It took only three days for the Grand Ducal Castle, now without Calix, to fall completely.

Under the leadership of Marquis Bryson, the new occupants began to implement the schemes they had painstakingly prepared over a long period, intent on seizing the seat of power now left vacant.

Their first move was to summon the key figures overseeing Thalia’s finances, military affairs, and diplomacy.

[Imperial troop movements have been detected along the border. Countermeasures are urgently needed, so enter the castle at once.]

Worn down by years of war, they did not want to see another conflict erupt. So, when they heard of the Imperial Army, it was only natural that those who longed for peace more than anyone else hurried to the grand ducal castle.

They entered the castle without suspicion, only to be cut down by assassins the moment they did.

Next, the knight commanders were attacked.

These were the leaders who had repeatedly led Thalia to victory; men and women who were trusted by the people.

“If possible, persuade them. If they won’t listen, kill them.”

Their objective was to avoid killing the knight commanders wherever possible. If they could be persuaded to join the Empire, conquering Thalia would be much easier.

The first target was Viktor.

Having recently been reinstated as a knight commander, he had not participated in the latest campaign and remained at the grand ducal castle. While dealing with matters both large and small within its walls, he discovered that Selina had disappeared and immediately mobilized every available soldier to search for her.

“Report that Selina has returned to the castle. Those who are loyal believe only when you give them what they want.”

Waldemar’s method worked exactly as intended.

Upon hearing that Selina had returned, Viktor entered the castle without hesitation. Anxiously, he asked what had happened to her and how she was doing. Lady Lily answered him calmly.

“Her ladyship is asleep. More importantly, Sir Viktor, you should be concerned for your own safety.”

He was surrounded by countless soldiers. Before him stood Waldemar and the marquis.

Only then did Viktor realize he had been deceived—but there was no turning back.

“Calix is dead.”

Waldemar first revealed that the Grand Duke whom the Knight Commander had served had died, and then tried to win him over.

However, Viktor remained as unyielding as a straight-grained spear and refused to be persuaded until the very end. Concluding that keeping him alive would cause trouble in the future, Waldemar had him killed.

The next person they summoned was Karen.

Fortune seemed to smile on her, if only briefly. Unable to join the campaign due to her ailing mother’s care needs, she was summoned to enter the castle and set out with her father. He had once served as a knight commander in the previous generation and they believed that he would be useful in devising strategy.

“I—I will cooperate! So please—spare my daughter’s life!”

Ultimately, her father was unable to devise a strategy to secure Thalia’s victory, but he did succeed in creating one to save her life.

When he saw a blade raised towards Karen, he defected to the Empire without hesitation. Thanks to his swift betrayal, Karen was spared.

Rocheste’s situation, however, was far less fortunate.

Unlike the other knight commanders, he was stationed closer to the border and returned more quickly than the rest. Consequently, he was also the first to receive the letter bearing the grand ducal seal.

Yet he doubted its authenticity.

Calix would never send a letter containing nothing more than a blunt demand to discuss countermeasures without providing an explanation. Convinced that something was amiss, Rocheste sent letters of his own to Alter and Zenfri, who had yet to arrive. In them, he warned them that the Grand Ducal Castle had been compromised and instructed them not to return directly, but to turn back.

However, he walked straight into danger, determined to see for himself what had happened within the castle.

“I don’t want to kill you either, Sir Rocheste. You learned swordsmanship directly from my father when you were young, didn’t you?”

Inside, Rocheste came face to face with someone he never thought would still be alive.

Black hair. Black eyes. A large frame. He was a man with a cold, razor-sharp presence.

Commander Waldemar — or perhaps it would be more accurate to call him Eclipse, the son of Rihardt.

The man he had previously dismissed as nothing more than a dog of the Imperial Army now exuded the same aura as Rihardt, Rocheste’s former swordsmanship instructor.

Dangerous. Unstable.

It was almost unbelievable that he had seen him so many times without once being reminded of Rihardt.

“So it was you who ordered the kidnapping of Her Ladyship.”

“Her Ladyship? Ah… Selina Ilios Axell?”

Waldemar replied with an amused curl of his lips.

“Can you still call that woman ‘Her Ladyship’? She’s someone who helped bring about Thalia’s downfall.”

In that instant, it felt as though Rocheste had been hit hard on the back of the head.

Since arriving in Thalia, he had never doubted Selina — not her loyalty, nor the possibility that she might betray them one day, nor the fact that she was the Marquis’s daughter. He had forgotten all of this without realizing.

