Everyone in the room stared in disbelief at what the Empress had just declared.
"But you know what?" she mused, tilting her head, her smirk deepening.
"Let's make this a game. Let's make it fun."
She took a slow step back toward Xul, her presence suffocating.
"Whoever can break through my ability, I will give Seiryu as a prize."
Gasps filled the room.
"And you, Saintess," she continued, her tone mockingly sweet, "if you can resist my Silver Tongue, I promise to make your Charmed Conviction even more potent."
Xul's breath hitched.
"You'll never have to hide it again. Anyone could know about it, and it would still work."
She could feel every eye in the tent shifting toward her.
"And to make sure none of you think I'll cheat…"
Ceres turned away from Xul and faced Seiryu.
"Seiryu, you are not allowed to interfere. That's an order."
The laughter vanished from Seiryu's face. His deep blue eyes turned serious.
"As you wish, Your Highness," he said quietly.
Satisfied, Ceres returned to her seat, crossing one leg over the other with an air of confidence.
"And I swear it," she announced. "If I break my end of the deal, let the Celestials strike me dead."
She smiled.
Not that it mattered.
Because only Delphine and Legion knew the truth, no matter what happened, she would not die until she reached one hundred and one years old.
"Now," Ceres said lightly, her voice laced with amusement.
"Let us begin."
She straightened slightly, her gaze sweeping the room.
"No one moves unless I tell you so."
The moment the words left her lips, her Silver Tongue activated.
Everyone inside the tent, except for Seiryu and Ceres, froze.
A ripple of horror spread across their faces.
"What is happening?! Why can't I move?!" Sir Deon shouted, panic setting in.
Like the others, he could still speak and move his eyes, but his body was completely immobilized.
No matter how much they struggled, they couldn't break free.
Ceres watched their helplessness with mild amusement.
"Lady Layla," she said, her tone calm, almost bored.
"Give your sword to High Court Magician Celion."
Lady Layla's eyes widened in fear.
"Y-Your Highness, " she stammered.
But just like a puppet, her body moved against her will.
She rose from her chair, her movements eerily mechanical, and walked toward Celion, who sat at Duke Aurelian's right side.
With both hands, she offered her sword, the blade already unsheathed.
Celion's breathing turned ragged.
"High Court Magician Celion," Ceres continued. "Take the sword, and stab Saintess Xul from the back."
Her eyebrow lifted slightly, as if challenging him to resist.
Celion's entire body shook as he tried to fight it.
He poured every ounce of his magic, his mental defenses, his willpower into resisting whatever mind control the Empress had placed on him.
But the moment she had uttered the words, "No one moves unless I tell you so."
It was already over.
His hand moved on its own.
"Celion, no, please!" Xul cried, her tears spilling over as Celion's footsteps echoed across the tent.
She could do nothing.
Only her eyes and lips could move, her body remained completely frozen.
"Stop, Empress! Please, stop!"
But Ceres only stared at her, looking utterly bored.
She even rested her elbow on the table, lazily propping up her chin as if Xul's pleas were nothing more than background noise.
"I never liked hearing 'sorry,'" she murmured. "If you're going to do something, good or bad, then own it."
She exhaled, tilting her head slightly.
"You should always accept the consequences of your actions with your chin held high."
"Celion, fight it!" Aurelian roared, his voice filled with desperation.
But no matter how furiously he tried to move, he couldn't.
Because Ceres hadn't given him permission.
Celion's body trembled violently as he reached the back of Xul's chair.
"I'm trying," he gasped. "I really am, but I can't!"
His hand lifted the sword, Lady Layla's sword, and, despite his silent screams, despite the sheer agony of knowing what was about to happen, the blade plunged into Xul's back.
A choked gasp escaped the Saintess's lips.
Blood bloomed from her chest, staining the fabric of her pristine robes.
Her body convulsed slightly, but she remained utterly paralyzed, still unable to move, even as the searing pain burned through her veins.
The high-ranking officials inside the tent could only watch in horror, their eyes wide with disbelief, yet not one of them could move.
These were battle-hardened veterans, warriors who had fought countless monsters and survived.
And yet, not a single one of them could so much as lift a finger, because a twenty-two-year-old woman had simply not allowed them to.
The very same woman they had mocked in court meetings.
The same Empress they had dismissed as weak and useless.
And now, she sat before them, smirking, watching their helplessness unfold like a grand spectacle.
The sword remained lodged in Xul's back, the hilt trembling slightly from the strain of Celion's unmoving grip, because Ceres had never given the command to remove it.
She leaned forward slightly, her tone almost… amused.
"Tell me, Saintess… how does it feel?"
Xul's vision blurred, blood trickling from her lips.
"How does it feel to die, knowing no one can help you?"
Her HP was dropping rapidly, her life force slipping away at a terrifying speed.
Ceres tilted her head.
"Heal yourself, Saintess."
It was a command.
But even as Xul's lips quivered, her trembling fingers twitched, she couldn't.
Because she could only heal minor injuries.
Ceres feigned realization, her voice dripping with mock pity.
"Oh, right… you can't heal deep wounds."
She sighed, almost as if she were disappointed.
"Then, I guess you're going to die here."
"Celestial Knight!" Lady Layla suddenly called out, her panicked gaze turning to Legion.
"Use your Teleportation! Get the Saintess out of here!"
Ceres's attention snapped toward Legion, and for the first time, her brow arched slightly.
She had assumed Legion would have already broken free from her command by now.
But he hadn't.
Even if the other officials hadn't noticed, Ceres did.
She could see it, the strain in his posture, the tightness in his jaw.
He was trying.
He was fighting to break free.
Her lips curled slightly.
"Do you want me to release you, Legion?" she asked, her tone smooth.
