The Crimson Throne

The next few days, Elaine started a new monotonous routine of waking up, socializing, and returning to her quarter. Even though no one could watch the process inside the Insidious Forest, the magician hung hundreds of participants' essence cards in midair for all to observe. Each time a card split and crashed to the ground, steam would rise from its remnants and transform into the individual's name before evaporating. Today, Elaine again quietly sat in her ornate chair, watching a few cards tumble from their position. Besides Cecil and Elias, she did not know the other participants' names. She asked Yusef, and he informed her that three of the Croix's knights in training had fallen.

"How many had died on our side?"

"About thirty, milady." He shook his head in regret.

Thirty. Thirty knights in training had perished in just four days, not including the countless soldiers. The casualty this time is even higher than in previous occurrences. Elaine's gaze drifted toward the gloomy forest. Clouds of black and purple bruised its skies while enormous lightning storms zig-zagged back and forth, striking anything that dared cross its path. She instinctively shuddered, imagining the many terrors within its ground. 

Elaine picked up the teacup on the small table beside her, took a sip to calm her nerves, and again sought answers from the dark-clad man. "How long until the joint expedition concludes?"

"Based on past events, the joint expedition should be completed in two or three weeks. Though it all depends on the conquest target's resistance."

She cocked her head, realizing a critical question she was neglecting the entire event. "What are we conquering?" 

"The Insidious Forest." The Duke suddenly returned and answered Elaine, surprising her. He had been busy expanding his influence and rarely remained in his seat.  

"Greetings, father." Elaine stood up and curtsied.

Gerard nodded. "You may sit."

"Thank you, father." She settled back into her chair and resumed her question. "The goal is to conquer the Insidious Forest? But how would we determine the final result?" 

"When they reached the other side."

The other side. "Has anyone reached there before?"

Gerard stayed quiet for a moment. "Not yet," he finally replied, his eyes wandering the grassy field.

Worries flashed over Elaine's silver eyes when she recalled the information she learned from the Croix's keeper of the archives. Even Étoile's more experienced knights and soldiers could not clear the forest. Then, isn't this a suicide mission? Why is Étoile so keen on reaching the Bael Kingdom? She bit her lips, wanting to dig deeper into the reason, but hesitated to continue her inquiries, recognizing that the Duke would only provide her with surface-level details. Maybe Alexander could tell me a bit more. 

Elaine tried establishing contact with the Third Prince with her mind. 'Your Highness, can you hear me?' She had gotten used to conversing with him through her thoughts these past few days—the solely enjoyable pastime during the daily repetition while waiting for the event's outcome. Their discussion topic varied, though they danced around sensitive subjects, not that Elaine minded. She currently had no intel to offer him.

'How rare for you to initiate our contact, milady,' Alexander answered her after a few seconds. 

'My apologies, Your Highness. If I had known you were waiting for me to take the initiative, I would have done so sooner,' Elaine teased. Her eyes surveyed several small gatherings on the ground. Finally, she spotted Alexander standing in the center of a small group of noblemen, sporting his natural charismatic smile, charming all who were near. 'Am I disturbing you right now, Your Highness?'

'Haha. How considerate of you. Do not worry, for I am well-versed in performing many tasks simultaneously. And I will always make time for you, Lady Estella.'

What a smooth tongue. No wonder many noble and commoner ladies fell at his feet. 'Thank you. How very kind of you.' She gave him shallow gratitude, then pivoted to her question. 'Your Highness, do you know why the Emperor picked this location?' 

Alexander's response took longer this time. 'Are you curious, milady?'

'I am,' she admitted. 'However, if I am imposing, please ignore my question.' How stupid. Why would he tell me? Elaine chided herself. Aside from their recent 'alliance,' they were enemies. He did not trust her, nor did she trust him. 

'I can—' Alexander began, but before he could continue, a rumbling sound halted his answer. Their connection got interrupted, and Elaine glanced up, eyes widening. The teacup slipped from her hand, crashing into tiny pieces. Ahead, dark clouds from far away slowly expanded, moving closer to her location. The skies above thundered while the earth quaked like an erupting volcano, threatening to destroy all living beings within its vicinity. The wind fell into silence, along with the surrounding noises. Then, several small gaps appeared in midair, with cracks ripping in all directions like broken mirrors, devouring the atmosphere. Stentorian poundings emerged from behind the openings as if things were attempting to break out. 

What is going on? Elaine's body shook as an ominous premonition shimmered inside her. Run. A small voice within her whispered. She leaped from her seat and grasped Mariam's hand, running and leading the confused maid in the opposite direction. Elaine did not know what happened but would rather not wait to find out. She could hear terrified screaming and yelling behind her but did not dare to look back, afraid of the images she might witness.

They reached their tent with Elaine almost out of breath. "Hurry and take only the necessary things. We need to leave now!" She ordered between heavy breathing. 

"Y, yes, milady." Mariam scurried around, trying to collect everything she could. 

Elaine leaned against the wall, gathering her breath. Her gaze flickered between Mariam and the entrance, calculating their remaining time. She started treading toward the maid, attempting to help her collect the remaining items, when a massive crack halted her path, its crevasses tearing through air and space. Elaine stared at the abysmal blackness behind the gap, paralyzed by fear. A monster appeared, poking its gigantic body through the opening. It was the same ugly creature from her nightmare. "Found you." The red mouth under its belly curled into a twisted grin and gaped open, covering its entire body. Before Elaine could react, the monster leaned forward and swallowed her whole. The last thing Elaine heard was Mariam's petrified cry before she disappeared into the darkness.