The day after the evaluation, the royal palace of the Kingdom of Arcturus felt strangely different.

  The corridors were quieter.

  Servants lowered their voices when Lux passed.

  Some avoided looking at him entirely.

  Others stared for just a moment too long before quickly bowing their heads.

  Lux noticed everything.

  But he said nothing.

  The crown prince walked slowly along the long marble balcony that overlooked the imperial gardens. The morning air was cool, and a thin layer of mist floated above the fountains below.

  Normally, this place was peaceful.

  Today it felt distant.

  Because by now, the entire Kingdom of Arcturus knew the truth.

  The crown prince possessed no mana.

  Not even a trace.

  Lux rested his hands against the cold stone railing and looked toward the horizon.

  Far beyond the palace walls, the capital city was waking.

  Merchants opening their shops.

  Knights beginning their patrols.

  Nobles whispering behind closed doors.

  He could almost imagine their conversations.

  "A prince without mana."

  "The kingdom will fall into chaos."

  "He cannot inherit the throne."

  Lux closed his eyes.

  The words didn't bother him as much as people expected.

  Because in truth…

  This was not the first time his life had nearly been destroyed by something he couldn't control.

  His thoughts slowly drifted backward.

  Back to a memory from three years ago.

  The day everything changed.

  Lux had been nine years old.

  It was a bright morning when the imperial procession prepared to leave the palace.

  The emperor had been invited to attend a grand celebration hosted by Duke Halverin, one of the most powerful nobles in the empire.

  Lux was meant to accompany his father.

  This was normal.

  As crown prince, he often attended such events.

  But something unusual happened that day.

  At the last moment, Empress Marcellia appeared.

  She approached the emperor with her usual graceful smile.

  Behind her stood her two sons.

  Prince Ron, only four years old.

  And the youngest prince, Arwin, barely able to walk.

  Marcellia spoke softly.

  "Your Majesty, the princes wish to travel with you today."

  The emperor looked at the children.

  Ron seemed excited.

  Arwin clung quietly to his mother's dress.

  For a moment, the emperor considered it.

  Then Marcellia continued gently,

  "Perhaps it would be better if Lux leaves first."

  Her eyes shifted briefly toward the crown prince.

  "The road will be crowded. It would be safer."

  Lux didn't understand her reasoning at the time.

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  But the emperor eventually nodded.

  "Very well."

  And so the decision was made.

  Lux's carriage would depart first.

  The emperor and the rest of the imperial procession would follow later.

  It seemed like a small change.

  A harmless one.

  No one realized it had nearly become a fatal mistake.

  The road leading away from the capital passed through a wide forest valley.

  Tall trees lined both sides of the stone path.

  Lux sat quietly inside the royal carriage while the imperial knights rode beside it.

  At the front of the escort was the captain of the royal guard.

  Knight Adrian.

  Adrian was a tall man with broad shoulders and sharp eyes.

  Few knights in the empire could match his swordsmanship.

  He was one of the emperor's most trusted protectors.

  For most of the journey, nothing unusual happened.

  Birds sang in the trees.

  The carriage wheels rolled steadily across the road.

  Lux spent the time reading a small history book he had brought with him.

  Then everything changed.

  Without warning—

  A sharp whistle cut through the air.

  The next second, arrows rained down from the forest.

  Several knights were struck immediately.

  One horse collapsed.

  "AMBUSH!" Adrian shouted.

  Dozens of masked figures burst from the trees.

  Assassins.

  They moved with terrifying speed.

  The imperial knights drew their weapons instantly, but the attackers had already surrounded the road.

  Steel clashed.

  Horses screamed.

  Within seconds, the peaceful road had turned into a battlefield.

  Lux felt the carriage jerk violently as the driver tried to turn it around.

  But it was too late.

  An assassin leapt onto the roof of the carriage.

  Another rushed toward the door.

  The wooden panel shattered as the blade pierced through it.

  Lux instinctively stepped back.

  The assassin kicked the door open and lunged forward with a dagger.

  But before the blade could reach him—

  A sword pierced through the man's chest.

  The assassin froze.

  Blood spilled from his mouth.

  Then his body collapsed.

  Knight Adrian stood behind him.

  His blade dripped with blood.

  "Your Highness!" Adrian said urgently.

  "Are you injured?"

  Lux shook his head quickly.

  "No…"

  He glanced at his arm.

  "There is only a small cut."

  Adrian's eyes scanned the battlefield.

  The fight was nearly over.

  Most of the assassins had been killed.

  Several had been captured alive.

