It has been five years.
Five years since the fire that swallowed House Herman whole.
Five years since the skies over Rosenthal turned black with smoke and accusation.
Five years since Lukas Agera vanished without a trace—neither prisoner nor corpse, just... gone.
In the neighboring kingdom of Esmerea, the name Herman was nothing more than a whisper now, stripped from all noble registries, reduced to rumor and ruin. The empire denied it ever happened. The court pretended it didn't matter.
But some things don't stay buried.
And others? They were never dead to begin with.
The Agera Dukedom had changed hands during that time.
Once thought lost to war and paperwork, the rightful heir—Kai Agera—had emerged from the shadows of obscurity with blood-stamped records and a quiet smile. The court welcomed him like a missing son. The court welcomed him like a lost son.
The nobles, always attuned to shifts in power, bowed quickly.
