The hidden chamber fell silent.

Lucien's fingers tightened around the old diary, his knuckles turning white.

His mother.

The woman he barely remembered.

The queen everyone claimed had died from a mysterious illness.

If this diary was telling the truth...

Then her death had been no accident.

Seraphina stepped closer.

"Open it."

Lucien took a slow breath before turning the page.

The faded handwriting was elegant but hurried.

«To my beloved son, if you are reading this, then fate has allowed you to survive longer than I ever hoped. You were never born cursed. Someone wanted the world to believe you were.»

Lucien's silver eyes widened.

"No..."

He shook his head.

"That's impossible."

Seraphina gently touched his arm.

"Keep reading."

Another page revealed more.

«There is darkness sealed beneath Blackthorn Castle. It existed long before our family ruled this kingdom. Your father gave his life to strengthen the seal, but our enemies twisted the truth. They spread rumors that the darkness belonged to our bloodline.»

Seraphina covered her mouth.

"So the curse..."

"It isn't mine," Lucien whispered.

"It never was."

---

The next entry was stained with dried tears.

«The Order of the Black Sun has infiltrated the royal court. Trust no one. They will stop at nothing until the seal is broken and the darkness is released.»

Lucien suddenly closed the diary.

His face had gone pale.

"The Order of the Black Sun..."

"You've heard of them?"

"They were supposed to have been destroyed twenty years ago."

A cold realization settled over both of them.

If the order still existed...

Then the enemy had been hiding in plain sight all these years.

---

Footsteps echoed from outside the hidden chamber.

Lucien immediately extinguished the lantern.

"Someone's coming."

The two of them slipped into the shadows.

The secret passage door slowly creaked open.

A hooded figure entered the chamber.

The stranger walked directly to the empty chest.

"They've already found it," the figure muttered.

A second hooded person appeared behind him.

"We're running out of time."

"The king is getting closer to the truth."

"Then the princess must die before the wedding."

Seraphina's heart nearly stopped.

Lucien rested a hand on the hilt of his sword, but he didn't move.

The hooded figures disappeared into another hidden tunnel before he could catch them.

When the chamber was quiet again, Seraphina let out a shaky breath.

"They want me dead."

Lucien looked at the dark tunnel.

"No."

His voice was firm.

"They need you dead."

"There is a difference."

She frowned.

"I don't understand."

"They're afraid of something."

"Afraid of me?"

Lucien nodded.

"Otherwise, they wouldn't be trying this hard to stop our marriage."

---

That night, the castle slept uneasily.

Rain lashed against the windows while thunder rolled across the mountains.

Seraphina sat in her room, unable to stop thinking about the diary.

A soft knock sounded at her door.

"My Lady?"

It was Mira.

"You have a visitor."

"At this hour?"

Mira nodded.

"He says it's urgent."

Seraphina opened the door.

A young palace messenger stood there, soaked from the rain.

He handed her a folded piece of parchment.

"It was left at the castle gate."

She unfolded it.

Her blood ran cold.

Written in dark ink were the words:

Princess Seraphina,

If you want to live, come alone to the Moon Garden at midnight. I know who murdered the seven brides.

There was no signature.

Only the drawing of a black sun.

Far away, hidden in the shadows of the castle walls, a pair of crimson eyes watched her bedroom window.

A low voice whispered into the darkness,

"Tonight... the eighth bride dies.”