The hawk's wings stretched wide, each feather a perfect blend of russet and gold, with streaks of deep brown tracing the edges like ink on an ancient scroll.
The sunlight caught the subtle shimmer of its plumage, highlighting the intricate patterns that seemed almost too precise to be nature's work. As it soared higher, the wind wove through its outstretched form, lifting it effortlessly.
I watched the hawk flying right on the 50th floor of Nocteim, where I was standing near the window waiting for it; its piercing gaze felt a little intimidating.
As expected of the messenger hawk raised by Rheon Zenvara. It flapped its wings, coming closer, and I noticed the small scroll on its feet.
"You did a good job, Big Boy," I smiled at the hawk after taking the small scroll. It sat on my shoulder, nuzzling its soft, feathery chin against mine, making me smile.
"It's good to see you, Big Boy. I didn't think I would ever get to meet you after I became the Duchess of Nyxveil in my past life."
His name is Big Boy—a weird name given by a weird master. Rheon and I found Big Boy as an eyas in the mountain range of Pyrexia when I was 10 years old. He was still in the nest when we found him lying on the ground with his dead mother next to him.
It seemed someone had been trying to hunt the hawks for fun. Rheon always had a habit of raising birds, so he just took Big Boy with him. I also went to see Big Boy from time to time whenever Rheon would come to Pyrexia.
Once Big Boy was big enough to take flight, Rheon started training him to be a messenger bird. In Wymhold, none use hawks as messenger birds, so with a long-term goal in mind, Rheon started gathering hawks and trained them to be perfect messengers.
Among them, Big Boy is sent to deliver the most confidential, urgent information. Before coming to Sian, I sent word to Rheon to let me know of any movement made by Ezekian, Arthur, or the Imperial Family to find the Missing Prince.
It seems like he sent the message regarding it.
And upon opening the scroll, I realized how right I was.
*"Both Ezekian and Arthur are coming to Sian. The Imperial Family's Bloodhound is also on its way to Sian."*
This is what the message stated.
"It seems like Sian will be welcoming some unexpected guests. Ezekian and Arthur aren't the problem, but Blood Hound..."
I didn't think the Emperor would dispatch Blood Hounds to Sian; I thought it would be Red Blades who would be coming.
The Imperial Family maintains absolute control not just through visible power but through four elite teams operating in the shadows. Each serves a distinct purpose and escalates in lethality—from silent observation to outright annihilation.
Blue Light – The Emperor's Eyes-
A team of **20 master spies and illusionists**, Blue Light specializes in **undetectable surveillance**. Their role is purely observational: they infiltrate, gather intelligence, and ensure no threat goes unnoticed. Once marked by them, a target's every move is recorded, making rebellion or secrecy futile. The Emperor's enemies vanish not by force, but because Blue Light ensures they are stripped of the element of surprise.
Black Belt – The Silent Cleaners
Where Blue Light watches,Black Belt erases. Composed of **20 forensic experts and martial artists**, they eliminate all traces of the Imperial Family's darker dealings. Their work ensures that assassinations, disappearances, and covert operations leave no evidence. While they avoid unnecessary violence (as it complicates cleanup), they are fully capable of silencing loose ends. To the outside world, their work appears as fate, not foul play.
. Red Blade – The Ghost Killers
When a target must die quietly, the Emperor sends Red Blade—**20 assassins who specialize in deaths that look like accidents**. Their kills are swift, precise, and untraceable. A noble collapses from a sudden "illness." A general's horse "throws" him off a cliff. After Black Belt scrubs the scene, even the victim's kin dismiss their death as misfortune.
Blood Hound – The Emperor's Butchers
The final and most feared tier is Blood Hound—*60 fanatical swordsmen drawn from noble houses sworn to the throne**. Unlike the subtlety of the other teams, Blood Hound exists for **one purpose: total slaughter. When an entire bloodline, clan or city, must be erased, they descend like a storm, leaving no survivors, no witnesses, and no doubt The Imperial Family does not hide their atrocities—instead, they let the world see the aftermath, ensuring that fear outlives the corpses.
The four teams function in a chilling progression:
- Blue Light ensures the Emperor knows everything.
- Black Belt ensures the world proves nothing.
- Red Blade ensures enemies die without suspicion
- Blood Hound ensures rebellion ends in extinction.