"No, Your Highness," he replied instantly, his eyes locking onto hers. "I will break it."
Ceres smirked and shrugged, unconcerned.
The officials, however, were shocked.
Even the Celestial Knight, a warrior blessed by the Celestials themselves, couldn't break free.
"Saintess Delphine!" Sir Cedric turned to Delphine, his voice urgent. "Do something!"
Delphine blinked at the Holy Knight Commander.
But she didn't move.
"We know you can't move, but… maybe you can still use your healing abilities?"
Before Delphine could respond, Ceres laughed.
"My god, Delphine," she mused, turning to her personal maid with amused curiosity. "You're really starting to scare me… How long did it take you to break my command?"
"Few moments before you gave the command to Lady Layla," she admitted, but her tone carried a hint of uncertainty.
Ceres's grin widened.
"So why haven't you moved?"
Delphine blinked again before shrugging.
"Because you said not to move… unless you told us so."
Ceres laughed again, shaking her head before looking back at Legion, who was still struggling to break free.
"Could it be the Knight's Oath holding you back?" she mused aloud. "Or is Delphine simply stronger than you?"
Legion gritted his teeth.
"I'm sorry, Your Highness," he said, his voice tight with frustration.
Ceres only hummed in response, her gaze shifting back to Xul.
The Saintess's HP was now below 20, and still dropping.
Xul's eyes were wide, her pupils trembling with sheer terror.
And she wasn't the only one.
Almost everyone around the table was staring at Ceres with the same expression, fear.
Everyone except Aurelian.
His eyes held something else.
Not fear.
But… something Ceres couldn't quite name.
She sighed.
"Well," she murmured, stretching her arms lazily. "Let's end the game."
The moment she said the words,
Everyone moved.
A collective gasp filled the tent as bodies lurched forward, limbs regaining their freedom.
Aurelian's fist slammed onto the table. Celion staggered back, dropping the bloodied sword as if it had burned him.
Xul collapsed, gasping raggedly as blood pooled beneath her chair.
The Saintess of Aquilonis, once revered, once standing at the peak of divine influence, now lay trembling, broken, and powerless at the Empress's mercy.
Ceres didn't spare her a second glance.
"Heal her."
Her voice was calm, almost uninterested, yet it carried absolute authority.
Even though her name wasn't mentioned, Delphine immediately stepped forward, kneeling beside Xul.
A soft glow illuminated the tent as Delphine's healing magic took effect. In an instant, the gaping wound in Xul's chest sealed shut, her HP restored to its original number.
If not for the bloodstains on her robes and the puddle of red on the ground, one might have thought nothing had happened at all.
As soon as the healing was complete, Delphine wordlessly returned to her place behind the golden chair of the Empress.
Silence hung over the tent, thick, suffocating.
It was Celion who finally spoke, his voice tinged with disbelief.
"If you were this powerful… why did you allow people to treat you unkindly?"
The High Court Magician had instinctively stepped back, distancing himself from both Xul and the bloodied sword that still lay on the floor.
He wasn't sure if the Empress would command him again.
Not that he could do anything if she did.
Ceres turned her head towards him, a slow smirk forming on her lips.
"That's the keyword, High Court Magician," she said, her voice laced with amusement.
"Allowed."
Her gaze swept across the table, meeting the eyes of every official.
"The world mocked me… because I allowed it."
A shiver ran down the spines of those who dared to hold her gaze.
Ceres exhaled softly, leaning back slightly.
"I know I'm the youngest person inside this tent. But allow me to leave you with something to ponder."
She paused, letting the tension build before she spoke again.
"A shallow river makes a lot of noise. You can see through the water, you know its depth, because it's shallow."
Her voice remained calm, but her words carried a chilling weight.
"And rivers run dry."
She tilted her head slightly.
"But the ocean… The ocean is different."
"The ocean is calm."
"Because it is deep."
Her next words were delivered softly, yet each syllable felt like a knife pressing against their skin.
"You will only hear the ocean's roar when it's too late."
"You may never truly grasp how deep it is. And in the rare chance that you do…"
Her gaze flickered over to Xul, then back to the rest of the officials.
"You'd already be dead before you could tell anyone."
A long, chilling silence filled the tent.
Ceres stood up gracefully from her seat.
"Honestly, you all make boring playmates."
She sighed, shaking her head in mock disappointment.
"Next time, if you want to play games with me, make sure you at least entertain me."
She let her gaze travel across the table, taking in the sight of the officials, most of whom were visibly shaking.
"I suppose there's no point in continuing this conversation… Because judging by the state of all of you, I doubt you'll be able to say whatever it was you wanted to tell me."
She flashed them a mocking smile.
"Talk to me when you're ready. And hopefully, with no more tricks."
Her eyes darkened slightly.
"I'm not always in a good mood to play."
She turned on her heel.
"Goodnight, ladies and gentlemen."
With that, Ceres left, her presence lingering even after she had disappeared.
Delphine and Legion followed silently.
Seiryu, however, remained.
For a long moment, no one spoke.
Finally, when he was sure his Empress was far enough, Seiryu shifted his attention to Celion.
"I almost maxed out your MP," Seiryu remarked, shaking his head. "And yet… you couldn't break through her command?"
Celion flinched, shame crawling up his spine.
Seiryu exhaled, as if disappointed.
"And don't think she didn't notice when I helped you."
Celion's breath caught in his throat.
"Because she did."
Seiryu tilted his head, his eyes gleaming with something unreadable.
"No wonder she didn't mind when I disobeyed her order."
He clicked his tongue.
"Tell me… Are High Court Magicians… really this weak nowadays?"
He clicked his tongue, shaking his head one last time before walking out of the tent.
Leaving the rest of them to absorb the weight of what had just transpired.