Chapter 161: Chapter-161

The conviction in her voice—the absolute certainty—made Heena pause.

She held Seraphina’s gaze for a long moment, searching for any hint of deception, any sign of manipulation.

But all she saw was fear, determination, and what looked disturbingly like genuine honesty.

Heena let go of her throat and stepped back.

The silence was deafening.

Then Larus’s voice came from behind her, soft and careful:

“Your Majesty… we should call the consorts. All of them. To address this… claim.”

Heena turned to look at him. His expression was serious now, all traces of earlier humor gone. He looked calm but alert, his mind clearly working through the implications.

“We should also,” he continued quietly, “summon the imperial physicians. And witnesses. This is not something that can be handled privately.”

Heena nodded slowly, her jaw tight.

She turned to the nearest guard, her voice absolutely controlled:

“Summon all five imperial consorts to the throne room. Immediately. No exceptions, no delays. If any of them refuse or try to leave the palace, detain them.”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

“Also summon the imperial physicians. All of them. And the head of the royal hospital. I want every medical expert we have available.”

“At once, Your Majesty!”

“And—” Heena’s voice became even harder, “—prepare the throne room for a formal court session. Full assembly. Every noble of sufficient rank. Every council member. I want witnesses to whatever is about to happen.”

The guards scattered to carry out her orders, moving with urgent efficiency.

Heena looked at Seraphina, who was still standing there trembling, one hand unconsciously moving to her stomach.

“You will come with me,” Heena said coldly. “And you will not speak to anyone, about anything, until we’re in the throne room with proper witnesses. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Seraphina whispered.

“If you’re telling the truth,” Heena continued, her voice dropping to something almost gentle, “then you’re about to become the center of the biggest scandal this empire has seen in decades. Your life is about to become extremely complicated and probably very dangerous.”

Seraphina nodded, still trembling.

“And if you’re lying,” Heena finished, her voice turning to ice, “then you’re about to die in the most painful way I can arrange. So I suggest you spend the walk to the throne room being absolutely certain about your accusations.”

She turned to Larus, who had moved to stand beside her, his presence solid and supporting.

“Are you alright?” he asked quietly.

“No,” Heena said honestly. “But we need to handle this properly. Publicly. With witnesses and evidence.”

“Agreed,” Larus said. He hesitated, then added, “For what it’s worth… I believe her.”

Heena looked at him sharply. “Why?”

“Because,” Larus said simply, “no one would make this accusation unless they were absolutely certain or absolutely insane. And she doesn’t seem insane. Desperate, yes. Frightened, definitely. But not insane.”

Heena considered this, then nodded reluctantly.

“The medical examination will tell us for certain,” she said. “This world may be ancient in many ways, but medical magic has advanced enough that they can determine parentage. It will take time—the child needs to be further along for the tests to be accurate—but it can be done.”

“How long?” Larus asked.

“At least three months into the pregnancy,” Heena said grimly. “Maybe four, depending on which magical methods are available. Until then, all we have is her word and whatever evidence we can gather about who she’s been… involved with.”

She started walking toward the throne room, her mind already racing through implications and consequences.

If Seraphina was telling the truth—if one of the five consorts had actually gotten the protagonist pregnant—

This was going to be an absolute disaster.

A political nightmare.

A scandal that would shake the entire empire.

And Heena would have to navigate it all while maintaining her authority, protecting her position, and dealing with five men who’d just become prime suspects in what could be the most explosive accusation in recent imperial history.

Behind her, Larus walked in supportive silence, and Seraphina followed, guarded on all sides, crying quietly and clutching her stomach.

The palace erupted into chaos as word spread:

’The protagonist is pregnant.’

’She claims it’s one of the consorts.’

’The Empress has called an emergency court session.’

’This is going to be GOOD.’

Within minutes, every servant, every noble, every person with any connection to the palace was rushing toward the throne room.

Because this—

This was going to be the scandal of the century.

And everyone wanted a front-row seat.

.

.

.

How could everything go so easily?

That was Heena’s first thought as she stood on her office balcony, staring out at the darkening palace grounds.

She’d thought—foolishly, perhaps—that Seraphina wouldn’t come here without a plan. That the protagonist wouldn’t make such a bold, scandalous accusation unless she had something to back it up.

And she’d been right.

The imperial physicians had examined Seraphina immediately. Their findings were… problematic.

The pregnancy was real. Approximately one month along. Too early for any magical DNA verification—those tests required at least three to four months of development before they could accurately determine parentage.

But that wasn’t even the worst part.

The worst part was that Seraphina’s body was weak. Fragile. The pregnancy was already showing signs of complications. The head physician had been very clear: attempting any invasive magical examination before the fourth month could endanger both mother and child.

And even at four months, they’d need to assess Seraphina’s condition carefully before deciding if the verification spell was safe to perform.

In other words: they were stuck. For at least three months, possibly longer, with nothing but Seraphina’s word and whatever circumstantial evidence they could gather.

A perfect trap.

Heena’s jaw tightened as she gripped the balcony railing.

She’d sent Larus away to rest. He’d been working too hard since the wedding—ceremonies, rituals, meetings, and now this disaster. He’d looked exhausted, and she’d insisted he go sleep. He’d protested weakly, but eventually conceded, trusting her to handle this.

Now she stood alone, trying to figure out her next move.

System 427 materialized beside her, floating nervously.

“Host,” he said carefully, “what should we do now? If it really is the female lead and male lead’s child, this could cause serious problems. But—” he brightened slightly, “—isn’t this also good? We can use this as evidence that the consorts are cheating on you! We could divorce them! Finally get rid of them and—”

“System,” Heena interrupted, not looking at him, her voice flat. “Shut up.”

The System fell silent, startled by her tone.

Heena continued staring out at the gardens, her expression cold and calculating.

“Do you know,” she said quietly, “that even after winning so many battles, collecting so much damned evidence of their incompetence and disloyalty, I have never once filed for divorce from those five men?”

The System blinked. “I… yes, Host, I’ve wondered about that. Why haven’t you? You have more than enough grounds—”

“Do you know *why* I haven’t?” Heena interrupted.

The System shook his head.

Heena finally turned to look at him, and her expression was grim.

“Because I can’t kill the male leads,” she said. “You know that. If I kill them before the story is completed, this entire world collapses. The narrative structure can’t support their permanent removal.”

“Right,” the System agreed. “But you could divorce them whenever you want now. You’ve weakened their power bases, you have Larus as your primary consort, you don’t need them politically anymore—”

“And yet I won’t divorce them,” Heena said. “Do you know why?”

The System looked genuinely confused. “No, Host. Why not?”

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