The atmosphere in the main palace is tense, everyone has been having a hard time working whenever the Empress and the King ended up in a similar area.
The King can be seen staring at the Empress with longing in his eyes while the Empress coldly disregards him. However, she can't help but communicate with him during meetings and anything that will need both their decision for their citizens.
Despite obtaining a higher position than Atlas, Shaelyn still respects his position as her King. Mainly because she constantly receives lectures from Norie whenever she coldly mocks and scorns him in front of the officials.
To create a more proper work atmosphere and to appease the citizens, the Empress and the King are formally communicating with one another, unlike the way they have talked before. The sole reason why the Empress is abiding by this, even though she barely holds herself from slashing the throats of anyone that will dare talk behind her back is because of Norie. And the fact that she hates working overtime from all the documents she needs to assess.
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Four months have passed by in a blur, with a few minor damage done by the Empress.
She has been unleashing all her stress by wrecking the training ground rather than killing anyone within her line of sight. It was primarily because Norie stayed by her side no matter where she went to prevent any further damage.
Meanwhile, King Atlas directed all his attention by improving her control of his mana and focusing on fixing the damage that was done during the ten-year war.
Even though he is itching to hold and talk with Shaelyn, he sought his best to place his duty as a King first. And improving his knowledge of the new Empire that Shaelyn created during his absence.
Duke Jasper has gone back to his territory since he can't stay absent for so long. The one that became Atlas' new right-hand man is Luther Simon. Ever since he came back, he is one of the first to help him and inform him of the new changes that happened in the last years.
And now, a parade of knights that being escorted by the knights of Baroom Territory have arrived inside the capital. They are carefully escorting a giant gift they have for the Empress, the Ashen Tree.
They worked all day and all night to build the proper pot that will allow the tree to survive. With the help of the mages that were sent by the empress to assist, they manage to carefully transfer the tree to a huge pot where they have drawn a magic circle that will teleport it directly in the middle of the capital.
As they are all busy gazing at the golden leaves of the tree, the knights are busy assisting all the pass-out mages, as they have exhausted every energy they have to teleport everyone including the tree.
It took at least a hundred mages that were left behind in the Saffron Kingdom, to teleport the tree. While it took at least fifty additional mages to teleport the remaining knights that were left behind back to the capital of the Empire.
The news of the golden tree appearing in the middle of the capital has reached the palace walls as King Atlas has already made his way to verify it with his own eyes.
And there he witnesses it... They are carefully escorting a giant gift they have for the Empress, the Ashen Tree. With its glittering gold leaves and unique symbols on its body, and there on its roots growing a beautiful patch of unique colored roses.
"Ashen tree... How?" Atlas mumbles as he continues to stare at the almost sixty meters high tree.
"What do you think of my gift to you, Atlas?" A cold voice asks from behind him as he saw from the corner of his eyes how all the citizens bow down their heads.
"Shae..." he mumbles as he turns around to confront her.
There she is standing, the cold-blooded Empress of the Empire. Wearing a glamorous dress still fit for moving comfortably. She is wearing a proud smirk of her rosy lips as she stares at the tree sitting perfectly in the middle of the capital.
"How did you discover this tree?" Atlas spoke as he took a step closer to her.
Shaelyn glance at him before, she can instantly smell his scent, despite the distance that they still have.
But she steels herself as she began walking towards the golden tree.
"Ten years... It was ten years ago when you decided to find this tree to help the Princess, yet it ended as a failure," The Empress started that made some of the citizens shiver as she passed by them.
"Ten years... It took me ten years to completely build this Empire the way it is now. Although I could have likely achieved it a lot earlier, still... I discovered something I never expected to find."
The moment she reached the tree, she glanced at the flower sitting perfectly in front of her.
Bending down, she plucks one of the flowers, twirling it around her finger as she turns to face them.
"Your journey ended nothing but a failure, but mine ended something unexpected. The flower that you tried so hard to find, landed so easily in my hands. Thus, since you have returned safe and sound, this is my gift to you," She spoke as a cold chuckle left her mouth.
A rare smile seems to creep on her lips as the flower she is holding began twinkling under the light of the sun.
She looks up from the flower she is starring as her eyes met with Atlas' gaze.
*Bathump! *Bathump!
Her heart began thumping loudly inside her as her thoughts began to swirl, causing her to take a step back.
An overpowering tune began humming in her ears as she can feel the burning warmth that the necklaces produce on her skin.
A look of confusion showed in her eyes as Atlas has begun taking steps closer to her.
"Shaelyn?" He asks in concern as Shaelyn stares at him in confusion.
"Atlas...?" She managed to mumble while staring at him in confusion.
Atlas flinch in surprise the moment he heard the familiar gentleness in her voice.
The aromatic scent of the flower invades her nose as her necklace kept on buzzing around her neck. The necklace seems to possess some kind of reaction with the flower she is holding as she tried to control the buzzing of her mana.
"What's happening??"
"The Empress looks ill? What happened to her??"
The crowd that has formed murmurs as they watched in concern and confusion.
A sturdy warm hand supports her the moment her world seems to sway.
"Shaelyn!" Atlas exclaims as he pulls her close to him.
She was about to push him away when...
"Blood!"
"She's coughing up blood!"
The crowd began to panic as they watch as their Empress began coughing out blood before she loses her consciousness.
"Everyone clear the area!"
The knights start taking control of the situation as they lead the King, with the unconscious Empress in his arms, away from the crowd and into a carriage waiting for them.