Lukas remained unconscious in the priests’ arms, but his name had already spread through the Capital of Sorriso like wildfire through dry straw.

  ?? The Emperor

  On the golden balcony, Emperor Pedro of Bragan?a adjusted his crimson mantle, eyes fixed on the arena. He chuckled — not with mockery, but with surprise.

  “Nothing less from one of your blood, Kyros,” he said firmly. “But calling him a failure… that’s too much. That’s not what I saw in that arena.”

  Kyros Fernandes, Patriarch of the South, crossed his arms. He only smiled faintly, silent and unyielding.

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  ?? The Emperor’s Daughter

  Beside the throne, Elizabeth of Bragan?a, eldest daughter of the Emperor and Archmage of the Plateau Tower, lifted her golden eyes.

  “He reminded me of you… when you were young,” she said to Kyros, her voice serene yet sharp as a blade.

  ?? The Heir and the Nephew

  Pedro gestured, and a well-dressed young man stepped forward — Ricardo of Bragan?a, the imperial heir.

  “A pleasure to finally meet the Patriarch of the South,” he said, smiling with a politeness that barely hid his arrogance.

  But when Kyros’s gaze fell upon him, his voice trembled. A chill ran down his spine.

  Kyros nodded slightly. “Merely showing respect to the heir, nothing more. After all, he will be the next Emperor.”

  Then Teodoro, the Emperor’s nephew, cut in with an awkward laugh. “No need for that, Kyros! You’re the Patriarch of the South — these lands are yours.”

  Pedro’s eyes flicked toward him but offered no correction.

  Kyros’s silence spoke louder than a thousand words.

  ?? The Weight Grows

  Meanwhile, across the city, nobles whispered of alliances, merchants of contracts, and teachers of power.

  The Patriarchs murmured about blood awakening.

  And above it all, the bells of Sorriso rang — carrying the name of the “failure” who had dared to shatter the Queen’s hammer.

  End of Chapter 20