Chapter 19: The Crown’s Hidden Chamber

The capital had fallen strangely quiet.

Evelina's announcement had spread through the city like a storm.

The people had learned that the royal family was hiding a terrible secret. The Crown was not as pure as they had believed, and the mysterious Core Engine beneath the palace was connected to something far older than the current Empire.

But Evelina knew that what she had revealed was only the surface.

The deeper truth was still waiting.

Inside the temporary command hall, Evelina stood before a large map of the capital.

Her eyes moved across the palace grounds.

“Corvin,” she said.

“Yes, my lady?”

“Tell me what you found.”

Corvin placed several documents on the table.

“Most of the royal advisors have escaped. A few were captured before they could leave the capital.”

“Bring them here.”

Corvin hesitated.

“They're frightened.”

Evelina gave him a calm look.

“They should be. But I don't want fear. I want answers.”

Corvin nodded.

“There is something else. Several palace servants reported seeing the Emperor enter an underground section of the palace shortly before he disappeared.”

Evelina's expression changed.

“Underground?”

“Yes. According to the old records, there are tunnels beneath the palace that were sealed many years ago.”

Lucien, who had been standing near the window, turned toward them.

“How old are those tunnels?”

“Older than the palace itself.”

Silence filled the room.

Evelina looked back at the map.

“Then that's where we're going.”

Lucien immediately walked toward her.

“No.”

Evelina raised an eyebrow.

“No?”

“You're not going there without me.”

A faint smile appeared on her lips.

“I wasn't planning to.”

His expression remained serious.

“Whatever is beneath that palace recognized you.”

“I know.”

“It called you home.”

“I heard it.”

Lucien stepped closer.

“Then you should understand why I'm not letting you face it alone.”

For a moment, their eyes met.

There was something unusual in Lucien's gaze.

Not fear.

Regret.

Evelina's smile faded.

“Fine,” she said quietly. “You can come.”

Lucien's expression softened.

“I would have followed you anyway.”

The entrance to the underground passage was hidden beneath the old throne room.

Corvin's people discovered it behind a stone wall covered with ancient symbols.

There was no keyhole.

Only a handprint carved into the black stone.

Evelina stepped forward.

“I'll open it.”

Lucien reached for her wrist.

“Be careful.”

“I always am.”

She placed her hand against the stone.

Red light immediately spread across the door.

[SYSTEM NOTICE.]

[ROSENTHAL BLOODLINE DETECTED.]

[ACCESS GRANTED.]

The ancient door slowly opened.

Cold air rushed from the darkness.

A long staircase descended beneath the palace.

Evelina stared into the darkness.

“So they needed my bloodline.”

Lucien shook his head.

“Perhaps they feared it.”

They began walking downward.

The walls were covered with ancient paintings.

Some showed the Imperial Crown.

Others showed people gathered around a strange machine.

At the center of every painting was the same symbol.

A black circle surrounded by a red eye.

Evelina stopped.

“That symbol…”

“The Core Engine,” Lucien said.

“No.”

Evelina touched the wall.

“This is older.”

The System suddenly appeared.

[WARNING.]

[UNKNOWN RECORD DETECTED.]

[DATA NOT PRESENT IN ORIGINAL SCRIPT.]

Evelina's eyes narrowed.

“Not present?”

The screen flickered.

[CORRECTION.]

[THIS INFORMATION WAS NEVER RECORDED.]

A cold feeling settled in her chest.

Someone had not simply hidden this history.

Someone had erased it.

They continued deeper.

Then—

Boom.

A strange sound echoed through the tunnel.

Boom.

Boom.

Like the heartbeat of something buried beneath the earth.

Corvin stopped.

“My lady…”

“I heard it.”

Lucien moved closer to Evelina.

“Stay beside me.”

She looked at him.

“Not behind you?”

His lips curved slightly.

“Beside me is better.”

Evelina gave him a small smile.

“Agreed.”

They finally reached the bottom.

An enormous black door stood before them.

But what caught Evelina's attention were the names carved into its surface.

Her breath stopped.

EVELINA ROSENTHAL.

Beside it was another name.

LUCIEN VALEMONT.

Corvin stared at the door.

“How is that possible?”

Evelina couldn't answer.

The System appeared again.

[CRITICAL DISCOVERY.]

[TWO SOUL RECORDS DETECTED.]

[REGISTRATION: ONE HUNDRED YEARS AGO.]

Lucien's expression became cold.

“One hundred years…”

Evelina stared at her own name.

“That can't be me.”

Then the door opened.

No one touched it.

A voice came from the darkness.

“Finally.”

The voice was calm.

Ancient.

Almost amused.

Evelina stepped forward.

“Who are you?”

A pause followed.

Then the voice answered.

“The wrong question.”

Two red lights appeared beyond the doorway.

“The question you should ask is…”

The darkness seemed to smile.

“…why were you brought back?”

Evelina froze.

[SYSTEM ERROR.]

[MEMORY SEAL DETECTED.]

[MEMORY FRAGMENT RESTORATION IN PROGRESS.]

Suddenly, images flashed through her mind.

A white room.

A strange machine.

A woman standing behind glass.

A familiar voice calling her name.

Then Lucien appeared.

But he was different.

Older.

Wounded.

Standing beside the same machine.

Evelina stumbled.

Lucien caught her immediately.

“Evelina!”

She gripped his coat.

“I remember…”

His eyes widened.

“What?”

She looked at him, shaken by what she had seen.

“You.”

Before Lucien could speak, the darkness beyond the door began to glow.

A massive chamber slowly revealed itself.

Countless crystal-like containers filled the room.

Inside each one was a faint light, as though memories had been preserved within them.

At the center stood a machine far larger than anything Evelina had seen before.

It was not the Core Engine.

Something else.

Something older.

Above it was a single inscription.

THE FIRST DRAFT.

Evelina stared at the words.

The System flickered violently.

[IDENTITY RECORD RESTORED.]

[ORIGINAL ROLE: UNKNOWN.]

[CURRENT ROLE: EVELINA ROSENTHAL.]

[WARNING: THE TWO RECORDS ARE IDENTICAL.]

Evelina's breathing became unsteady.

She looked at Lucien.

Then at the machine.

“I wasn't simply placed inside this story…”

Her voice was barely a whisper.

“I was connected to it before the story even began.”

The ancient voice answered from the darkness.

“Now you are beginning to remember.”

The chamber trembled.

And for the first time, Evelina understood something terrifying.

The Crown had not created the story.

The System had not created the story.

Something had existed before both of them.

Something that had been waiting for her return.

And now…

it was ready to show her why.