The New King

"The sky is so dark today," Marquess Frederick remarked as he stepped down from his carriage, adjusting the black outer coat of his mourning attire.

Since the official announcement of King Yanis Erelith's death, it seemed as though even the weather had joined the kingdom in mourning. 

The kingdom's unease over the looming threat of war, compounded by Duke Kalder's death and the sudden disappearance of Princess Lorelai, had temporarily given way to a profound collective grief.

Dark gray clouds obscured the sun, casting a somber pall over midday. They hung in the sky like dirty cotton strewn across a pale, rain-soaked canvas.

A gray sky seemed fitting for a funeral, though this gloom had persisted since the day the crown prince ended his pursuit of the beasts and returned to the capital.

As Frederick walked the wilting pathways leading to the royal graveyard, he couldn't help but notice how foreboding the royal palace appeared in the distance.