Chapter 195: Chapter: 195 The tyrant empress!

The emperor and empress’s eyes widened. Shock and horror filled their faces.

For a long moment, neither of them could speak. It was as if time itself had stopped.

Their son’s headless body lay on the ground.

And the one who had done it was their own daughter.

The emperor’s lips trembled. After a long pause, he tried to speak, but no words came out.

The shock in his eyes did not fade.

Instead, pain slowly filled them. His chest

felt tight, as if his heart was being crushed.

The empress was in an even worse state.

She stared at the body on the ground, her mind refusing to accept what she was seeing.

She opened her mouth again and again, trying to speak, but no sound came out.

Her hands shook violently. Her vision slowly blurred as reality hit her all at once.

“Charlotte—!”

She screamed her daughter’s name with all her strength. The next moment, her body went limp, and she collapsed to the ground.

“Evelyn!”

The emperor rushed forward and caught her before she hit the floor.

Holding her in his arms, his eyes turned bloodshot.

Grief, pain, and betrayal burned inside them as he slowly lifted his head to look at Charlotte.

“Capture her!!!” he shouted.

His voice echoed across the silent square.

Vikram, who had been standing there in shock, finally reacted. He quickly drew his sword and took a step forward.

But before he could move any further—

Charlotte snapped her fingers.

“Stop,” she muttered calmly.

In an instant, invisible threads shot through the air.

They wrapped tightly around Vikram’s body, freezing him in place.

His eyes widened in fear as he realized he could not move a single finger.

Charlotte smiled.

It was calm. Cold.

She walked forward step by step, her footsteps echoing clearly in the dead silence.

No one dared to block her path. No one dared to breathe.

She passed the fallen body without even glancing at it.

Her eyes were fixed on one place only.

The throne.

Charlotte walked past her father, who was holding her mother’s limp body in his arms.

He looked up at her with bloodshot eyes. There was pain, anger, and disbelief in his gaze.

Charlotte did not stop.

As she continued walking, her eyes shifted to her two remaining brothers. She looked at them and smiled faintly.

“Do you want to compete with me?” she asked calmly.

The two princes froze.

Their faces were pale. Fear filled their eyes as the scene from moments ago replayed in their minds.

Neither of them could bring themselves to speak. Almost at the same time, they hurriedly shook their heads.

“No… no,” they whispered.

“Good,” Charlotte said softly.

She reached the throne and slowly ran her right hand along the armrest, her fingers brushing over its surface.

In her left arm, the child was still sleeping peacefully, unaware of the bloodshed and chaos around him.

Charlotte turned around and sat down on the throne.

She carefully placed the baby on her lap, making sure he was comfortable.

Then she crossed her arms and looked down at everyone gathered in the square.

Her voice was calm. Clear. Absolute.

“From today onward,” she said, “this empire belongs to me.”

No one moved. No one dared to breathe.

“If I tell you to obey,” she continued, “then you will obey.”

She paused for a moment, her cold gaze sweeping across the crowd.

“If anyone has objections,” she said flatly, “keep your mouth shut.”

Her eyes darkened.

“Or die.”

Silence swallowed the entire square.

In that moment, everyone understood one thing—

A new ruler had taken the throne.

From that day on, the rule of a tyrant began.

Nobles, citizens, and officials had no power.

Everything moved according to the new empress’s will. No one dared to speak against her. No one dared to revolt.

Fear ruled the empire.

One year later, the empress announced war against the Zakir Empire.

The war lasted for three long years.

Countless lives were lost. The battlefield was soaked in blood.

Cities were ruined, and fields turned into graves. Neither side could gain the upper hand, and the war dragged on without end.

Until one day..

The empress herself descended onto the battlefield.

She moved like a force of nature. In a single day, she slaughtered an entire battalion.

Soldiers fell one after another, unable to resist her power.

At the end of it all, she personally killed the commander of the Zakir Empire.

With his death, the war came to an end.

The Zakir Empire surrendered.

But peace did not last.

Soon after, the empress prepared to start another war.

