The moment I stepped out of the study hall, my mind still buzzing with thoughts of monsters and ancient wars, I heard the explosion.
It wasn't subtle.
The walls shook. The chandeliers rattled. A plume of black smoke and flickering embers erupted from down the corridor, followed by the unmistakable screams of terrified nobles.
I sighed.
Took exactly three steps forward.
Paused.
Turned my head toward the destruction.
Yes.
That was definitely the Royal Council Chamber.
And I knew, without a single doubt, who was responsible.
A second explosion shook the walls.
Someone shrieked.
A voice roared, "YOU DARE ARGUE WITH ME?"
Ah.
Yes.
There it was.
Mother was in a mood.
Before I could process the sheer level of chaos unfolding in real-time, my system chimed.
[ New Mission: Stop Your Mother from Eradicating the Council Before She Declares War on Half the Continent. ]
Rewards:
• +7 Intelligence
• A Random Class-Tier Magic Ability
• Your continued survival in a semi-functional empire
I blinked at the screen.
Rubbed my temples.
Took a deep breath.
"Of course," I muttered. "Of course, I get a mission now."
I had just escaped a lesson on politics, only to be thrown into a real political crisis.
Life was deeply unfair.
Still, letting Mother burn down the entire council was probably a bad idea.
Mostly because I'd be the one cleaning up the mess later.
Sighing, I adjusted my posture, straightened my clothes, and marched toward the smoldering disaster zone.
As I approached, the sheer heat in the air grew stronger, like walking into a storm of barely contained rage.
The council chamber doors had been blown off their hinges, currently lying in ruins against the marble floor. Inside, the long meeting table had been split in half, charred beyond repair.
A group of nobles some singed, some shaking, all deeply regretting their life choices were pressed against the farthest wall.
And in the center of the room, standing amidst the destruction like a goddess of war, was my mother.
Verania.
Golden flames curled around her fingertips, flickering dangerously as she glared at the gathered officials. Her crimson coat, still perfectly intact, flared slightly as she turned, surveying her work.
She looked… pleased.
The nobles?
Less so.
One poor soul, a duke judging by his gold-embroidered sash, looked moments away from fainting. Another was whispering prayers.
I pinched the bridge of my nose.
I hadn't even walked in yet, and I was already tired.
"Mother," I called out, stepping over the ruined doors.
Every noble in the room flinched.
Verania turned toward me, eyes still glowing with barely restrained fury.
"Elyzara," she said, voice much too calm for someone who had just committed architectural terrorism. "What a surprise."
I arched an eyebrow. "Not really. You just exploded half the palace."
She shrugged. "It was only this room."
A noble made a strangled sound from the back.
I sighed. "Should I even ask?"
She smiled, but there was zero warmth in it. "We had a disagreement."
I glanced at the terrified officials.
One of them an older noble with a very unfortunate mustache quickly stepped forward. "Your Highness!" he gasped. "We were merely discussing… an economic proposal when Her Majesty—"
"An economic proposal?" I repeated, deadpan.
I turned to Verania.
"You blew up the room… over economics?"
She folded her arms. "I found their reasoning insulting."
A noble whimpered.
I exhaled through my nose. "Alright. What specifically did they say?"
Verania's golden eyes burned. "They suggested lowering military funding."
Ah.
There it was.
The reason half the empire was currently on fire.
Verania, my dear, explosively-inclined mother, had one rule in life.
You do not question the military.
You do not weaken the army.
You do not suggest peace when war is more efficient.
This council had clearly forgotten that.
I took another step forward. "Mother, you can't just destroy every noble who makes a bad suggestion."
Her eyes narrowed. "Why not?"
I blinked.
She sounded genuinely confused.
Sylvithra was going to lose her mind when she heard about this.
One of the younger nobles, still shaking, tried to salvage the meeting. "We— we did not mean any offense, Your Majesty!"
"Then why are you still speaking?" Verania snapped.
He immediately shut up.
I sighed, dragging a hand down my face.
Verania was moments away from turning these people into ash.
I needed to defuse the situation.
Quickly.
"Mother," I said slowly, using my best diplomatic tone, "if you incinerate half the council, then you'll have to replace them."
She tilted her head. "So?"
"That means paperwork."
Verania stilled.
