Chapter 1 The Day I Died

Cold rain poured from the black sky like needles.

Kael Arden knelt in chains at the center of the execution platform, soaked to the bone as the entire imperial plaza watched him in silence.

No.

Not silence.

Whispers.

Mockery.

Hatred.

“The traitor deserves worse.”

“I heard he sold military secrets to the enemy.”

“He betrayed the Crown Prince himself.”

Kael lowered his eyes.

The chains around his wrists clinked softly as he laughed under his breath.

How pathetic.

After giving his entire life to the empire… this was how it ended.

A traitor.

A liar.

A disgrace.

The executioner standing behind him lifted a massive sword onto his shoulder. The blade reflected flashes of lightning across the dark sky.

Below the stage, nobles watched with satisfied smiles.

Some looked relieved.

Others looked terrified.

Because everyone in the empire knew one thing.

The moment Kael died…

The Crown Prince would become a monster.

Kael slowly closed his eyes.

Memories flashed through his mind like shattered glass.

The first time he met Lucien Valecrest.

A lonely thirteen-year-old prince standing silently beneath winter snow while the palace servants whispered that he was cursed.

Those crimson eyes had terrified everyone.

Everyone except Kael.

“You’re bleeding.”

That was the first thing Kael had ever said to him.

The young prince stared at him coldly.

“So?”

Kael had sighed before handing over a handkerchief.

“You should at least bandage your hand before it gets infected.”

Lucien looked at the cloth for a long moment.

Then quietly asked:

“Aren’t you afraid of me?”

Kael remembered laughing back then.

But now…

Now his chest hurt so badly he could barely breathe.

Because somewhere along the way…

He had become the person who hurt Lucien the most.

A guard suddenly stepped onto the platform and unrolled a royal decree.

“Kael Arden,” he shouted loudly. “You are charged with treason against the imperial crown, conspiracy with enemy forces, and attempted assassination of His Highness the Crown Prince.”

The crowd erupted instantly.

“Execute him!”

“Traitor!”

“Monster!”

Kael remained still.

There was no point defending himself anymore.

The truth no longer mattered.

In the end, he had still betrayed Lucien.

Even if it was to save him.

Even if he had no choice.

The guard raised his voice again.

“By order of the Emperor, Kael Arden shall be executed immediately!”

Thunder cracked across the sky.

The executioner stepped forward.

Kael slowly lifted his head toward the palace in the distance.

The windows of the Crown Prince’s tower were dark.

Of course.

Lucien would never come.

Why would he?

Kael had abandoned him.

Used him.

Lied to him.

If Kael were Lucien… he would hate himself too.

The executioner raised the sword high above his head.

For a brief moment, the world became strangely quiet.

Then—

BOOM!!

The palace gates exploded open.

Screams erupted across the plaza.

Soldiers were thrown aside like broken dolls as black-armored knights stormed into the square.

At their center rode a man covered in blood.

The crowd instantly froze.

“Th-The Crown Prince…”

Lucien Valecrest stepped down from his horse slowly.

His black uniform was stained crimson.

Rain dripped from his long dark hair as those terrifying red eyes swept across the plaza.

Everyone backed away in fear.

Even the executioner trembled.

Kael’s breath caught painfully in his throat.

Lucien…

Why are you here?

The prince walked toward the platform without speaking.

Step.

Step.

Step.

Each footstep echoed through the dead silence.

The Emperor’s guards moved nervously.

“Y-Your Highness,” one noble stammered. “The execution has already been approved—”

Slash.

Blood splattered across the stone.

The noble’s head rolled across the floor.

The crowd screamed.

Lucien didn’t even glance at the corpse.

His eyes remained fixed only on Kael.

Cold.

Furious.

Broken.

Kael felt his heart shatter.

He had never seen Lucien look like this before.

The prince climbed onto the platform slowly until he stood directly in front of him.

For several seconds, neither of them spoke.

Rain poured between them.

Finally, Lucien reached out with trembling fingers and touched the chains around Kael’s wrists.

“…Too late,” he whispered.

Kael stared at him in shock.

Lucien’s hands were shaking.

The feared Crown Prince…

was trembling.

“Lucien…”

The prince suddenly laughed softly.

But it sounded more painful than crying.

“They touched you.”

The temperature around them seemed to drop instantly.

Every guard nearby turned pale.

Lucien looked at the executioner.

“Did you raise your sword against him?”

The executioner collapsed immediately.

“Y-Your Highness, mercy—”

Before he could finish speaking, Lucien drew his blade.

A single strike.

Blood sprayed across the rain-soaked platform.

Kael’s eyes widened.

“Stop—!”

But Lucien kept moving.

Anyone who insulted Kael.

Anyone who approved the execution.

Anyone who stood in his way.

Lucien cut them down without hesitation.

The imperial plaza became a nightmare of screams and blood.

Kael felt horror crawl through his chest.

This was the beginning.

The beginning of the tyrant everyone feared.

Because of him.

Because Kael died.

“Lucien…” Kael whispered weakly.

The prince froze instantly.

Slowly, he turned back.

Rain hid the expression in his eyes.

But Kael still heard the pain in his voice.

“If you had asked…” Lucien said quietly, “I would have destroyed the world for you.”

Kael’s vision blurred.

The poison in his body was spreading too quickly now.

Ah.

So that’s why everything felt cold.

His execution had begun long before today.

Someone had poisoned him.

How funny.

After all this…

he still couldn’t even tell Lucien the truth.

Kael smiled faintly.

“…Sorry.”

Lucien’s eyes widened.

For the first time in his life, the Crown Prince looked terrified.

“Kael?”

His body collapsed forward.

Strong arms caught him instantly.

“KAEL!”

Kael could barely hear him anymore.

Everything faded slowly into darkness.

But before consciousness disappeared completely…

he felt something warm against his forehead.

And a broken voice whispering desperately:

“Please… don’t leave me again.”

Darkness swallowed him whole.

Then—

Kael opened his eyes.

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