?Chapter 16: The Void in the Wall
?The winter approaching Eritineos didn't just bring snow; it brought a cold that seemed to emanate from the very stones of the Valerius manor. Three months had passed since Ren’s trail vanished into the frigid northern air, and the kingdom, once vibrant, now seemed to hold its breath under a mantle of uncertainty and a grief that no one dared to name.
?The Economy of Hope
?Marquis Arthur spared no resources. Under the royal seal of Eritineos and with the direct support of the King — who saw the Valerius as the military pillar of his crown — thousands of flyers were distributed across all provinces and commercial ports. Ren's image, drawn with the precision of a cartographer by the kingdom's finest portraitist, was accompanied by bold letters promising a fortune capable of destabilizing local economies: 1,000 Kingdom Grand Coins for whoever brought him back alive.
?Arthur, in his strategic mind forged in military logistics, knew such a sum would attract the scum of the continent. Therefore, he instituted the "Iron Filter": 50 Grand Gold Coins would be paid for information leading to concrete leads. If the result was null, the informant wouldn't receive a single cent. He wouldn't allow his family’s pain to be transformed into entertainment for charlatans. The Marquis spent sleepless nights, surrounded by maps, trying to understand how a group of mercenaries managed to breach his intelligence network. It was a "logistical f*ck-up" that haunted his veteran soul.
?The Heir of Shadows
?Leon, now turning 10, carried a weight that didn't belong to a child. He had just entered the Noblesse Preparatory Academy (NPA), the institution that prepared nobles for the rigorous Knights' Institute of Eritineos (intended for youths aged 15 to 18). However, the gleam of training armor and the prestige of tactics classes didn't enchant him.
?His days were divided between academic excellence and dangerous incursions. Every night, after the NPA curfew, Leon used his stealth skills to dive into the capital's underworld. Between damp alleys and taverns frequented by Morgathia deserters and mercenaries without a flag, he sought the name of Zhask. On one of those nights, in a tavern called "The Silver Raven," Leon confronted an informant from Odyssia, the neighboring kingdom to the Empire’s East.
?— The Empire doesn't just hunt in its own territory — the informant growled under the pressure of Leon's hand on his neck. — They’ve been looking for "fresh meat" in Odyssia for years. If your brother was taken, he crossed the northern border never to return.
Stolen story; please report.
?Leon didn't flinch. Where the law of Eritineos didn't reach, he would be present. He knew that to find Ren, he would have to learn the language of the monsters who took him. He was turning into a "ghost operative" before he even hit puberty.
?Kael's Oath
?Kael, the middle brother, watched Leon's daily departure for the NPA with a mixture of envy and silent determination. He was still counting the months until his own tenth birthday, the moment he would also enter the preparatory academy.
?— When I turn 10 and enter Noblesse — Kael vowed to Ren’s empty room — I won't focus on swords. I will study mana anatomy and regenerative medicine until there is no wound I cannot heal.
?Kael spent hours in the family's private library, devouring treatises on runic flows and biology. He heard stories about the Kingdom of Odyssia, east of the Empire, and how slaves were treated there. If Leon were to be the sword that rescued Ren, Kael would be the hand that restored everything the captivity broke. His obsession with healing was such that he was already trying to replicate small regeneration spells on injured animals found in the gardens, preparing for the day of the reunion. He was basically becoming the squad's "Combat Medic" in training.
?Maya’s Transformation
?And then there was Maya. The girl who was once the laughter of the house became a silent specter. She rarely smiled, and the sparkle in her eyes was replaced by a cold mist. Unable to attend the academy yet due to her age, she pleaded for something darker.
?— Mother — she said, on a morning where frost covered the flowers. — Teach me to use the ice. If I am powerful like you, the world will never be able to take anything from me again.
?The Marquise Iris, seeing the icy determination in her daughter, began to transmit the heritage of the "Lady of Frost." Maya wasn't training to be a lady-in-waiting; she was training to be a storm. Under her mother's tutelage, she learned that ice magic wasn't just about cold, but about the absolute paralysis of the enemy. Every snowflake she conjured was a step toward her brother.
?The Shield of the Kingdom and Geopolitics
?While the family suffered, the world didn't stop. The Marquise Iris, although she had the power to decimate Ancient Dragons, was a prisoner of her own nobility and duty. As the protector of the Western borders, she couldn't simply march North in a blind search. Her absence would be the signal for the Kingdom of Erinoas (to the Northwest) and the Republic of Dresden (to the Southwest) to initiate a full-scale invasion.
?Dresden was a human nation of high military power, driven by an iron discipline that rivaled that of the Valerius. Erinoas was an opportunistic kingdom that bordered Eritineos' northern flank. Both countries had constant conflicts with each other but shared one desire: to see Eritineos fall.
?Arthur, before assuming his father's title, already served as an elite officer on these borders, preventing the kingdom from being invaded. He knew the Western Frontier was what separated civilization from chaos. Now, he had to balance a father's pain with the responsibility of a General, coordinating the logistics of the search for Ren while keeping the armies of Dresden and Erinoas at bay.
?The Seventh Year
?Three months had passed since the kidnapping. Time passed like sand slipping through trembling fingers. The Valerius family tried to remain standing, but they knew something vital was missing from their hearts. Hopes were beginning to become rare shadows in the manor's silent corridors, but the determination of each member — Leon at the NPA, Kael in the books, Maya in the ice, and Arthur at the maps — formed a new chain of strength.
?The new year was coming, and with it, Ren's birthday. He would turn 7. Far away, in the heart of the Morgathia Empire, surrounded by the Kingdom of Odyssia to the east and the war north of Erinoas, Ren Valerius was about to reach the age when his lineage’s mana truly awakens. They knew they would find him one day. They just didn't know that the Ren they would find would no longer be the child who was taken, but a soldier forged in ice and betrayal.
