Chapter 145: Chapter-145

“Secondary artifact?”

“The necklace under his robes. I noticed it earlier. Probably another stored-magic item.” Elara reached down and yanked a thin chain from around the Emperor’s neck. A small medallion dangled from it, faintly glowing.

She crushed it under her boot. The glow died.

“Problem solved.”

Parmilda had managed to sit up, one hand pressed to her ribs. “Is he… dead?”

“Unconscious. Broken wrist. Lacerations. Minor cranial trauma.” Elara rattled off the injuries like a medical report. “But alive. We need a physician who specializes in magical comas. Someone who can keep him in controlled suspended state while preventing any possibility of recovery or escape.”

“I know someone,” Parmilda said through gritted teeth. “Royal physician. Loyal to me, not him. She can induce a coma that’ll last years if necessary.”

“Excellent. Summon her immediately.” Elara looked at her administrators who’d been watching from the doorway. “Dimitri, Mira—secure all artifacts in this room. Everything magical gets catalogued and locked down. Gregor—bring medical supplies for First Consort. She has probable fractured ribs.”

They moved instantly, well-trained and efficient.

Eleana finally lowered her sword, the adrenaline draining away and leaving her shaking. “We did it. We actually… we stopped him.”

“Yes. Tactical victory achieved.” Elara glanced at her. “Are you injured?”

“Bruised. Exhausted. Emotionally destroyed.” Eleana laughed weakly. “But physically intact.”

“Good. Optimal outcome given circumstances.” Elara turned to assess the room. “Lira is still incapacitated. Rony remains unconscious. Duke Romian is non-hostile. Emperor is neutralized pending coma induction. All primary threats contained.”

She pulled out a small notebook from her jacket pocket and started writing.

“What are you doing?” Eleana asked.

“Documenting timeline of events for official records. Imperial Council will require detailed accounting of how the Emperor was defeated and why he’s being placed in magical coma rather than executed immediately.”

“You’re… taking notes. Right now.”

“Yes. Memory is fallible. Written records are superior for legal proceedings.” Elara continued writing without looking up. “Also documenting artifact usage, spell signatures, and injury reports for medical team.”

Eleana looked at her mother. “Is she always like this?”

“Apparently,” Parmilda said, wincing as Gregor helped her sit more comfortably. “I’m starting to understand why your father thought she’d be perfect for ruling. No emotional attachment means no hesitation in crisis situations.”

“It’s terrifying.”

“It’s effective,” Parmilda corrected. “Terrifying and effective aren’t mutually exclusive.”

Elara looked up from her notes. “I keep hearing that observation. Perhaps I should add it to my personal assessment data.” She made another notation. “Noted: People find efficient crisis management emotionally disturbing. Investigate reasons during lower-priority time periods.”

The royal physician arrived within ten minutes—a severe woman in her sixties with steel-gray hair and hands that moved with absolute precision.

She examined the Emperor briefly, then looked at Parmilda. “You want him in coma? For how long?”

“Indefinitely. Until we’ve dismantled his entire operation and established stable governance.” Parmilda’s voice was hard. “Can you do it?”

“Yes. I’ve been waiting forty years for someone to give me that order.” The physician pulled out vials and instruments from her bag. “Magical coma with regular monitoring. He’ll be aware—can hear, can think—but completely paralyzed. Unable to speak, move, or use any abilities.”

“Perfect.” Elara made another note. “Conscious imprisonment is more psychologically punishing than unconscious suspension. Efficient secondary benefit.”

The physician almost smiled. “I like her. Practical.”

She worked quickly, injecting compounds into the Emperor’s bloodstream, chanting low spells that wrapped around his nervous system. Within five minutes, his eyes opened—aware, terrified—but his body remained completely limp.

“He can hear everything we say,” the physician confirmed. “But can’t respond. The coma will hold for years if properly maintained.”

Elara knelt beside the Emperor’s paralyzed form. “You’re going to experience every moment of your empire being dismantled. Every reform implemented. Every person you abused finally getting justice. You’ll hear all of it, understand all of it, and be completely powerless to stop any of it.”

She stood.

“Mother designed your punishment well. I’m just executing it.”

The Emperor’s eyes showed pure terror, but his body didn’t even twitch.

“Transport him to high-security medical facility,” Elara ordered. “Twenty-four hour monitoring. No visitors except authorized medical personnel and official interrogators. Full documentation of all observations.”

The beast knights carefully lifted the paralyzed Emperor and carried him out.

As the door closed behind them, Eleana finally let herself collapse into a chair.

“It’s over,” she said quietly. “It’s actually over.”

“Initial phase complete,” Elara corrected. “Significant work remains. Imperial Council notification, governance establishment, reform implementation, co-conspirator arrests—”

“Elara.”

“Yes?”

“Just for one minute, can you stop being efficient and acknowledge that we just defeated a tyrant who’s ruled through fear and murder for forty years?”

Elara considered this request.

Then said, “Acknowledged. Significant achievement. Positive outcome. High probability of successful governance transition.”

She paused.

“Was that sufficient emotional recognition?”

Eleana laughed—genuinely this time, exhaustion and relief mixing into slightly hysterical amusement. “You’re impossible.”

“I’m efficient.”

“Those are different things!”

“Not necessarily.” Elara made another note. “But I recognize the distinction matters to you. I’ll attempt more conventional emotional expressions during future crisis resolutions.”

“Please don’t. It would be terrifying watching you fake emotions.”

“Agreed. Authenticity is more efficient than performance.” Elara closed her notebook. “Now, shall we begin governance transition planning? I have preliminary frameworks prepared.”

Parmilda, being helped to stand by Gregor, just shook her head in amazement. “Lin Mei would be so proud. And so confused. Possibly in equal measure.”

“Acceptable assessment,” Elara said. “Shall we proceed?”

And they did.

Because the empire wouldn’t rebuild itself.

And efficiency waited for no one.

Not even after defeating an immortal tyrant.

Suddenly, First Consort Parmilda paused and looked at Elara with a slight smile on her face. “May I ask a question?”

Elara nodded. “Yes.”

“I’ve heard this line many times now—’it’s efficient,’ ’it’s inefficient,’ ’that’s efficient.’ Like, what is it? Is there a reason why you like to say this again and again?”

Elara paused. Then said, “It’s my favorite phrase.”

The First Consort kept looking at her, waiting for her to continue.

Elara spoke carefully. “Whenever I get bored, or… you know, whenever I think that something is just going as planned and it’s not interesting anymore—like it’s just following the same pattern, nothing unexpected—I use this word. Normally ’efficient’ describes the feeling of… when you become too tired to even think anymore, so you just want things to work properly without extra effort.”

The First Consort looked at her and laughed out loud. “I never thought of it that way! And here I thought you just liked to speak in short sentences.”

Elara nodded seriously. “Yes, I do like to use short sentences. It’s less tiring and consumes less energy.”

“Less energy? Conserving energy by speaking less?”

Elara nodded with a completely serious expression. “Yes. When we speak, we use energy. Even talking for half an hour uses so much protein and nutrients and everything that it’s really not good for the body. We should speak less. It’s more efficient.”

The First Consort didn’t even know what to say. She just reached over and ruffled Elara’s hair affectionately. “Child, you are really something.”

After that, she turned to look at Eleana, who was injured but still managing a slight smile.

Eleana looked at Elara and asked, “So… who’s going to be Emperor now?”

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