The black smoke from the fire at the Empress's bedchamber had not yet fully dispersed over the sky of the Ice Kingdom, but the air inside the Frost Grand Hall was already glowing red with the shimmering candlelight and the heavy scent of wine.
Emperor Kieran made no attempt to conceal his recklessness or his ambition for supreme power. He hosted a grand court banquet that very night, summoning all the nobles of the Old Aristocracy as well as high-ranking dignitaries of the Old Church.
Tonight was no mere celebration of victory. Tonight was a bloody warning that the young monarch intended to strike at those calculating behind his back.
Seated regally on the highest animal-pelt throne in the hall, Kieran leaned back with an imposing posture, loosely holding a silver goblet inlaid with gemstones. His broad black robe embroidered with gold thread was open at the chest, revealing a solid torso, while his cold ash-gray eyes swept over every noble face below. The crystal chandelier reflected off his eyes, creating sharp glints like a sword drawn from its sheath.
And right beside him, on a seat half a meter lower, sat the girl, perched before the astonished gazes of the entire court.
Her slender body was clad in a luxurious yet extremely tight-fitting deep purple velvet gown that highlighted her delicate contours while concealing a furious strength within.
However, the center of attention throughout the grand hall was the brand-new pair of iron shackles on her wrists. The old, incinerated Dark Gold shackles had been replaced by Blood Ice Crystal shackles—a rare metal capable of absorbing and suppressing extreme magic, forged anew by Kieran’s own hands in magical flames.
Slender silver chains extending from the shackles were tethered directly to the frame of his throne, turning her into a beautiful, proud, yet exceedingly dangerous display piece.
"Your Majesty!"
An old duke belonging to the Old Aristocracy faction stepped into the center of the hall, raising his wine goblet, though his face overflowed with indignation and scrutiny. His plump frame trembled with each breath as he bowed his head, though his voice carried an inquisitive edge:
"May I take the liberty of asking Your Majesty why such a terrifying magical accident as the fire at the Empress's bedchamber was overlooked so easily? And more importantly... why is a filthy border beggar woman allowed to sit so prominently beside Your Majesty during a grand ceremony of the Ice Kingdom dynasty?"
"A magical accident?" Kieran curled his lips into a deeply sarcastic half-smile. He tilted his head to take a sip of red wine, his gaze never leaving the duke. "Duke Orloff, do you call a magical outburst caused by exploding shackles an 'accident'? Or are you implying that someone's interference kindled that flame?"
"Your Majesty!" A cardinal from the Church immediately stood up, questioning in a tense, furious tone.
"All royal Mages present at the scene confirmed that the fire possessed an extremely sinister magic nature! It destroyed the royal gold-plated bedchamber and rejected all water magic! The Church believes this creature of unknown origin is the seed of disaster, a harbinger of ill omen devastating our Ice Kingdom! We request Your Majesty hand her over to the Church for judgment!"
"Judgment?"
The girl on the seat moved slightly. The Blood Ice Crystal metal clanked together in a cold rattle. Her deep purple eyes slowly swept over the cardinal, her chapped lips curling into a mocking smile. Though her hands were bound by the ice-cold metal, her back remained straight, showing not a shred of fear before the cold, hostile gazes of hundreds of officials.
"Hand me over to you for what?" The girl’s voice was raspy yet echoed across the grand hall.
"So you can bestow another bowl of Ice Tear Poison? Or to quietly eliminate someone you cannot control?"
"You... What reckless nonsense are you speaking?!" The cardinal's face drained of color, and he hastily waved his hands to interrupt her. "Your Majesty! Do not listen to the slanders of a lunatic!"
"A lunatic?" Kieran set his wine goblet down on the stone table with a sharp, loud clatter that plunged the entire hall into a deathly silence. "Or is your Church terrified of an unnamed mortal? Has someone you repeatedly call a 'beggar woman' panicked the Church to this extent?"
"We, afraid of a beggar woman? How laughable!" Duke Orloff nervously stroked his gray beard, trying to salvage the Old Aristocracy's dignity in the face of the monarch's taunts.
"A filthy creature picked up from the Border ash pile, without noble bloodline or family backing! That fire was merely a random magical accident caused by overloaded magic inside the shackles! How could she possibly have the standing to concern the Church and the Aristocracy?"
