After the victory in the arena—and after the crowd exploded with screams—I was heading for the exit.
And at one mont, the world suddenly felt too tight.
The royal guard closed in a circle.
Dozens of blades. Identical steps.
And ahead of them—him.
Prince Alviron.
The heir.
The golden boy of the kingdom.
He walked as if the entire arena belonged to him.
And he spoke loudly, so that everyone could hear:
— I have seen your strength, Zenhald Helvard. The country needs fighters like you… The kingdom needs you.
I rely blinked.
— I don’t want to.
Sothing twitched on his face.
An eyebrow. An eyelid. The corner of his mouth.
Pride cracked.
— P-perhaps you didn’t understand… I am the prince of this kingdom. I am offering—
— I know who you are. And you lost to .
He wanted to explode.
Wanted to shout.
But I was already gone, dissolving into the air and leaving him inside the ring of guards.
I didn’t have ti for him.
I needed Mira.
?? eting with Mira
She was waiting for
in the upper corridor—quiet, collected, but her eyes were already burning with active thought.
— I followed them, — she said when I approached. — The nobility is far more… active today than usual.
I raised an eyebrow.
— And?
She gestured downward, where groups of aristocrats were already moving across the square.
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— They’re splitting into mini-cliques. That’s normal. But… the strangest ones are these.
And she began listing them.
?? 1) The Head of the Rainword Family
(Finn’s family)
He was arguing as if backed into a corner.
One of Mira’s golems overheard the conversation.
Word for word:
Rainword:
— We said this was dangerous!
Levander:
— You had a choice!
Rainword:
— What choice? To report it in ti? Then the village would’ve been destroyed!
And then the key phrase:
— People are lucky that this kingdom has two monsters who can hold the demons back.
They were talking about us.
And that was already alarming.
?? 2) The Levanders
(Noi’s family — the kingdom’s chief judge)
Levander spoke coldly:
— If you had inford us, everything would have gone differently.
Zen imdiately understood:
?? The Levanders believe Rainword hid sothing.
?? And it’s connected to the attacks on the villages.
But what?
?? 3) The Arvents
(Lucille’s house — spatial magic)
An Arvent intervened quietly, but it was his words that made Mira frown:
— Any news from the vice-deputy of the Academy?
— No. It’s as if he vanished into thin air.
And that was a bomb.
Because:
That was exactly the official who could have opened the portal in the capital.
Which ans—the connection is real.
?? 4) The Strange General
Mira said:
— And one more thing… the deputy general of the army. Did you see him? He’s… strange.
He stood with the military group—glassy eyes, skin slightly paler than normal, movents sharp.
And the worst part:
He didn’t eat normal food.
He drank so dark liquid from a bottle.
— Looks like a demonic extract, — Mira said.
— If he’s infected… if he’s under a pact… then the demons have an army commander in their hands.
Zen clenched his fist.
?? 5) Aristocrats Near the Demon Borders
— The strangest thing, Zen, — Mira looked at the crowd. — Those who live closest to the demons…
— Yes?
— They were almost happy.
— Their treasuries are swollen. Their ships are full. Their bellies look like they’ve just closed extrely profitable deals.
Zen caught the implication.
— Trade… with demons?
— Yes. Soone is protecting them. Soone made enormous profit—huge profit—from the war.
?? Mira’s Conclusion
She sighed.
— Zen… this is a web.
— The Rainwords hid sothing.
— The Levanders knew, but stayed silent.
— The Arvents are searching for the Academy’s vice-deputy.
— A military general is infected with demonic substance.
— And several border lords have been working with demons for a long ti.
She looked up.
— This isn’t one traitor, little brother.
— It’s a network. A sect. An organization.
Zen nodded.
— We need to pull out the core.
Mira smiled at the corner of her lips—predatory.
— And we will. But to do that, we need… a show.
— Let the whole world watch the arena. Let the officials relax. Let them think we’re here for glory.
She squeezed his shoulder.
— The tournant is our trap. Their shadows are already filled with golems.
— They won’t escape.
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