Chapter 14: The Emperor's Last Stand

The golden doors of the Imperial Palace stood before Evelina.

For centuries, those doors had opened only for kings, nobles, and the most powerful people in the empire.

Tonight, they opened for her.

And they would never be the same again.

Evelina walked through the palace halls with Lucien at her side.

The sound of her boots echoed against the polished marble floor.

Behind them marched the Northern soldiers.

Their heavy footsteps filled the palace with quiet pressure.

The Imperial guards who remained inside did not dare raise their weapons.

They had already seen what happened at Castle Iron-Clad.

They knew the empire's strongest army now stood behind Evelina.

The palace servants pressed themselves against the walls as she passed.

Some looked terrified.

Others looked curious.

Whispers followed her.

“That's Lady Evelina…”

“The villainess…”

“She captured the Crown Prince.”

“She brought the Northern Army into the capital.”

“She is going to challenge the Emperor.”

Evelina heard every word.

She simply kept walking.

She had once dreamed of walking through these halls as a princess.

Now she walked through them as a conqueror.

Lucien glanced at her.

“Are you nervous?”

“No.”

Evelina's answer came without hesitation.

Then she looked toward the massive doors at the end of the hall.

“I've already defeated the prince.”

Her lips curved into a faint smile.

“Now I only need to deal with his father.”

Lucien's eyes darkened with amusement.

“And if the Emperor refuses to surrender?”

Evelina looked at him.

“Then I'll give him a reason to change his mind.”

They stopped before the throne room.

Two Imperial guards stood at the entrance.

Their hands trembled around their weapons.

One of them stepped forward.

“His Majesty ordered that no one enter.”

Evelina stared at him.

“Did he?”

“Yes, my lady.”

Lucien moved forward.

Dark mana slowly gathered around his hand.

The guard immediately stepped back.

Evelina raised one hand.

“Don't.”

Lucien stopped.

Evelina looked at the guard.

“You have two choices.”

Her voice remained calm.

“You can open the door.”

She paused.

“Or I can.”

The guard swallowed.

A moment later, he turned around and opened the throne room doors.

The great hall was dark.

Only the fire from several golden lamps lit the room.

At the far end sat Emperor Alaric.

He was no longer the powerful ruler Evelina remembered from the original story.

His crown remained on his head, but his hands shook against the arms of his throne.

Around him stood the remaining royal guards, court officials, and several frightened nobles.

And beside the throne—

Princess Alice.

Her beautiful face was pale.

Her once-perfect dress was wrinkled.

Her eyes were red from crying.

The moment Alice saw Evelina, hatred flashed across her face.

“You…”

Her voice trembled.

“You really came.”

Evelina stopped several steps away.

“Yes.”

Alice clenched her fists.

“You destroyed everything.”

Evelina tilted her head.

“No.”

Her voice was quiet.

“You destroyed everything yourself.”

Alice's face twisted with anger.

“You stole Prince Cedric from me!”

A few nobles lowered their heads.

Evelina almost laughed.

“Cedric was never mine.”

She took another step forward.

“And I certainly don't want him.”

Alice froze.

Evelina's amber eyes became cold.

“You can keep him.”

Alice stared at her as if she had been slapped.

The Emperor finally spoke.

“Enough.”

His voice was old but still carried authority.

“Evelina Rosenthal.”

Evelina turned toward him.

“You have invaded the Imperial Capital with a foreign army.”

“Foreign army?”

Evelina smiled.

“The Northern Army belongs to the empire.”

Her gaze moved toward Lucien.

“They simply stopped obeying a corrupt throne.”

The Emperor's expression darkened.

“You dare accuse the Imperial Crown of corruption?”

“I don't dare.”

Evelina's smile disappeared.

“I know.”

Silence filled the throne room.

The Emperor slowly stood.

“You are still a noblewoman.”

His eyes narrowed.

“You have no right to stand before your Emperor like this.”

Evelina looked at the golden crown on his head.

Then back at him.

“You're right.”

She slowly removed the black signet ring of the Raven's Eye from her finger.

She held it up.

“But I am no longer the woman you remember.”

The corrupted System suddenly appeared in front of her.

[WARNING.]

[HIGH-LEVEL ROYAL AUTHORITY DETECTED.]

[SYSTEM UNIT 009 ATTEMPTING TO RESTORE ORIGINAL STORYLINE.]

Evelina's eyes narrowed.

Not now.

The System had been quiet since the destruction of the Holy Temple.