Together, they form an unbreakable cycle of control—silent until the moment they strike, and merciless when they do.
I turned my gaze toward the beautiful magic city which stretched before my eyes. Everything about this city before me was different than I remembered from my past life.
Even in my past life, Blood Hound was dispatched to Sian after the death of Tower Master Edwin Ronald, who had been accused of being the commander of the Demon Cult.
Blood Hound killed every citizen living in Sian. As the attack was unexpected and most of the high-ranked mages of Nocteim were detained under suspicion of working under the Tower Master and being involved with the demon cult, Nocteim couldn't escape the fate of losing itself under the blades of Blood Hounds.
The flourishing magic city of Sian became a mass grave of the dead, and those who survived lived a life worse than that of a dying beast.
The Emperor stationed his loyal mages in Nocteim and rebuilt it. However, it never returned to what it had been.
The Sian I remember from my past life was just an isolated city of mages—a place where mages of Nocteim conducted magic research under the watch of the Imperial Family. There were no citizens, no business owners, no children, no families living in Sian.
Things didn't improve much even after Claude became the Tower Master. Other than mages involved with Nocteim, nobody else lived in Sian. And there was always strong surveillance on Nocteim.
Though Nocteim managed to reach some level of great breakthrough, it was never independent and open-spirited.
Big Boy nuzzled against my chin, perhaps realizing my tense look, and I smiled while patting his head.
"Don't worry, Big Boy. I'm not scared. If anything... it's for the best."
The fact that Blood Hound is on its way to Sian makes the Emperor's plans clear to me.
When Blood Hound attacks Sian, Nocteim will resist. I'm sure Blood Hound won't be alone—there must be some damn powerful mages with them too. When Nocteim resists, a bloody war will break out.
Being unprepared, Sian would suffer heavy losses too. The Emperor will accuse the Master of kidnapping Xavier and harming the Imperial Warriors who only came to rescue the Prince.
My presence, along with Ezekian's and Arthur's, would just add more weight to this accusation. Because if three of the four great houses made moves toward Sian to find the Prince, it must mean the Prince is in Sian.
The Master can either resist and destroy the entire force or give up and follow the Imperial Decree. The Master has many things to protect, like Nocteim, Sian, and Claude—so it's more likely he will sacrifice himself.
The Emperor believes Xavier hasn't accepted the demonic power within him yet, and there's no way a boy who has never wielded his power on a wide scale can take down Blood Hound on his own. Therefore, Blood Hound won't face much trouble capturing him. So, he thinks it's killing two birds with one stone.
Sian and Nocteim will be gone, along with the Master, and Xavier will be in his hands again.
"Hahahaha," I laughed, holding my stomach.
It's indeed a perfect plan. I wonder if it's even the Emperor who comes up with such plans. But you mustn't be too confident in your cleverness.
The door of the room opened, and I saw the Master and Xavier entering. Both of them had grim expressions on their faces. I wished I could ask why, but we were short on time.
"There are some uninvited guests on the way to Sian," I told them. Xavier tilted his head. "Uninvited guests?"
I nodded. The Master took a deep breath and calmed his expression. "Who could it be?"
"Ezekian Nordwyn, Arthur Christian." Xavier's eyes turned cold. "So, those two aren't wasting any time? Won't the heir of Duke Zenvara come too?"
I shook my head and patted Big Boy's head, who was sitting on my shoulder. "Duke Zenvara has no use for a dragon's heart. He prefers to gain power through fair and square means rather than taking shortcuts."
The Master nodded. "I agree with you on that. He must be the only oddball I know who is obsessed with being strong but despises any kind of shortcut."
Xavier seemed relieved by how we both vouched for Duke Zenvara. "In that case, shouldn't we discuss how you're planning to fake my death and retrieve my mother's heart?" He sounded grim the moment he mentioned his mother.
I could sense how serious Xavier was. It's only working in our favor. The demonic energy is fueled by negative emotions. The stronger, the better. The more enraged Xavier is, the better he will be for what I'm planning.
"We will use someone with a physique almost identical to Your Highness and infuse strong demonic energy inside him. Since his entire body will be burned, the only thing necessary is demonic energy that rivals yours."
The Master's eyes widened upon hearing my plan. "Wait, you're going to kill another man, burn him, and put demonic energy inside him?"
