The imperial capital had never looked so deceptively peaceful.The morning sunlight poured across the wide marble streets, warming the cobblestones as merchants opened their colorful stalls and noble carriages rolled leisurely through the bustling avenues.Children chased each other with laughter, street performers played lively tunes, and birds sang from flowering trees lining the boulevards. Everything appeared perfectly ordinary.And no one had realized that, far beneath the city’s glittering surface, the Shadow Crest had just declared war.Yet still, peace inside the Vale Estate, however, had become a forgotten luxury.Every corridor echoed with the rhythmic footsteps of armored knights. Servants moved quickly and quietly, their usual chatter reduced to anxious whispers. Smiles had vanished entirely, even the simple act of breathing too loudly felt like tempting fate.Krystal stood beside the tall library window, staring out at the manicured gardens without really seeing them. He
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