“Impossible… This, this is impossible…”
Thomas’s voice struggled to move in his throat, yet he could not truly make a sound.
He had long heard of Moria’s ambition and ruthlessness, but witnessing her murder her own father with her own hands still felt like a heavy hammer slamming into the old veteran’s heart.
Since the King had been placed under house arrest, Moria had deliberately restricted his movements.
Thomas had been tightly bound by his adjutant’s surveillance network, and his multiple attempts to transmit intelligence had all ended in failure.
Thus, he could only wait for an opportunity.
Taking advantage of a gap between shifts, he had silently come to the door of the bedroom where the King was being held. He never expected to be greeted by such a tragedy.
The Old King Steyat was often criticized, but in Thomas’s heart, that monarch had always been as majestic as a mountain.
Now, the mountain had collapsed.
The King lay miserably in a pool of blood, which rapidly turned into sludge, leaving only that Crown—once a symbol of nobility and power—lying lonely on the floor.
Thomas took a deep breath, forcing down the surging grief and anger within him.
He knew very well that now was not the time to be immersed in emotion; he had to act immediately.
He slowly withdrew his gaze from the crack in the door and cautiously turned to leave. Every step was like walking on thin ice, for fear of alarming Moria inside the room.
At this moment, only one thought remained in his mind:
‘I must find Sista as soon as possible and tell her everything — let her know what happened in the Palace, the King’s death, and Moria’s true ambition.’
His pace gradually quickened, and the sound of his footsteps echoed in the empty corridor.
He knew he was already standing at the eye of the storm.
But there was no turning back.
For the King, for the Royal Family, and for the future of Ansels, he had to give it his all.
—
At the same time.
A messenger had already secretly infiltrated Hailosen Castle.
Sista had not slept all night, anxiously waiting for a reply from the Guard Corps Leader, Thomas.
However, as dawn approached, she still had nothing.
Looking out from a distance, Hailosen Castle seemed to be swallowed by endless darkness, making one feel uneasy.
How was Steyat’s current condition? What exactly had Moria done to him?
These questions constantly tangled in Sista’s thoughts.
She paced back and forth in the Castle, not having eaten for one whole night. Her red eyes seemed to be covered by a layer of mist, revealing deep concern.
“Your Highness, do you really not need to rest for a while?”
In contrast, Su Ling’s energy was clearly lacking. She stayed by Sista’s side, leaning against the sofa in the drawing room. Her pink eyes were half-open and half-closed, already exhausted to the extreme.
“I don’t need it. I must wait here for news from Thomas,” Sista replied crisply, her gaze still fixed toward the Castle gate.
“But, I’m about to give in…”
Before she could finish her sentence, Su Ling’s body involuntarily slumped onto the sofa as she fell into a deep sleep.
The Pink Bracelet on her wrist glowed faintly, like a newly bloomed flower, complementing her skin tone.
On this night, although she did not sleep peacefully, she entered the Dreamscape once more and established contact with Tii.
Closing her eyes, the dream crossed the boundaries of time and space, presenting Tii’s image before her.
This time, it was no longer a bloody battlefield.
Tii was riding atop a sturdy Earth Dragon. Her hair was tied in a ponytail, and she wore simple grey cloth short clothes with leggings and white cloth shoes. The scars that once densely covered her calves had all healed.
The Earth Dragon galloped across the vast grassland, and Tii’s red hair flew in the wind, dancing like flames.
“Little Su Ling!”
Tii reached out to her and shouted with a laugh.
“Come up!”
“Tii! I can finally talk to you!”
Su Ling could hardly hide her excitement.
“How is your mission going? Are you okay now?”
“Don’t worry, I’m not that easy to kill,” Tii said with a smile.
“I’m in Sarinan now. What about you? How are things on your end?”
The heavy thuds of the Earth Dragon’s footsteps echoed in her ears.
Su Ling sat on the Earth Dragon, grabbing its rough scales with her hands, but a shadow of worry surfaced on her face.
“Tii… something major has happened here in the Capital.”
—
The Dreamscape receded like a tide.
Su Ling woke up with a start, finding that the morning light had quietly climbed onto the windowsill, dyeing the room with a faint golden hue.
She was not in the drawing room but was lying alone in Sista’s bedroom — evidently, the other girl had carried her back the previous night.
She let out a soft breath and looked around.
The room was empty.
‘Strange… where did Sista go?’
The air was filled with a stifling atmosphere, as if even breathing had become heavy.
She changed into light clothing and walked out of the room.
However —
The entire Castle was empty.
It wasn’t just Sista; even the Chef Madam, the guards, and the maids who usually looked after her were nowhere to be found.
The massive Castle seemed to have lost its vitality overnight, leaving her all alone.
*Ttap… tap… tap…*
She walked down the spiral staircase, her footsteps echoing continuously in the empty space.
The tables and chairs in the Dining Hall were neatly arranged; the books in the Study lay quietly on the desk; the throne in the audience hall was empty; the iron cages in the Underground Room were tightly shut.
The furnace in the kitchen had long since gone cold.
In the Garden, only the scattered chirping of birds and the mournful cries of autumn cicadas remained.
There was no one.
Not a single person.
Where did they all go?
A sense of inexplicable fear rose in Su Ling’s heart. She couldn’t help but quicken her pace, running toward the Castle gate.
She knew that according to Sista’s rules, she was absolutely not allowed to leave the Castle without permission.
But at this moment, this eerie silence was more than she could bear.
She had to leave this place, even if it was just to breathe the air outside.
She rushed to the door, reached out, and pushed hard against the heavy gate —
It was motionless.
The door was locked tight.
At that moment, she truly realized —
She was imprisoned within the Summer Castle.
This was clearly done intentionally by someone.
Who was it? Why did they do this?
Su Ling leaned weakly against the door, slowly sliding down to sit on the cold floor.
She had no clue.
Overnight, the Castle had become empty.
Sista and everyone else seemed to have vanished from the World.
The Silver-haired Girl was left like something forgotten, trapped alone in this silent cage.