I nodded. "That's right."
"Hey, Foxy. I know it's a good plan, but we can't just kill anyone and put demonic energy inside him." He gave me a look of disbelief.
I shrugged. "I've already arranged for the body."
Xavier's eyes widened, and he mouthed, "Don't tell me the smell of blood I got from you—"
I gave him a smile, and both of their faces turned pale.
"Who is it, and where is the body?" the Master asked, gulping. I took off the pouch I was carrying around my waist.
"Isn't that an Infinite Magic Pouch?" the Master gasped in shock. "How did you get your hands on that thing? I doubt your father would give it to you when Infinite Magic Pouches are one of the rarest artifacts?"
The Master was right. I won't say I obtained it through proper means.
"The night I was named heir, I asked Rheon for a favor." I looked at the Infinite Magic Pouch. "I asked him to go to the black market's auction and buy it for me."
Xavier looked at me in pure disbelief. "And he did that? But isn't that a rare magic artifact?"
I nodded. "That sneaky guy has good connections in the black market. In the largest black market of Wymhold, you can even get a dragon's egg—here we're just talking about a magic pouch."
The Master licked his lips and gave me a questioning look. "Okay, I understand the story behind this pouch, but what about the dead body inside it? Who is he, and where did you find him?"
"On my way here, I sneaked into the prison of Rattleshade, which is overflowing with deadly criminals, found one with the most similar physique to His Highness, killed him, and brought him here."
I gave an answer that didn't sound like it came from a 16-year-old who had never killed anyone before...
Ahhh, fuck!!!! How could I make such amateur mistakes? You dumb woman! You're not Madam Nyxveil anymore—you're Young Lady Nyxveil now.
Silence crept into the room. Was I too hasty in showing my sneaky side to them? Old habits die hard.
"Ahahahaha!" Xavier's loud laughter echoed in the room, catching both me and the Master off guard.
"I thought you were some brave greenhouse cub, but it seems I was wrong, Captain." Xavier covered his mouth, a strange glint of madness and amusement in his amethyst eyes as he stared at me.
Somehow, his gaze felt so intense, as if he could see through my soul.
"But you're a beast ready to bare its fangs at any time."
I pressed my lips tightly. I didn't know why I found his words so pleasing. His eyes told me what he thought of me at that moment.
*I thought I was the one with no moral base, but she's no better than me.*
"Oh my god! Just what kind of lunatics have I gotten myself involved with? Are you two really just 16 and 20 years old?" the Master roared in annoyance, and I let out a nervous laugh.
Sorry, but I'm actually 48 years old.
"And here's the most important news." I cleared my throat, regaining their attention.
"Another one?" Xavier narrowed his eyes.
"Blood Hound is also on its way to Sian."
The Master froze in shock, blinking. He looked at the overview of Sian, and as he adjusted to the shock, his face hardened.
"Hmm, so their target is to destroy Sian's standing and Nocteim, while also getting their hands on me?" Xavier was quick to catch on, and I nodded.
The Master scoffed in anger and gritted his teeth with a murderous smile that even shocked me. "Persesus Vega Aelric... You must have been praying hard for your death!"
That was the first time I'd seen such a murderous look on the Master's face. He would surely attack first if I didn't stop him now. He was unaware of the disastrous future for Nocteim and Sian that I had witnessed and heard about.
Brute force alone won't be enough.
"Master, neither you nor anyone from Sian and Nocteim will launch an attack on Blood Hound," I spoke calmly. The Master gritted his jaw. "Are you asking me to just surrender and let Sian get massacred?"
I shook my head. "This is exactly the reaction the Emperor is expecting from you. Blood Hound won't be alone—I'm sure mages are accompanying them too. Their target is you."
The Master clenched his fists hard, suppressing his anger with difficulty.
"I have no doubt you could wipe out an entire nation, but Sian would lose many lives in the process. And in the end, for the sake of protecting Sian, Nocteim, and Claude, you'd have no choice but to surrender."
The Master seemed conflicted but didn't argue with my point.
"The Demon Cult believes I'm unable to use demonic energy properly, so I won't last long against Blood Hound. They think they can just drag me out and destroy Nocteim in the process," Xavier pointed out correctly. I had to admit, for a 20-year-old, he was indeed too insightful and sly.
