Chapter 295: Like The Empress

Ares reached for her with deliberate care, as though afraid that any sudden movement might shatter whatever fragile peace had settled between them. He gathered both of Lara’s hands within his own.

His touch was warm...steady... and grounding.

The world beyond the lounge seemed to fade into silence.

"Lara."

She looked up.

"I won’t ask."

Her brows knit together in confusion.

"You don’t owe me your past."

His thumb traced the curve of her knuckles with gentle reverence, the gesture so natural it felt like something lifted from forgotten courtship rituals preserved only in old romances.

"Whatever happened... whatever you’ve done... when you’re ready to tell me, I’ll listen."

"And if that day never comes...that’s alright too."

He gave her hands a reassuring squeeze.

Lara stared at him in silence. No one had ever said those words to her.

Everyone wanted answers. Everyone wanted explanations.

But Ares... He simply wanted her to stop hurting.

Something tightened in her chest.

Not the suffocating pain from moments ago.

Something warmer.

She lowered her eyes, unable to meet his gaze any longer.

"...You really are strange."

Ares chuckled softly.

"I’ve been told that before."

The corner of Lara’s lips lifted into the faintest smile.

A genuine one this time.

The suffocating heaviness that had filled the lounge seemed to dissolve, replaced by a quiet stillness that neither of them felt compelled to disturb.

Ares rose to his feet.

"Come on."

She blinked.

"We’ve both had enough excitement for one day."

He offered his hand.

"Let’s go. The others have already returned."

"To Hevenfort?"

"Yes."

His smile carried the quiet certainty of someone who never rushed another’s decision.

"To Hevenfort."

Lara looked at his outstretched hand. For a brief moment, she hesitated.

Then she placed hers in his.

His fingers closed around hers with the same gentle warmth as before.

Never demanding. Never possessive.

Simply there.

Without realizing it, she found herself matching his pace as they headed to the direction where the golf carts were parked.

"The walk is long, and with the sun out, it will be tiring to walk."

Lara was surprised to find that it was already three in the afternoon. So they stayed that long in the lounge, she even did not notice.

...

By the time Ares and Lara caught up with the others, the group had already entered the throne room. Unlike most of the palace, which still bore the scars of time, this chamber had been painstakingly restored. As the very seat of imperial power, no effort had been spared to return it to its former glory.

The sheer scale of it made even the loudest among them fall silent.

Towering white marble pillars stretched toward a vaulted ceiling that seemed impossibly high, their polished surfaces reflecting the warm glow of suspended crystal chandeliers that had been carefully replicated from what remained of the original.

Veins of gold ran through the architecture like flowing rivers, catching every flicker of light and bathing the chamber in a regal brilliance.

At the far end of the hall stood a wide marble dais.

And upon it...were the twin thrones.

Massive and commanding.

They weren’t assembled from separate pieces but sculpted from two enormous blocks of flawless white marble, as if the mountain itself had surrendered them to history.

Gold had been poured into intricate channels carved deep into the stone, creating vines that climbed along the armrests and wolves that seemed ready to leap from the marble. Every glint of light made the designs appear almost alive.

Princess Zinnia let out an audible gasp.

"Brother..."

She slowly walked forward, unable to tear her eyes away.

"They’re beautiful."

Her gaze shifted between the two seats.

"But... why are there two thrones?"

She looked at Crown Prince Yohannes.

"In Zalmeria, there’s only one."

Before Yohannes could answer, Ares spoke from behind them.

"The founder of Azuverda believed an empire should never be ruled by one person alone."

Everyone turned toward him.

"It was governed by both the emperor and the empress."

Princess Zinnia blinked.

"...Seriously?"

Her eyes widened.

"Gender equality... thousands of years ago?"

"It wasn’t equality that was freely given."

Amelia’s calm voice echoed through the chamber.

"It was fought for."

The group looked at her.

"The first empress paid dearly for it."

She slowly approached one of the carved pillars, her fingers brushing lightly across the weathered stone.

"But she changed history."

"How?" Zinnia asked.

"She founded the Gabriella."

Erina frowned.

"...Gabriella?"

The name sounded oddly familiar.

"That sounds like one of those radical women’s organizations that keeps making headlines."

The temperature around them seemed to drop.

Ares shot her a look so cold that Erina instinctively straightened her posture.

"The Gabriella at that time wasn’t radical."

Amelia continued. Her voice remained calm, but every word carried weight.

"It was a sanctuary A refuge for women abandoned by society."

"For widows,

"The poor."

"The abused."

"The forgotten."

She glanced toward the twin thrones.

"Before Lara became empress, she gathered those women, taught them skills, gave them purpose, and built a network that reached every corner of the empire."

"They weren’t soldiers."

"They weren’t nobles."

"They were ordinary women."

"But they became the invisible foundation of Azuverda’s Golden Age."

Silence settled over the room. Even Erina had nothing to say.

Prince Yohannes looked genuinely impressed.

"Amelia..."

He turned toward her.

"How do you know all of this? Most of these records disappeared centuries ago."

"They aren’t even mentioned in history texts."

A faint smile appeared on Amelia’s face.

"My grandfather."

"He spent his entire life preserving old scrolls and parchments that everyone else dismissed as myths."

She shrugged lightly.

"I practically grew up reading them."

Before the Zalmerian Crown Prince could step any closer, Liam casually moved beside Amelia.

He twisted open a bottle of water and handed it to her.

"You’ve been talking nonstop."

His tone was relaxed, almost teasing.

"You should drink."

At the same time, his broad frame subtly blocked Prince Yohannes from closing the distance.

Amelia accepted the bottle without noticing.

"Thanks."

Yohannes cleared his throat, deciding not to push past Liam.

"So..."

He turned back toward the towering mural behind the thrones.

"The first empress really was extraordinary."

The ancient fresco dominated the wall.

The founding emperor stood clad in silver ceremonial armor, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword.

Beside him stood the empress. Elegant and poised. Her crown shimmered beneath painted rays of sunlight.

Yohannes stared at the mural for several long seconds.

Then his eyes drifted toward Lara.

His expression changed.

"...Has anyone else noticed something?"

Everyone followed his gaze.

He looked back at the fresco. Then at Lara. Then back again.

"The empress..."

He spoke almost to himself.

"...doesn’t she look like Larissa Reyes?"

Every conversation stopped.

The room fell into complete silence.

One by one...

Every head turned toward Lara.