The world of dreams and hope shattered.0

Anis' jaw dropped, and Taragon blinked rapidly.0

Did I mishear that? There's no way Father would tell us not to participate in the tournament…0

Reganon, Panir, and Myle were silent as if they already knew.0

Even Keter, who had trained Anis and Taragon, should have found this shocking, yet there he was, idly eating grapes.0

“F-Father… why?”0

Even Anis, who never stammered, stumbled over his words.0

“I knew the tournament was a trap to lure Sefira. I knew it would put us in danger. But I still believed that participating would be worth the experience. No matter how much they wish to bring us down, I didn’t think they would dare commit atrocities in front of nobles and citizens gathered from all over the kingdom. That was my miscalculation.”0

A heavy silence filled the dining room.0

Besil took a deep breath and continued.0

“They are serious. Their goal is not just to remove Sefira from the master families—they want to utterly destroy us, leaving no chance for recovery.”0

Sefira was weak when it came to information warfare. They had no connections with intelligence guilds, nor any strong ties in the political world. Even if they were...0