Inside the Heart of the Empire

Northern Coastline

Merisa stood at the edge of the long wooden planks stretching out to the sea. Her tall figure looked statuesque against the endless horizon, the salty wind tugging at her hair and cloak. In her hand, she held a letter no, she crushed it, the parchment folded so tightly that her knuckles whitened. The paper folded under her grip with a dry, brittle sound.

"How dare he…" she muttered, her voice low but heavy with frustration and disappointment. It wasn't just anger ..it was the kind of sharp-edged fury that came from betrayal, from someone you placed expectations on shattering them in return... She had went to do good for her son and when went finding out her son emotionally manuplated her.. Ofcourse she is sad but doesn't wanna accept it..

Behind her, Marcella stood in silence, hands folded neatly behind her back. Her face betrayed nothing, but the faintest sigh escaped her lips. She was used to seeing the matriarch composed and commanding. But today, watching her seethe at the letter, even Marcella felt the weight pressing down on them all.

Celestia stood to the side, only a few steps away from Merisa, her eyes also fixed on the restless waves. Unlike Marcella, she didn't sigh, didn't react. Her silence wasn't duty-bound but deliberate, as though she chose to keep her thoughts hidden, unreadable, behind that still gaze... Still just unable to accept her blunder and loss.

The atmosphere between them was suffocating. Words hung unsaid in the air, drowned by the crashing rhythm of the ocean waves slamming against the docks.

And kneeling in terrified silence were dozens of others. The short merchant who had arranged Razeal's departure was pressed low on his knees, trembling, his forehead nearly touching the planks. Around him, the shipwrights, repairmen, traders, and every worker connected to the docks had followed his lead, forced down by fear. None dared look up.

The Imperial Princess herself was present. The Matriarch of the Virelan household stood only steps away ..the strongest duchess in the entire empire, her aura alone enough to suffocate lesser men. These were figures who stood far above them, untouchable, untouching. And now, they were here, their mere presence pressing down like an ocean storm.

The air was heavy with reverence and terror. For the trembling workers, it was as if their very breaths were being stolen from their lungs.

And then.. the silence broke.

"Mother…"

The voice was sudden, cutting through the waves. From a swirl of violet-black mist, a figure appeared, stepping onto the wooden planks as though the world itself bent to her arrival. It was Nova. She emerged from the darkness like a phantom, her feet touching down without a sound, her presence thick and commanding even fast.

Her eyes immediately sought Merisa. She walked forward with steady steps, her expression calm yet expectant.

"Where is Raze?" Nova asked directly. "Also… I think we need to be a little gentle towards him from now on. He's changed. He's not the same as before." Her tone was surprisingly even, almost thoughtful.

But as her mother turned to face her, Nova froze. One look at Merisa's eyes.. sharp, dangerously frustrated, filled with restrained rage.. and she stopped speaking.

Her confidence faltered, replaced by a flicker of hesitation.

"What happened?" Nova asked again, more carefully this time, confusion threading her words.

"He ran away," Merisa answered at last, her voice clipped and quiet. She shook her head, reigning her emotions back under control. Even so, the words struck like thunder.

"He did?" Nova echoed, her brows furrowing. A murmur slipped past her lips. "Well…I.. no, we did expect something like this. After all, with the way he…"

Her voice trailed off. She wasn't surprised not entirely. Her brother's transformation had been unsettling, his choices unpredictable. In a way, she had been bracing herself for this.

Still, her instinct as hot blooded, rose. Her voice regained its strength, laced with iron confidence.

"Where did he run? I'll get him back," she declared, certainty unwavering. There was no place, no edge of the empire where she believed Razeal could go that they could not drag him back from... Its different this time afterall.

The short merchant's heart nearly stopped. His head bowed lower, his body trembling violently. He didn't dare breathe too loud, terrified that even a sound might draw their attention.

Just who were those people really? he thought, his mind spiraling. The Duchess… the Imperial Princess… the second-in-command of the Virelan household… and Nova Virelan, the one they whisper about in fear. How unlucky am I? What sin did I commit in a past life to be standing here?

