At Market :
The imperial physician stepped back from the lifeless body, his brows deeply furrowed. "I... I can't explain it, Your Highness," he said at last, his voice low with discomfort. "There are no visible wounds. No fever, no signs of struggle. It's as if life simply... faded from him."
Prince Kael stood silently, fists clenched at his sides. His jaw tightened, and he turned slightly when the sound of hurried footsteps approached.
Sheraphina halted beside him, breathless. "This isn't the first, your highness."
He turned toward her, brows knitting.
"There's been a series of similar deaths." She glanced at the body, then back at him. "All unexplained. The physicians are baffled. And now rumors are flooding the marketplace—people whispering that someone's cursed the capital."
Kael's gaze darkened. "Do you believe that?"
She shook her head. "No. Curses are too convenient an excuse when knowledge fails. I think this is something else... and I intend to find out what."
Later that afternoon, Sheraphina sat hunched over a table scattered with her notes—ink-stained fingers flipping page after page. Symptoms. Cases. Timing. Nothing matched.
Nothing made sense.
Her quill hovered in frustration before she set it down with a sigh.
The light through the window had turned golden, casting long shadows across the study.
A knock came, followed by the voice of Lord Thorne.
"It's already evening. We should head to the palace, Lady Vale."
She looked up, startled at the time. "Of course."
---
Evening settled gently over the palace, painting the sky in hues of mauve and flame. Lanterns flickered to life as Kael stepped into the palace gardens, his boots silent on the gravel path.
There, amidst the roses and twilight haze, stood Sheraphina.
Her arms were wrapped around herself, her eyes distant, heavy with thought.
( what..just what is it...are we not focusing in the right direction...answer can be anywhere...even infront of ..but what is it..)
He approached quietly, his presence warm and grounding. "You'll solve this, Shera," he said gently. "The physicians are working tirelessly. We will find the truth—together."
She looked up at him, the tension in her gaze softening at the steadiness in his voice.
Far away—somewhere cloaked in the shadows of the empire—a hooded figure stood before a flickering flame.
In his gloved hand, he held a photograph: Sheraphina and Kael, captured mid-conversation in the garden.
He chuckled darkly, eyes glinting with cruel amusement.
"How will you solve this mystery, Lady Vale?" he whispered. "Or will you ever discover the true mastermind behind the poison incident?"
He held the photo to the fire.
The paper curled, darkened, and turned to ash.