'August is missing!?'
Hearing this, the nobles all looked around the wheat fields.
But in the endless golden sea of wheat, they couldn't catch even a glimpse of August.
Only then did they realize.
August had taken advantage of the chaos just now and escaped.
Seeing this, everyone was filled with regret.
What happened?
How could they have let August get away?
Although all the nobles present were already very clear, that this entire incident had been orchestrated solely by Count Laurien, August's crimes could not be forgiven.
He had deliberately incited the demi-humans to attack the royal city, using their hands to kill tens of thousands of innocent civilians, turning their corpses into blood slaves.
He had even turned the nobles killed by those blood slaves into vampires.
So compared to the Count, the nobles present actually hated August even more.
If not for August's utterly insane actions, they would never have gone through this life-and-death ordeal today.
And now, the Count was already dead.
Along with him, the vampires' bodies had all turned into ash-like fragments and dissipated into the air.
The blood energy within them had returned to the earth, and the souls of the fallen soldiers and innocent civilians had risen into the sky, gaining redemption.
But August was still unaccounted for, and no one knew where he had gone.
Whether alive or dead, they had to see him.
If alive, they wanted the person. If dead, they wanted the body.
Even if it was a corpse, August had to be punished for what happened today.
Amid everyone's anger, Viktor's calm voice sounded in their ears.
"He won't get far."
As soon as these words were spoken, quite a few nobles calmed down.
After Viktor killed Count Laurien and settled everything, everyone present now only felt respect for him.
At this moment, Viktor walked step by step toward Priscilla.
He lowered his head and looked at her.
The girl lay half-collapsed in the wheat field, her face covered in tears.
Although her skin under the sunlight was as pale as porcelain, she looked extremely exhausted.
Sensing someone approaching, Priscilla raised her head.
Her blood-red eyes were filled with tears, her face streaked with them as she looked at Viktor.
A weak yet confused voice carried her deepest pain, "Why?"
"I should have been the one to die. I'm the one who made the mistake. So why?"
Priscilla was destined for tragedy.
Her mother had risked everything for her, and her father had shattered himself for her.
Just as she believed, her very birth had been a mistake.
So why continue letting that mistake exist?
She couldn't understand. She truly couldn't understand.
Priscilla looked at Viktor and opened her mouth.
But tears betrayed her again, sliding down her pale face, "Why? Mr. Mage? Weren't you supposed to save my mother?"
The choking words forced their way out of her throat.
She could only slump helplessly in the wheat field, letting the breeze lift her black dress.
Viktor remained expressionless, his tone calm, "The one your parents wanted to save was always you."
"Don't waste what they did."
Above, the faint sun was still red.
Light fell over the wheat fields, and the golden waves continued to sway.
But the rustling sound was drowned out by the whispering wind, as countless maple leaves were swept into the sky, turning everything red.
———
Hilda supported August, who was as weak as a ghost in the wind.
Stepping through the endless golden wheat field, they struggled as they ran toward the outskirts of Shurben.
The surroundings were eerily silent. Only the messy footsteps and the crisp sounds of wheat stalks snapping underfoot echoed.
The two stumbled like headless flies, crashing around aimlessly in the golden field.
But no one knew how vast the area covered by that magic truly was.
When Hilda looked ahead, all she could see was an endless expanse of golden wheat.
"How… is it still wheat fields?"
Hilda cursed under her breath, her eyes fixed forward as if searching for an exit.
Under Hilda's lead, August's steps were heavy, almost mechanical.
His eyes were hollow, staring blankly at the endless layers of wheat.
The proud palace in his heart had completely collapsed.
Golden fragments scattered across rugged ground, and he himself was buried within those ruins.
August couldn't accept it.
Where exactly had he lost?
He might as well have died there and ended everything.
Lost in his dazed thoughts, he let Hilda drag him forward as they kept running.
Along the way, Hilda cut through waist-high wheat, swinging her blade to carve a path ahead.
From time to time, she looked back to check if anyone was chasing them.
The sun quietly sank toward the horizon, and as the light dimmed, the golden color of the wheat field deepened.
After running for who knew how long, they finally passed through the wheat field and rushed into a forest.
In this silent world, only their breathing and the sound of their armor clashing as they moved could be heard.
