Fell.
’THUMP.’
His body remained standing for another heartbeat before collapsing to the ground, blood pooling rapidly across the marble floor.
The severed head rolled a few feet before stopping, his expression still frozen in mid-plea.
Absolute silence.
Blood splattered across the nearby nobles who’d been standing too close. It dripped from the edges of the throne platform. It stained Heena’s white gloves crimson.
She looked down at the still-twitching body, then at her blood-covered sword, and said flatly:
"Shut up."
Her voice was calm. Conversational. Like she was comnting on the weather.
She turned to look at the remaining nobles—all of whom had gone deathly pale, their faces frozen in expressions of shock and terror.
"You will not speak," Heena said clearly, "until I tell you to speak. Do you all think this is your house? That you can start shouting whenever you feel like it? Secretary Chen hasn’t even finished reading the entire docunt, and here you are, disturbing with your noise."
Everyone trembled.
Heena brought the sword up and wiped the blood off the blade with her hand—her actual hand, not even using a handkerchief. The blood sared across her white gloves, turning them completely red.
She looked at the blood coating her fingers with clinical detachnt, then turned to look at the assembled nobles.
"It seems," she said quietly, "that I’ve beco too generous lately. Is that it? If not, how dare you bastards even try to squabble in my court like common marketplace vendors?"
She walked slowly along the line of nobles, and every single person she passed flinched away.
"Let’s see... you can’t handle a generous Empress, hmm? Then perhaps we should rule just like before. Like in the old days. When Empress Celeste stood on battlefields covered in enemy blood and no one ’dared’ raise their voice in her presence."
She stopped in front of Duke Valen and Duke Ashford.
Her eyes were absolutely cold—empty of warmth, empty of rcy, just cold calculation and barely contained violence.
Both n, despite their decades of experience, despite their military backgrounds and political power, trembled.
They tried to control it, but they couldn’t quite hide the fear.
Duke Ashford, recognizing the danger, made the smart choice. He dropped to his knees imdiately, bowing his head low.
"Your Majesty," he said in a grave, carefully controlled tone, "this is a misunderstanding. We have always followed you and this empire’s laws. We have done everything in our power to make this empire prosper. In all these years, we have never—’never’—thought about doing anything against the throne. How could we possibly attempt such treason?"
Duke Valen followed suit, also dropping to his knees. "Your Majesty, we are loyal servants of the crown. This accusation is—"
Heena raised her still-bloody sword and placed the flat of the blade on Duke Ashford’s shoulder.
He went absolutely rigid.
She looked down at him as blood from the sword dripped onto his expensive robes, staining the fabric dark red.
"How funny, Duke," she said softly. "I think I’ve been hearing these sa lines quite frequently. About being loyal to the country. Being loyal to the empire. Being loyal to . Being loyal to the gods. These lines... don’t you think they’re quite familiar? I’ve heard ’everyone’ say the exact sa things."
She paused, letting the silence stretch.
"And yet sohow, there are still assassination attempts. Still plots against the throne. Still traitors hiding behind pretty words about loyalty."
She pressed the sword down slightly, not enough to cut, but enough that he could feel the weight of the blade.
"So forgive , Duke Ashford, if I’m not particularly moved by your protestations of innocence."
The nobles watching this scene couldn’t believe what they were seeing.
This wasn’t the Empress they’d known for the past year—the one who’d been relatively lenient, who’d played political gas with strategy instead of violence, who’d seed almost... soft.
This was soone else.
Soone cold-blooded. Ruthless. Terrifying.
This was the Empress Celeste from the legends. The one who’d conquered the Orohu Kingdom. The one who’d stood in battlefield trenches covered in blood and laughed.
They’d almost forgotten she existed.
Now they rembered.
And they were absolutely ’terrified’.
Heena lifted the sword from Duke Ashford’s shoulder and turned to address the entire assembly.
"Let make sothing very clear," she said, her voice carrying to every corner of the throne room. "Emperor Consort Larus is under my protection. An attack on him is an attack on . An attack on the imperial throne itself."
She gestured with her bloody sword at Lord Pemberton’s corpse.
"This is what happens when you waste my ti with pointless noise and panic. Imagine what will happen if you’re actually found ’guilty’ of treason."
She walked back toward her throne, leaving bloody footprints on the marble.
"You have until sunset to provide evidence of your innocence. Financial records. Alibis. Proof that soone else used your accounts without authorization. Anything concrete."
She sat down, still holding the bloody sword across her lap.
"If you cannot provide such evidence, I will assu guilt. And your families—all of them, every generation—will be stripped of titles, lands, and wealth. Your nas will be erased from the imperial records. Your bloodlines will be reduced to commoner status."
She leaned forward slightly.
"And those directly responsible for authorizing the assassination attempt? Execution. Public. Slow."
The threat hung in the air like poison.
"You are dismissed," she said flatly. "Use your remaining ti wisely."
The nobles scrambled to leave, so of them literally running from the throne room in their haste to escape.
The two dukes stood slowly, their knees shaking, and backed out while maintaining their bows.
Within minutes, the throne room was empty except for Heena, Secretary Chen, and the guards.
And Lord Pemberton’s corpse, still bleeding onto the floor.
Heena looked at the body with clinical detachnt.
"Have that cleaned up," she said. "And send his head to his family with a note: ’He forgot to be quiet.’"
"Yes, Your Majesty," Secretary Chen said, his voice completely neutral despite having just witnessed an execution.
He paused, then added carefully, "That was... quite a statent, Your Majesty."
"It needed to be made," Heena replied. "People were starting to forget who they’re dealing with."
She stood and looked down at her blood-covered gloves and robes.
"I need to change. And probably bathe. Blood is annoying to get out of fabric."
"Of course, Your Majesty."
As Heena walked toward the exit, she called back, "Oh, and Secretary Chen?"
"Yes, Your Majesty?"
"Make sure word of this spreads. I want everyone to know exactly what happened here today."
"It will be the talk of the empire by sunset, Your Majesty."
"Perfect."
Heena left the throne room, still carrying her bloody sword, her expression absolutely calm.
Behind her, servants rushed in to clean up the execution.
And in the palace corridors, whispers were already spreading:
’The Empress just executed a noble in open court.’
’She didn’t even hesitate.’
’She’s back. The real Empress Celeste is back.’
’We’re all in danger.’
And in their various estates and hos, the accused nobles were scrambling desperately to find evidence of their innocence.
Because they’d just witnessed what happened to people who annoyed the Empress.
And none of them wanted to discover what she did to people who actually ’betrayed’ her.
The ga had changed.
And Heena had just reminded everyone exactly who held all the power.
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