Her heels made a clicking sound as everyone she passes by, bow down their head in respect. The knights opened the door in front of her, revealing all the nobles, knights, and important figures of both the Caswell Empire ( former Caswell Kingdom) and the Lockser Kingdom.
They all bow down their head and curtsy in respect, as she made her way to the two golden thrones. Once she reached one of the thrones, her white long robe embedded with the new emblem of the empire flutters as she turns around to face her audience. The new emblem is a combination of both Lockser and Caswell's emblem, a blue dragon with its wings flapped open facing a carnation flower inside a magic circle.
She is wearing an off-shoulder navy blue gown made from pure satin, covered with silver dust making it sparkles like stars in the night sky. She is also wearing short white gloves made from pure silk, a silver ring decorated with rare blue diamonds can be seen on her ring finger. Her crown gleaming with all the jewels adorning it.
"Rise everyone."- she simply said as everyone in the room followed.
She scanned everyone's faces before a small smirk formed on her lips.
"Isn't this lovely? To see both the Lockers and Caswells all in the same room?"- her cold voice echoes in the whole room making everyone shiver in fear.
Ever since the day she arrived from the Baroom territory ( former kingdom), her aura has changed.
"Is there a problem?"- she asks squinting her eyes at them.
"N-no, your majesty. Y-your -majesty is right! This is a lovely scene!"- one of the nobles replied stuttering.
"T-that's r-right! It is thanks to her majesty's greatness that an empire was born!"- another added before everyone else's agreed.
Satisfied with their answer, she was about to sit down on her throne when someone has stepped forward.
"Your majesty... if I may?"- a familiar voice made her stop in her tracks.
"You may."- with a nod she let her speak up, while she sat down elegantly on her throne.
"My dear Empress.."- a voice whispers in her ear.
"I found out a way to come with you, aren't you proud of me?"- the voice whispers again.
"I apologize if this will sound rude, but... is this new war against the Gerban Kingdom necessary?"- the headmaster of the mage academy, Asha asks.
"Come on Empress~. I want to see some blood~. Or do you want me to give you a taste of my power?"- the sinister voice whispers again.
Lurking behind the golden throne, the shadow continues to whispers sweet words to the empress only to be ignored by her.
Shaelyn stares directly at Asha's gentle eyes before smirking, " It seems you have forgotten what they did to us."- her cold tone made everyone shivers once again.
"I did not, your majesty. But they have also paid for their mistakes. They have given us a large number of resources and land despite the poor situation of their kingdom. Is this not enough, your majesty?"- Asha's words made the nobles whispers with one another.
An irk mark appeared on Shaelyn's forehead as she taps her fingers loudly on the arms of her throne.
"So what are you saying?"- she asks irritatedly.
"I'm only saying that they have paid enough for their mistakes. Their people will suffer if we continue this, please change your mind... your majesty."- Asha said as she bows her head slightly.
Some of the nobles also did the same as her, while others only whisper with one another.
"Please change your mind, your majesty!.."- they petition once again, still bowing their head at her.
Shaelyn raises her right hand, her necklace buzzing along with her magic.
Her mana flow to her raised hand and it turns into a silver staff with a large silver crystal on the top.
She holds the staff tightly before she taps it loudly on the marbled floor.
As the sound of the staff echoes, ice began to spread around the room covering the walls and floors except for the floor beneath the nobles and knights.
"What is happening ?! "-
"Ice?! How did this happen?!"-
"Did you see that?! The staff appears out of nowhere?!"-
The nobles and officials are all panicking except the knights in the room.
The knights merely observed the reactions of the nobles, they all remained unfazed with what they have witnessed. Jasper has already brief them about the empress's new behavior, he also has given them advice not to act recklessly.
"Silence!!"- with just one word from her, all the noise died down. Everyone shut their mouth shut, averting their eyes from the Empress's cold gaze.
"Headmaster Asha... are you questioning my position as this empire's one and only empress?"- she asks in a cold voice, the temperature seems to drop down even more than when the ice almost covered the whole room.
Except for the knights' stamina, almost everyone in the room is now shaking in both fear and cold.
"I'm not questioning her majesty's position, but I am questioning your motive behind this decision."- Asha firmly stated.
Shaelyn scoffs, she stands up from the throne making the nobles flinch.
The sound of her heels clacking is the only sound you can hear in the room.
She signals the two knights near her before she grabs Asha by her face. Asha's heartfelt like needles stabbing them as she stares at the unfamiliar gaze staring at her.
"Why are you doing this?.. what happened to you, Shaelyn?"- Asha's voice trembles as she raises her right hand to touch Shaelyn on her cheek.
There is a small but familiar voice in her mind protesting and begging her to stop, but... Shaelyn pushes the voice aside.
"How. Dare. You. !! Who do you think you are to casually call me by my name!!"- Shaelyn pushes Asha's hand away from her face before pushing her to kneel on the ground.
Everyone was shocked by what they have witnessed, they were well aware of what kind of relationship the two have.