Now it was trying to interfere again.

The Emperor raised his hand.

“Activate the Royal Seal.”

The nobles looked confused.

Evelina's expression changed.

“Royal Seal?”

A strange red light suddenly appeared beneath the throne.

Ancient symbols began glowing across the marble floor.

Lucien immediately stepped in front of Evelina.

His dark mana spread across the room.

“What is that?”

The Emperor smiled.

For the first time that night, there was confidence in his eyes.

“You thought destroying the Holy Temple would free you?”

His smile became cruel.

“You destroyed only one connection.”

The red symbols grew brighter.

“The System was never controlled by the Temple.”

Evelina's heart skipped.

“Then who controls it?”

The Emperor looked directly at her.

“The Imperial Throne.”

The words echoed through the chamber.

Evelina's expression became cold.

So Malakor had not been lying.

The blood pact truly existed.

But there was something else.

Something the High Priest had not told her.

The System flickered violently.

[SECRET INFORMATION DETECTED.]

[ROYAL BLOOD PACT CONFIRMED.]

[WARNING: HOST SOUL CONNECTION DETECTED.]

Evelina's eyes widened slightly.

“My soul…”

The Emperor smiled.

“Yes.”

His voice became almost gentle.

“Now you understand.”

Lucien's expression turned deadly.

“What did you do to her?”

The Emperor ignored him.

“Every person brought into this world through the System carries a special soul.”

Evelina's hands slowly tightened.

“A soul strong enough to power the Core Engine.”

The room went silent.

Alice stared at the Emperor in confusion.

“Father…”

Even she seemed unaware of the truth.

“What are you talking about?”

The Emperor didn't answer her.

His eyes remained fixed on Evelina.

“You were never meant to survive.”

Evelina felt a cold sensation move through her chest.

The words reminded her of the hidden System log.

Soul Harvest.

Chapter 150.

Everything was connected.

The original story.

The System.

The royal family.

The Holy Temple.

And her death.

But then Evelina smiled.

The Emperor frowned.

“Why are you smiling?”

“Because…”

Evelina slowly raised her head.

“…you just made a very important mistake.”

“What mistake?”

“You told me the truth.”

Her amber eyes burned with determination.

“That means I no longer have to guess who my enemy is.”

Dark purple magic began gathering around her fingers.

The nobles stepped backward.

Lucien smiled.

He knew that look.

Evelina was no longer reacting.

She was planning.

The Emperor shouted,

“Royal Guards! Seize her!”

The guards moved.

But they never reached her.

Lucien lifted one hand.

A wall of black ice erupted from the floor.

CRACK!

The guards were thrown backward.

Evelina walked through the frozen mist.

Her eyes never left the Emperor.

“You built your entire empire on a lie.”

She stopped at the foot of the throne.

“You turned people into tools.”

Another step.

“You used the royal bloodline to control the System.”

Another.

“And you expected me to follow the story until Chapter 150.”

The Emperor's face turned pale.

“How do you know about Chapter 150?”

Evelina smiled.

“That is the question you should be asking.”

She leaned closer.

“Because now I know something you don't.”

The Emperor stared at her.

Evelina's voice dropped to a whisper.

“I am no longer following your story.”

The System flashed before her eyes.

[UNAUTHORIZED PATH DETECTED.]

[ORIGINAL STORYLINE DEVIATION: 47%.]

[WARNING: DESTINY COLLAPSE IN PROGRESS.]

Evelina smiled.

“Good.”

She turned away from the throne.

“Let it collapse.”

Lucien stepped beside her.

His hand found hers.

The Emperor stared at them in disbelief.

“You think you can destroy the empire?”

Evelina looked back.

“No.”

Her eyes were filled with absolute confidence.

“I intend to rebuild it.”

Then she walked away.

Behind her, the Emperor remained frozen beside his throne.

For the first time in his long reign—

He was afraid.

Not of Lucien.

Not of the Northern Army.

But of the woman who had once been nothing more than a disposable villainess in his carefully written story.

And somewhere deep inside Evelina's mind, the corrupted System whispered one final message.

[NEW HIDDEN QUEST UNLOCKED.]

[QUEST: DISCOVER THE ORIGIN OF THE CORE ENGINE.]

[REWARD: UNKNOWN.]

[FAILURE: SOUL HARVEST.]

Evelina's smile slowly disappeared.

The game had changed.

And now—

She was going to find out who had written the rules.