"That's why I have my plan here." I shoved my hand into the Infinite Magic Pouch and pulled out the dead body of the criminal whom I would bring to Pyrexia as Xavier.
"To inject a great amount of demonic energy into a dead body can't be done so casually," I said, looking at the corpse on the floor.
"You'll need human sacrifices. The stronger the human, the deadlier the demonic energy that can be extracted from them. Once gathered in a small core, one can either consume it or put it in someone else's body."
Xavier's words sounded cold, brutal, and ruthless. The corner of his lips twitched, and an obsessive, mad expression appeared on his face.
Glancing at him, he looked nothing like a sane human. There was an unquenchable thirst in his eyes—a thirst for blood, for energy, for power.
I think the time when I'll have to put a resistance belt on him is coming soon. Xavier is the most valuable card in this entire situation. While he could be my greatest ally, he could also be my worst foe.
After all, the demonic energy inside him is too powerful and dangerous. And not to mention, Xavier from my memory was the greatest swordsman even without using aura!
If Xavier fails to control his thirst and gives in to the malice of demonic energy someday, it will be a disaster.
"Captain, I'll attack Blood Hound before they reach Sian's territory. Kill those bastards, perform the ritual to gather their demonic energy, and..." Xavier turned his head toward me and gave me a chilling smile.
"Put it in this body," he said, pointing at the corpse.
The Master glanced at me as if asking, *Be careful with the monster you're about to unleash, Foxy.*
This wasn't exactly how I'd planned it. I'd thought of attacking Blood Hound along with the Master once they were near Sian and letting Xavier perform the ritual.
Would it even be okay to let him be the one to kill? What if, in the process of facing strong opponents, he gets overexcited and the malice of demonic energy takes over him?
I clenched my fist. "It would be better to let them come near Sian and let me and the Master handle them."
Xavier's smile dropped. I couldn't believe I was feeling intimidated by his expression.
"No word will leave Sian, so no one will know if it was me and the Master facing Blood Hound—"
"What makes you think no one will know?" Xavier cut me off. The air around him changed as he stepped closer.
"Captain, ten guards from Nyxveil followed you to Sian, and now they're waiting outside Nocteim."
My eyes widened upon hearing this. Wait! I had a tail behind me? How come I didn't even realize?
Damn it! Father, you always do the most unexpected things.
As I was lost in thought, I felt a cold hand on my cheek. I lifted my eyes and saw Xavier staring at me.
It was overwhelming. His amethyst eyes bore into me with an intense desire, malice, and something else I couldn't comprehend. My heart pounded faster and faster. I felt so weak in that moment that I couldn't understand why.
"Let me handle it, Captain. Aren't they after me?" His voice was deep and chilling. I knew instinctively...
I couldn't stop him... No, I just didn't know how.
"Xavier, get away from her." The Master pushed Xavier away from me. My hands were sweating as the Master stood between us.
"You should do as you said. We can't let anyone know that Foxy here is plotting against the Imperial Family." The Master supported Xavier's idea, and Xavier nodded.
The tense, dark aura around him cooled down when I looked again.
"In that case, I should practice my attack beforehand. How long do you think it will take for Blood Hound to reach Sian?"
I gathered myself quickly and looked at the back of the note Big Boy had brought. "It says they departed this morning around 5 AM. So, I think we should move before sunrise."
Xavier nodded and looked at the corpse. "There's extra work needed if we want to fool the Demon Cult. I'll take this with me."
"Do what you think is right. I'll come to get you before we leave, so be ready," the Master said. Xavier nodded.
Without another word, he teleported away with the corpse.
My knees gave out, and I sat on the chair, breathing heavily.
"Xavier needs to be restrained before it's too late. I'm not confident I can control him if he fully gives in to the madness," I mumbled under my breath.
Would you look at that? I'm anxious and scared of the person I saved and worked so hard to get on my side.
Would I have done the same if I'd known Xavier had been trained to become Belhier's vessel? Would I have saved him... and not killed him?
"It's useless to think back on your actions because you wouldn't have been able to kill him in that castle even if you'd wanted to," the Master said calmly, making me look up at him.
He was serious...
"Did you try?" I asked. The Master gave a small nod. "It's useless. So, let's just create a band to protect his mind from the malice of the demonic energy inside him."
Master was right. It's useless to dwell on what I could have done. Let's focus on the current problem first.