Next Morning :
The Angelic Realm shimmered in its eternal morning light, sky painted with soft pinks and silvers. Towers of crystal rose like prayers toward the heavens, each lined with celestial silk, fluttering in warm, fragrant breezes. But beneath the calm of the divine realm, something stirred—wild, uncontrolled, whispered on every lip.
The youngest prince of the realm, Lysander Floris Caelum, was to be wed.
"Did you hear?" "The wedding is to happen in just a few weeks." "To the Lycan Crown Prince himself!"
Gossip bloomed through marble corridors and garden walkways like wild vines. Courtiers whispered behind feathered fans. Servants giggled in kitchens. Priests raised their brows in silence. The news had spread faster than wind, igniting the realm in a swirl of excitement and confusion.
Yet the boy at the center of it all… remained unaware.
Lysander sat beneath the flowering moon-willow tree in the palace garden, a book open in his lap, but he hadn't turned a page in over twenty minutes. A strange feeling gnawed at the back of his mind—like being watched, or judged.
His pale fingers tightened around the book's spine.
He didn't have long to wonder.
"Cousin Lysander!" a musical voice chirped. Princess Aurelienne fluttered into the garden with all the grace of a storm. Her silver-blonde hair was pinned into elaborate braids, and her gown glittered with sky-gems. Right behind her was her older brother, Prince Lucial, golden-haired and lazily amused.
"You're hiding in the garden on your engagement day? Really, cousin, how scandalous."
Lysander blinked. "...Engagement?"
Lucial laughed, tossing a sunbeam between his fingers. "Oh, don't act like you don't know. The entire realm is talking about it."
Aurelienne pouted. "Honestly, I don't understand why everyone's making such a fuss. If anyone should be marrying the Lycan prince, it should be me. I'm far more radiant, aren't I?"
She turned to Lucial, who smirked. "Well, that may be true, but apparently Prince Xavier has... exotic tastes."
Lysander stared at them, the words bouncing uselessly in his brain. He looked to Mira, who had just entered the garden with his medicine.
"What... what are they talking about?" Lysander whispered, his voice trembling like fragile glass.
Mira's expression froze.
Aurelienne flared. "Oh, come now, stop pretending you didn't know! You're to be married to the Lycan prince, Xavier! King Thalion already announced it to the high court. Even the lower priests know. It's the event of the year!"
Lysander stood slowly, heart pounding.
"...He announced it? Without telling me?"
Lucial snorted. "Well, it's not like your opinion matters, cousin. You're the weakest prince this realm has ever produced. You should be grateful someone powerful took interest in you."
Aurelienne crossed her arms. "I still say it's madness. You can't even bear a child. Your wings barely lift. You faint from your own heartbeat. Why would a beast like Xavier want you?"
Mira's face turned pale with fury. She stepped between them. "That's enough. Both of you."
But Lysander's voice was smaller than a breath.
"...Why would he want me?"
Aurelienne rolled her eyes. "Exactly."
Lucial tugged his sister's sleeve. "Let's go before Mira throws us off a tower."
With a cruel laugh, the two exited the garden.
Mira knelt beside Lysander and held his trembling hands. "Lys..."
"Is it true?" he asked, voice raw. "Am I being married off to a man I've never met?"
Mira's eyes filled with sorrow. "I… I was going to tell you. But the king—"
"I want to speak to the queen." Lysander stood shakily. "Now."
Mira nodded and helped him walk back inside.
Meanwhile, deep in the infernal lands of the Demon Realm, smoke coiled through the sky like serpents and black fire danced along the horizon.
Karl stood outside the black citadel, a scroll in his hand, eyes narrowed.
He had intercepted the angelic news.
A wedding.
Of the Angelic King's youngest son… to the Lycan prince.
Karl walked into the grand throne chamber, heavy boots thudding over obsidian.
Raelith sat in silence, a storm in still form. His eyes flicked up as Karl entered.
"What is it?"
Karl dropped to one knee. "News from the Angelic Realm, Your Majesty."
Raelith raised a brow.
"Speak."
Karl held out the scroll. "The youngest prince of the angels, Lysander Floris Caelum, is to marry Crown Prince Xavier of the Lycan Clans."
The room fell silent.
A shadow crept behind Raelith's eyes.
Lysander...
Why did that name strike a strange chord in his chest?
Why did his mark suddenly sting?
His clawed fingers curled over the armrest, tight enough to crack stone.
"Prepare my war table," Raelith said slowly. "We march at dawn."
Raelith's dark expression curled into a twisted smirk. "So the angels wish to celebrate peace while my soul writhes in torment? Very well. Let them dress their prince in red. I'll bring the blood to match."
Karl bowed. "As you command, my king."