The faces of the men he'd seen days ago ..the seemingly harmless, unremarkable even childish weak ones he had sent off flashed in his head. They had looked ordinary. Insignificant. Easy people. But now, the truth dawned on him like a cruel joke. For such towering figures to come here personally, to stand on his docks, looking for them…

His guts twisted with dread. What did I do? Who did I send off? Just what fucking crime they commited.. And what was that.. Not worth mentioning??? What the fuck is not worth mentioning???.

Every droplet of sweat dripping down his face felt like fire. He had believed, foolishly, that he was beneath their notice. That if things went wrong, he was too insignificant to warrant punishment. That maybe, at most, they'd ignore him. But now? Now he knew the mistake. One look at Nova was enough. She wasn't someone who ignored anything.

And if she deemed him responsible, then his death wouldn't even be.. He didn't dare continue his thoughts

"He ran to the sea."

The answer came not from Merisa, but from Marcella, her voice calm and clipped, her hands still folded behind her back. She spoke like a blade sliding from its sheath efficient, cutting, inevitable.

Merisa remained silent. She didn't need to confirm it. The words were true.

The atmosphere shifted immediately, as though every person present understood the weight of what that meant.

Nova froze for a moment. Then her eyes widened slightly, realization crashing down on her.

That fucking IDIOT… she screamed inside her mind.

Her face, however, betrayed nothing but a smile. Her lips curved upward, dangerous and defiant, her expression that of someone prepared to break the world in half if it stood in her way.

"So what then?" Nova said aloud, her voice sharp and commanding. "It's just the sea. I'll go and take him back.. Wait for me."

Her declaration rang out like a war drum, vibrating in the air. Every worker, every trembling merchant in the vicinity felt their blood run cold.

To defy the sea to defy the imperial decree that forbade anyone from venturing into those waters without sanction was unthinkable. Madness. Treason.

Yet Nova spoke it so casually, so absolutely, as though rules were meant for others, not her.

The Heiress of the Virelan household had spoken.

Marcella's sigh slipped out, quiet but heavy. She had expected nothing less. Nova was reckless, untamed, unafraid of empire or even her mother. This defiance was written in her bones.

And still, as always, Marcella could only stand behind her, prepared to witness the chaos that would follow.

"… I'll be back with him in two days."

Her words hung in the tense silence like a blade. She stepped forward, her boots pressing against the worn wooden planks of the dock, the salty wind tugging at her dark cloak as she strode straight toward the edge of the sea platform. She carried herself with absolute carelessness, every line of her body screaming defiance and determination.

But just as she was about to walk past her mother and Marcella.. between the very pillars of her household Marcella's hand shot out like iron, seizing her wrist and halting her stride.

"Don't."

Only one word left Marcella's lips, yet it rang with weight. Her eyes, deep and unflinching, locked onto Nova's.

Nova's head tilted upward, her gaze narrowing. A low, dangerous chuckle left her lips, her aura starting to simmer.

"Stoping me again, Marcella?" she hissed, her voice rising in a cold, lethal tone. "Have you forgotten the warning I gave you last time?"

Marcella said nothing at first. Her grip didn't falter, her face remained calm, but her silence was a defiance of its own.

"You'll drag the entire family into war if you go through with this," Marcella finally said, her voice steady, her eyes unwavering despite the storm building in Nova's gaze. "This is just recklessness."

Nova's eyes glowed faintly purple, sparks of dangerous light flickering at the edges. The weight of her intent pressed outward, sharp and suffocating. "If you were that scared," Nova spat back, twisting her wrist within Marcella's hold, "you should have stopped him yourself before it came to this. Couldn't you?"

Her voice dripped with venom. She rotated her hand, trying to free herself, but Marcella's hold was unshakable. It was like trying to break iron with bare skin. Not even the tiniest tremor betrayed weakness in that grip.

Marcella's eyes darkened. Her voice, calm as ever, carried a depth that resonated like thunder rolling beneath the sea.

"Then see it for yourself," Marcella said.

Her royal purple eyes shimmered, deepening into a darker, almost abyssal shade. A glow flared, pulling Nova into their depths. In an instant, Marcella's mind arts reached into Nova's consciousness, flooding her with memory.

Nova's eyes went blank. In mere seconds, images and voices poured into her head.. Razeal standing in judgment, his cold acceptance of a crime, his calculated act of attempting to rape Nancy… his choice to carry the lie into the court. She saw him ask for eternal hold, then news of breaking free with Yograj at his side. She saw him orchestrating his disappearance to the sea, steps upon steps hidden beneath his mask of weakness.

