A ritual threat emerges: someone declares the King of North's corpse will be used at midnight to create an Eternal Elixir. In the Sable household a father vows vengeance, comforts Hailey, and promises to bring the children back and celebrate when Kyle is born. At the imperial court, leaders accuse the Sables of treason. Ivan orders brutal humiliation—soldiers cut out tongues—while others demand evidence. With no proof presented and the Sables publicly shamed, officers warn frontier troops may lose faith, leaving the empire's unity and the family's fate unresolved.