Evening fell, but there was still no trace of Eilika. She had vanished as if she had never existed at all. Damian returned, his expression stripped of all emotion, a terrifying numbness settling over his features.

Louis and Sylvian waited in the foyer, their tension palpable. They had been dreading his return; Roman had been searching for his mother all day, and they had run out of lies to tell the boy.

As Damian crossed the threshold, Louis, Sylvian, and the Dowager Duchess all stood, their eyes locked on him in desperate anticipation.

"Where is she, Damian?" Georgia asked, her voice trembling. "Where is Eilika?"

Damian stopped, his gaze unfocused and distant. "I don’t know," he replied. "She’s not in the city. She is nowhere to be found."

Maurice stepped forward, his gaze fixed on the floor. "We tracked the path she took, Your Grace, but we could not reach her. She had already vanished into the wilderness."

"Why did you keep this from us?" Georgia demanded, her voice sharp with betrayal. "We trusted you above everyone."

"I was bound by a promise to the Duchess," Maurice replied with regret. "I know I have betrayed your trust, but to save the Duke, it was the only way."

Damian’s jaw tightened, his knuckles turning white as his fury flared anew. "Where is August? Is he still within these walls?"

"Yes," Sylvian answered, his brow knitted in a confusion. "He remains in his quarters. He told the guards that you would likely require his assistance again, claiming he holds in information you have yet to uncover."

Damian marched toward the west wing with tunnel vision, his rage burning away any semblance of restraint. His life lay in ruins; just when he and Eilika had finally begun to find their footing, August had dragged them both back into the mire.

He stormed up the stairs and kicked the door to the guest chamber open. August was sitting there, unbothered, slowly swirling a glass of wine.

"Damian! Did you find your dear Eilika?" August asked, his voice dripping with malice as he set the silver glass aside.

"No," Damian snarled, drawing the pistol from his waistband and leveling it at August’s chest. "But I won’t spare you. If anyone is meeting their end today, it is you."

"Whoa," August murmured, slowly raising his hands in feigned surrender. "Shoot me, and you’ll have to answer for—"

"You are an illegitimate son of the King," Damian cut him off. "He won’t shed a single tear for you. And you planted your own people here to poison me, didn’t you?"

"Do you have any proof for such a serious accusation?" August sneered, unimpressed.

"I don’t need proof," Damian countered. "Your actions speak for themselves. You wanted me to suffer, is that why you used Liliana against me?"

The words slipped out, a truth he had kept buried. August’s composure finally cracked; his eyes widened, the realization dawning that the secret he had guarded so carefully had been exposed.

"So, that is how Maurice discovered my location," August muttered, a flicker of genuine irritation crossing his face. "Tell me, Damian, what else do you think you know?"

"Why don’t you offer the truth yourself?" Damian retorted.

Sylvian, Louis, and Maurice burst into the room, their voices raised in urgent pleas for him to stand down.

"No one is to speak!" Damian roared, his voice echoing off the stone walls.

He fixed his burning gaze back on August. "Liliana knew you long before she came to me, didn’t she? You sent her to my side. Admit it."

August’s smirk deepened into a predatory grin. "And what will you do if I admit it? Kill me? You couldn’t possibly execute the father of your son, could you?"

Damian squeezed the trigger, but Sylvian launched herself forward, shoving his arm upward just in time. The shot tore into the ceiling, plaster raining down around them.

"Let me go!" Damian bellowed, violently shaking her off. "I warned you not to intervene!"

August laughed, visibly savoring the sight of the Duke’s undoing. "You killed Liliana, you know. You fed her something that caused her death."

"Shut your mouth!" Damian screamed. "You two made a fool of me! Do you have any idea the agony I lived in? And Roman..." He stepped closer, his voice dropping to a trembling, deadly hiss. "He is not your son. He will never be the blood of a bastard like you."