The forest animals scattered in panic at their arrival.
Feeling that this place might be safer, Hilda finally set August down by a tree root.
August leaned weakly against the trunk.
His eyes were still empty, his expression dull, as if he hadn't yet recovered from that divine magic.
Hilda, on the other hand, knelt on one knee in front of him.
"Your Majesty, please pull yourself together."
But August couldn't hear anything. His hollow eyes were filled only with chaos.
"Your Majesty!"
August still didn't respond.
Hilda couldn't bear it any longer. She raised her hand and struck him.
Smack!
The sharp sound echoed through the forest, and the animals that had been watching fled at once.
The slap brought August back to his senses, and he heard Hilda shout, "August!"
His eyes finally cleared. He raised his head, saw Hilda, then looked around at the dark, silent forest.
"Where… is this?"
"This is the wilderness. We got out."
Hilda looked at him, pain and heartache tangled in her eyes.
"Why… did you become like this?"
"You feel like a stranger to me."
The August she once knew had never been like this.
He had been the most talented genius in the academy, reaching the third tier as a warrior at a young age.
Kind and caring toward others.
Back then, in Hilda's eyes, August had been like the brightest star in the sky.
During that time, their relationship had been anything but ordinary.
Until the previous king died early, forcing August to ascend the throne ahead of time.
Overnight, no one knew what this newly crowned king had gone through, but it completely changed his personality.
He was no longer the person Hilda once knew.
After becoming king, the way August looked at everything around him grew darker and darker, more and more like a dictator.
His thoughts became harder and harder to read.
Until now, he had even tried to kill everyone just to secure his rule.
Hilda understood him. The early death of the king had undoubtedly dealt him a huge blow.
And the previous king had left nothing behind for August.
During the transition of power, the nobles who had served the old king naturally would not submit to an unproven August.
As a result, even though he sat on the throne, his authority weakened more and more.
August quietly looked at Hilda. After experiencing defeat, he let out a calm laugh, "I am the king, Hilda."
"The Samuel royal family has passed down for so many generations, and it came to me in such a hurried way."
"I can't let the royal family decline in my hands."
He was still too young to earn everyone's trust.
"Thank you, Hilda. Thank you for bringing me out."
August's gaze lost its former pride, replaced with a gentle look as he watched her.
For a moment, Hilda felt as if they had returned to their days at the Star Academy.
August reached out and touched Hilda's pale face, drained by sorrow, "But at least, I still have you."
Hearing this, a faint blush rose on Hilda's cheeks.
His words struck straight into her heart, awakening her attachment and expectations.
But suddenly, rustling sounds came from the forest.
Hilda reacted instantly, straightening up, drawing the long blade at her waist, and turning toward the source of the noise.
Holding her breath, a familiar figure appeared before her.
After seeing who it was, Hilda let out a sigh of relief.
It was her younger sister, Joanna.
"Joanna, why did you follow us?"
Hilda was just about to lower her blade, but something felt off.
"Didn't I tell you to stay there and not run around?"
She was referring to Viktor's side.
The golden wheat field was filled with extremely powerful and sacred energy.
Her sister would have been absolutely safe there.
But that was only for Joanna and herself.
August was different. If Hilda hadn't taken him away, he would have been torn apart by the furious nobles.
Joanna quietly looked at Hilda. Suddenly, a strange, pitch-black glint flashed in her cold eyes.
"I came to bring you, and His Majesty August, back."
Before Hilda could react, in the blink of an eye, Joanna's body turned into an afterimage.
Hilda only felt a cold gust sweep past. She froze for a moment, then gripped her sword tightly.
But along with that gust, an unknown force struck the blade in her hand.
The cold, gleaming sword shattered instantly, reflecting Hilda's widened eyes and Joanna's flickering figure.
By the time Hilda came back to her senses, she was holding nothing but an empty hilt.
And Joanna had already appeared behind her, standing between her and August.
Holding a cold blade, she used its tip to lift August's chin.
Under Hilda's shocked gaze, Joanna's expression remained blank.
A phantom of a crow flickered in her eyes, and her cold voice echoed in their ears, "Do not resist."
"You are destined to never escape the control of the gods."