So I Was the Persecuted Grand Duchess Destined to Die? Chapter 116

Chapter 116

After the Griffin rampaged through the capital and vanished without a trace, the bells of the temple spires rang across the empire, officially announcing the Emperor’s death.

“How can tragedies keep striking one after another?!”

“Has God abandoned Rembrandt?”

“Ah… Your Majesty!”

The capital fell into chaos unlike anything before.

The once-splendid city had been reduced to ruins by the Griffin’s violence, and refugees—people who had lost their homes in an instant—overflowed the streets.

And even amid that devastation, countless factions swarmed like flies around the now-vacant throne, all of them watching for an opening to seize power.

The Emergency Council

Inside the imperial palace, still scarred by the Griffin’s claws, an emergency nobles’ council convened in the grand conference hall—the one place that had suffered comparatively little damage.

And there, a suffocating battle of nerves was underway.

“Before we begin, let us observe a moment of silence in honor of His Majesty.”

Under the Prime Minister’s solemn direction, the high-ranking nobles seated around the round table folded their hands and bowed their heads.

With his head lowered, Felix let out a silent sigh.

Ridiculous.

For a room supposedly steeped in mourning, their eyes glittered with greed and hypocrisy.

Yet outwardly, they shamelessly wore faces of grief so convincing it made Felix feel sick.

When the silence ended—

Behind the Empress, Isabella Rembrandt, who sat beside Felix with a face so pale it looked drained of blood, the head chamberlain approached carrying a golden tray.

As the Empress rose, every noble’s gaze snapped toward her.

“Before his passing, His Majesty made one final decision for the sake of the empire.”

With an elegant motion, she took a parchment from the tray and unfolded it.

As the expensive silk-backed parchment opened, the Emperor’s handwriting was revealed.

Stamped with the imperial seal—perfect in every way. A will no one could easily deny.

“‘The successor of the Rembrandt Empire shall be the Second Prince, Felix.’ This is His Majesty’s will.”

She placed the will in the center of the round table.

And at once, the quiet hall erupted into noise like a marketplace.

To name Felix over the legitimate heir, Callian—
and for the Empress herself to be the one announcing it—

It reeked of suspicion.

“With the Crown Prince sitting right here, what is the meaning of this?! This must be a forgery meant to usurp the throne!”

A count from the Crown Prince’s faction shouted, aghast.

Across from him, Marquis Blanche—leader of the Empress’s faction—answered with a sneer.

“Usurpation? What a reckless accusation! That is a clear will bearing the imperial seal. If anything, those who deny the rightful successor are the true traitors!”

His eyes shone with naked greed.

To him, it must have felt like the moment had finally come—proof that betting on the Empress had been worth it.

Immediately, a rebuttal flew back.

“A will? His Majesty recognized the Crown Prince his whole life, and now he suddenly changed his mind? You expect us to believe that? Or did the Empress and the High Priest threaten him?”

“Watch your tongue! Are you mocking the holy church? The situation has changed! When the Griffin ravaged the palace, what did the Crown Prince do? And what about the Grand Duke? We cannot entrust the empire’s future to the incompetent who allowed the nation to fall into this state!”

“Incompetent?! Without the Grand Duke of Celeste, this very hall would have become a monster’s feeding ground! How dare you insult a hero who walked the edge of death!”

The person at the center of the controversy wasn’t even present, yet shouting erupted from every side.

“Enough.”

At the center of the uproar, the Empress raised one hand.

The noise finally died down, and the hall sank back into tense silence.

“It seems some of you are under a misunderstanding.”

Her cold voice reached every corner.

“I did not convene this gathering to seek your opinions. His Majesty’s will is clear in the document. There is nothing to debate. This hall is merely where it will be proclaimed. Since when did His Majesty’s will require your approval?”

“Th-that…”

As uneasy murmurs spread among the nobles, the Empress drove the final nail in.

“Besides… there is a primary party responsible for today’s tragedy, is there not?”

Bang!

In fury, she slammed the table and cried out as if consumed by grief.

“Xavier Celeste, Grand Duke. He stood by while the palace was attacked, allowing His Majesty to perish—dragging the honor of the imperial family into the mud! And he didn’t even attend this critical council determining the empire’s future. He acted in private and vanished into the chaos! If this is not treason, then what is?!”

“Treason?”

Callian let out a humorless laugh.

His eyes met the Empress’s head-on.

“Your Majesty, that is an excessive assumption. The Grand Duke committed no treason. And the claim that he acted on his own is false. He moved under my command.”

“Then why is he not present here, in this hall?”

Marquis Blanche quickly interjected, raising his voice.

He flicked a glance at the Empress—
and, seeing her lifted brow, pressed on with renewed confidence.

“Hah! Because in the chaos, the Grand Duchess—”

“Isn’t it because you have something to hide?”

Callian cut in sharply.

“Well said.”

The Empress’s lips curled into a vile smile.

Turning toward her supporters, she continued.

“Therefore, we cannot forgive the Grand Duke. Lords, look closely. How could we entrust this nation to an incompetent Crown Prince who cannot command his knights?”

“If His Highness was so powerless, then at least the Grand Duke at his side should have fulfilled his duty. He stood by while the palace was attacked and failed to protect His Majesty. That alone is indisputable treason.”

Her rhetoric was masterful.

She was quietly recasting Xavier as a bystander—
and Callian as incompetent.

“It is clear we cannot leave a dangerous man like the Grand Duke of Celeste unchecked. Crown Prince, everyone knows you were close to him, but personal feelings cannot interfere with treason. Or is it… that all of this was done on your orders?”

“Orders? Are you saying I harbored the audacity to oppose His Majesty?”

“My heavens! Such blasphemy!”

“Impossible!”

The Crown Prince’s faction erupted in outrage.

The hall’s tension reached its peak—two sides grinding against each other like blades.

And then—

BOOM!

A thunderous explosion sealed every mouth shut.

Heads snapped toward the sound.

The doors of the grand conference hall—one of the last intact structures in the palace—were blasted away.

Through the dust stepped the very man they had been tearing apart with their tongues:

Xavier Celeste.

Step. Step.

He walked into the hall, his face emptied of all emotion.

He merely moved, yet everyone went rigid, senses sharpened to the limit.

He was the empire’s only Swordmaster.

If he wished it, any one of them could cease to exist in an instant.

Like a beast locked onto one target, he advanced without hesitation.

His boots stopped in front of the Empress—who swallowed hard.

“My wife is missing.”

A low voice cut through the heavy silence.

“You know something.”

His blue-violet eyes rippled with cold fury.

“Impudent. How dare you behave so insolently before whom you stand!”

The Empress snapped.

But not a flicker of emotion surfaced on Xavier’s face.

No one knew what would happen if the last thread of restraint holding him snapped.

“Hah.”

Callian swallowed a quiet sigh and stepped between them.

If this went any further, the Empress’s accusation of treason might become reality—right here, right now.

And that was exactly what she wanted.

“Xavier. I’ll find Renée for you, no matter what. So for now, calm down—”

“T-Then first disarm yourself! This is a place where Rembrandt’s future is discussed—what is that appearance?!”

A count from the Empress’s faction shrieked, face white as paper.

Xavier had been reduced to this state protecting them all, yet they looked at him as if he were filth.

He found it almost amusing.

“…Should I just kill them all?”

His gaze swept across the nobles—terrifyingly flat and merciless.

And at that moment…