In this world, the scariest thing is not death — it is succumbing to despair. Once a person falls into it, climbing back out is extraordinarily difficult. Despair is like being cast into the deepest pit of hell. It strikes hardest at those who have only ever known the heights — people who walked a smooth, unbroken path, who grew proud and certain of themselves, only to meet failure in the middle of their journey.
Charles was one of those people.
From childhood, he had been respected by everyone around him. His extraordinary talent — a dual elemental affinity for fire and lightning — had marked him as a future Divine Commander from an early age. Everything he attempted succeeded. He was kind, he was generous, and he made a genuine habit of standing up for those who couldn't stand up for themselves. Yet beneath all of that benevolence ran a quiet undercurrent common to all Royalty: pride. Hidden, perhaps, even from himself — but present.
Now, experiencing his first major failure in life, the despair had moved in quickly. He began to question whether the path he had been walking was even the right one. The faces of his group members rose in his mind, and he flinched from them. He wanted to disappear — to find somewhere without eyes on him, somewhere the weight of their disappointment couldn't reach. He had let down his people. He had let down his father and the rest of the Royal Family. And worst of all, he felt he had let down his idol — his brother, the person he had looked up to his entire life.
With all of that pressing in at once, escaping felt like the only rational response.
"Despair really is something, isn't it? Like being dropped into the darkest corner of hell. Like your soul is being slowly pulled apart."
Charles turned his head. The gloomy black-robed young man from earlier was there.
His expression shifted immediately. "You already knew about it, didn't you? You knew Demon's plan and you said nothing. Why? Why would you do that?"
"Hehe." The black-robed young man let out a quiet chuckle. "I told you that your idea had a flaw. You chose to ignore it and walked directly into his trap. That's incompetence, not bad luck."
"Why didn't you just tell me plainly?"
The young man's expression shifted into something that resembled amusement at an absurd joke. "Tell you plainly? And what would that gain me? I know you're a prince — I know you have the authority to alter the direction of an ordinary person's life. But I am not an ordinary person."
Charles stared at him. The words didn't quite compute. Someone who genuinely didn't care about his rank?
The young man's gaze sharpened. "I can see what you're thinking. Being born into the Royal Family does not mean every person in this kingdom owes you their deference. You are a prince — nothing more, nothing less. Only when you become someone with genuine, unmatched power will respect come to you naturally and unconditionally. Remember that." He paused, then continued in a quieter tone. "In any case, running from reality only makes the problem worse. Face what you're afraid of, and you'll come out the other side of it. If you can't manage that, then I have nothing more to say."
The black-robed young man turned and began walking away. Then he stopped, glanced back over his shoulder. "One more thing — don't tell anyone about this conversation. Especially not your brother. If you do, hehe — you won't enjoy what follows." Then he was walking again.
"Wait — what's your name?"
He didn't stop, but Charles caught the reply faintly on the air behind him.
"Man Dong. Remember it."
Man Dong… Charles turned the name over in his mind, frowning at how strange it sounded. Then something else clicked into place beneath it — a realization, half-formed, pulling at the edges of his memory. Could it be — he came from that place?
Inside the great hall, Prince Almond Dawnlight watched the screen of light with a flat, expressionless gaze until he lost interest entirely. Charles had taken the bait quickly, just as expected. A pathetic result. The silver lining, if one existed, was that surviving this kind of failure could mature a person — provided Charles actually found a way through it rather than being swallowed by it.
"Quite a performance," the masked woman remarked. Almond couldn't see her face, but he could imagine the curl of her lips.
He rose from his seat and glanced toward her. "Lady Darkness — shall we take a walk before returning to the palace?"
"I accept your invitation." Lady Darkness inclined her head.
They departed the great hall together and moved through the corridor in silence. Just beyond it lay a garden — an exclusive area of the academy, accessible only to those of significant standing. Beautiful flowers and carefully maintained plants stretched across it, unhurried and peaceful under the open sky.
After roughly ten minutes, Almond heard footsteps. He looked and saw his younger brother approaching with his head low.
His good mood soured slightly. He didn't let it show. He simply fixed Charles with a cold, steady gaze and waited.
Charles felt that gaze before he even fully looked up. The shame that had been settling into him deepened. The person he had idolized his entire life was standing in front of him with eyes like that — and he had earned it. But the black-robed young man's words were still fresh. He had to face this directly. Even if the despair hadn't fully lifted, his mind was at least clearer than it had been.
He pressed his lips together and gathered what was left of his composure. "I…I'm sorry."
Almond said nothing.
"I was careless," Charles continued. "I didn't see his plan in time, so—"
"Enough." Almond's voice carried no heat — just cold finality. "You lost, little brother. You lost to a boy from a Count family. Do you understand how embarrassing that is? Do you have any idea how much damage this will do to our family's reputation?"
Charles smiled bitterly. Of course he understood. In the eyes of the kingdom, the Royal Family was unassailable — peerless, always victorious, above the ordinary limitations that bound everyone else. Him failing a public entrance examination would crack that image. People would see, for perhaps the first time, that Royalty could also stumble.
"That said," Almond added after a pause, "you handled the pressure with a certain dignity, all things considered. Father will deliver your punishment — that's his prerogative. I'll see what I can do to have it reduced. Once."
"Thank you, Brother." Charles exhaled slowly. The gratitude was genuine.
It was in that moment, as Charles looked at his brother, that a different kind of weight settled over him. His gaze drifted — almost involuntarily — to the masked woman standing just behind Almond.
He remembered a time when things had been different. When the Royal Family hadn't felt like this. He could still recall when the other Royals had been warm, when they had genuinely looked out for one another. That had changed. It had started changing the day that woman appeared in their lives. One by one, the members of his family had grown cold and guarded, their warmth replaced by something that felt like the slow preparation for something he couldn't yet name. His father, who had once been reasonable and measured, had become harsh and unpredictable. Charles' entire world had quietly shifted around him without anyone asking his permission.
He couldn't change any of it. He knew that. He had no power or authority that could move anything of that scale. The only path available to him was the one he had always intended — become a Divine Commander. Build the kind of strength that could not be dismissed.
"Now get out of my sight," Almond said, his tone neither angry nor particularly unkind — simply done.
Charles nodded once and retreated without another word.
When he was gone, Lady Darkness spoke quietly. "So — what do you intend to do about the Volheim boy?"
"Him?" One of Almond's eyebrows lifted fractionally. He considered it for a moment. "Nothing. He's clever and calculating — I'll give him that — but he poses no threat to us."
"Of course he's no threat," Lady Darkness said. "The organization I represent could make even you uneasy, Your Highness, if it chose to act. What I mean is — if you let this pass without any response, will it not reflect poorly on the family? A prince outmaneuvered by the son of a Count is hardly a flattering image."
"Reputation." Almond let the word sit in the air with a faint note of contempt. "The Dawnlight Family is the strongest power in this kingdom. Nothing poses a threat to us from within — only external forces like your organization come anywhere close. Do you think we lose sleep over what people whisper behind closed doors? Power speaks for itself. When you have enough of it, people give you respect regardless of what they privately think. The chatter of smaller minds is not worth our time." He turned toward the garden path. "Come. We're returning to the palace."
Lady Darkness fell into step behind him without a word.