But what if Selina had truly betrayed them?

“If Selina hadn’t betrayed you… do you really think we could have killed the grand duke?”

Upon hearing the news of Calix’s death, Rocheste became enraged and charged at Waldemar.

However, there were countless soldiers standing guard around him. There was no chance of victory in such a one-sided fight.

Ultimately, he was thrown into the underground prison and given a week to reconsider his position.

“If you refuse to cooperate, you’ll be beheaded in front of everyone—and your corpse will be hung from the castle walls.”

Waldemar spoke with a chilling smile.

Only two knight commanders remained after that, but neither of them ever entered the castle. Waldemar had no way of knowing why Alter and Zenfri failed to appear, but this was of little consequence. Three of the five knight commanders had already been dealt with.

Zenfri gave him some pause. His name carried weight, and his family wielded considerable influence. Alter, however, was of common birth. Even if the two of them joined forces, there was no way they could turn the tide.

The grand ducal castle fell in just three days, and the Imperial banner was raised on its walls. The Marquis believed that now the capital had been seized, Thalia would fall entirely soon.

Suddenly, he recalled the day Waldemar had come to him.

From the outset, Waldemar had revealed his identity and offered Thalia in exchange for help to reclaim what he had lost.

This was Rihardt’s body and the grand ducal castle.

“If you help me reclaim what is mine, I will cooperate in bringing about Thalia’s destruction.”

To the Marquis, who had made no headway against the impregnable city of Calix, those words felt like rain after a long drought. Through Waldemar, he had learnt about Thalia’s geography and discovered that Lumos Gorge was connected to Calix.

Of course, there had been something suspicious about it. Waldemar had only revealed this final secret after they had set off for the grand ducal castle.

For a moment, the Marquis wondered if Waldemar had developed a belated loyalty to Thalia and was reluctant to disclose the information.

“All I need is the grand ducal castle. Of course, I’ll stay with you until Thalia is completely brought to ruin.”

Waldemar had seemed to desire nothing more, and there had been little risk of friction between them.

Yet now, the Marquis found himself at a standstill in a situation he had never anticipated, unable to move forward.

“Have you spread the news that Calix is dead?”

“Yes, yes. A messenger was sent to deliver it.”

“Then why—!”

The marquis slammed his fist down on the table, shouting in irritation.

“Why are the other lords refusing to surrender and holding out like this?!”

There was one difference between the Empire and Thalia that he had failed to foresee.

The Empire was a nation that had grown by absorbing countless other countries. Its people did not have a particularly strong connection to the state itself. When the head fell, the rest would immediately surrender — that was how its wars had always been fought.

But Thalia was different.

It was a land bound together by people who had lived side by side for generations. Though far smaller than the Empire, their resolve to protect their country was immeasurably stronger.

Surrendering simply because they had lost their leader was not an option they considered.

“We will eradicate every last remnant of Thalia and raise the Imperial banner over every castle.”

The marquis had only one goal.

To force the grand duchy that the d*mn Calix had ruled to kneel completely beneath his feet.

***

“—Hngh…!”

Her whole body was covered in clammy sweat. She couldn’t tell whether this was due to her fever or the nightmare she had just had. Even after waking up, the crushing pressure felt so real that she wondered if she was still dreaming.

Selina hurriedly scanned her surroundings and recognized the place at once. It was a narrow, damp room that resembled a dilapidated storage shed. She had often been locked away in the windowless cell, which was little more than a hole in the wall, during her years at the Marquis’s estate. Whenever she was punished, she would be confined here for three days, unable to step outside.

The realization that she had been brought back to the Marquis’s mansion sent a sharp prickle of dread across her scalp. As she struggled to piece together her last memories of how she had ended up there, her legs suddenly gave way and she sank to the floor.

“Calix…?”

The image of soldiers storming across the snowy plain flashed through her mind. They raised their blades and spears as they entered the Heart of the Sun, ready to kill Calix.

Selina scrambled to the door and began pounding on it frantically.

“The door—please, open the door! Is anyone there?!”

She beat against it with all her strength, almost hoping it would break apart, and screamed.

“Calix! Tell me what happened to Calix! Please—please!”

She didn’t care if she was imprisoned here forever. She didn’t care if she died in this pitch-black darkness, never seeing the light of day again.

All she wanted was to know that Calix was safe — nothing else mattered.

Creeeak.

At that moment, the tightly shut door slowly swung open.