Chapter 556: Fatal Attack!

The moment the carriage passed through the gates of the Violet Palace, Damian was met with a sight that immediately made his expression sour.

Civilians had packed both sides of the streets as far as his eyes could see, filling every available space with excited faces and raised hands.

The moment they recognized the royal convoy, the crowd erupted into deafening cheers, their voices rolling through the streets like thunder.

Flowers were thrown into the air from every direction, scattering across the road and landing on the red carpet that had been laid from the palace gates all the way toward the city square. The carriage moved at an agonizingly slow pace, forced to maintain the ceremonial speed while soldiers and attendants ensured that the crowd remained behind the barriers.

Damian sat inside with Rin comfortably perched on his shoulder, staring through the carriage window at the countless civilians surrounding him. He had never liked crowds, and it had nothing to do with arrogance.

His hatred came from something far more practical. With so many emotions flooding his senses at once, individual intentions became almost impossible for him to distinguish.

Happiness, excitement, fear, curiosity, suspicion and hostility all blended together into an overwhelming mass of emotional noise, making it difficult for him to determine who was genuinely celebrating him and who might be waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike.

"You bloody fool, wave," Rin muttered from his shoulder, lifting one paw and waving enthusiastically toward the civilians as though he were enjoying every second of the spectacle.

Damian glanced sideways at him with an annoyed expression before reluctantly raising his hand. He waved toward the crowd, though his movements were stiff and clearly lacking enthusiasm.

Even while doing so, his crimson eyes continued darting across the civilians, examining faces, rooftops, windows and every other location from which an attack could potentially come.

The cheers continued without pause, flowers continued raining onto the carpet and yet Damian’s instincts refused to relax. Something about the entire ceremony felt too carefully arranged.

"Is there a possibility that the God killing arrays are set up on these streets?" Damian mumbled under his breath, keeping his smile directed toward the crowd while his eyes continued scanning their surroundings.

Rin shook his head with certainty. "Such complex arrays cannot be set up here where civilians will get caught up in their effect. I’m certain only the city square has been armed with these arrays. Only that place will be empty except for you and everyone involved in the ceremony."

Damian’s eyes narrowed as he absorbed the information. "That means if anything comes at me now..."

Rin immediately understood where he was going. "Yep. You will have to face the full brunt of a God should you be attacked now, but that’s very unlikely. Hagrid or the Prince of Gildreach still need public opinion on their side, so they won’t launch an attack on you here, especially since they are not aware that you know of their plans. In their opinion, they have the element of surprise."

Damian remained silent for several seconds before giving a slow nod. "True."

His gaze returned to the crowd, but the suspicion never left his eyes.

The journey through the city took nearly an hour and thirty minutes because of the deliberately slow pace of the carriage. For that entire time, Damian continued waving whenever the crowd erupted into another round of cheers. His arm eventually began to feel heavy, but he maintained the gesture because the ceremony demanded it.

The streets seemed to stretch endlessly, with civilians gathered at every intersection and flowers scattered across the red carpet beneath the carriage wheels.

Buildings had been decorated with violet and black banners bearing symbols associated with the Violet Palace, while soldiers stood at intervals along the route to keep the civilians from spilling onto the ceremonial path. Damian observed everything carefully, memorizing the layout as much as possible while maintaining the appearance of a prince enjoying the attention.

When the convoy finally reached the city square, the situation immediately changed. Just as Rin had predicted, the massive square was completely empty.

The entrance had been sealed off with makeshift gates, preventing civilians from entering despite the enormous crowd gathered outside. The cheers from the surrounding streets continued to roar across the city, but inside the square there was an eerie emptiness that stood in sharp contrast to the celebration outside.

The entire ground had been covered with a red rug, stretching toward a grand staircase at the center. The staircase led to an elevated platform decorated with flowers and ceremonial ornaments, clearly prepared for the final portion of the celebration.

Damian’s eyes moved slowly across the square, searching for anything that seemed out of place.

At the top of the platform stood a fledgling girl barely four years old, clutching a bouquet of beautiful purple flowers in both hands. She wore a simple ceremonial dress and stood with her small feet close together, her body almost completely swallowed by the enormous platform surrounding her.

Despite the intimidating scale of the ceremony, she wore the purest smile Damian had seen that morning. She appeared completely innocent, seemingly unaware of the political tension surrounding the event or the danger lurking beneath the carefully prepared celebration.

"This way, sire. Please make your way to the podium," William said as he stepped down from the carriage.

Damian looked toward him for a moment before calmly nodding. He climbed out of the carriage with Rin still resting comfortably on his shoulder and began walking toward the center of the square. The others remained near the carriage, watching him proceed alone.

Only Fulgur followed, though he maintained a respectful distance behind Damian. In his hands was a red velvet pillow upon which rested a black and purple thorn shaped crown, the ceremonial crown prepared for Damian’s appearance before the people.

Damian reached the base of the grand staircase and began climbing. The sound of his footsteps echoed across the strangely quiet square while the cheers of millions continued beyond the gates.

Fulgur stopped at the bottom of the stairs, allowing Damian to continue alone. Damian slowly ascended until he reached the top, where the little girl stood waiting for him.

She immediately lowered her gaze when he approached, suddenly becoming shy now that the prince was standing directly in front of her. Damian’s expression softened.

Despite his suspicion toward the ceremony, there was something about the girl’s nervousness that made it difficult for him to remain cold. He stepped closer and gently placed a hand on top of her head, slowly patting her hair beneath the gaze of millions of civilians watching from beyond the square.

The girl remained still, her fingers tightening around the bouquet. Damian smiled faintly as he looked at the beautiful purple flowers before reaching out and carefully taking them from her hands.

"What’s your name?" he asked in a low voice, deliberately keeping his tone gentle so he wouldn’t frighten her.

The girl kept her head lowered, her cheeks becoming slightly red. "I’m... I’m..." she stuttered shyly, struggling to get the words out.

Damian’s smile widened slightly as he waited patiently. For a brief moment, everything felt strangely peaceful.

Then his vision blurred and smile disappeared.

A faint static sound suddenly rang inside his ears, almost like interference cutting through a signal. His expression changed instantly as his senses reacted to something he couldn’t understand.

The girl’s small voice reached his ears again, but something was different this time. The softness was gone. The childish hesitation had disappeared completely.

"I am Hagrid."

Bam!

The entire city square fell into absolute silence.

Damian’s eyes widened as the little girl’s arm suddenly moved with impossible speed. Her small hand extended toward his chest, and the beautiful innocence that had filled her expression only moments earlier vanished completely.

A golden dagger suddenly appeared in her grip, its blade already driving forward with deadly precision.

The dagger pierced deep into Damian’s chest. Blood immediately dripped from the wound, spilling between them and staining the girl’s ceremonial dress and the purple flowers still clutched in Damian’s hand.

The innocent fledgling stood directly in front of him, her small body almost completely hidden behind the prince’s towering figure as the golden blade remained buried inside his chest.

The assassination plot had begun.