An eerie silence gripped the throne room. Corpses—dozens of them—lay scattered across the cold marble floor. Fresh blood seeped into the white stone, turning it crimson in patches. The heavy scent of iron hung in the air, suffocating and inescapable.
"Shall I burn the corpses?" Xi Meili's calm voice finally broke the silence, her words cutting through the oppressive atmosphere.
"There's no need," Mireya replied with a weary sigh, though a faint smile tugged at her lips. "I have use for them. But… thank you for your thoughtfulness, Meili."
Across the hall, the three remaining elders stared at her in disbelief. They were frozen—not by fear alone, but by shock. The woman they had always known as a gentle, benevolent ruler now stood before them surrounded by blood and death, her eyes cold and unyielding.
'When…? When did Mireya become this ruthless?' Elder Camilla Rose thought, her heart pounding. She was never like this before… Regret washed over her like ice.