Before she could, Duke Tramplin of the Indrath Empire declared his independence and announced war against the empire.

Many noble families betrayed the throne and joined Duke Tramplin’s side.

The empire was thrown into chaos once more.

The empress responded without mercy.

One by one, the rebel territories fell. Every land was conquered, except for the duke’s own territory, which remained locked in battle.

When the war finally ended, all nobles who had betrayed the empire were dragged before the people.

They were executed in public.

Their deaths were meant as a warning.

Betrayal would never be forgiven.

In the fifth year of Charlotte’s tyrannical rule—

On this day, Charlotte was inside her room.

Her expression was gentle as she looked at her five-year-old son, who was happily swinging a wooden sword.

His face looked more and more like his father’s with each passing year.

His blue eyes shone brightly as he swung the sword again and again. After a while, he stopped and walked toward his mother.

Charlotte raised her hand and gently waved it. A towel appeared, and she carefully wiped the sweat from his face.

“Mom, did you see?” the boy said with a cheerful smile. “I’m getting stronger every day.”

“Yes,” Charlotte said softly with a smile.

This smile was different from her usual cold one. It was warm. Real.

“It’s getting late,” she added gently. “Go and sleep.”

Hearing that, the child frowned.

“But Mom, I can’t sleep yet,” he said.

“Why?” Charlotte asked.

“Didn’t you say Father is stuck somewhere?” the boy said seriously.

“I want to be strong. Strong enough to go where he is and save him.”

Hearing his words, Charlotte’s eyes wavered.

She looked at him closely.

She had never told him the truth…that his father was dead, and that he would never see him in this life.

Instead, she had told him that his father was trapped somewhere, waiting to be saved.

She swallowed her emotions as she looked into his clear blue eyes.

They reminded her too much of him.

Charlotte did not argue.

She let out a quiet sigh and gently waved her hand.

The moment she did, the child’s vision blurred. A deep sleepiness washed over him.

“N-not again…” he muttered weakly, swaying on his feet.

Then he collapsed onto the floor and fell asleep.

Charlotte stood there in silence, watching him.

After staring at him for a while longer, Charlotte sighed again.

She walked over and gently picked him up in her arms. His red hair fell over his eyes, and Charlotte softly blew it aside.

She carried him to the bed and carefully laid him down.

She looked at his peaceful face for a moment, then turned her gaze away and lay down beside him.

Soon after, she snapped her fingers.

A black pendant appeared in her hand.

Charlotte looked at it quietly. The pendant was no longer the same as before. Half of it had turned white.

Her eyes filled with pain and longing as she stared at it.

“Do you see him?” she whispered. “He wants to see you…”

Her voice trembled slightly.

“But… wouldn’t that be impossible?”

As always, there was no reply.

Still, she continued speaking.

“But don’t worry,” she said softly. “No matter what it takes, I will save you. Even if it costs countless sacrifices.”

As her words faded, a sudden whoosh sounded from outside the window.

Charlotte’s gaze shifted.

She stood up from the bed and walked toward the window. The moment she reached it—

“Screech—!”

A sharp eagle’s cry echoed above the palace, loud and piercing.

Charlotte’s expression hardened instantly.

She put the pendant back into her subspace and rose into the air, shooting upward toward the sound.

The night sky swallowed her figure in an instant.

She flew toward the source of the sound.

The moment she rose higher into the sky, she saw it—

A majestic eagle, its wings spread wide as it flew through the night air.

“An eagle?” Charlotte frowned slightly as she moved toward it.

The eagle noticed her and changed direction, flying straight toward her.

As it drew closer, Charlotte’s eyes narrowed. She noticed a faint trail of blood following behind it. Tied to its leg was a letter, fluttering in the wind.

From that letter, a faint aura leaked out.

Charlotte’s heart skipped a beat.

That aura… it was spiritual energy.

Not just any kind.

It was the aura of a Grandmaster.

The moment she sensed it, her eyes widened in shock.

Her breath caught.

“Edward…?”

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