"Indeed! The Duke speaks correctly!" Numerous murmurs of agreement rose from the banquet tables among the noble officials.
"It was merely a random magical accident! How could a filthy wild beast possess such terrifying power?"
"Your Majesty holds her in far too high regard! Keeping such a lowborn creature beside your pillow only stains the noble royal bloodline!"
"What trouble could a shackled prisoner cause anyway? No matter how strong the fire was, it was just random dark magic!"
Bitter, contemptuous taunts echoed throughout the Frost Grand Hall. The arrogant nobles hurled disdainful glances at the girl, convincing themselves that the white fire that burned the bedchamber was nothing more than a lucky coincidence. They did not want to believe—and did not dare to believe—that a creature they trampled upon harbored a power capable of destroying the entire dynasty.
Kieran listened quietly, his ash-gray eyes flashing with cruel, deep glints. He turned to look at the girl beside him, his deep voice carrying just loud enough for her to hear amidst the whispers:
"Do you hear that? They say you're just a wild beast that got lucky. They consider you a lowborn creature defiling this shrine."
The girl did not evade his gaze. She tilted her head, the Blood Ice Crystal chains clanking with proud defiance. Her deep purple eyes blazed with a wild light, and her raspy voice rose, cold and razor-sharp as frost:
"Do the mooching dogs in this dynasty... always talk so much and act so blind? They fear their own shadows yet love to foam at the mouth in front of their master."
Kieran burst out laughing. The Emperor’s wild, roaring laughter echoed throughout the hall, crushing the calculating whispers of the officials below.
"Well said!" Kieran leaned down, his coarse fingers adorned with gold rings raising her chin, forcing her to look straight into his eyes.
"That is precisely why I keep you around. Because you are the only one in this rotten palace who does not fear me... and the only one who dares to roar at the Church in front of the entire court."
Standing in a dark corner of the banquet hall, Chief Attendant Hester—her hand wrapped in white bandages from where the girl had snapped her fingers days prior—watched the scene with bloodshot eyes full of hatred. She bit her lip until it bled, secretly signaling to a group of musicians performing in the center of the hall.
The Church had never abandoned its plot.
Following the bitter failure of the Ice Tear Poison, the High Pontiff had prepared a more ruthless, sophisticated, and decisive plan. Among the musicians playing romantic harps and flutes amidst the banquet was a supreme assassin secretly raised by the Church since childhood. This assassin possessed Invisible Magic so deceptive it could completely erase breath and heartbeat. In his hand was a Cactus Dagger—a weapon forged from the thorns of an ancient beast, steeped in a ruthless magic poison capable of ending the life of any high-ranking Mage with just a single small scratch.
The music suddenly shifted into a rapid, eerie, and mournful melody. The harp resonated alongside the deep thrum of drums, creating a mesmerizing atmosphere.
Kieran remained lounging on his throne, idly raising his red wine goblet to his lips for a sip. He was enjoying his dominance over the officials below and the girl's defiance beside him, completely unconcerned by the subtle movements nearby.
SWISH!
Suddenly, the space directly behind the animal-pelt throne warped abnormally!
The air tore open into a razor-thin, pitch-black fissure. Out from the void, a thin dark shadow lunged at terrifying speed! The assassin was completely invisible to the naked eyes of mortals, revealing only an intensely bone-chilling bloodlust emanating from the raised Cactus Dagger mid-air.
The Church's target tonight was not the girl. Their true target was to eliminate Kieran—the arrogant Emperor who dared defy the High Pontiff's supreme command and protect the seed of disaster!
The dark black dagger emitted a terrifying gray-green toxic vapor, slicing through the air straight toward the back of Kieran's neck at a lethal angle!
The event transpired in a fraction of a millisecond. The distance was far too close, and the Invisible Magic had concealed all mana fluctuations right up until the fatal strike was thrown.
The officials below were still busy clinking glasses and praising the music, completely unaware of the deadly poison descending upon their monarch. The Mages guarding the throne stood nodding off at a distance.
All automatic magical defense arrays carved into Kieran's throne had not yet recognized the danger to activate in time against this ruthless invisible speed.
The sharp dagger carrying icy death sliced through the air, flashing a cold gray steel light, merely half an inch away from the skin of Kieran's neck!
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