The appuse from the crowd slowly died dorince Lu rose from his grandstand, his cherubic face still pale and his hands trembling slightly. The faint smell of urine lingered around him, a humiliating reminder of his fear, and his attendants discreetly tried to shield him from the prying eyes of the nobles. His earlier excitement had curdled into a seething rage, his pride wounded and his authority undermined by Lord Alden’s dispy of raw power.

  The priepped forward, his golden robes swishing as he moved, though his usual regal demeanor was marred by the tension in his shoulders and the tightness in his jaw. He raised a hand, and the crowd fell silent, their eyes fixed on him.

  “Lord Alden Fenralis,” the prince began, his voice trembling with barely suppressed fury. “Your... performance was... impressive.” The words seemed to sti his throat, eae ced with venom. “The God-Emperor’s empire values strength, and you have certainly demonstrated that. As such, you shall be rewarded handsomely. Name your boon, and it shall be granted.”

  Lord Alden stepped forward, his expression calm and posed. He bowed slightly to the prince, his tone respectful but firm. “Yhness, I require no reward for fulfilling my duty to the empire. My as were in service to Fenris Lupus and the God-Emperor. I ask for nothing.”

  The prince’s forced smile faltered, his frustration evident. Before he could respond, Lord Valerius Magnus stepped forward, his presence calm but anding. He bowed slightly to the prince, his tone respectful but insistent. “Yhness, it would be remiss to let such valo unrewarded. The God-Emperor’s attendants will expect a full report of this event, and it would reflect well on Yho ehat all is done acc to tradition.”

  The prince’s jaw tightened, but before he could speak, Duke Dragah Drais interjected, his deep, smooth voice cutting through the tension. “If I may, Yhness,” Dragan said, his cyberic eyes glinting with calcuted amusement. “You did promise a handsome reward. Perhaps an appoi befitting Lord Alden’s stature would be appropriate. I propose that Lady Cassia Fenralis be named Governeneral of the Verdant Vale in the Driftveil Expa is a position of great honor and responsibility, and ohat would surely reflect the empire’s gratitude.”

  The urmured in surprise, and Garrett’s stomach dropped. The Verdant Vale was a backwater p, isoted and far removed from the empire’s core worlds. While the title of Governeneral sounded prestigious, it was effectively an exile—a way to weaken House Fenralis by separating Lord Alden from his heir. The prince’s eyes lit up with uanding, and a sly smile spread across his face.

  “An excellent suggestion, Duke Dragan,” the prince said, his tone dripping with false magnanimity. “Lady Cassia, you shall be appointed Governeneral of the Verdant Vale. A fitting reward for your father’s... exceptional service.”

  Cassia’s eyes widened, but before she could respond, Garrett stepped forward, his voice steady but urgent. “Yhness, if I may—I voluo take the position in my sister’s stead.”

  The croed, and Cassia turo him, her amber eyes fshing with protest. “Garrett, no! This is not your burden to bear.”

  Lord Alden’s expression was unreadable, but there was a flicker of something in his eyes—pride, perhaps, or sorrow. He pced a hand on Cassia’s shoulder, sileng her with a ge firm gesture. “Garrett has made his decision,” he said, his voice heavy with reluce. “We must respect it.”

  The prince’s smile faltered, his frustration evident. He had hoped to drive a wedge between Lord Alden and his heir, but Garrett’s self-sacrifice had thwarted his pns. Relutly, he nodded. “Very well. Garrett Fenralis, you shall be appointed Governeneral of the Verdant Vale. May you serve the empire with honor.”

  The crowd erupted into polite appuse, though the tension in the air remained palpable. Garrett bowed slightly to the prince, his mind already rag with the implications of his decision. He g Cassia, who looked as though she waue further, but Lord Alden’s hand on her shoulder kept her silent.

  Ihe castle, Lady Era Leonis Fenralis, wife of Lord Alden and mother to Garrett and Cassia, watched the events unfold via holo-proje. Her attendants stood nearby, their expressions tense as they observed her rea. Era was a woman of modest beauty, her ashen hair casg in soft waves over her shoulders, trasting with her por skin. A small mole on her left cheek added a touch of uniqueo her delicate features. She was the picture of grad poise, but her posure shattered as the annou was made.

  Her hands flew to her mouth, and she swayed slightly on her feet. “Garrett...” she whispered, her voice trembling. “No, this ot be.”

  “My dy!” one of her attendants excimed, rushing to her side as she faihe other nobles in the room exged uneasy gheir whispers filling the air.

  “Such a blow to House Fenralis,” one murmured. “The Verdant Vale is no pce for a young lord.”

  “A, he volunteered,” another replied. “A noble gesture, but foolish.”

  Lady Era was quickly atteo, her attendants fanning her and her a gss of water as she regained sciousness. Her face was a mask of anguish, but she said nothing, her eyes fixed on the holo-proje as though willing it to ge.

  Outside, the prireated to his grandstand, his attendants scrambling to follow. His earlier excitement had been repced by frustration, his pns to weaken House Fenralis thwarted by Garrett’s ued sacrifice. Lord Valerius watched him go, his expression unreadable, before turning to Duke Dragan with a slight nod of aowledgment.

  Dragan’s lips curled into a faint smile, his cyberic eyes glinting with amusement. “A pity,” he said, his tone light but ced with meaning. “But perhaps not a total loss.”

  Lord Valerius raised an eyebrow. “You py a dangerous game, Duke Dragan.”

  “All games are dangerous,” Dragan replied, his smile widening. “But the rewards are worth the risk. After all, risk is the price of greatness.”

  Garrett stood alone on the edge of the field, the wreckage of the Ignis Drones sm in the background. The weight of his decision pressed heavily on his shoulders, but he couldn’t help but feel a somber acceptatle over him. He had always known that his p House Fenralis was plicated, a sed son with no clear path to power lory. Now, that path had been carved for him, not by choice but by y.

  As he stared at the horizon, the first hints of dawn breaking over the hills, a memory surfaced—a night from his past life, lying on a frayed piiket under a sky abze with stars. His father’s voice echoed in his mind, soft and reverent. “Stars die, anak. But their light keeps traveling, even after they’re gone. Like… like stories.”

  Garrett’s lips curved into a faint, bittersweet smile. His father had been right. Stars left behind their light, and huma behind their stories, their love, their memories. That was their light. And though Garrett’s path was uain, though the Verdant Vale loomed like a distant, unkind star, he khat this was his ce to leave something behind—something that might outst him.

  “Maybe the universe isn’t about sting forever,” he murmured to himself, his voice quiet but resolute. “Maybe it’s about leaving somethiiful behind.”