Asha was about to stand up when the two guards push her back to kneel on the ground.
"Why are you doing this?! "- with tears on the corner of her eyes she tried to push away the guards that are holding her.
Shaelyn's cold gaze staring directly at Asha's teary ones.
"I remember you asking me a question that time... Asha. 'Who I am? Who I want to be known as?'"- she paused, as she took a step closer to her before grabbing her face harshly.
"Is this your answer then? A cold-blooded empress?!"- Asha cry out, her tears falling down her face.
A cold smirk spread on her lips, her cold gaze bore straight into Asha's.
"Yes... this is my answer."- she whispers to her ear before pushing Asha away from her. She walks back to her throne, tapping her silver staff on the icy marbled floor.
"Hear me all of you..! From today onwards, anyone who will defy my orders will be punished depending on their crimes. From getting imprison while stripping away their assets and power, to getting beheaded in front of everyone! That is the new punishments I will imply!"- she announces as all the knights kneel.
"And.. anyone who will do anything harmful on the mages will be crystallized immediately. This is the beginning of our empire! A new era of magic!"- she raises both her hands as her staff glows brilliantly.
Everyone in the room kneeled in front of her as they chant, "Long live the Empress!! Long live the Empress!!".
Asha lowered her head, biting her lips until it bled as her tears continue pouring from her eyes. She has lost both her daughters who she has treasured dearly.
========
Ten long years have passed since the empire has been established. The empress continues to reign for those ten long years as she wages war against the Gerban kingdom and the Saffron kingdom, who have decided to ally with the Gerban kingdom.
The war continues to rage for ten painfully long years, many lives have been lost and many properties have been burned.
Blood had been shed, tears had dried up, scars have been formed yet the war continues to live.
The Baroom territory has become the main camp, as the empire's main army was being led by the empress herself, Empress Shaelyn. Her powers continue to grow until she became the most powerful mage in the land.
She left all her obligations and paperwork to Jasper and Norie, placing them in charge of everything with the help of the medallion she gave to them. Norie was given the title of Countess as Jasper was also given the title, the prime minister of the empire.
Duke Vesper Laxis has openly proposed to Countess Norie the moment he managed to came back to the capital. Though they weren't so open about their relationship back when they were at the academy, the two have continued to communicate with one another in secret. The date of their marriage has yet to be settled since both of them are too busy helping the empress.
On the other hand, Jasper has been continuously receiving love letters and gifts from the young noble ladies in the capital. None of them have been accepted by him as he is not interested in marrying anyone yet aside from his job.
Upon hearing the death of the one he loves, Lawrence began to train more harshly. He blames himself for not stepping in, to stay by her side.
He has a lot of what if's, but he already knows that he is way too late. He has already lost the only person he truly cares about.
After seeing how Shaelyn changes, he became a knight mage to be able to protect her from afar. No matter how painful it is just to be near the person that causes Clara's death, he still stays close to her just to fulfill the promise Clara once mention to him.
"Why do you always stay by her side?"- Lawrence's curiosity got better as he asked this question Clara.
Clara only gave him a bright smile, as she went back to staring at Shaelyn from afar. They are currently inside the classroom that overlooks the training grounds. Since Clara did not want to disturbed Shaelyn with her training, she chooses to watch her from inside the classroom.
"Because I want to protect her, she was raised by people who only fed her lies and manipulated her. I.. want to show her that the world can be colorful if she's with the right people. That's why... Lawrence, can you help me protect her?"- Clara's warm gaze bore straight into his, as his heart starts drumming inside his ribcage.
—-
With the help of the mages who have pledged their loyalty to her, the security of the empire has gotten tighter.
Every day she bathed herself with the blood of her opponents, her eyes show excitement as she mercilessly killed her enemies. A cruel smirk permanently spread on her lips, her blood-covered sword always on her hand making everyone shivers in fear whenever she passed by. Her hair has been dyed with red from her opponents' blood, making it look more like strawberry blond than its original color.
When Princess Sierra passed away before she went to the battlefield, she just stares at her lifeless body coldly, before ordering Norie to plan the funeral for her. The whole empire mourned for the princess's death, every citizen wore black that lasted for a month. They turned their grief to hatred, upon hearing that their empress did not even bother to mourn the Princess's death.
She has fully become a bloodthirsty, cold-blooded Empress whose name can give one... nightmare for days.
===
He doesn't know how many days or months have passed by, all he can do is continue to float in this never-ending abyss.
Once in a while, he will be able to hear someone reading him a story, or just talking randomly about things she has seen that day.
He knew nothing about who is this person, but for some reason, he wanted nothing but to strangle their throat.
A sharp pain emerges from his shoulders as he felt himself being pulled back to the abyss.
But.. a blinding light made him open his eyes. Blinking a few times, he finally manages to see his surroundings.
"You're finally awake~... Atlas."- an annoyingly familiar voice greeted him, making him glance around the room to finally see an annoyingly familiar face of that voice.
