Princess Forn had been carefully monitoring the Emperor's schedule, waiting for the perfect moment — the moment when the palace would be free of his heavy presence — so she could descend into the secret chamber beneath the Throne Hall.
After confirming that the Emperor had left the palace to attend a banquet hosted by one of the nobles…
She moved.
She walked with quick, steady steps toward the royal hall, her expression rigid, revealing nothing of what churned inside her.
But as soon as she approached the entrance, the two guards stationed there crossed their spears in front of the door, blocking her path.
One of them said firmly,
"No one is allowed to enter… except in the Emperor's presence."
Forn stopped.
Then she smiled a cold smile.
"Step aside. I am here by the Emperor's order."
The guards exchanged glances for a moment before the other one spoke cautiously,
"Do you have proof of your claim, Your Highness?"
At that moment…
Anger flared through her veins.
She did not shout.
Her voice did not rise.
But the aura that burst from her body was enough to make the air around them grow heavy.
She spoke sharply,
"I am the Crown Princess. And I am telling you that my father, the Emperor, ordered me to come to the Throne Hall. Is that not proof enough?"
Sweat began to bead on the guards' foreheads — not from heat, but from the pressure of her unconscious aura.
And yet…
They held their ground.
"No one is permitted to enter the royal hall… even you, Your Highness."
Forn's expression froze.
Humiliation.
That was the feeling igniting inside her.
She — who was greeted with bows wherever she went.
She — who had officially become Crown Princess and had been entrusted with one of the empire's greatest secrets.
And now…
Two guards dared to block her?
She slowly drew her sword.
The sound of metal sliding against its sheath was not loud… but it was enough to freeze the blood in the guards' veins.
She said in a deadly calm voice,
"It seems that after guarding the Throne Hall for so long and rejecting nobles with that arrogant tone… you have grown prideful."
In a single instant…
The two guards dropped to their knees.
"We apologize, Your Highness! We meant no disrespect! Please, enter!"
Forn looked at them for a long moment.
Then she let out a short, arrogant laugh.
"You are merely servants of the royal family. Remember that well."
She did not kill them.
She did not wish to draw the attention of the other guards or activate the palace's magical defense systems.
Instead, she ordered them to remain kneeling beside the door as punishment.
Then she pushed the door open and entered the Throne Hall.
She closed it quietly behind her.
For a moment… silence reigned.
She walked to the center of the hall and pulled out an old, worn scroll from within her garments.
She looked at it with determined eyes.
Then she tore it apart.
The moment the scroll was ripped, hidden magic surged through the hall. Invisible waves spread across the walls, floor, and ceiling.
The eavesdropping magic was disabled.
Any external link that could monitor what was happening here was severed.
Even the defensive magic tied to the hall… temporarily went dormant.
As soon as Forn sensed the disappearance of the Throne Hall's magic, she laughed softly and whispered with cold confidence,
"It seems my money was not wasted."
She slowly drew her sword again, a terrifying aura condensing around its blade, and said without hesitation,
"It is unfortunate that I must destroy the royal hall… to reach the secret chamber beneath it."
In the next moment, she raised her sword and struck the floor.
A thunderous impact echoed, and the marble flooring cracked beneath her feet. Dense fractures spread across the royal hall like a rapidly expanding spiderweb.
Forn felt the walls tremble. She smiled coldly.
"More… just a little more."
She poured greater energy into her sword. The aura intensified, and a wave of force surged through the ground. The cracks widened… and widened…
Suddenly—
The entire floor of the royal hall collapsed.
Forn fell with the rubble and shattered stone, swallowed briefly by darkness before landing amid rising dust in the secret chamber beneath the throne.
The moment she steadied herself among the debris, a strange chill ran through her entire body.
She whispered softly,
"Was there… ancient magic in the secret chamber? How is that possible? It has been missing for a long time…"
But she did not dwell on it.
She rushed through the chamber, pushing aside rubble and stone in search of the sacred spear.
And when her eyes finally found it—
Joy did not appear on her face.
Instead, she dashed toward it, seized it quickly, and forced her aura directly into it, attempting to subdue it and form a contract.
She poured her energy into it.
Once.
Twice.
But—
The sacred spear rejected her.
It rejected her completely.
Her energy rebounded violently, making her hand tremble. Her eyes widened in shock.
"How the hell is that possible?!"
Frowning deeply, instead of trying again, she pulled out one of her magical storage bracelets and forcibly sealed the sacred spear inside it. Then she glanced around quickly.
She spotted some of the stored metals in the chamber — the metals the Emperor had stolen from the elves — and smiled faintly.
"This may prove useful in the future."
She stole those as well.
But she understood something important.
She could not remain here.
The ancient magic in the secret chamber — despite being partially disabled — had already sent a warning to the Emperor that someone had intruded.
The Emperor could not teleport immediately due to the isolation magic contained in the scroll she had destroyed earlier.
But that would not last long.
She had only seconds.
She leapt upward, using a remaining intact portion of the royal hall's floor, and climbed swiftly through the dust and wreckage.
She strode toward the doors of the royal hall with rapid steps, her expression tense for the first time.
She muttered under her breath,
"I must leave the empire immediately… before the Emperor catches me."