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Chapter 30 - Chapter 31: Blood Cannot Be Washed, Even in Victory

šŸ“ Location: Palace of Gold – Queen Leila's Wing

šŸ•° Time: Three days after the fall of the Kingdom of Wei

A special envoy arrived at Queen Leila's private wing.

His face pale, his hand trembling as he handed her a scroll, sealed with the imperial dagger.

Leila opened it slowly… her eyes scanned the words.

The message contained:

— The declaration of imperial victory.

— Confirmation of Wei's complete fall.

And at the final line:

"The full cleansing has been carried out… by imperial order."

Leila rose slowly, steadying herself on the table —

Not to hold her body… but to brace her heart.

She whispered, trembling with a fear she had never known:

"Vaan… what have you done?"

That night, she ordered her doors locked.

No one entered.

She emerged for no one.

But a maid, who brought her food past midnight, heard a faint voice from behind the door:

"Will Raen grow up… and call his father a child-killer?"

No one answered.

---

šŸŒ Across the Continent… Half Trembled, Half Burned

In the western lands, the people cheered Vaan's name:

"The Emperor shows no mercy… because he never forgets."

The poor said:

"At last, an emperor who won't bargain with enemies."

The soldiers said:

"No enemy will dare raise their heads again."

But the nobles… they feared.

Farther north and east, in hesitant kingdoms, the mood was very different.

In the halls of the Kingdom of Sora, the council declared:

"Vaan is not a king… he is a quake beneath the earth."

And in Kalyon, the aging monarch whispered:

"If we don't unite… we will be the next Wei."

In secret, letters began to move between thrones and cloaks…

Marked with a new sigil:

"The Alliance of Justice Against the Tyrant."

And a new name spread like a shadow:

"The Sevenfold Light Pact."

A coalition… that could plunge the continent back into war.

---

Back in Vaan's palace, when he finally returned,

He stood on his balcony, gazing into the skies, whispering:

"Let them hate me…

So long as they kneel."

But behind him, in the shadows,

Leila stood watching, a tear in her eye sharper than any blade:

"But you're losing us…

One by one."

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