The white city was covered in ash and shadow, and the sun and moon wept.

“Albert Udrick Veller, Hesperd Duke.”

Ah, ah, where are you? Even the desperate search has disappeared.

The small coffin quietly passed between the knights. Lu looked at the scattered golden hair on the forehead of the partially exposed corpse.

Ah, come back from the eternal gates.

“Eledi Rosen Veller, Gellenburg Duchess.”

Ah, don’t wander the dark path, come back.

Garnet was seen wiping away tears. Lu looked once at the small child’s golden hair and dropped her head. The second coffin passed.

Wisdom-filled gray eyes were closed.

“Louise Olga Leslie, Malle Earl.”

Where are our children, where is the keeper?

Lu sent off another young corpse lying peacefully. She remembered a once blurry memory vividly. A boy with a sallow face, disheveled golden hair, and dead dark eyes had looked at her.

We will never hear cheerful laughter again.

“Clarisse Tira Magnus, Giena Princess.”

We will never see the golden smile again.

Too young, he had devoured food greedily when given some. With golden hair and gray eyes, he had no semblance of royal dignity, and thus, was pitiful.

Those who were hope and light.

“Richard Alexander Veller, Velua Duke.”

Return, to the white city.

Lu remembered. She remembered the golden-haired boy who had disappeared at the harsh barrier.

What had Hayden been doing until those golden locks had turned into ink-black hair? What terrible experiences had those children gone through to lie still, unrotted, in glass coffins?

Tears streamed down Ophelia’s face as the last coffin was placed in the carriage. The national funeral directly overseen by the Emperor began now.

The Imperiale and priests transported the corpses to Chalea through a teleportation circle connected to Vifel.
At Bondi Matop, they had refrained from using teleportation magic as a courtesy to the Matop lord, but this case was an exception. The entire Feruseta Empire was thrown into chaos by the reappearance of five kidnapped royal corpses after precisely 430 years, according to Garnet de Jewel, a history lover.

Priests who had received Hayden’s orders just last night came with expressions of utter incomprehension, only to turn as white as a sheet upon seeing the corpses in perfect condition and leave.

But there was more chaos to come in the Feruseta Empire.

“Conclude the subjugation as quickly as possible and return.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

As much as Imperiale came and went, Hayden was busy with official duties. Court Vizier Simon Kainberg would be running around Shalea Palace’s corridors so much he might catch fire.

Hayden, who had sent off Imperiale, walked briskly toward Lu. She had honestly thought he would discuss his future plans with her.

“Let’s check your neck first.”

But he didn’t. He gestured for her to untie the thin scarf concealing her neck.

“I should have checked this morning but was too busy.”

Lu loosened the knot of her scarf and lowered it. Immediately, a reddish, bluish, hence purplish fingerprint appeared, and Hayden’s face hardened again. The bruise had deepened overnight.

“Any pain?”

“A little…”

“Quite severe, then.”

“Yes.”

Unable to do anything else, Lu responded. Even nodding hurt.

“Did you apply any medication?”

“Yes, I did.”

Lu looked a bit displeased at the boy she used to take great care of, handling this much by herself.

“We’ll have a look again later tonight. Any other painful spots?”

“I’m fine.”

“Don’t call ‘manageable’ fine. Even if you eat well, sleep well, and are pain-free, you could still end up bedridden in the end.”

“Bedridden?” Lu’s eyes widened.

“I’m really fine.”

“Well, if you experience real pain here, you won’t say that in the future.”

Being a knight before, Lu was no stranger to physical pain.

“Body maintenance is important, considering how busy we are.”

“I was a knight before, Your Majesty. It’s natural to experience pain.”

“I know, but you don’t only use a sword.”

After Lu lost her ability to use magic, she had focused on physical training, albeit not as effectively as before. Yet, it was a painful necessity.

“I’m uneasy about your hand,” Hayden mumbled, looking at Lu.

“We can’t touch her head, Your Majesty. Not after what Carlos did to her neck…”

Ophelia picked up where Hayden left off as she walked over.

“Yes, we should avoid the neck area for a while.”

His cold grey eyes brushed past the visible bruise.

“Overdoing things will be burdensome for her. But we can’t ignore it when Carlos might do something more. It’s a complicated process, Your Majesty.”

Now, even Ophelia started examining Lu with the same expression as Hayden.

“Fortunately, we have a Matop lord, don’t we?”

Lu’s green eyes turned toward Hayden, who was smiling faintly.

“I keep telling you, I have no intention of reclaiming that position, Your Majesty.”

This time she looked resolutely at Ophelia. Lu’s head was tilting this way and that.

“Why?”

“A Matop lord should be a qualified wizard. I am not.”

“Well, I’d like to say magical power and wisdom are not proportional, but if you say so.”

He shrugged and looked at Lu. Without chanting or flicking his fingers, Hayden could easily reveal the curse that bound her again.
With an unpleasant, heavy friction noise, emerald-colored knots began to appear.

“Still, it’s quite astonishing. They’ve bound you up so tightly that I’m looking forward to the talents you’ll display once it’s all untied.”

Ophelia, in her manner as a wizard engrossed in academics, exclaimed in pure admiration before asking Rue.

“Miss Gennes, may I work on untying some of it for you?”

“I don’t mind any kind of untying.”

“Ah, it’s inevitable that I worry when you say that.”

At Rue’s reply, Hayden shook his head as if admitting defeat.

“Oh, don’t make that face, Your Majesty. An abundance of enthusiasm is good.”

It seemed the western sage found Hayden’s reaction to Rue amusing. She examined Rue’s cursed state for a while before asking.

“Which part feels the most restricted, Miss?”

“Every part. I’d be so happy to be freed anywhere.”

Rue really wouldn’t mind being more unbound anywhere. The moment the curse on her feet and eyes disappeared, she realized that her body was not functioning as it should.

“Are you ready?”

At Ophelia’s question, Rue nodded vigorously.

“Now, Your Majesty. Please hold Miss Gennes firmly.”

Rue didn’t understand why she said that, but Hayden immediately reached out and grabbed her from behind. The moment his solid hand gripped her, Rue lost her balance and staggered.

“Uh, what?”

The stars in the western sky gently rippled as if dancing around Ophelia’s waist. Just as when she confronted Carlos, standing there as regal as a queen, she began to tear off the curse covering Rue’s ankles.