Tap, tap, tap, tap. Rhythmic footsteps echoed through the empty corridor. When the attendant saw the person emerging from the darkness, he respectfully bent at the waist.
"Dragon Queen, you have returned. Her Majesty the Queen has been waiting to see you."
"Oh?"
"Her Majesty is very concerned about the situation outside."
"It's terrible out there."
Gwendolyn stopped in the middle of the corridor. The lights from the banquet fell through the carved windows onto half her face, making her look like a silhouette, with one half bathed in light and the other in shadow.
She smiled and replied, "But it's still under control."
The attendant froze, unsure how to answer. He did not dare raise his head, and his heart was filled with unease. He had no idea why this Lady was saying so much to him.
In the royal court, knowing too much was never a good thing.
But Gwendolyn had no interest in making trouble for such an insignificant person. She looked outside. The Rose Garden was brightly lit, figures moving back and forth as the nobles drank and dreamed their lives away, immersed in the delusions of power and material desire.
Yet the sky was covered in dark clouds. Countless evil spirits seemed to be racing wildly across the low, heavy cloud layer. In the distance, flames soared above the Outer City, while columns of black smoke outlined a scene from before the apocalypse.
This bizarre scene—how much it resembled a final revelry.
"No matter what, it won't be worse than this age."
"Dragon Queen?"
Gwendolyn smiled. "Just a joke."
She looked outside, her gaze fixed on the magnificent lunar eclipse. The guests in the courtyard were also watching the sudden celestial phenomenon, but the emotions reflected in their eyes were utterly different.
The Dragon Queen