"IT WAS THE SOUND OF THE GODS SCOFFING AT ME." Thanks to Ruveliss's decisive actions, the foreign princesses' schemes are thwarted, but this was merely a prelude to the oncoming turmoil. With the emperor's health waning, political machinations at the court intensify...and at the center of it all stands Aristia. To make matters worse, Carsein suffers a grave injury while protecting her from mysterious assassins, and the shadow inside Allendis's heart...