Atlas tried to speak but his dry throat prevented him. He can only glare at the fairy sitting comfortably on her chair while smirking at him.
"What's the matter, dear rude boy? Do you still remember me~?"- the fairy asks teasingly, as she closes the book she's reading.
Atlas gritted his teeth as he tried to move his numb arms.
"What's the matter? Oh right!... you've been asleep for too long. Well, allow me to help you."- with a flick of her finger a bright glowing ball of light appeared in front of her and flew towards Atlas.
The ball of light inserted itself in his body making him feel like warm liquid started flowing through his veins. Once the light died down, he can feel his strength back as he ripped apart the vines that are holding him back.
"You!..—"- Atlas was cut off when a heavy force made him kneel on the ground in front of the fairy.
"Now, now~... before you start saying your speech. Do you even know how many years you were asleep here?"-the fairy asks with a smirk on her lips while staring directly at him.
"... what do you mean by years?"- Atlas asks confused.
"Fufu~. It means you've been asleep here for years, dear~. About ten years to be precise."
"How can I know that you are not tricking me?"- Atlas asks, forcing himself to stand up despite the force that keeps him down.
"Then why don't you try to see it for yourself. But... just a little warning, a lot of things have changed since ten years ago. Good luck~."- the fairy whispers a spell and a magic circle appeared on the floor where Atlas is standing.
Atlas's body started glowing before he felt himself floating from the ground. A flash of light made him blind for a few seconds before he felt his body move in a different place.
He felt someone staring at him intensely, he opens his eyes only to reveal...
"Y-your... your majesty?!"- the crew and knights that he took with him to travel to the forbidden land are all staring at him with tears in the corner of their eyes.
"..what happened?"- he weakly asks upon seeing their aged faces.
It seems like the fairy wasn't lying after all.
===
"We should end this madness!! "- Duke Fraitchell shouted before slamming his hands on the table spilling his tea.
"The Princess has already passed away yet the king is still nowhere to be seen! What we will do if he didn't come back alive?! The royal family's bloodline will be lost!"- Duke Howell said with a hint of panic in his voice, he is pacing back and forth in the drawing-room they were in.
Duke Fraitchell and Duke Howell are currently inside the drawing-room of Duke Shannon. The three dukes are holding a secret meeting regarding the situation of the empire.
Though they earned a lot of fortunes over the years that have gone by, they still want to find a way to remove the power from the empress.
"If... that happens, then just like what her majesty have said before— it will be the start of a new era! But this time, it will be a start of a new royal bloodline."- Duke Shannon said with a smirk on his lips, while he casually took a sip on his tea.
"That being said... your daughter is currently one of the people that her majesty entrusted with her authority. Why don't we use her?"- Duke Howell suggested as he finally sat down on the couch.
Duke Shannon swirls his tea lightly before placing it down on the table.
"I'm afraid that will be pointless... you see I have mistakenly throw away that daughter of mine a long time ago. I have expected her to be useless but... to think she would be a surprisingly important piece. What a waste!"- he said with a frown as he picks up a pawn from the chessboard.
.
.
.
After three years of building the empire, the three dukes have built their forces and tried to overthrow the empress. When the empress heard of the rebellion, she uses the last teleporting globe and immediately teleported to the capital from the battlefield.
She leads the magicians and the soldiers in the capital along with the nobles that continued to support the throne. They fought the forces of the three dukes along with their supporters, the capital becomes a bloody battlefield as the citizens have fled to Duke Vesper's territory.
It didn't take that long for the empress to win against them. Those who became part of the rebellion group have all their properties and titles been stripped away.
They were either been hang to death or imprisoned for the rest of their lives. While their main leaders have all their family members, except those that have sided with the empress during the fight.. were exiled from the empire and its territories, which led them to wander around. The leaders themselves have their heads chopped off in the middle of the capital for everyone to see.
The Fraitchell Dukedom has been taken over by the Citewell household.
The Empress herself appointed Simon as the new Duke and to take care of the responsibilities of the territory. This declaration has surprised the nobles especially since Simon is well known as the troublemaker of the Citewell household.
Though, once Simon has accepted the title that was given to him, he dutifully fulfilled his role and gradually improved the situation in his territory.
As for the Shannon Dukedom, Cyphil Rosa has been given the title of the Duchess. She too has lived up to the expectation of the Empress much to everyone's surprised.
Considering that came from a baron family, they have expected her to suffer from the sudden pressure. Since Norie has long been cast away as part of the Shannon family, she is the one who suggested to the Empress to give the title to Cyphil.
The title of Duke of the Howell Dukedom has passed down to Jasper, who also was acting as the Prime Minister. Because Jasper will be buried with work, the Empress revoked his position as the Prime Minister and only gave him the title of the new Duke of the Howell Dukedom. Jasper continues to help Norie in managing the work in the capital.
While Duke Vesper Laxis has been given the title of the very first Grand Duke of the empire.
This is the report that made Atlas' realized, that a very long time has passed since he left his kingdom.
=================