For the first time, she hesitated.
A horrible, soul-crushing thought was sinking into her mind.
Paperwork.
Endless documents. New appointments. Bureaucracy.
A fate worse than death.
She let out a long, suffering groan, rubbing her temples.
"Fine," she muttered. "I won't kill them today."
I exhaled in relief.
Progress.
Except she tilted her head, golden eyes still burning with barely contained wrath. "But exile is still an option."
My relief died instantly.
I pinched the bridge of my nose. "Mother—"
"Or public humiliation," she continued, completely ignoring me. "I could have them arrested for incompetence. No, that's too light… Maybe send them to the front lines? Let them see what it's like to be without military funding—"
"Mother."
Verania turned to me, her face the picture of innocent malice. "What?"
I folded my arms. "You cannot throw the noble council into a battlefield just because they suggested an economic policy you don't like."
She blinked. "Of course, I can."
I dragged my hands down my face. "That was not a challenge—"
"It would be a valuable learning experience," she added, genuinely considering it.
"Mother, no."
She sighed dramatically, placing a hand over her heart. "Elyzara, you don't understand. These fools—" She gestured broadly to the ruined chamber. "—are weak. They have lived in comfort for too long, coddled by wealth and titles. They have forgotten what power is."
Her voice was filled with scorn, like just saying the word "noble" left a bad taste in her mouth.
I sighed. "Maybe because their job isn't to fight. It's to govern. Which means you can't kill them every time they annoy you."
She arched an eyebrow. "Then what's the point of being Empress?"
I stared at her.
She stared back.
I massaged my temples, realizing that I was in for a very long argument.
"Mother. You do understand that if you remove them all, you will have to replace them, right?"
She waved a dismissive hand. "Easily done."
"With who?"
She shrugged. "The palace guards. They're far more competent."
I nearly choked.
"You want to replace the ruling council… with the military?"
"Why not?"
"Because that's literally how dictatorships start!"
She looked offended. "We are already a dictatorship, Elyzara."
I groaned.
This was going nowhere.
She folded her arms, tapping her fingers against her sleeve. "You're worrying too much. If I remove them, we'll just appoint new ones. Nobles are replaceable. It's not like I'm getting rid of the entire system."
Yet.
She didn't say it, but I heard it.
I took a deep breath. "Just… think about this rationally."
Her expression was flat. "I am being rational."
"You just exploded a room."
"That was measured restraint."
"The walls are still on fire."
"Yes, but the nobles are still alive. See? Control."
I groaned.
This was a disaster.
I had one job stop her from murdering the noble class and I was failing spectacularly.
She tapped a finger against her chin. "If I exile them, we can make it an event. Public trials are always entertaining."
I gasped. "You want to make a spectacle out of this?"
She grinned. "Why not? I think the citizens would enjoy it."
I stared in horror.
This was not just a temper tantrum.
She was genuinely considering purging the government.
And no one was stopping her.
I ran a hand through my hair, trying to find some way to make her rethink this.
"Okay," I said, forcing my voice to stay calm. "What if we just… punish them a little? No exile. No public humiliation. Just… a stern warning?"
She blinked at me.
Then laughed.
Actually laughed.
"Oh, Elyzara," she sighed, wiping an imaginary tear from her eye. "That was adorable."
I wanted to scream.
She wasn't going to budge.
At least, not yet.
I needed more time.
I needed a better plan.
Before I could think of one, the palace shook violently.
A deep, resonating tremor, like the very foundations of the world had woken up.
Verania stilled.
I turned my head toward the ground, my skin prickling.
Something was wrong.
A low, echoing groan vibrated through the stone.
The temperature in the room dropped.
Verania's expression darkened. "That… wasn't me."
The system pinged violently in my head.
[ Alert: A Sealed Entity Has Stirred. ]
[ The Cataclysmic-Class Ward Beneath the Palace Has Been Disturbed. ]
I froze.
Verania's golden eyes flicked to me.
"What," she said, "did you do?"
"I," I replied, voice deadpan, "was about to ask you the same thing."
Her lips pressed into a thin line.
The ground rumbled again, louder this time.
The system flashed another warning.
[ WARNING: SEAL DESTABILIZING. PRESENCE DETECTED. ]
I swallowed.
This was very bad.