"August, will you stop with these lies?" Sylvian interjected, her eyes swimming with disappointment and sharp anger. "Leave Roman out of this. He is nothing but an innocent boy."

Louis stood rooted to the spot, his face drained of color as the truth of Liliana’s betrayal finally took root. He cast a sharp, betrayed look toward Maurice, who remained silent, his gaze fixed on the floor, heavy with the weight of his complicity.

"Why did you send Liliana to me?" Damian shrieked, his composure shattering completely. He looked ready to burn the world down, his grip on the pistol turning tighter. "How could you do this to me? What kind of sick, twisted creature are you?"

August only chuckled, rolling his eyes as if bored by the spectacle. "A creature? I am simply the one who revealed the cracks in your perfect foundation."

"What is going on here?"

The sharp inquiry cut through the tension. Georgia appeared in the doorway, her breath hitching as she took in the chaos of the room.

"Tell your mother the truth about—" August sneered, his eyes fixed on Georgia.

"August!"

The King’s voice boomed, reverberating through the stone chamber and cutting the tension like a blade. Every argument died instantly.

As the Monarch strode into the room, the tension shifted from volatile to suffocating; everyone present bowed in deep, frantic reverence.

Sylvian stepped forward, approaching his father with his head bowed. "Father," he said, his tone taut with urgency. "August is responsible for the Duchess’s departure. He forced Eilika to leave Damian’s life, and he has spent every moment since his return plotting to dismantle this family."

August’s jaw tightened at Sylvian’s accusation. He turned toward the King, his expression hardening with defensive malice. "So, you summoned Father here just to cast me as the villain?"

"If you weren’t the villain, you would have acted with genuine intent, not forced Eilika to flee," Sylvian countered, his voice steady.

August let out a sharp, derisive laugh, his gaze snapping back to Damian with bitterness. "For fuck’s sake, I gave her a choice! Eilika chose the divorce herself because she finally realized the truth—that you never truly loved her."

"I want everyone out, except for the two of you," the King commanded. He glanced at Georgia, his tone softening slightly. "Lady Georgia, let us speak later. Rest assured, everything will be set right."

She nodded, and Sylvian stepped forward to guide her out, with Louis and Maurice following close behind.

The King moved toward the sofa, his eyes landing on the wine bottle and glass. August quickly swept them up and placed them on an end table.

"Sylvian sent word that the cure resided only with Prince August," King Nyxen began, his voice cold, "and that he intended to withhold it."

"And is that why you came, Father?" August asked, his tone mocking. "To reprimand me?"

"Did you force Eilika to leave?" Nyxen demanded, his gaze piercing. "I want the whole truth."

August recounted the events with chilling nonchalance. "I merely liberated her from Damian, who never once acknowledged her worth."

"And what of Liliana?" Damian interjected, his eyes burning with hatred as he glared at his cousin. "Tell His Majesty how you schemed to destroy me then, and admit that you were the one who poisoned me yesterday."

"What are you talking about, Damian?" King Nyxen asked, his brow furrowing in genuine confusion. "What does August have to do with your late wife?"

"Ask him, Your Majesty," Damian replied, his voice trembling with pain and fury. "He is the architect of my ruin. He toyed with my heart and played with my emotions, all by planting a woman in my life whom he knew would break me."

August didn’t flinch. Instead, he leaned back, crossing his arms with an infuriatingly calm smirk. "A dramatic interpretation, wouldn’t you say? I merely provided a companion for a man who seemed so desperately lost. If she failed you, Damian, that reflects on your own character, not my schemes."

"Don’t twist my words," Damian snapped, his voice tight with barely contained rage. "You and Liliana were lovers, but that is not my concern at this moment. Eilika... he forced her to sign that divorce agreement."

Damian turned back to the King, his posture sagging with sudden desperation. "I cannot find her. I have had my men search everywhere, yet she has vanished into thin air. What am I supposed to tell my son? His birthday is tomorrow; he has been planning for it for weeks, and he is waiting for her."