The next day, they announced to the others that they were now officially a couple. Most of them had already strongly suspected this anyway. Nonetheless, everyone happily offered their congratulations. Everyone except Petra, although it also took August a while to join in the chorus of felicitations, at least for the sake of politeness. No one was unaware of this fact. This announcement by the two of them was extremely significant, because in the tradition-bound society of Ordania it meant that they intended to marry in the foreseeable future. In any case, such a step would have to wait a little longer, but the indirect pressure on the two was of course omnipresent. However, the current court had been formed from a bunch of people from all walks of life, who were bound together by the revolution. Etiquette and norms were not so extreme, at least not yet.

  In view of the good news, Brahm immediately saw another reason to celebrate, which of course meant that he could have a drink with them again. The others agreed with him this time. So, they all met up in one of the larger halls in the evening, with the whole court having been invited of course, and celebrated together. Irnfrid, Petra and August were also invited, but they didn't want to or couldn't come. Irnfrid's reason was her little one, who she had to look after. They hadn't ordered any music, but Ferenc brought his lute anyways and started to play a few notes. He really wasn't a gifted lute player, but his music was passable. The Kashar only knew a handful of songs and, therefore, repeated the same ones over and over again. A few people also began to dance and sing along, especially as the evening wore on. Neither Wenzel nor Amalie were interested in dancing, however, and both preferred to stay seated and chat with their friends or the guests.

  The slightly inebriated Brahm then began to crack his usual jokes. "Oh, God! Not again!" Wenzel thought to himself, although he was still amused by it. Theodor also seemed to be in a reasonably good mood. Or at least that's what they thought. To be honest, it was impossible to tell exactly, as the army commander was sitting there, as usual, with an expression that didn't allow any conclusions to be drawn about his thoughts. At some point, Ferenc got too tired and stopped playing music. Some of the guests left early, but many stayed for quite a long time. Either way, it was an entertaining evening for everyone involved. As so often in recent times, Wenzel tried to cheer up his friend, Theodor, by toasting him. His brunette girlfriend also had a nice evening and talked a lot with Brahm, but also with the ladies who were present. They gave her tips on how to dress and other things, so they touched on topics that Wenzel usually didn't know what to do with. When the evening came to an end, everyone was happy. There seemed to be a bright future seemed ahead of them.

  That night, the emperor had another vision. It was not one he had seen before. He was sitting in his study. All around him were a huge amount of folders, binders, books, rolls of parchment and similar materials. He had just signed a document and placed it in a separate pile. Then he stood up and walked over to a smaller table in the room. On it was a plate of bread and a smoked sausage. He took a bite of each and then took a sip of water from the glass next to it. He then walked over to the window and looked out. From here, he had a good view over one of the city's main streets. Thus, now he watched the traffic rolling over it, with various horse-drawn carriages and pedestrians crossing wildly. What in the world was this vision? It seemed to be spring outside again, as you could hear countless birdsongs. But suddenly it started. He felt a surprising onslaught of nausea and dizziness! At first, he held on to the window sill, but then tried to shimmy over to his desk. He succeeded, even though he knocked the pile of papers on top of it onto the floor.

  Now he began breathing heavily and a sharp pain shot through him from the centre of his body. "What the?" His breathing became heavier and heavier. Wenzel's future self now spoke without him having any control over it. "That goddamn....! Hey!" he now shouted loudly. A guard immediately came in and tried to help him up. The emperor began to sweat profusely. "I've been poisoned! Find August! I know it was him!" He pushed the guardsman aside. Kneeling on the ground, he cut his own hand and began to draw a magic circle on the ground with his own blood. The appearance of this was now etched in the mind of Wenzel, who was observing this vision and at the same time still kind of was being part of it. "Yini Kosmema," he said and the circle began to glow. As a result, turquoise crystals formed around him, starting from his hands and feet. These crept up his arms and legs and enclosed him. It was the same thing Empress Elisabeth had once done. The crystal reached his face, then everything went dark. The vision ended.

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  Wenzel awoke from his sleep in a panic. Oh, dear! He couldn't simply ignore what he had just seen. He hadn't had any faith in August for a long time, but the lad had brushed this aside until now, as the man was an intelligent and capable organiser. But this prophecy would now change everything. August would murder him one day, or at least try to murder him! He just didn't know when exactly this would happen. So, what should he do now? Talk to him about it in person? No, he would just deny it and think he was crazy. The young man thought about it while his heart pounded furiously in his chest. He couldn't wait a moment with this matter. The prophecy could come true in a few years or decades or even tomorrow. He didn’t know! Sitting on the edge of his bed, all sorts of things were now running through his mind. He needed someone else’s advice.

  Hence, Wenzel got up and walked over to Amalie's room in the middle of the night. In his current state, it didn't even occur to him what others might think of him. He knocked on the door and a little later an obviously sleepy girl opened the door for him. "We need to talk! It's very important and can't wait!" He then let himself in by her door, which was extremely rude and completely uncharacteristic of the mage. "What are you doing?" Amalie immediately asked him in a whisper. "I had a vision of the future, that I need to talk to you about." - "What, right now?" - "Yes, I'm sorry." He then complied and told his girlfriend what he had seen. He also explained to her that he often received prophecies that were sometimes mysteriously distorted and sometimes showed exactly what was going to happen. So far, however, all the visions had materialised sooner or later. She listened to him carefully, albeit sleepily.

  When he had finished his descriptions, Amalie was also shocked and worried. She said: "I don't think it's likely to happen any time soon, but it's still very, very worrying. Wenzel, who was still caught up in his own inner turmoil, then continued: "It's not that the mere mastery of magic makes you untouchable or overpowered. Sure, this gift is capable of creating incredible things and bridging reality, but it is by no means invincible. The Melgarions and their last empress, Elisabeth, had to learn this truth in a very cruel way. In the end, the Chosen One was only human. A very special person, yes, of course, but still just a fallible human being, who can and will die just like everyone else. Similarly, visions of the future are only helpful to a very limited extent. They can sometimes help and sometimes be completely useless, because they are often so cryptic or unspecific. They are also no protection against infiltration. A cunning, insidious actor is capable of playing or eliminating even a wizard. And August is a person definitely fitting a description like that."

  Amalie now interrupted his panicked rambling. "Let’s just calm down, Wenzel! I definitely do understand you. Sit down and take a deep breath." He did just that. After that, she went into her mind palace. She understood that Wenzel felt weak and powerless. He had never been one of the big movers or shakers in the Martyrs' Brigades, mainly because he was still too young and clueless. No one would believe you on a vision, that nobody else has seen and that might as well has just been made up. Even now, August was obviously no friend of Wenzel. And the Supreme Marshal would not do anything against August on his own initiative. "I think we both agree that August needs to be made to leave somehow. I also want your life to be safe and I definitely believe your story." Her boyfriend was very grateful for that, even if he didn't show it at the moment. Then she focussed her thoughts again. Finally, his girlfriend said: "I've an idea. So, listen to me carefully now." The young man did so and as was listening to her, a strange, hard-to-interpret look crossed his face and his eyes widened.