And she saw Marcella's private exchange with Merisa. Razeal had deliberately given his own assassination order to the Ghost Clan out of as a distraction, a ploy to send mother away. In that absence, he had executed every piece of his plan flawlessly.

All of it, revealed in a rush, clear as day.

Nova's blank gaze sharpened. A smile ..dangerous, feral spread slowly across her lips.

"That brat…" she muttered under her breath, her voice laced with twisted amusement. "He dares to play his elder sister like this."

Her smile widened into something wild, her teeth flashing. "I'll teach him a lesson he won't forget. But…" Her laugh was soft, low, trembling with a thrill she couldn't contain. "I'm getting to like him more and more."

Her aura erupted. Purple fire licked along her skin, swirling into her eyes and around her restrained hand. The wood beneath their feet groaned, cracks splintering under the pressure. The sea itself responded: the crashing waves stilled. The endless rhythm of water slamming against the coast flattened into silence. The ocean bent under her presence, smothered into unnatural calm as her purple aura spread outward in ripples.

The air grew heavy, charged, suffocating.

Still, Marcella's grip did not falter. She stood unbending, as if Nova's violent outburst was nothing more than a storm she had endured countless times before.. Babysitting her.

But Nova's eyes deep purple, endless, unfathomable.. glimmered with something greater. Behind them stretched a vast sky of violet fire, endless and terrifying. In those depths, tiny flickers moved.. as though stars, or souls, shimmered one by one within her gaze. Each particle as if being hidden behind.

Her voice dropped, cold, commanding.

"Let my hand go."

It was no longer a request. It was law. Authority poured from her tone, heavy and absolute.

"And this is an order," Nova declared, her voice chilling, "from the current heiress of the Virelan household."

A shockwave burst invisibly from her eyes, the force so sharp it felt like the world itself had flinched.

Marcella's body jerked. Blood welled from her glowing purple eyes as she fell to her knees, her grip loosening. A grunt escaped her lips, strangled and pained.

"Argh…"

Her head dipped, blood dripping down her pale face. Still, even in agony, she found the strength to whisper.

"My… apologies."

Her voice trembled but did not break.

Merisa, watching from the side, only sighed. Her expression didn't shift. She did not move to intervene. She didn't stop Nova. She had lived long enough to know when her daughter was beyond restraining.

Around them, every kneeling worker, merchant, and servant pressed their heads lower to the ground. Not a sound escaped their throats. They didn't dare. Even breathing felt like tempting death.

Nova pulled her aura back. The fire faded from her eyes and skin, retreating into her core, leaving behind only the shadow of its overwhelming weight. She smirked as she shook her hand free, now unbound.

"I'll be back," she said simply, her voice casual, almost cheerful in contrast to the destruction she had just unleashed. Her steps resumed, each footfall echoing against the dock as she walked toward the sea.

It was then that Celestia moved who till now had just been standing silent, watching the waves with an unreadable calm. But her voice rang out suddenly, slicing through the heavy air.

"Enough."

She turned from the sea at last, her platinum eyes settling on Nova.

"By imperial law, no one is permitted to set foot upon those waters," Celestia said, her voice smooth yet heavy with authority. "Those who go… do not return. And as a daughter of the Duke family, you are even more doubly bound. You are forbidden from even stepping off this dock."

Her words were not loud, but they struck with the weight of chains.

Nova stopped mid-step. Her head turned slowly, her expression darkening. Her eyes narrowed, a dangerous spark igniting within them. She tilted her head, her smile sharp, mocking.

"You little whore…" she said, venom dripping from every syllable. "You helped him escape, didn't you? And now…"

Her words trailed, her voice laced with both accusation and the promise of something far darker.

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Man, today is such a fucking sad day… my dog died 😭😭. I used to think people who cried over their dogs were just overreacting. But today, when he died, I felt it. We tried everything.. shots, medicine but nothing could save him.

He was with us for five years, since he was a baby, when we had to feed him milk with a syringe. And now he's just… gone.

It hurts so bad. I realize now you never really understand someone's pain until you go through it yourself. 😭😭 I used to think people were weak for crying over a dog's death, but now I get it.

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