CHAPTER 189: CHAPTER 189: DUTY [2]

Chapter 189 – Duty [2]

Lydia looked at her daughter and saw her face suddenly change, becoming cold... and lifeless. A pleased, almost sinister smile crept onto her lips.

"Yes," Lydia said, "that’s who you were supposed to be, Rose. An Empress... and in this world where men are mostly in power, we need to be cold like ice in order to carve our own marks into the history of this world."

"Do you understand me?" she asked, as she elegantly crossed one leg over the other.

If any of her words had touched the fire inside Rose, she didn’t let it show as she simply nodded, her face expressionless.

"Now tell me, how would you solve the situation caused by House Nirvel?" Lydia asked, her heterochromia eyes glinting fiercely.

"We kill them," Rose said directly, without a shred of hesitation, before she added, "The first time I failed because of unforeseen circumstances. This time it will be different, I’ll kill all of them and bring their heads to you, Mother."

"That’s what a foolish ruler would do," Lydia answered back, shaking her head in refusal.

"You already failed and House Nirvel has surely already contacted the Houses who stand against us, seeking help to defeat us. And I don’t need to tell you that if they do succeed in reuniting... then we will fall, Rose." Her voice couldn’t help but carry a sharp note of anger every time she thought about it.

But there was no use wasting time on the past. What mattered now was finding a way out.

"Then... what’s the solution?" Rose asked, unsure of what to say.

Politics had never been her strongest suit. She only knew how to fight, how to kill.

Her mother had tried relentlessly to teach her the games and masks of power, to make her versed in that domain... but she simply couldn’t grasp it.

Just like a child who couldn’t understand the weight behind her parents’ cruel gaze.

Hearing her question, Lydia stood from her throne and walked toward the wide, glassed windows, where she looked down at her city — DamnedCity.

She watched the few people walking through the streets, their bodies swaying as if they might collapse at any moment. She looked at the starved horses, ribs sharp beneath stretched skin, pulling carriages so old and broken they looked ready to fall apart with a single breath of wind.

The ground was cracked.

The houses were worn and sagging.

Everything reeked of ruin, of dust, of poverty and even... of famine.

Even the sun in this land was different. If the sun of the Celestial Empire burned like the heart of a dying star — pulsing, powerful, bright — then the sun of the Empire of the Damned was a dim ember, a single dying photon... dull, silent, forgotten in a world of ash.

There was a constant forlorn silence that spread across the city, a silence so deep it dragged the people into something worse than despair...

...resignation.

And if even the capital was in this state... then how were the other cities faring?

Lydia clenched her hands tightly behind her back as the weight of the empire pressed down on her shoulders like a celestial mountain...vast and relentless, threatening to crush her until nothing but mashed meat would remain.

She had told Rose her duty was to kill, to wage wars, to fight for the empire.

But Lydia’s own duty was heavier.

Her duty... was to make the Empire stand again.

To ensure the Empire her mother had passed down wouldn’t disappear like dust scattered in the river of time.

No... she didn’t want her empire to become a mere refuge for those who had lost everything and had nowhere else to go.

How could she face her ancestors, then?

That’s why she had to do it.

It didn’t matter if her daughter lost all emotion and grew to hate her.

It didn’t matter if her granddaughter broke and became traumatized.

It didn’t matter if the entire world condemned her.

Her duty was clear.

To make the empire rise... rise beyond anything else.

Even if it had to rise over the dead bodies of billions.

Even if she had to lose herself completely inside that pursuit.

Even if there was nothing left of Lydia Drought... but duty.

Rose stood behind her, looking at the back of her mother who, in that moment, seemed so desolate and lonely. But that flicker of feeling vanished as Lydia regained hold of her emotions and spoke:

"They want to dethrone us. They want our authority. They want this empire to be theirs, right?"

"Then tell me... what would happen if an external enemy came knocking at our doors? Would they fight us? Or would they fight that enemy first, just to protect what they believe is theirs?" she asked, her voice laced with sinister amusement.

Rose, meanwhile, slowly stepped back, her eyes widening with realization.

"M-Mother... don’t tell me...?" she muttered, her voice shaking.

Lydia turned her head toward her, a deep, unsettling smile curling her lips, the kind of smile that sent a sharp chill crawling down Rose’s spine.

"Yes, my daughter. The West is a barren land ruled by far too many powerhouses. Can’t you see our current state? At this rate, even before they strike us... we’ll die from hunger and thirst."

"So it’s time, my daughter... it’s time."

She began to walk away, heading toward her quarters.

"Be ready, Rose. We will wage war on all the Western powerhouses... and we will use their blades to kill the snakes hiding inside our own home."

Rose shuddered.

"But Mother, we’re not ready yet! We’re not strong enough to wage war on them! We’ll all die!" she shouted urgently.

But Lydia didn’t turn her head.

"We will be ready. We have to be ready, Rose," she said, her voice calm but heavy... heavy with something deeper than rage, deeper than ambition... something buried, something helpless.

Because...

"If we don’t fight, we’ll die either from the venom of the snakes already inside our walls... or from the ruthlessness of nature, of hunger and thirst."

"But if we fight, even if the chances are slim, we still might win. And don’t forget, Rose... we are warriors. We are not cowards. Don’t stain our legacy with fear."

"We were born in death... born damned... and we will plunge all of them into the droughted soil, until the dead are their only companions."

Finally, Lydia disappeared.

But one final sentence echoed behind her, like a curse left to linger:

"We still have around five years to prepare. Our reserves will hold until then, and the snakes won’t dare to strike until we’re at our lowest point. So be ready."

Rose stood there, alone, her mother’s words echoing like thunder inside her skull.

’In five years...’

’Valentine will only be eight.’

’Will she... experience war at only eight?’

The heart Rose thought she had shut off, the one she believed had turned to stone, cracked.

She had tried to bury her feelings.

She had told herself she was no longer a woman, no longer a mother — just a sword, just a tool.

But how could she not worry?

How could she not ache at the thought of her daughter walking through blood and death at such a young, innocent age?

Ah...

What could be worse... than a mother unable to protect her child from the cruelty of the world?

It hurt.

Oh... it hurts.

...

Two weeks had passed, and Kaden was now close to Waverith.

After making Alea beautiful — stunningly so — and ensuring there were no hidden Cerveau spies, he had immediately departed, riding on his black steed who, quite mysteriously, was still alive.

And now, here he was, just a couple of miles away from the forest beside Waverith.

Today was Friday and it was also morning.

The time Kaden had planned — without the other party’s consent — to meet The Seer.

’I’ve trained my trash-talking skills along the way to the best of my abilities. Now I’m confident,’ Kaden thought, a smirk plastered on his face.

Soon, he reached the forest and positioned himself in a spot that gave him a wide view of anyone entering or exiting the area.

He took out his famed black mask, with red stains beneath each eye, and wore it leaving only his blood-like gaze visible.

But Kaden wasn’t an idiot. He knew his eyes were too unique, too striking so he had obtained an artifact to alter both his hair and eye color.

He activated it.

His blood-red gaze turned simple black. His wild, dark hair shifted into a calm, light grey.

Then he changed clothes, donning a long black robe with flowing fabric and a hood that covered most of his face.

Making sure nothing could tie this masked figure to his real identity, Kaden stood atop a tree and waited.

But he didn’t have to wait long.

Soon after, he saw a hauntingly beautiful, blue-haired woman walking calmly and leisurely toward the entrance of the forest.

The Seer... had arrived.

—End of Chapter 189—