**Chapter 3: A Mental Breakdown**

The days that followed were a blur for Hans. He went through the motions, but everything felt distant and unreal. His father's anger still lingered, a heavy weight that pressed down on him, making it hard to breathe. Hans felt like he was drowning in his own shame and failure. He couldn't shake the feeling that he was a disappointment to his family, to himself. As he walked through the castle halls, Hans noticed that people avoided him. His brothers, Rudi and Runo, would snicker and whisper to each other whenever he passed by. Even the servants seemed to steer clear of him, their eyes cast downward in a mixture of fear and disdain. The once-familiar halls now felt cold and unforgiving, like a prison. Hans's mind began to unravel, thread by thread. He couldn't sleep, couldn't eat. He felt like he was trapped in a nightmare, with no escape. He started to wonder if he was worthy of love, of forgiveness. The questions swirled in his head, taunting him, haunting him. One day, Hans found himself standing in front of a mirror, staring at a stranger. The reflection showed a young man with a haunted look in his eyes, a defeated slump to his shoulders. Hans didn't recognize himself anymore. He felt like he was living in someone else's skin, like he had lost himself in the process. He turned away from the mirror, feeling a wave of despair wash over him. He wandered the empty halls, searching for a place to hide, a place to escape the pain. But there was no escape. Every door he opened led to more memories, more reminders of his failure. As the days turned into weeks, Hans became increasingly isolated. He stopped attending family gatherings, stopped eating with his brothers. He stopped leaving his room, stopped caring about anything. His world had shrunk to the size of his bed, and even that felt like a distant, unreachable goal. Lars, his brother, tried to reach out to him, but Hans pushed him away. He didn't want to talk, didn't want to share his pain with anyone. He felt like he was a burden, like he was dragging everyone down with his failure. But Lars didn't give up. He kept trying, kept knocking on Hans's door, kept leaving notes and messages, hoping that his brother would finally open up. And slowly, Hans began to hear the voices of his loved ones, muffled and distant, but present nonetheless. In the darkness of his room, Hans felt like he was losing himself, like he was disappearing into the shadows. He didn't know if he could find his way back, if he could rediscover the person he once was. All he knew was that he was trapped, trapped in his own mind, trapped in his own pain. As the days turned into weeks, Hans's mental state continued to deteriorate. He was lost, alone, and adrift, with no clear direction, no clear sense of purpose. He felt like he was drowning, and he didn't know how to swim. The question was, could he find a lifeline before it was too late?