Chapter 15: The Hidden Prisoner

The Imperial Palace had fallen silent.

Not the peaceful kind of silence.

It was the silence that came after a storm.

Evelina stood inside the palace corridor, staring at the sealed doors behind her.

The Emperor was still alive.

Cedric was in the dungeons.

Princess Alice had been stripped of her protection.

And the Imperial Army had surrendered.

Yet Evelina couldn't shake the feeling that the real battle had only begun.

The strange message from the System remained in her mind.

[WELCOME BACK, EVELINA ROSENTHAL.]

She had never seen those words before.

Why would the System say welcome back?

She was supposed to be a transmigrated soul.

She had memories of another life.

She knew this world as a novel.

At least…

That was what she had believed.

Lucien walked beside her.

“You've been quiet.”

Evelina looked at him.

“I'm thinking.”

“About the System?”

“Yes.”

Lucien's expression became serious.

“You don't have to face it alone.”

Evelina stared at him for a moment.

Then she smiled.

“I know.”

Before Lucien could reply, hurried footsteps came from the end of the corridor.

Corvin appeared.

He stopped in front of them and bowed.

“My Lady.”

“What happened?”

“We searched the royal archives as you ordered.”

Corvin lowered his voice.

“We found something.”

Evelina's expression changed.

“Take me there.”

“Yes.”

They followed Corvin through a hidden passage beneath the palace.

The deeper they went, the colder the air became.

Stone walls replaced marble.

Golden decorations disappeared.

The palace above felt distant.

After several minutes, Corvin stopped before an old iron door.

“There.”

Evelina looked at it.

“What is behind that door?”

Corvin hesitated.

“A prison.”

Lucien's eyes narrowed.

“A royal prison?”

Corvin nodded.

“It doesn't appear on any official palace records.”

Evelina stepped closer.

She placed her hand against the iron.

Cold.

Very cold.

Dark magic moved beneath the metal.

“This isn't an ordinary prison.”

She looked at Lucien.

“Open it.”

Lucien raised his hand.

Black shadows gathered around his fingers.

CRACK!

The lock shattered.

The iron door slowly opened.

A dark corridor stretched beyond it.

Torches burned with weak blue flames along the walls.

Evelina walked inside.

One cell.

Then another.

Most were empty.

But at the very end of the corridor stood a single cell.

Something moved inside.

Evelina stopped.

“Someone is there.”

Lucien stepped in front of her.

“Stay back.”

A weak voice came from the darkness.

“Don't…”

Everyone froze.

The voice sounded old.

Tired.

But strangely familiar.

“Don't come closer.”

Evelina narrowed her eyes.

“Who are you?”

Silence.

Then the figure slowly stepped into the blue torchlight.

An elderly man appeared.

His clothes were torn.

His long silver hair was dirty.

His body was thin and covered in old scars.

But it was his eyes that caught Evelina's attention.

They were the same color as hers.

Amber.

Evelina's breath stopped.

“Who…”

She couldn't finish the question.

The old man stared at her.

His eyes widened.

Then his entire body began to tremble.

“No…”

He whispered.

“It can't be.”

Evelina stepped closer.

“Who are you?”

The old man gripped the bars.

“You…”

His voice shook.

“You have her eyes.”

Evelina's heart began beating faster.

“Whose eyes?”

The old man looked toward Lucien.

His expression changed.

“You brought him with you.”

Lucien's face became cold.

“You know me?”

The old man gave a bitter laugh.

“I know the Duke of the North.”

He looked back at Evelina.

“And I know what happens to every woman who stands beside him.”

Lucien's hand moved toward his sword.

Evelina raised her hand.

“Wait.”

She looked at the prisoner.

“Tell me your name.”

The old man remained silent for several seconds.

Then he answered.

“Elias Rosenthal.”

Evelina froze.

Rosenthal.

Her family name.

“You're…”

She struggled to speak.

“My grandfather.”

The old man nodded.

For the first time, emotion appeared in his eyes.

“Yes.”

Evelina stared at him.

According to the original story, her grandfather had died twenty years ago.

He had been described as a weak old duke who lost his fortune through bad decisions.

His death had supposedly left the Rosenthal family struggling to survive.

But he was alive.

