The carriage interior was silent.
Too silent.
The sounds of the forest continued outside—the wind rustling through the trees, the stream flowing, the distant creaking of the wheels—but inside…
there was only breathing.
Heavy.
Irregular.
Lythiel held the child against her chest.
Her body still trembled from the birth. The pain hadn't subsided. Neither physical… nor emotional.
But her eyes…
were fixed.
On the baby.
Madhalene stood beside her, in absolute silence. Her hands still bore traces of earth. Her heart beat too fast.
She had crossed a line.
A line that could not be undone.
"Madam…" she said softly. "We must return to the castle."
Lythiel did not answer.
Her fingers touched the baby's face.
Warm.
Alive.
Real.
Different. Very different.
For a moment… she closed her eyes.
And, in that brief moment of silence…
she felt something.
It wasn't a thought.
It wasn't a sound.
It was… presence.
As if the baby…
wasn't just there.
But… was conscious.
Watching.
Waiting.
She opened her eyes slowly.
"He didn't cry…" she murmured.
Madhalene froze.
"Madam…?"
"When he was born…" Lythiel continued, "he didn't cry."
Silence.
The maid didn't answer.
She couldn't answer.
Because she knew.
She knew everything.
"The name…" Madhalene said, trying to maintain control. "We must announce the name."
Lythiel remained silent for a few seconds.
Her gaze still fixed on the child.
Then… she spoke.
Without hesitation.
Without a doubt.
As if that word were already inside her.
— Khamael.
The name echoed inside the carriage.
And, for a brief instant…
the wind outside ceased.
Madhalene felt it.
She didn't understand.
But she felt it.
Something had been sealed in that moment.