/
“Varan has been annihilated.”
“Annihilated?”
“

Yes. We do not know the cause.”
At the secret basement of the Imperial Palace.
Under red lighting, a man in black robes pulled up his hood to reveal his face.
It was Omen, with his black hair.
“You mean he’s completely gone.”
“Yes, that is right.”
“It can’t be.”
Omen’s face contorted harshly.
Annihilation.
Who and how dare someone do that to a priest under Eden’s protection.
Sensing Omen’s anger, the priest bent a little lower at the waist.
“I don’t feel any of Varan’s aura, and this

.”
The priest held out a snake statue that Varan used to carry to Omen.
“This was left in the place where Varan disappeared.”
“Where’s the poison and why are you bringing me this?”
“

I apologize. The poison is gone as well.”
Cold golden eyes studied the priest’s head.
“Say it again. What is missing?”
“The poison

 eek!”
Red light flashed in Omen’s golden eyes.
At that moment, the priest’s feet floated in the air.
Like a man struggling to breathe, he flailed his feet in the air.
“The poison is gone, you say.”
“Kuuegh
, keok!”
“Is that what you report to me now?”
As the red color grew more vivid, the priest’s struggles intensified.
An indescribable pain washed over his body.
“S
 spare me, Your Majesty

.”
“How can you serve Eden like that?”
Following Omen into the crypt, the statue of the great serpent glowed with red eyes.
An evil aura enveloped the crypt.
“No, Noctis
, Dever Noctis has met with Varan.”
“

what?”
The grip on the priest’s throat loosened, and his body, suspended in midair, fell to the floor in an instant.
“Cough, cough!”
“Say it again. Did you say that Varan met Denver?”
“Heuok, heok, yes, he did.”
The priest corrected his posture and fell to his knees, relieved to be alive.
He flattened himself at Omen’s feet.
“V, Varan said he encountered Grand Duke Noctis just before his annihilation, and that he followed him. We’re still trying to figure out how he discovered Varan’s identity.”
Their meetings were so secretive that the mere fact that Grand Duke Noctis knew of Baran’s existence and found him was a big deal.
Eden. To be found worshipping a serpent in an empire that believes Solar is the only god would be a death sentence before Omen could even usurp the throne.
Still, it was time to gather more power.
He needed more power from his god, Eden.
So it was no wonder he was annoyed by Denver’s constant attempts to interrupt his work.
“And one more odd thing:

.”
“

.”
“I felt a strange aura where Varan disappeared.”
As Omen listened to the priest’s words, his mind flashed back to Flotty, with her strange gray eyes.
The woman who had made the red ruby necklace he had given her to test her, to chunk of stones.
The corners of Omen’s mouth quirked upward in laughter.
“Ha, hahaha, yes, yes, it’s her again.”
“

Prince.”
“I see. What was that aura you felt, didn’t it give you a very unpleasant feeling?”
“Yes, yes. It was a completely different energy than Eden’s

.”
Yes, it was.
Flotty Bevenia, she has an unpleasantly benign aura about her.
Unlike his.
Omen ruffled my hair and laughed like he was really enjoying himself.
“She really is an interesting woman in more ways than one. I can’t believe there was someone besides Denver Noctis who could make me so happy.”
The priest swallowed dryly at that sinister smile.
Black light rippled around Omen like waves as he coveted power he shouldn’t have.
“But how strange.”
“

.”
“I thought it was Entry Noctis who inherited the blood of the Black Lion.”
“

Yes, Your Majesty.”
“But it is as if, Denver has the black lion himself.”
Omen turned away from the priest and stared at the statue of Eden.
The tongue protruding from between its gaping maw gave the illusion of movement.
“Isn’t that right, Eden?”
An eerie voice echoed through the crypt.
“I will offer his blood to you, Eden.”
Omen’s eyes flashed red.
“Please share your power with me.”
A dangerous red glow emanated from the statues that filled the crypt walls, more dangerous than ever.
***
“The Queen will have realized that Varan has disappeared, so I suggest you stay here for the time being.”
The Grand Duke told me that I should safeguard myself, and that he would handle the invitation from the Queen.
It’s best to stay out of the palace, he said.
I had to agree with him.
They’d know we’d discovered the secret meeting, and they’d have a vague idea that I was the one who’d destroyed Varan.
“Okay, I’ll be careful.”
“

Yes. I’ll go see the priest.”
As he left the bedroom, I couldn’t help but look worried.
It had been four days since Varan’s disappearance.
‘Is everything okay?’
Contrary to my worries, nothing really happened.
If anything, I’ve been forced to pass the time in the mansion with nothing to do.
Lately, I’ve been passing the time by going out into the garden and reading in the languid sunshine.
“Madam!”
I was about to go through the same routine today when Leah came running across the garden at a fast pace.
“Leah, what is it?”
“Madam, I have an invitation from Duke Kellus.”
“I thought I told you to burn all invitations.”
An invitation from the Duke of Kellus.
I’m not sure I’d mind burning them.
I quickly lost interest and opened the book I’d only finished reading yesterday.
Leah was still holding the invitation, excited.