He had been imprisoned beneath the palace.

For twenty years.

“Why?”

Evelina's voice became cold.

“Why were you imprisoned?”

Elias looked away.

“Because I discovered the truth.”

“What truth?”

He stared at her.

“The truth about our family.”

Evelina stepped closer.

“What did you discover?”

Elias lowered his voice.

“The Rosenthal family was never supposed to be a noble family.”

Evelina frowned.

“What does that mean?”

“We were guardians.”

“Guardians of what?”

Elias looked toward the ceiling.

“The Core Engine.”

The air seemed to freeze.

Lucien's expression darkened.

Evelina stared at the old man.

“You knew about the System?”

“I knew about the thing beneath this palace.”

Elias's voice trembled.

“It existed long before the empire.”

He pointed toward the floor.

“The royal family found it three hundred years ago.”

“And the System?”

Elias shook his head.

“The System came later.”

Evelina's eyes narrowed.

“Who created it?”

“I don't know.”

That answer surprised her.

Elias continued.

“But I know why it was created.”

He looked directly into her eyes.

“To find souls.”

Evelina's stomach tightened.

“To find souls strong enough to awaken the Core Engine.”

Silence filled the prison.

Lucien stepped closer.

“And Evelina?”

Elias's eyes became filled with fear.

“She is the strongest soul the Core Engine has ever found.”

Evelina didn't speak.

Her fingers slowly curled into fists.

The System.

The royal blood pact.

The Core Engine.

Her death.

Everything was beginning to connect.

But there was still one question.

“Why was I killed in the original story?”

Elias looked at her sadly.

“Because your death was necessary.”

“For what?”

“To complete the awakening.”

Evelina's eyes turned cold.

“Then the original story wasn't a story.”

Elias shook his head.

“It was a plan.”

A terrifying silence followed.

The System suddenly appeared before Evelina.

[NEW INFORMATION DETECTED.]

[ORIGINAL STORY DATA: 31% CORRUPTED.]

[WARNING: MEMORY INCONSISTENCY.]

Evelina stared at the message.

Memory inconsistency?

She suddenly remembered something.

A scene from her previous life.

A white room.

Bright lights.

Someone calling her name.

Then darkness.

She had always believed she died in an accident.

But now…

She wasn't so sure.

“Evelina?”

Lucien's voice pulled her back.

She looked at him.

“I'm fine.”

Lucien didn't believe her.

But he didn't push.

Instead, he quietly reached for her hand.

His fingers wrapped around hers.

Warm.

Steady.

Real.

Elias watched them.

A sad smile appeared on his face.

“So it happened again.”

Evelina looked at him.

“What happened?”

“The bond.”

His gaze shifted to Lucien.

“The same bond that appeared in the previous cycle.”

Lucien's expression changed.

“You know about the previous cycles?”

Elias nodded.

“Three.”

Evelina's eyes widened.

“Three?”

Elias looked at her.

“In every cycle, Evelina Rosenthal dies.”

His voice became barely a whisper.

“And every time…”

He looked at Lucien.

“The Duke of Valemont remembers.”

The corridor became completely silent.

Lucien didn't deny it.

Evelina slowly turned toward him.

“You knew.”

Lucien met her gaze.

“I remembered pieces.”

“Why didn't you tell me?”

“Because I didn't know if you would believe me.”

Evelina stared at him.

Then she understood.

The strange familiarity.

His protectiveness.

The way he had looked at her from the moment they met.

He hadn't simply fallen for her.

He had been searching for her.

For years.

For lifetimes.

Evelina tightened her grip around his hand.

“Then this time…”

Her voice was quiet.

“We change everything.”

Lucien's eyes darkened.

“This time, you live.”

Evelina looked toward the dark corridor.

“No.”

A slow smile appeared on her lips.

“This time, everyone who wrote my death…”

Her amber eyes burned with determination.

“…will watch me destroy their ending.”

Behind them, the System flickered.

[HIDDEN CONDITION DETECTED.]

[HOST SURVIVAL RATE: 35%.]

Evelina smiled.

It was the highest number she had seen since awakening.

But she wasn't satisfied.

Thirty-five percent wasn't enough.

She wanted one hundred.

And she was willing to tear apart the entire empire to get it.