."Yeah… we recognize you lot. Come with us to the commander."Beside the fortress walls, two guards of the Starweaver rank studied Enzo and Zeke after they briefly shed their disguises, their eyes lingering with open caution before both men finally nodded.

The insignias on their armor gleamed faintly, pulsing with restrained power.These were not ordinary soldiers.They had seen enough chaos to know when to stay silent and when to act.

Earlier, the town had still been smoking.Cracked stone, scorched streets, terrified whispers lingering in the air, all traces of Lady Liana's passing.The guards had noticed it all and already guessed the cause.

Even so, they could not interfere.Not until Enzo and his companions approached them first.

The group was ushered through the towering gates, iron chains rattling as they shut behind them.Inside, the fortress swallowed sound, the halls cold and heavy with authority.

They passed scribes, messengers, and officers moving with practiced urgency.Every face they passed carried tension, as though the entire stronghold was bracing for something unseen.

At last, they were led into an office cluttered beyond comfort.Papers spilled across desks and shelves, reports stacked so high they threatened to collapse under their own weight.

"Commander, these are the kids brought here by his lordship. Since he is currently catching up with his friend, the two seem to have offended Lady Liana."The guard spoke with absolute certainty, his tone firm, as if he already knew how this story would end.

"It's fine. Leave us for a moment."Behind the desk, a clearly young man in his twenties waved them off, a faintly bitter smirk etched into his face.

The guards withdrew without hesitation, the door closing softly behind them.Silence settled in the room, thick and expectant.

The young man studied them carefully before standing."I apologize for my sister's behavior. We aren't all like that here."

He bowed, proper and composed, blond hair shifting gently as he lowered his head.For a split second, Enzo's muscles tensed, ready for hostility.

Then the gesture registered.The tension bled away, replaced with guarded calm.

This man was related to the count.Liana's brother, no doubt.

The old bastard must enjoy sleeping with a myriad of beauties.The thought brushed past Enzo's mind before he shoved it away, annoyed at himself for the distraction.

"I am Leon. Liana is my twin sister, though we do not share the same temperaments."His voice carried no heat, only quiet clarity.

Yes, he was her twin.Both were talented, both sanctified at a young age, raised beneath the same expectations and weight of bloodline.

Yet where Liana embraced battle and the fury born from flame, Leon favored structure and control.Her power roared.His watched, measured, and waited.

They could not have been more different.

"I'll arrange somewhere for you to stay," Leon continued, returning to his desk."I'll also contact one of the family stewards to escort you to the castle afterward."

The words were courteous, but Enzo sensed calculation beneath them.This was not kindness.It was a man placing pieces where he believed they belonged.

""What if she attacks us while in this place you speak of? I would hate to retaliate against a host's child."Zeke's tone carried deliberate provocation, his eyes never leaving Leon's face as he spoke.

It sounded polite on the surface.Beneath it, the question was a blade, carefully angled to test intent.

For all they knew, Leon could be no different from his sister.This could be a trap dressed as courtesy, and Zeke intended to expose it.

"She wouldn't dare come to these walls. None of them would."Leon's reply was bland, almost indifferent, yet every word landed with unsettling weight.

"This is my territory. I take my duty very seriously, far more than ties of blood."

There was no rise in his voice.No threat, no anger, only certainty sharpened to an edge.

"Ehnn, that's fine."Enzo smiled bitterly as he tugged at Zeke's clothes, subtly pulling him back.

He could tell.This man meant every word that had just left his mouth.

Besides, Enzo trusted himself.Running was his specialty, the foundation of his skill, and he had already divined the safety of this place before stepping inside.

Leon was not allied with his sister.That much was clear.

"Okay."Leon's gaze shifted to Enzo, his eyes narrowing for the briefest moment before he beckoned a guard forward.

The order was silent, efficient.They were to be escorted out and shown where they would spend the night.

Only after they left did Leon finally relax.He turned toward the window, eyes settling on a distant shadow watching from afar.

Liana.That bloody sister of his.

She was like a ravenous wolf, driven by instinct and hunger, yet even she had learned fear.She would not act here, not within these walls.

