Chapter 941: Alternate Timeline: The Fabricated Truth

"Father..."

Gideon’s voice cut through the king’s rage like a blade through silk. The prince rose quickly and laid a hand on his father’s arm.

"Please."

His eyes pleaded silently.

Do not destroy what remains of our family.

Caleb Crescent’s chest heaved.

After several tense breaths, he sat down.

Gideon turned to his mother and uncle and calmly repeated the terms he had prepared.

As Seraphina listened, she understood at once.

Her son was extending mercy.

Edward Crescent, however, sat in stunned disbelief.

He had expected prison.

He had expected disgrace.

He had expected execution.

Instead, he was being allowed to surrender the throne peacefully and retain his honor as he departed to govern Lucentis Province.

It was a gift far greater than he had dared hope for.

Yet the decision was not his alone. In fact, the decision was never his to begin with.

His eyes shifted to Seraphina.

For one brief moment, Kiara studied the queen and saw a striking resemblance between mother and son.

Both possessed the same quiet intelligence.

Both hid storms behind composed faces.

Seraphina remained silent for several moments.

Then, rather than answering Gideon, she turned toward Kiara.

Her eyes were steady.

"By killing Elder Sebastian," she said, "you have brought doom upon yourself, Kiara."

Her voice was not angry. It was almost sorrowful.

"If you had stayed out of this matter, everything would have proceeded smoothly."

She leaned forward slightly.

"You do not understand what danger you have invited upon yourself."

The corners of Kiara’s lips curved into a faint, amused smile. She crossed her arms.

"Write my address down."

Her tone was so casual that it felt almost insulting.

"Plot Number Sixteen, Alley Number Eleven, Carlo District, Imperial City, Phoenix Empire."

She held Seraphina’s gaze without blinking.

"Whether you wish to buy weapons or settle old scores, my door is always open. So do not concern yourself with my future."

A cold glint appeared in her eyes.

"Instead, pray that I do not get lucky in the coming weeks."

She slowly raised her hands and looked at them.

"Because if fortune favors me, these hands will reduce your church to rubble, whether the empires act against you or not."

Silence followed.

Even Gideon Crescent, who had heard many bold declarations in his life, could not fully grasp what Kiara meant.

But one thing was unmistakably clear.

Somewhere within the next few weeks, Kiara intended to do something so extraordinary that even she was willing to stake her confidence upon it.

And for the first time that night, Queen Seraphina felt something she had not expected to feel.

Uncertainty.

A few hours later, when the moon had climbed high above Lunaris City and silvered the palace rooftops with a pale, cold sheen, the capital, instead of sinking into sleep, stirred with unusual life.

The midnight air was crisp, and the palace grounds blazed with thousands of lanterns whose flames danced in the night breeze like a sea of trembling stars.

Ministers in formal robes stood shoulder to shoulder beneath the raised platform, nobles whispered among themselves, and common citizens packed the square beyond the palace gates, craning their necks and standing on tiptoe to catch a glimpse of the royal family.

At such an hour, people should have been in their beds.

Yet no one complained.

For when the drums of the palace sounded in the middle of the night, and word spread that the king himself would make an important announcement, sleep became a small thing.

Curiosity, hope, fear, and rumor drove the people forward until the palace grounds were overflowing with thousands upon thousands of faces.

Everything had unfolded exactly as Gideon Crescent had planned.

After the secret meeting at Leafway Restaurant, Edward Crescent had personally informed the ministers of the truth, or rather, the truth as the royal family intended the kingdom to hear it.

Then, before the eyes of the entire capital, Edward removed the royal crown from his head and placed it into the hands of Caleb Crescent.

For several long moments, disbelief swept through the gathering like a gust of wind through tall grass.

Many stared with widened eyes.

Others rubbed their eyes as if suspecting they were dreaming.

"How can this be?"

"Was His Majesty alive all along?"

"Then who sat on the throne these past ten years?"

Questions rose in every corner of the square like startled birds.

When the murmurs reached their peak, Caleb Crescent stepped forward.

Though age and imprisonment had carved deep lines into his face, his posture was straight, and his voice carried the same authority that had once guided the kingdom.

He told the fabricated story that Gideon had prepared.

Ten years ago, during the rebellion led by the former Supreme General, a servant in the palace, secretly an agent of the rebels, poisoned the king.

The poison plunged him into a deep and unnatural sleep.

To protect him from further assassination attempts, loyal retainers carried him through a secret tunnel and concealed him in a safe location where healers fought to preserve his life.

Although he survived, he went into a deep state of hibernation and remained unconscious for nearly ten years.

During that time, Queen Seraphina and Edward Crescent, fearing that enemies both within and beyond the kingdom would seize the throne, had chosen to let Edward rule in Caleb’s place.

Only recently had Caleb awakened, thanks to Lady Kiara.

The explanation was simple.

Plausible.

And, most importantly, it gave the people a story they wished to believe.

Originally, Gideon had intended to say that Caleb had formally appointed Edward as regent.

But after the confrontation at Leafway, he altered the narrative.

In the version presented to the public, Edward alone bore responsibility for the policies and decisions of the last decade.

It was a subtle change, but a meaningful one.

The ministers who had long grown dissatisfied with Edward’s rule welcomed this version wholeheartedly.

The common people, many of whom resented the taxes and harsh decrees of recent years, also accepted it with surprising ease.

And among all those present, none looked happier than Prime Minister Philip.

The old statesman stood near the foot of the platform, his eyes glistening as he gazed upon Caleb Crescent.

For years, he had endured Edward Crescent’s temper and arrogance.

Tonight, it felt as though a mountain had been lifted from his shoulders.

When the announcement concluded, cheers erupted across the palace grounds.

The sound rolled through the night like thunder.

"Long live His Majesty!"

"Long live King Caleb!"

The cries rose again and again until they echoed beyond the palace walls and into the sleeping city.

As for Kiara, she stood quietly among the honored guests, her black robes stirring faintly in the night breeze.

The system had already informed her that the quest was complete.

Not only had she rescued Caleb Crescent and restored him to the throne, but she had also saved him once again from the hands of Elder Sebastian.

Both Caleb and Edward had admitted privately that, had Kiara not been present, they would almost certainly have been dragged away by the Church of Doom.

For that reason, Caleb Crescent had spoken to her in private, his voice full of gratitude.

"Miss Kiara," he had said, "you have saved my life not once, but twice. A king’s debt is like a mountain. Tell me what you desire, and if it lies within my power, it shall be yours."

Kiara had not answered immediately.

A careless request was like firing a cannon without aiming.

So she simply smiled and said that she would give her answer in the morning before returning home.

Caleb agreed without hesitation.

Soon afterward, the ceremony ended.

The people dispersed, carrying the astonishing news back to every street and household in Lunaris.

The ministers departed to prepare for the kingdom’s transition.

The royal family withdrew into the palace.

And Kiara returned to her guest chambers.

Once inside her room, Kiara closed the door and slid the bolt into place.

The metallic click echoed softly through the quiet chamber.

She loosened her shoulders and sat upon the edge of the bed.

The mattress dipped beneath her weight.

For a moment, she exhaled slowly and let the silence settle.

Then she opened the quest menu.

The glowing blue screen appeared before her eyes.

Kiara rubbed her chin and muttered to herself, "Alright. The throne is restored, the king is grateful, and I am still alive."

Her eyes gleamed with anticipation.

"Now comes the real question."

She leaned slightly forward.

"Submarine or Destroyer?"