Soulbound: Dual Cultivation

Chapter 575: Looming Judgement 2

His actions had likely cost countless lives.

The punishment for such a crime had always been clear.

The girls were preparing to argue again when the Empress slowly raised her hand.

The room immediately fell silent.

She stared toward the floor for a long moment.

When she finally spoke, her voice was barely above a whisper.

“The Ice Belle is right.”

The words stunned everyone.

Several of the girls looked at her in shock.

The Empress closed her eyes.

A tear finally escaped despite her efforts to hold it back.

“My son betrayed Lechia.”

Another tear followed.

“He betrayed the people who trusted him.”

Her voice trembled slightly.

“He betrayed the soldiers who would have died protecting him.”

The chamber remained silent.

No one interrupted.

No one dared.

The Empress slowly looked toward the window.

The capital stretched beyond it.

Millions of lives.

Millions of people who depended on her.

“If the evidence presented during the trial confirms everything…”

She paused.

The words seemed to physically hurt.

“…then Khan must pay the ultimate price.”

The room felt colder.

Even the Ice Belle remained silent.

The Empress was not speaking as a mother anymore.

She was speaking as a ruler.

A ruler who understood that laws meant nothing if they only applied to ordinary people.

If a common soldier would be executed for treason, then a prince could not be spared simply because he shared her blood.

Another tear rolled down her cheek.

This time she did not wipe it away.

“I hate it.”

Her voice cracked.

“I hate every part of it.”

The girls watched quietly.

“He was supposed to inherit everything.”

A painful smile appeared on her face.

“The throne.”

“The empire.”

“The future.”

Her eyes became distant.

“Everything I built was supposed to become his.”

The silence in the room became almost unbearable.

“And now…”

The Empress looked down at her trembling hands.

“Now I must prepare to bury my own son.”

No one had words after that.

The girls simply gathered around her.

Some held her hands.

Others embraced her shoulders.

And for the first time since Khan’s capture, the Empress allowed herself to grieve.

Not for a prince.

Not for a traitor.

But for the son she had already begun to lose.

Eventually, the Empress asked to be left alone.

Her voice had been calm when she said it, but everyone present could hear the exhaustion hidden beneath it.

The girls exchanged glances before quietly nodding.

There was nothing more they could do.

No amount of comforting words could lessen the burden she carried.

The coming trial hung over her like a dark cloud, and she needed time to face it by herself.

One by one, they rose from their seats.

Princess Nyx offered a respectful bow before leaving.

Henrietta gently squeezed the Empress’s shoulder one final time.

Selene and Lira both wished her strength.

Even the Ice Belle, despite her harsh words earlier, gave a slight nod before turning away.

Soon, the chamber was empty.

The Empress remained alone with her thoughts.

Meanwhile, the girls walked through the palace corridors in silence.

The atmosphere around them remained heavy.

None of them felt particularly cheerful after what they had witnessed.

As they rounded a corner, they spotted Lucas approaching from the opposite direction.

He immediately noticed their expressions.

“How is she?”

The girls slowed to a stop.

For several moments nobody answered.

It was Selene who eventually spoke.

“Devastated.”

Lucas wasn’t surprised.

Princess Nyx folded her arms.

“I’ve seen my father in a similar devastating mood.”

Her expression darkened.

“But this is kind of different.”

Henrietta nodded.

“She’s trying to remain strong for the kingdom, but you can tell she’s suffering.”

Lira sighed softly.

“I feel terrible for her.”

The Ice Belle remained silent.

Lucas listened quietly.

He had already expected something like this.

Even for someone as powerful as the Empress, there were wounds that strength could not protect against.

Eventually, he glanced toward the chamber doors.

For a brief moment he considered visiting her.

Then he shook his head.

“No.”

The girls looked at him.

Lucas released a quiet sigh.

“She needs to be alone.”

Nobody disagreed.

This was not something another conversation would fix.

This was something she had to confront herself.

The realization settled over the group.

The Empress was not preparing for a political trial.

She was preparing to judge her own son.

Nothing could make that easy.

Lucas leaned against one of the palace pillars and looked through a nearby window overlooking the capital.

The city seemed peaceful from here.

Yet beneath that peace, uncertainty was growing.

His thoughts naturally drifted toward another problem.

A problem that Khan had created.

“There’s another issue.”

The girls turned toward him.

“What issue?” Selene asked.

Lucas looked out across the city.

“Succession.”

The single word immediately made everyone understand.

Princess Nyx’s eyes widened slightly.

Henrietta frowned.

Lira looked thoughtful.

Even the Ice Belle’s expression became more serious.

Lucas continued.

“Khan was the heir.”

Nobody argued.

It was an obvious fact.

Everything in Lechia had been built around that reality.

The nobles had accepted it.

The military had accepted it.

The people had accepted it.

The future of the empire had been centered around him.

And now that future was crumbling.

“If he’s executed,” Lucas said, “the line of succession becomes a mess.”

The girls slowly nodded.

Lechia was stable because everyone knew who would inherit the throne.

Without an heir, uncertainty could spread quickly.

Ambitious nobles could emerge.

Political factions could form.

Foreign powers could attempt to interfere.

Even allies might begin calculating their own interests.

Princess Nyx crossed her arms.

“Lechia is fortunate the Empress is still alive and healthy.”

Lucas nodded.

“For now.”

His expression remained thoughtful.

“She’ll need to ascend very soon.”

The reality of it could not be ignored.

The Empress was one of the strongest rulers in the world, but even she would eventually step up someday.

And now the son who should have succeeded her had betrayed everything.

Lucas found himself shaking his head.

“What a disaster.”

There was no anger in his voice.

Only disappointment.

“Khan had everything.”

The girls remained silent.

“He was born into power.”

“He had the people’s love.”

“He had the military’s loyalty.”

“He had the throne waiting for him.”

Lucas looked toward the distant skyline.

“And somehow he threw it all away.”

Nobody could truly understand it.

The more they thought about it, the less sense it made.

There had been no need for betrayal.

No need for secret alliances.

No need to side with the usurpers.

The future had already belonged to him.

Yet his greed, ambition, foolishness, or whatever darkness had taken root inside him had destroyed everything.

Not only for himself.

But for his mother.

And possibly for Lechia itself.

For several moments, the group stood quietly in the corridor.

Each lost in their own thoughts.

Beyond the palace walls, the capital continued its daily life.

Yet everyone knew that in three days, the kingdom would gather once more.

A prince would stand trial.

An empire would witness judgment.

And the future of Lechia would be forever changed.