As for what would happen once the stewards arrived and took Enzo away, that lay beyond his reach.And whether his sister would dare attack a tyrant.

Leon believed she would.

Inside a deep, dark room buried within the walls of the fortress, faint torchlight clung stubbornly to the stone.Shadows pooled in the corners, unmoving, as if the room itself was holding its breath.

"Sigh, this is so tiring."Titus stretched his legs outward, boots scraping lightly against the floor as he occupied the smaller of the two beds.

"Really, if this is how the Ice Kingdom is going to be from here on, I'd like to go home."He twisted his body to glance at the other two, both seated on the bed with their eyes closed, deep in meditation.

The silence answered him first.Only the soft rhythm of controlled breathing filled the cramped space.

Today had been exhausting.Being hunted by sanctified lunatics was bad enough, but being forced to hold back, to swallow every instinct screaming to strike back, was far worse.

Each encounter had demanded restraint.Every step had felt like walking across thin ice, knowing one wrong move could shatter everything.

They had no choice.In a fight against someone of higher rank, outcomes were never guaranteed, no matter how confident one felt.

And even if they survived, consequences lingered.Minister Fin, powerful as he was, could not shield them if they killed a count's son or daughter.

"You should rest. Tomorrow might hold a lot more surprises."Enzo opened his eyes slightly and glanced at Titus, shaking his head.

"After all, you know how Minister Fin can be."

The words carried quiet resignation.Experience had taught them what that meant.

For all they knew, those two old bastards had already started wagering on some absurd competition.Something flashy, something reckless, and something that would undoubtedly drag them straight into the center of it.

Hearing this, Titus frowned deeply.His jaw tightened before he finally shut his eyes, irritation simmering beneath the surface.

Meanwhile, Enzo exhaled slowly.He reached into the air and pulled out his comms interface, the faint glow reflecting in his focused eyes.

The information from the investigation into Raven's whereabouts had arrived hours ago.Enzo had felt it there the whole time, a quiet weight pressing against his awareness, refusing to be ignored.

He could have opened it earlier.He chose not to.

Some truths demanded preparation.Some wounds needed a moment before being torn open again.

Now, alone in the dim room, he finally allowed himself to look.The comms interface bloomed to life, pale light cutting through the darkness and reflecting in his eyes.

[Subject identified as Raven Winald, 57th daughter of the Ice Warden.Declared missing last year following the extermination of the Liberation Front within the royal ranks.]

Enzo's breathing slowed.His fingers hovered, then scrolled.

[No official recovery or confirmation has been recorded.However, her name has appeared on the Hunter Games list of participants.]

His grip tightened around the edge of the interface.A dull pressure began to build in his chest.

[The target is considered one of the most controversial players in the game.Her claim to the Ice Warden mantle exists solely due to the death of her elder sister.]

[Eliza Winald.Codename Icebreaker.]

Enzo froze.His hand moved without thought, clutching the necklace resting against his chest as if it were the only thing anchoring him to the present.

Eliza.The name echoed louder than the room itself.

She had been the antithesis of everything that followed.The moment where his life should have ended, yet didn't.

She had slain the demon.She had taken the price upon herself.

The star seed infection that should have killed him had become his curse and his salvation, all because she chose to die in his place.A stranger who became a memory carved into his bones.

And now her sister.Raven.

She had entered his life quietly, unknowingly, shaping him through conflict and survival.Pushing him forward, sharpening his edges, forcing growth he had not realized he needed.

The realization struck hard.Too hard.

What twisted inside him was not just guilt.It was fury, violent and uncontained.

How dare they take her.How dare anyone drag Eliza's blood into something so filthy.

And worse than that.How dare he be so weak.

Weak enough to let her slip from his grasp.Weak enough to watch history repeat itself while standing powerless once more.

His teeth clenched, breath coming heavier now, heat bleeding into his veins.Resolve hardened into something merciless.

He would find her.He would take her back.

It did not matter who stood in his way.It did not matter what it cost him.

Even if it demanded his life.

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