Chapter 657 --657

Chapter 657: Chapter-657

As Heena turned to leave the Grand Hall, her tactical kneepads clicking softly under her gown, a high-ranking eunuch quietly stepped into her path.

"Vanguard Madam," the eunuch whispered, his eyes darting nervously. "The Emperor requests your presence in the private study. Immediately."

Heena simply nodded. The chaotic, comedic theater of the morning assembly was over. It was time for the real politics to begin. She followed the eunuch through the winding, heavily guarded corridors of the inner palace, leaving the screaming civil officials far behind.

When the heavy wooden doors of the private study clicked shut behind her, the atmosphere instantly changed. The tired, headache-riddled Emperor who had just mediated a brawl was gone. Sitting behind a sprawling mahogany desk was the ruthless, calculating sovereign of the Great Dynasty.

"Do you know what shame is?" the Emperor asked, his voice a lethal, vibrating growl as he rubbed his temples.

"Greetings, Your Majesty," Heena bowed gracefully, completely ignoring the hostility.

"Stop," the Emperor snapped, glaring at her with eyes that looked ready to order an execution. "What type of absolute nonsense was that? A thirty-year-old infant?! Do you think my court is a circus?!"

"I do not understand, Your Majesty," Heena replied calmly.

Suddenly, a cold breeze swept through the study.

Before Heena could even blink, a shadow guard materialized from the darkness behind her. The freezing, razor-sharp edge of a steel longsword was pressed directly against her throat, close enough to draw a thin bead of blood if she swallowed too hard.

Heena didn’t flinch. She slowly shifted her eyes, glancing at the masked shadow guard, and then looked back at the Emperor.

"Does Your Majesty wish to silence his subject?" Heena asked, her voice as smooth as glass.

"Heena Vanguard," the Emperor warned, leaning forward. "Just because I gave you the Five Pardons and absolute power does not mean you can do whatever you want in my capital."

"I do not understand what you mean, Your Majesty," Heena maintained her perfect, innocent mask. "Did I overstep somewhere?"

"You just got married yesterday," the Emperor scoffed, a dark, dangerous edge to his tone. "And today, you have already adopted a fully grown man, seized the capital’s largest civil academy, and bankrupt the Ministry of Rites. Quite a formidable timeline, wouldn’t you say?"

"I like to prepare for the future, Your Majesty," Heena replied simply.

"The future?" The Emperor’s eyes narrowed into slits. "Do you know that if I give the order right now, the Vanguard family will never have a future?"

Heena looked at the Emperor. Slowly, deliberately, she raised her hand.

With a single fingertip, she pressed against the flat side of the shadow guard’s blade, gently but firmly pushing the lethal steel away from her neck. The guard glanced at the Emperor, who gave a nearly imperceptible nod, allowing her to lower the sword.

"Of course you can, Your Majesty," Heena said, stepping closer to the desk, completely unbothered by her brush with death. "But do you honestly think I am threatened?"

"Excuse me?" the Emperor’s voice dropped to a dangerous whisper.

"My grandparents are already old," Heena stated, looking the most powerful man in the world dead in the eye. "It does not matter if they die in ten years or right now; they have lived full lives. As for me? I do not give a damn about my own life. And if you think my love for my new husband is so incredibly deep that I would surrender to save him... then you are deeply mistaken, Your Majesty."

The Emperor stared at her, assessing the cold, sociopathic void in her dark eyes. "So, you mean to say that you are not scared of me?"

"Of course I am, Your Majesty," Heena replied instantly. "I am the most scared of you."

The Emperor let out a dark, mocking laugh. "Oh, really? You are terrified of me, yet you dare to push away my guard’s sword and talk to me like this?"

"It is precisely because I know how this game ends," Heena said calmly. "Your Majesty, you and I both know that after all of this is over, I will either be assassinated by the corrupt officials I dare to touch, or... I will be killed by you."

The Emperor’s mocking smile vanished. He raised an eyebrow. "And why do you think I would kill you?"

Heena smiled—a sad, knowing, and profoundly cynical smile. "Come on, Your Majesty. How many ’loyal’ noble subjects have actually survived after doing the throne’s dirty work? I am not talking rudely; I am just stating historical facts. To clean up this corrupt empire, my hands will be completely covered in blood. And to ensure that the Emperor remains a spotless, benevolent ruler in the history books... you will eventually need to cut off the bloody hand that served you."

"You are speaking so much treason right to my face," the Emperor murmured, genuinely fascinated by her audacity. "And yet, you think I will let you walk out of this room alive?"

Heena let out a soft, genuine laugh.

"Don’t worry, Your Majesty," Heena said casually, as if discussing the weather. "You won’t have to kill me. I will be dead within six months anyway."

The Emperor completely froze.

The heavy, suffocating imperial aura vanished, instantly replaced by genuine, unadulterated shock. His eyes widened as he stared at the young woman standing in front of him.

Before the Emperor could process the bombshell, Heena gracefully dropped to her knees. This time, there was no dramatic flair, no theatrical wailing. It was the solemn, absolute submission of a Vanguard General to her sovereign.

"Your Majesty could kill me right now," Heena said, her voice echoing in the quiet study. "You could wipe out every living Vanguard and erase our name from the imperial history books. But... would removing us actually suffice?"

She looked up, her dark eyes burning with fierce, undeniable loyalty to her people.

"Even if my bloodline is completely wiped out, what about the hundreds of thousands of civilians who survive on the borders because the Vanguards protect them?" Heena challenged softly. "What about the soldiers, Your Majesty, who bleed and die in the snow, fighting only because they believe in the Vanguard banner? You might kill us. You might scatter the army. But what about the foreign enemies who are currently holding their armies back only because they are terrified of the Vanguard name?"

The Emperor sat in silence, his knuckles turning white as he gripped the armrests of his throne.

"If you truly wanted to kill us, Your Majesty, you would have done it long ago," Heena continued. "No emperor in history would leave a subject like us alive. We are rude. We are violent. You have given us authority that rivals a regent. We possess a terrifying amount of military power."

"You dare to boast about your military power in front of the Emperor?" he whispered. "You have quite the curse on your lips, child."

Heena shook her head slowly.

"I am talking to my sovereign, and I believe I owe you the absolute truth," Heena said, her voice steady and resolute. "It is not a hidden secret. Every noble family in this capital wants us dead because they are terrified of the power we hold. But there is one absolute, undeniable truth that every single one of those corrupt officials knows..."

Heena bowed her head, pressing her forehead against the floor in ultimate fealty.

"...As long as the Vanguards are alive, no one will ever dare to touch your throne."