The grand hall of House Ardent had not changed.
Still cold. Still towering. Still too quiet.
The chandeliers above sparkled like icicles, and portraits of long-dead dukes watched from the walls with judging eyes. I walked beneath them slowly, footsteps echoing against polished marble, until I reached the tall double doors that led to my father's audience chamber.
Two knights opened them.
"Lady Evelyne," one announced.
I stepped in.
Duke Reginald Ardent, head of the house, stood by the window with his back turned. Even in shadow, he radiated power—broad shoulders, silver-streaked hair, a presence that filled the room like smoke.
"You summoned me, Father," I said calmly.
He turned.
His eyes—cold and sharp like a wolf's—scanned me. "You caused a stir."
I didn't flinch. "Over a handkerchief?"
"Over weakness." His voice was hard. "You lowered yourself before commoners. In public. That is not the behavior of an Ardent… or an Empress."
I bit the inside of my cheek. "Then perhaps the Empress should not be chosen by blood alone."
A dangerous silence filled the air.
He stepped closer. "You forget your place."
"No," I said. "I remember it too well."
He raised a brow, surprised.
I could feel my heart pounding in my chest, but I didn't let it show. Not this time. I had been executed once before. I had played the obedient daughter until the crown became a noose.
Not again.
---
"My coronation," I said. "It's been delayed."
"Yes," he replied. "Because the Emperor still breathes, thanks to you."
So he knew.
The night the Emperor nearly died of poison—I'd used what little knowledge I brought from my past life to alter his tea. The antidote had been laced into the flavor.
"Had he died," Father continued, "you would've become the youngest Empress in centuries. Now? You wait."
"I am content to wait."
"No," he said sharply. "You will marry. The Prince still favors you. Secure the chain. Before others try to steal it."
The chain.
That was how he saw it. Power. Status. Control.
Marriage was just another lock around my throat.
"I understand," I lied.
But in my mind, I was already planning.
Not to escape.
But to rewrite everything.
---
I left the hall with my hands clasped, my face expressionless.
But inside, I felt something burn.
I had lived once for others.
I had died for their lies.
This time… I would live for me.
---