutters. And your North? That frozen land should never have risen. You should have stayed buried beneath the snow."
Elisha stepped forward, sword drawn, eyes blazing. "Name your master, and you might yet live."
The maid let out a harsh, bitter laugh.
"Live? There's no living left in a world where your kind rule."
She looked directly at Alex and Maria—her eyes twisted with contempt.
"Did you enjoy watching her cry, Your Grace? When she screamed for a child that would never draw breath? That wasn't fate. That was him. Our master gave the order. You think your pain is rare? We watched from the shadows and smiled."
Maria's knees buckled at the door. She pressed a hand to the wall to keep from falling.
Alex's face paled, but he didn't speak.
The maid's voice turned cruel, triumphant.
"He took your heir. He took your future. And now, he'll take your Kingdom."
Suddenly—she bit down hard.
Blood poured from her lips.
"No!" Elisha rushed forward, but it was too late.
The maid collapsed, eyes still full of malice. Her final breath escaped in a whisper—
"He's coming."
Then silence.
Forever.
Maria entered the chamber moments later, her expression unreadable. She looked down at the lifeless body of the woman who had laughed at her pain.
Her voice was soft. "She knew… she really knew."
Alex approached, placing a hand gently on her shoulder. "I should have stopped it then. I should have seen more."
Maria turned to him, eyes brimming with tears. "This wasn't just about the Empress. Or the throne. They… killed our baby."
That truth, spoken aloud, shattered whatever thread of control they had held together.
Alex embraced her tightly, burying his face in her hair. "I swear, Maria… on everything I have left… I'll find him."
Elisha, standing to the side, clutched her sword.
"If there is someone behind all of this… then it's not just revenge. It's war."
And somewhere in the shadows of the capital, the man whose name they still did not know… sat watching flames dance across parchment.
"The North rises. The Crown strengthens. But they are still human… and humans break."
The days after the maid's suicide passed with an eerie stillness.
Despite all efforts, no trace of her master was found. Her body was burned, her room searched, her records erased. Whatever secrets she carried had died with her. And with no trail to follow, the investigation hit a dead end.
No one knew who was behind the attacks.
No one knew what was coming.
But everyone—especially Alex—knew that it wasn't over.
On a quiet afternoon, a royal decree arrived at the Duke of the North's estate.
Summoned.
Alex arrived at the imperial study, where the Emperor stood by the window, arms crossed, eyes distant. The air in the room was heavier than usual, the silence pressing.
"Your Majesty," Alex greeted, bowing slightly.
The Emperor turned, his expression unreadable.
"Alex… There's something you must know."
He walked slowly to the table, opened a letter, and held it out.
"My aunt's son—Raymond Von Calix—is coming."
Alex's brow furrowed.
"The son of Princess Serena Carsen?"
"Yes. My father's sister. She married into the royal family of the eastern kingdom. It was a political union to prevent war."
Alex nodded. He had heard whispers about Princess Serena. A brilliant woman was once admired in the court before her sudden departure decades ago.
"And her son?"
"He is… ambitious," the Emperor admitted. "Charming. Educated in foreign courts. With influence I can't fully measure yet. His visit is... unexpected. And I do not believe it is without purpose."
The Emperor's eyes met Alex's.
"I want you to ensure his safety. But more importantly… watch him."
Alex straightened. "Yes, Your Majesty."
The gates of the capital were opened wide. Banners were raised. Trumpets echoed across the marble roads.
A gold-trimmed black carriage entered with grace and pride, escorted by elite guards from the Eastern Kingdom.
When the door opened, the crowd gasped softly.
A tall man, perhaps in his mid-twenties, stepped out.
Raymond Von Calix.
He had the posture of a noble, the eyes of a strategist, and the smile of someone who always got what he wanted. Dressed in deep sapphire and black, he bowed politely before the Emperor—but his gaze quickly drifted across the gathered nobility.
Scanning.
Calculating.
"It's an honor to stand in the heart of your kingdom."
The Emperor gave him a firm embrace. "Welcome, Raymond. I hope your stay will be… illuminating."
Alex stood quietly in the back, watching the young man with cautious eyes.
Something about him felt… wrong.
Behind that smile was something darker. Sharper.
Raymond's gaze eventually met Alex's.
He smiled again. A touch wider this time.
"Ah, you must be Duke Alex Luxembourg. I've heard so many tales of your strength… and of your Northern duchess."
That moment, fleeting as it was, sent a quiet ripple through the room.
And far away, beneath the surface of the capital, in a hall veiled in black…
A voice spoke from the shadows.
"He's arrived. The next piece is on the board. And soon… the kingdom will bleed."
WHISPERS BENEATH THE CROWN
The Serpent in the Garden – Raymond's Rise
The palace was alive with whispers.
Nobles laughed, courtiers drank, and maids exchanged knowing glances—but beneath the surface, something stirred. Because Raymond Von Calix was not just visiting—he was infiltrating.
Over the days following his arrival, Raymond became the darling of the court.
He praised the Emperor with eloquence, gifted rare treasures to the Empress, and entertained the noble ladies with exotic stories from the East.
"You have a beautiful court," he once said at a banquet, lifting his glass, "But even a blooming garden must beware the weeds that lie beneath."
Those words, though veiled in politeness, made several heads turn.
Including Alex's.
But Raymond always stayed just within the lines of propriety. No open threat. No overt ambition.
And yet…
Nobles began shifting loyalties. The Empress's lady-in-waiting reported seeing secret letters exchanged behind closed doors. A council member who once supported Alex suddenly withdrew from all northern matters.
Raymond's web was weaving itself through the palace.
And the worst part?
He hadn't done anything… yet.
Shadows and Secrets – Alex & Maria's Suspicion
In the privacy of their shared study in the Duke's quarters, Alex and Maria poured over documents, intercepted letters, and maps from the eastern border. Every night, when the palace slept, they worked.
"Raymond's charm is too perfect," Maria whispered. "No one moves this flawlessly without reason."
Alex nodded. "I've seen soldiers hide blades behind smiles. He's hiding something… we just need to find the blade."
Maria opened a folded parchment retrieved from one of the discarded fires.
It bore the same symbol they'd seen once before—long ago, on the paper that warned Marquise Morgan of a traitor.
"The Order of the Serpent…" Maria said slowly. "I thought they were extinct."
"Or we were meant to think that."
Alex stood, walked to the window, and looked down at the palace courtyard where Raymond was charming a group of nobles.
"He's not here for diplomacy," Alex murmured. "He's here to divide the court. To push the kingdom into fracture."
"And to finish what was started," Maria added, her hand instinctively resting on her stomach—the pain of the past still echoing.
Alex's eyes darkened.
"He's part of it. Of what happened to us."
Meanwhile… in the Dark
Somewhere beneath the palace, behind walls even the Emperor didn't know existed…
A figure sat in silence, surrounded by candlelight.
On the table before them were two figures carved of stone:
One bore the seal of the Northern House. The other wore the crown of the Emperor.
The voice whispered:
"The Duchess still lives. And the Duke still stands. But not for long. Raymond will break them from within."
They moved a third piece onto the board—painted in black.
"The chaos will begin at the Harvest Moon. Let the Kingdom burn from its own roots."