  But many knights were lying motionless on the ground.

  Adrian clenched his jaw.

  Then one of the captured assassins suddenly began laughing.

  A low, chilling sound.

  Adrian turned sharply.

  "What is so amusing?"

  The man looked directly at Lux.

  His eyes were cold.

  "Because… the mission succeeded."

  Before Adrian could react—

  Lux suddenly felt dizzy.

  His vision blurred.

  The world tilted.

  Then everything went dark.

  Adrian caught him just before he hit the ground.

  "Your Highness!"

  He quickly examined the prince's body.

  Then he saw it.

  A tiny wound on Lux's neck.

  Barely noticeable.

  But the skin around it was turning dark.

  Adrian's heart dropped.

  The dagger had been poisoned.

  He grabbed the captured assassin by the collar and slammed him against a tree.

  "WHAT POISON DID YOU USE?!"

  The assassin grinned.

  "Mana Poison."

  Adrian froze.

  Every knight in the empire knew that name.

  Mana Poison was one of the deadliest toxins ever created.

  It forced the mana inside the victim's body to flow violently in reverse.

  The result was catastrophic.

  The mana would tear the body apart from the inside.

  Even powerful mages died from it.

  Adrian pressed his sword against the man's throat.

  "Give me the antidote."

  The assassin laughed again.

  "There isn't one."

  Then suddenly—

  Every captured assassin began convulsing.

  Foam appeared at their mouths.

  Moments later…

  They were dead.

  They had swallowed poison.

  Adrian cursed under his breath.

  The attackers had come prepared to die.

  And with them…

  The truth behind the assassination vanished.

  Lux's breathing grew weaker.

  Adrian's mind raced.

  Then one of the knights shouted,

  "Captain! There is a healer nearby!"

  "What?"

  "A man who lives deep in this forest!"

  Adrian didn't hesitate.

  "Bring him immediately!"

  The healer arrived not long after.

  He was an older man with gray hair and calm eyes.

  His clothes were simple.

  Nothing about him suggested wealth or power.

  Yet the moment he examined Lux, his expression grew serious.

  "Mana Poison…" he murmured.

  The knights looked at him with desperate hope.

  "Can you save him?"

  The healer remained silent for several seconds.

  Then he said quietly,

  "Carry him inside."

  The healer's house was small and hidden deep in the forest.

  Lux was placed on a wooden bed.

  The healer worked throughout the night.

  Strange herbs were burned.

  Complex symbols were drawn across Lux's body.

  Several times, Adrian thought the prince had stopped breathing.

  But the healer never panicked.

  His movements were precise.

  Almost… practiced.

  At one point, the healer paused and looked down at Lux for a long moment.

  His eyes narrowed slightly.

  As if recognizing something.

  Then he continued the treatment without explanation.

  Just before dawn—

  Lux finally breathed steadily again.

  The poison had been removed.

  Adrian nearly collapsed with relief.

  "You saved the crown prince," he said.

  "You will be rewarded greatly by the emperor."

  But the healer only shook his head.

  "I did what was necessary."

  His gaze shifted briefly toward the sleeping boy.

  "And perhaps… what was inevitable."

  When Lux was returned to the palace, the emperor was waiting.

  The moment he saw his unconscious son—

  The emperor's calm composure shattered.

  "What happened?" he demanded.

  Adrian knelt.

  He explained everything.

  The ambush.

  The poison.

  The assassins.

  The emperor's expression darkened with every word.

  By the time the explanation ended…

  The air in the throne room felt suffocating.

  The emperor slowly stood.

  "Seal the capital gates."

  His voice was cold.

  "Send the imperial knights across the entire province."

  "Find every person connected to this attack."

  His eyes burned with fury.

  "And if any noble was involved…"

  His hand clenched the arm of the throne.

  "I will erase their entire bloodline."

  The investigation that followed lasted months.

  Hundreds of people were interrogated.

  Several minor nobles were executed.

  Yet the true mastermind behind the assassination was never discovered.

  It was as if the entire plot had vanished into thin air.

  Lux slowly opened his eyes on the palace balcony.

  The memory faded.

  The morning sun had risen fully now.

  Three years had passed since that day.

  And yet…

  Something about the healer still bothered him.

  Lux whispered quietly to himself.

  "What exactly did you do…?"

  Because ever since that night…

  Strange things had begun to happen.

  Things no one else could see.

  Lux stared at the sky.

  And far away…

  Something invisible drifted through the air.

  Watching him.

  Waiting.

  The same way it had…

  Ever since the day he survived the poisoned road.