Time rewound to half a month ago.
Deep night.
The top floor of the Stargazing Tower in the Royal Palace.
This was the kingdom's forbidden land and the core of the Firmament, the great defense array that protected the Royal Capital.
A massive mana crystal floated in midair, rotating slowly and projecting countless complex golden runes. It acted like an inverted bowl, shrouding the entire city within its protection.
First Prince Thorne Ross stood before the crystal.
He wore plain black clothes and held a piece of black bone carved with eerie patterns.
It was a token of the White Tower Society.
“Your Highness.”
A petite figure stepped out from the darkness.
Cecilia Lucas wore her signature white lace nightgown, her bare feet stepping onto the cold marble floor. She held a one eyed rabbit plushie in her arms.
She looked like a sleepwalking girl who had wandered into a forbidden area by mistake.
That is, if one ignored the fresh bloodstains on her hem.
“Is that fellow finished?”
Thorne did not look back. His gaze was fixed on the defense core before him.
“He is.”
Cecilia walked to Thorne's side and stood on her tiptoes, curiously eyeing the giant mana crystal.
“Horn might be a beast, but he truly has a talent for destruction.”
She traced a circle in the air with her finger.
“That Soul Vibration Cannon only needs one shot to shake a person's soul right out of their body.”
“Brother will definitely love it.”
At the mention of her brother, Cecilia's eyes instantly became hazy.
She buried her face in the rabbit's fur and took a deep breath.
“I cannot wait to see it.”
“Brother, terrified and crying, throwing himself into my arms and begging me to protect him...”
Thorne frowned.
He had no interest in such twisted emotions.
In fact, he found them disgusting.
But he needed this blade.
“Now that the weapon is ready...” Thorne raised the black bone fragment and aimed it at a node in the defense core. “Then let us begin.”
“Are you really going to do this?”
Cecilia tilted her head, watching Thorne.
“Letting those mad dogs from the White Tower in... that is treason.”
“If your old man of a father finds out, you will be hung from the city gates.”
“Treason?”
Thorne let out a cold sneer.
He suddenly jammed the bone fragment into a crack in the crystal.
Sizzle—
The golden runes instantly dimmed in one area.
The once perfect defense array cracked open in the southwest corner.
“This country stopped belonging to the Ross family long ago.”
Thorne turned around, leaning his back against the crystal that was now seeping black mist.
In the flickering light, his face looked exceptionally hideous.
“Look down there.”
He pointed out the window.
There stood the brightly lit Royal Magic Academy.
The Black Stone Tower pierced the clouds, standing a head taller than the palace itself.
“Those mages.”
“They take the largest share of the kingdom's funds, occupy the best land, and enjoy privileges even higher than the nobility.”
“Yet they refuse to even look the royal family in the eye.”
Thorne grit his teeth, his voice sounding as if it were squeezed from the depths of his throat.
“Last time, that Bell Lucas...”
“He brought three thousand heavy armored troops and set up siege magic cannons just to surround my steward.”
“My father did not dare to say a single word!”
“He talked about how the Blood Duke is not to be trifled with, and how we must consider the big picture.”
Thorne slammed his fist onto the railing.
“To hell with the big picture!”
“Does this country belong to the Ross family, or does it belong to magic?”
Cecilia watched the enraged Thorne.
There was no sympathy in her eyes.
Only the playful look of someone watching a show.
“So, you plan to borrow a blade to kill?”
She walked to the window and looked at the distant tower.
“Let the White Tower people in to bathe the academy in blood.”
“Then you step out to clean up the mess and play the hero who saved the kingdom?”
“It is more than just a bloodbath.”
Thorne took a deep breath, calming his emotions.
He straightened his collar, regaining the characteristic arrogance of royalty.
“I want them to disappear.”
“Completely.”
“Especially that Leovet Victor.”
At the mention of that name, the corner of Thorne's eye twitched.
That man who always had squinted eyes and a lazy expression.
The wind mage known as the strongest in the kingdom, who never gave royal authority a second thought.
“He is the only variable.”
Thorne looked at Cecilia.
“What does the Society say?”
“They agreed.”
Cecilia took a candy from her pocket, unwrapped it, and popped it into her mouth.
“To deal with Leovet, the Society is paying a heavy price this time.”
“Three Councilors.”
“All of them Archmages.”
“Plus that Anti Magic Field specifically designed to target mages.”
Cecilia crunched the candy in her mouth.
It made a sharp cracking sound.
As if she were crushing someone's bones.
“Even Leovet will be nothing but a sitting duck once he is trapped in that cage.”
A smile finally appeared on Thorne's face.
It was the ecstasy of someone about to seize total power.
“Very well.”
“Once Leovet is dead, the rest will be easy to handle.”
“Those remaining students are nothing more than lambs to the slaughter.”
He walked over to Cecilia.
He intended to pat her shoulder in appreciation.
But the moment he met Cecilia's eyes, he pulled his hand back.
There was no warmth in those eyes.
“Do not forget our deal,” Cecilia said softly.
“The academy is yours.”
“The throne is yours.”
“All those messy resources are yours as well.”
She pressed a finger against Thorne's chest.
Her sharp nail poked through his clothes, stinging his skin.
“I only want one person.”
“Bell Lucas.”
“He is mine.”
“If he loses even a single strand of hair in that chaos...”
Cecilia leaned in close to Thorne's ear.
Her voice was sweet, yet it carried a suffocating scent of blood.
“...I will peel this skin off your body.”
“I will turn it into a lantern.”
“And hang it over your throne.”
Thorne's pupils shrank.
He gave a stiff nod.
“Deal.”
Outside the window.
The night wind howled.
At the breach in the defense array, several dark figures seeped in like ink dripping into clear water, silent and invisible.
They were the advance team of the White Tower Society.
Like a flock of vultures that had caught the scent of rotting meat, they circled over the Royal Capital.
Cecilia stood by the window.
She looked in one direction.
The direction of Bell's dormitory.
She reached out and made a grasping motion in the air.
A sickly smile curled her lips.
“Brother.”
“The game has begun.”
“This time...”
“We are going to play something big.”
“So big...”
“...that your damn backing will be smashed to pieces.”
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